Ethics of pet tarantulas

Lepidus

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 28, 2007
Messages
2
Hi,

I got my first tarantula, an A. avicularia about 3 years ago, and my second, a G. rosea, this month. I like them both a lot and have really enjoyed having them. I noticed that there is not much information on the web about the ethical side of catching and exporting some of these spiders.

I am thinking of popular pet animals (like box turtles which are from my area) whose numbers have declined because of being harvested for pets. I have read that pink-toed tarantulas are so common they even live on the eaves of people's houses, etc., doesn't seem like it does any harm to catch them. I read that the Chilean rose is normally wild caught and not bred in captivity, but it seems like their numbers are so high that seems okay too.

I guess I am asking, are there any ethical issues that people are aware of, like overharvesting, things of that nature? Or do we just not know, and trust that the countries that export them are ethical? I'm sure there are lots of knowledgeable people here, if anyone has any information on this subject, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!
 

Giantsfan24

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 28, 2007
Messages
95
Well here is a fact that is undeniable....equally sized CB will always cost more than a WC. Add to that the fact that many WC are adults(which newbs are more likely to buy) and you have a market for WC. Myself, I would only buy WC now if there were almost no CB or if the CB price is way too high.

Cobalt Blue T's are a great example. Many that you see for sale are WC adults and usually run about 30-50 bux depending where you get them. I knwo there are CB 3" thatyou can get for about the same price but most cb CBB go for more than that. Which will a person want? A full grown WC or a juvi/sub adult CB?

1 more thing. Forget about juvis, CB adults are very expenesive in most species. The price jump from a 3" to 5-6" is, IMO way to high. So if people want affordable adults, they often have to turn to WC.

Now as to the ethics of harvesting, I say as long as you leave enough to continue to breed and no damage the ecosystem, bring em in. Like a poster in one of the link Chesire provided said, at one time, ALL cb T.'s came from WC adults.
 

Lepidus

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 28, 2007
Messages
2
That is very true and I have no problems with paying more for captive bred, or with a certain amount of gathering in order to start captive breeding.

The pink-toed t was a young guy when I got him. The G. rosea my husband bought me for our anniversary, and it is at about 3". I had decided not to buy any more myself until I had done some research. At any rate, I won't be getting any more that I'm not fairly sure are CB...it just does not seem right.

Thanks for the info and for the links. I couldn't get to the first one for some reason, but the other 2 were helpful. I had not even heard of CITES. Sad to see it looks like the rosea may be experiencing some problems, but hopefully that will change soon.
 

Mina

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 4, 2005
Messages
2,136
I do have wc T's. I didn't know the difference when I first got into the hobby. Now that I do know the difference, I will not buy anything that is not cb, for two reasons. Number one, I don't like taking them from the wild, and I'm concerned about how they are treated during transport, and the overall affect on the area they are taken from, number two, there are health concerns with wc that you would not have with a cb, such as internal parasites.
 

phil jones

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 17, 2006
Messages
1,051
i never knowingly bought a w. c - t -as mina said it could have internal parasites:eek: :eek: so its c.b- t for me :clap: :clap: :worship: :worship: ;) ;) ---phil
 

Stylopidae

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 7, 2005
Messages
3,203
I wouldn't be so quick to say that WC is cheaper than CB. I estimate that when all is said and done, my collection is worth roughly twice what I spent on it. The only WC individuals on there are the H. lividium, E. pachypus, A. seemani and G. rosea.
 
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