Hello my name is.........and I am an arachnid addict.

[MrTwister]

So a little over a week ago I took the dive into the T hobby. It was inevitable. I found myself lurking this and other resources for months, researching and basically drooling over the vast amount of species in the hobby. I have kept fish and reptiles for decades, but recently work has required me to leave home for days. This has meant less time to adequately care for my pets...but T's.....this becomes less of an issue. So while shopping for something else, impulse bought a roughly 2 inch body length LP. Rehoused it, decided to make some changes to the substrate, so annoyed it for a moment, then re introduced it to the enclosure. The LP dug itself a nice burrow under a peice of cork bark, and I have seen fuzzy legs poking out periodically through the nights that have followed. Awesome seems I'm doing something right, seems to be a happy T. So of course yesterday while picking up some crickets I came home with. B. vagans sling. Rehoused it into its new enclosure, dropped in a pre killed small super worm and went to bed. This morning it was munching on the worm. Latter on spent a few hours grooming. Then Did a bit wandering before digging itself a new home under some cork bark. Seems I have two happy T's so far.....I can never enter a pet store again...I see a pattern developing. So to those more experienced in the hobby....when was your first realization you are an arachnid addict? And when did you realize your collection had grown to epic proportions?

 

[Ungoliant]

when was your first realization you are an arachnid addict? And when did you realize your collection had grown to epic proportions?

My collection is nowhere near epic in size, but I have been an addict ever since I started keeping true spiders in 2012. (I'm still cuckoo for Kukulcania, but at least I stopped collecting more Kuks when I started keeping tarantulas.)

 

[Kayis]

When i started to need shelving units for them. Collection is no where near "epic" though.

 

[patriotgator]

I got 3 Ts in the last 2 weeks and can't wait to get more. These things are like a drug.

 

[nicodimus22]

My collection is not epic (2 adults/8 slings) but the way I'm housing them is attractive. All acrylic or glass tanks so that you can clearly see them (if they're not in their hides) without pulling out a container and removing the lid. I want a collection of 100% display Ts, basically. If that means having a lot less of them, I'm cool with that.

 

[Charlottesweb17]

So a little over a week ago I took the dive into the T hobby. It was inevitable. I found myself lurking this and other resources for months, researching and basically drooling over the vast amount of species in the hobby. I have kept fish and reptiles for decades, but recently work has required me to leave home for days. This has meant less time to adequately care for my pets...but T's.....this becomes less of an issue. So while shopping for something else, impulse bought a roughly 2 inch body length LP. Rehoused it, decided to make some changes to the substrate, so annoyed it for a moment, then re introduced it to the enclosure. The LP dug itself a nice burrow under a peice of cork bark, and I have seen fuzzy legs poking out periodically through the nights that have followed. Awesome seems I'm doing something right, seems to be a happy T. So of course yesterday while picking up some crickets I came home with. B. vagans sling. Rehoused it into its new enclosure, dropped in a pre killed small super worm and went to bed. This morning it was munching on the worm. Latter on spent a few hours grooming. Then Did a bit wandering before digging itself a new home under some cork bark. Seems I have two happy T's so far.....I can never enter a pet store again...I see a pattern developing. So to those more experienced in the hobby....when was your first realization you are an arachnid addict? And when did you realize your collection had grown to epic proportions?

I have had my first 2 slings for 3 weeks now and love them. I have LPs as well. I realized I was turning into an addict when I decided to get 6 more for my birthday this coming year, maybe even sooner for a Mother's Day present lol.

 

[Stella Maris]

I went from 1 sling to 6 slings+1 juvenile in a little over a month. These are all species that were not on my "primary wants list" but some of the deals I found were too good to pass up. It is a very addictive hobby and it's unlike raising any other animal I've ever known (I've had dogs, doves, cats, anoles, beta fish, hamsters...you name it) or seen. Arachnids don't crave or need extreme attention as mammals do which is why I think most people I come across don't understand them, or why you would want to have more than one [tarantula]. Nearly everyone I have come across who question my arachnids hobby are people who don't currently own/care for any animals. My parents still don't know that I acquired four more slings.

I'm still on the hunt for a B. smithi, G. pulchra, A. chalcodes, and A. hentzi slings.

 

[D Sherlod]

I got my first T an LP in December since then I've added 5 more. So I would say I'm an addict. Each day I add another species to my wish list. How many I get before my wife looses her mind is anyone's guess. When I was breeding geckos I had a hundred plus at any given time.
it could get interesting

 

[Venom1080]

when i couldnt afford lunch one day cause i bought some new slings earlier that week.

 

[ItzXskrilla]

I started with this hobby just over three weeks ago. All I seem to think about is my next T.
My son is 3-1/2 and my wife bought him a 40 gallon exo terra kit and 2 bearded dragons. While at the local reptile store, that day something drew me into the invert case. I bought my first T. An Avicularia Avicularia. Bought the tarantula keepers guide and have read almost all of it in two weeks. I feel as if I'm falling all in, and I want more.
I can see this getting out of control!!!

 

[Walker253]

So to those more experienced in the hobby....when was your first realization you are an arachnid addict? And when did you realize your collection had grown to epic proportions?

I thought it was after a spending spree last September, but I'd have to say a 3 week period between January 15th and February 5th. I bought 30 tarantulas, only 6 of those were slings. Yeah that was nuts

 

[apollogirl7]

@Shudragon how many was that again?

 

[WeightedAbyss75]

My mom (for whatever reason, so glad that she did this) recieved a juvie G. pulchripes from her friend who was leaving the hobby. She gave it to me, and for 8 or so years, I was "dormant" as to more tarantulas. Then she bought me an AF B. emelia and I fell in love with tarantulas. I went from about 2-14 in about 6 months. My collection is certainly not crazy numbers wise, but I have scaled up from beginner to advanced T's quite quickly Recently just had my mom buy me an unsexed juvie S. cal from a local expo! Glad I have gotten this far though, and definitly plan on getting more, despite my low budget at the moment

 

[volcanopele]

The moment I realized that the expensive set of shelves I bought just 4 months ago are not big enough to handle my collection once the slings I own grow up... And when those shelves already can't handle my entire collection. My most recent purchase, a P. miranda MF, has to sit on a dresser with our ball python.

 

[Goodlukwitthat]

When I spent almost $200 in 1 go on a bunch of tarantulas....and my gf is as addicted as I am because she brought home one of the really heavy solid wood black wine stand that her job was going to toss out. Side note, that stand is perfect for holding all the slings I have right now haha. Unfortunately, I am in need of another metal stand lol. I think it's also a hint that when I go to my dr appointments every 2-3 weeks I specifically drive the extra 45 minutes to a pet store because she's the only one who sells inverts that aren't the usual avic or rose hair/porteri.

 

[Blue Jaye]

The realization that I need another T room.