Dad thinks my collection's out of control!

[Tarantula-Kid]

Hi Everyone,

I have not posted in a while because I have been
really busy with school. But I have lots of new
spiders coming and I am really excited! My dad is
not too happy about all of this, but he gave in. But, he thinks my collection is out of control. Even mom thinks my collection is getting too big now! :?

I do need to get new shelves and we don't know where we are going to put them! I sold and traded some of my share of G. pulchra s'lings. I'm stilling getting some to raise, but Itraded some for a female 7 inch T. blondi! She is coming at the end of this week! I am so happy!
Her name is Savana and I think I will keep that name. I need to get an enclosure set up for her before she comes! =D

I'm also excited about the other new spiders I
have coming! I am finally getting the E. cyanognathus I have been wanting for a year! This is one of my dream spiders! I decided to wait on the P. miranda (and P. metallica was out of the question!) because between the E. cyanognathus and the P. miranda it would cost too many of my spiderlings because I want to raise a bunch of them. I'm also getting an adult female E. campestratus. I think these are sweet. And I'm getting a two inch E. uatuman. The rest of the spiders are s'lings: C. brachycephalus, B. boehmei, H. lividium, B. vagans, N. coloratovillosus, and C. fasciatum. I will get
these at the end of the month.

Anyway, my collection is jumping from 26 tarantulas in the beginning of the year to about 80 something now. I guess I can see why this would make my parents nervous, but I'm still very excited!

Elizabeth

 

[rosehaired1979]

Wow you have a collection there! Congrats on your new additions and such. As far as your parents go well just try not to buy as much where yall have to get 2 houses lol

 

[SpiderTwin]

There's no doubt that tarantula collecting is addicting. Just try to work with your parents the best you can.

Good luck with your T's and your parents

 

[Charlie]

way cool

Awsome to see the next generation of arachnofreaks!

I have a daughter and Most little girls have there fathers wrapped around there little finger.

See if you can get your dad to get interested in the hobby with you.

-Charlie

 

[Tarantula-Kid]

Well, my dad is a lot more interested than he used to be. He took me to the ATS Conference and went into the desert looking for tarantulas with me. And he has taken me to the swamp to look for orbweaving spiders, Nephila and Argiope. He even held a tarantula for the first time this past January.

But he is not too happy about the *size* of my collection. I know why Mom is worried. It is because I hate to touch crickets and I usually make mom do it! I know it is bad, but I really really *hate* crickets!

And now Mom is fussing because I need to go do my math, but I don't want to. I told her I need to write one more post first.

Elizabeth

 

[chuck]

get a pair of long tweezers. i hate crix too but i manage with the tweezers. i get to inflict some pain on them b4 they meet their doom ;P

 

[SpiderTwin]

How do you deal with the crickets?

Do you have a pair of tweezers of forceps to grab them with. I have a 12" pair that I do all my feeding with. There's no need to grab them with your hands if you (or your mom) is doing so.

 

[Buspirone]

If at least one of your parents isn't as interested and enthusiastic about tarantulas as you and considering your age I would have to agree that your collection is too large for a 9 year old. The interests and attention span of someone as young as you change frequently and suddenly. Your parents share the blame for allowing you to aquire as many specimens as you have . Your parents may need to evaluate the situation and a serious reduction in the size of your collection might be in order depending on how willing they are to remain extremely active in your choice of hobby and whether they will assume all responsibility for the Ts should you lose interest 6 months from now or even 2 years from now or more. Some Ts live a very long time and could still be around with proper care 10 or more years from now.

 

[Valael]

Have you ever tried to grab crickets with tweasers? It's great in theory, but trying to do it for real is the most challenging thing in my life. I'd have an easier time climbing Everest bare naked.


First, you try to be gentle so you don't kill the cricket out right. Nice try, but they just hop away. When you finally DO get them, they manage to escape because you aren't squeezing hard enough.

Then you get rougher. You quickly thrust out to try to grab one, miss. Try a few more times, and finally get one. But instead of holding with the tweasers, you've actually impaled it. Better than nothing, I guess. That or you'll squeeze the life out it.

Every once in a while, you'll get their egg tube (I can't spell the technical term. Proboscus? heh) and everything is fine because that never seems to fall off.


I guess it doesn't matter if it's almost dead, but it's certainly cleaner. Especially if the T isn't interested.

 

[Henry Kane]

I know Elizabeth is young but she is a lot more knowledgable and involved about the hobby that a lot of folks realize. She has even had successful T breeding efforts.

Elizabeth, I am at exactly the same point you are. I have recently come to realize that the size of my collection was getting a little out of hand. I have no problems caring for them all but there are many that aren't getting the attention they deserve due to my very busy schedule. I came to a tough decision to thin down on the number of genera in my collection to be able to really focus on more advanced hobby aspects of only 3 or 4 genera.
Personally, I think anyone who has time to actually study, rear and record data on as many cool species that are available is a very very lucky person. I mean, I can specd over two hours just feeding all mine...that includes watching each one eat...which no matter how many times I've seen it, I still can't resist.

I'm sure if you give it some careful thought you'll figure out how to handle the situation in the best way for you, your family and your pets.

See ya.
Atrax

 

[Pixie]

I have to second that age shouldn't be a determining issue on who can care for animals properly. A friend of mine is just 11 and has a wide variety of animals including Ts and she takes care of her animals better than most adults I've met.

I know this isn't the case with all young kids but from the sounds of it Elizabeth is doing a great job with her Ts.

Elizabeth: I too hate crickets, in fact I've just gotten over my phobia of them. Now I am able to feed them to my pets myself (before my bf would have the job). I made a setup like they have at my local reptile shop. I use a large critter keeper with peices of egg cartons. When I need some crix I get a deli cup & lid ready and grab a peice of egg carton and shake some into the deli cup. I then put the lid on quickly so they don't jump out and then dump them in the tanks as needed. Works great for me and it's quite fast and I don't have to touch any

I wish I would have had parent that would have supported me having some animals of my own when I was young.

Pixie

 

[Mendi]

Hey! Maybe try keeping a roach colony or 2 so you can eventually have enough of them where you won't have to deal with them nasty ol' crickets

 

[xBurntBytheSunx]

you have 80 tarantulas and you hate touching crickets?

 

[chuck]

Originally posted by Valael
Have you ever tried to grab crickets with tweasers? It's great in theory, but trying to do it for real is the most challenging thing in my life. I'd have an easier time climbing Everest bare naked.


First, you try to be gentle so you don't kill the cricket out right. Nice try, but they just hop away. When you finally DO get them, they manage to escape because you aren't squeezing hard enough.

Then you get rougher. You quickly thrust out to try to grab one, miss. Try a few more times, and finally get one. But instead of holding with the tweasers, you've actually impaled it. Better than nothing, I guess. That or you'll squeeze the life out it.

Every once in a while, you'll get their egg tube (I can't spell the technical term. Proboscus? heh) and everything is fine because that never seems to fall off.


I guess it doesn't matter if it's almost dead, but it's certainly cleaner. Especially if the T isn't interested.

just put your tweezers in the corner of the tank, they are curious, and walk btwn them, and BAM close down on them. i have never killed a cricket by using my tweezers trying to capture them. i use all my force to squeeze and they dont die. you can manage to criple them if you get them behind the head, but if you get their body theyll live long enough for a T to hunt. and if you get it by its leg, let it go, when you try to put it in the T's tank itll detach its leg and be loose in your house

EDIT : how is a 9 year old affording this hobby?

 

[deifiler]

If they arn't happy why do they keep buying you them? I've seen the US prices of spiders, and the money you get (besides spiderligns for trading) surely comes from them? If they dislike them, there's no chance in hell they'd shell out the dosh for a miranda either. Most parents wouldn't pay that much, not for a spiderling. Especially a parent who wants the quantity reducing...

Surely tarantulas arn't that readily available to minors. No matter how experienced a minor is, I stillwouldn't provide them with spiders if their parental units dissapproved...

I doubt that you do all the packaging, maintenance, purchasing, writing cheques etc yourself too. If they arn't happy with the colelction, perhaps they should re-evaluate their part in WHY the collection is of that calibre.

Now i have nothign against minors, I too collected them from young ages. I don'tfor a second doubt your capabilities, but still giving spiders to a minor whose parents DONT approve has many-a-negative connatations...


Rather than complaining about your collection, they should take responsibily over managing it with you

 

[Nixy]

Yay for you Elizabeth. (Faith's middle name is Elizabeth by the way)
80 is alot of bugs for a young lady. 80 pets is alot for any person. LOL.
But thats beside the point, if your able to take care of them, respectful of them, responsable for them and learned. Then age makes little difference as long as your parents are understanding of it and you stay open with them.
I think it's not so much you Having the 80 or so. It's the " What happens and who gets stuck taking care of them when/if Elizabeth loses interest."
Though you say you won't now. And you may be right. Next week you may develope a deep all encompassing passion for kangaroos and rock collecting. This is common for kids, heck it's common for alot of adults. As you grow some tastes will change and some will stay. Maybe you'll love inverts forever. But then again, you might find one day you wake up and have lost all interest.
I'd say learning to suck it up and handle the feeding yourself will go a LONG way to helping evaporate some of thier concerns. If mom has to do the feeding, then it's as much her collection as it is yours right? I've always told mine, You want it, you take care of it. That means the nasty parts you Hate doing as well as the great parts you like.
So get yourself a long pair of tweezers, or make a scoop trap.
A tweezer like instrument, maybe bend a coathanger. Take a film canaster, Put the pot on one "tweezer" end, the lid on the other and get chasing those crickets.
Good luck with your new spiders.

 

[Tarantula-Kid]

Let me clear things up

Okay, I did not mean to give the impression that my parents were not supporting me. My mom gets on the Internet with me all the time and helps me look things up. I think that is supportive. My mom is also on Arachnopets (T-Kid's Mom) and other lists and she helps with feeding the tarantulas and sometimes she helps me with my record keeping and my scrapbook. Sometimes she helps me type and corrects my spelling.

Another way that my parents supported me is that they drove me all the way to New Mexico from Louisiana so that I could go to the ATS Conference this year. Daddy even took me to collect tarantulas in the desert.

Also, I am not that new to this hobby. I got my first tarantula when I was five years old and I want to be an arachnologist when I grow up.

I wrote the post because I was looking for suggestions on how to manage my collection now that is getting larger and for ways to get my dad more involved. I think it would if mom, dad, and I were all in the hobby together.

Elizabeth

 

[Tarantula-Kid]

I might make the scoop trap. At any rate I need to feed them myself, except for the P. regalis. I was only allowed the P. regalis that I did not touch it and mom did the maintenence.

Elizabeth

 

[MrT]

Elizabeth,
How ya do'in doll?
I don't think alot of my arachnopet friends here know who you are.
Maybe you should post your Bio.
Anyway, If you have the time for your collection, and it doesnt take away from your study time. ( school )
Then mom and dad will be there for whatever you need.
I have three grown kids, and just wish they had shown this kind of interest in anything at your ago. Let alone Tarantulas.
What a great life you could have traveling all over the world studying Arachnids.
You go girl!!=D =D


Ernie

 

[atavuss]

Hi Elizabeth!
have you tried wearing nitrile or latex gloves (not the dishwashing kind of gloves, but the kind of gloves your dentist or doctor would wear) when it is time to touch the crickets? the gloves make it easier to grab the crickets and you will hardly feel them at all. see if your parents can get you some sample gloves and try it. if you can't find any gloves pm me with your address and I will send you a few small size gloves to try out.
Ed