Hobby Trends/Changes

[SharkNATO]

Been out of the hobby for a few years, recently started snooping around again. Some particularly striking changes from a time-traveler's perspective:

-Hard to imagine a world where most people don't start with a G. porteri/rosea. Pretty cool that new hobbyists are seeing a greater variety of species early on. Kinda nostalgic for the rosies, but can't imagine that level of wild collection was good for the population.

-Amazed by the decline in P. metallica and M. balfouri prices. I remember $150-200 slings looking like a good deal.

-I find the change in consensus Theraphosa and Avicularia care interesting, as well as shift in opinions on ICUs.

-Feels like every other NW species went through a name change.

-Many prominent retailers seem to be gone.

What hopeful/ concerning changes have you noticed? What else would you tell someone in 2010-15 about the hobby now that would blow their mind?

 

[fried rice]

Brachypelma was split into 2 genera. The new genus is called tliltocatl. Hamorii, smithi, auratum, and boehmei are some examples of species that stayed in brachypelma. Albopilosus, vagans, verdezi, and kahlenbergi are some examples of species that are now in tliltocatl.

 

[ColeopteraC]

The greatly increasing number of keepers getting into the hobby through youtubers, sure they were going around back then but it’s a staggering increase now.

At group meetings I’ve encountered lot’s more people (max being 9 out of a 18-19 person group) who’ve had their interest in the hobby raised by youtubers. Both concerning and hopeful, more people are certainly welcome however lots of people get into the hobby expecting the colourful, O/W fuelled Adrenalin rush that many youtubers perpetuate. Only to purchase a T (Old or New world) with little idea what they’re doing...

 

[Poonjab]

The greatly increasing amount of keepers getting into the hobby through youtubers, sure they were going around back then but it’s a staggering increase now.

At group meetings I’ve encountered lot’s more people (max being 9 out of a 18-19 person group) Who have had their interest in the hobby raised by youtubers. Both concerning and hopeful, more people are certainly welcome however lots of people get into the hobby expecting the colourful, O/W fuelled Adrenalin rush that many youtubers perpetuate. Only to purchase a T (Old or New world) with little ide a what they’re doing...

Came here to say this. I was at an expo recently picking up a new T. Got talking with a girl who was first Time T owner. Basically said she learned her stuff from youtubers. That resulted in me telling her the specific ones she named off were idiots and to not follow their husbandry. Got her squared away on what to do. Pooptube is good in some regards, awful in the rest.

 

[Venom1080]

Dont know much about changes.. But there are alot of cool new species that have been introduced.

Avicularia has been split into three genera.(Caribena and Ybyrapora) A huge portion of the genus has been labelled nomen dubium. Meaning they're not sure its a separate species or just a small location variation. Stuff like Avicularia avicularia now has seven morphotypes made up of what was like ten different species and undescribed hobby species before. (Geroldi, metallica, sp kwitara, azureklassi, etc.) All technically one species now until further revisement. This was march 2017 and half the community dont understand it still.

A new Poecilotheria sp was described.

Alot of arboreal asian species have come in. They might have been around before, but theyre easier to get now. Stuff like Phormingochilus everetti, sp rufus, sp sabah blue etc.

Alot of stuff going on in the states about the legality of keeping Poecilotheria and endemic brazilian species. Pretty sure they cant be sent across state lines. But havent kept up on it.

 

[Anubis77]

I've been out for a few years too. Seeing less reliance on caresheets, less swampification of enclosures for humidity, and more practical and simple approaches to keeping compared to what I remember from 2005-2013. The taxonomic revisions are hard to keep up with, but they make sense with how muddy many genera were. And there are so many new species available. Like Aphonopelma mooreae and Haploclastus devamatha just being offered as slings is interesting when last time I heard they were in a legally questionable situation.

And yeah, it took me a long time to figure out who the new retailers were. Aside from Swift's, I don't see many of the old shops still around. Prices seem to have gone up in general and everyone ships FedEx now.

I'm wondering how popular FB groups still are or if people have shifted to IG or something else. I'm surprised AB is still so active. All the smaller forums are dead.

 

[viper69]

G. porteri/rosea.

There are better choices, such as G. pulchripes.

that level of wild collection was good for the population

Raping nature is never good, this is no exception.

Many prominent retailers seem to be gone.

True, but there are many senior breeders out there still supplying the big name retailers, and non-senior doing the same.

What hopeful/ concerning changes have you noticed?

The vast increase of STUPID people in the hobby. It wasn't like this, but as this hobby is experience, stupidity, combined with stupid media (or "social" as they call it) has hurt the hobby significantly in not obvious ways to the average person who doesn't give a crap wouldn't notice.

What else would you tell someone in 2010-15 about the hobby now that would blow their mind?

Don't know, excitement for one, is boring to another. The one thing that has surprised me is record number of species that command 3 figures, not 100, but up to 400- 600$ for a sling. The popularity brings in idiots with cash or not, who have no idea of true value and drive up prices because "I want it".

Also, sellers increasing put "rare species" simply to drive up price, when the species is neither rare or hard to breed, but merely new to the hobby. H. pulchripes and P. victorii are PERFECT examples.

Like Aphonopelma mooreae

The status of these slings currently is not in question. All of them come from 1 person in MX who is breeding them, bred legally. This is why they are so $$$, only 1 person doing it.

how popular FB groups still are

VERY popular and full of idiots more so than here. I refuse to join stupidity.

 

[Anubis77]

The status of these slings currently is not in question. All of them come from 1 person in MX who is breeding them, bred legally. This is why they are so $$$, only 1 person doing it.

Cool. Glad someone got to it and not in a sketchy way.

VERY popular and full of idiots more so than here. I refuse to join stupidity.

FB kills communities. What is the use other than classifieds? The information's not archived in any useful way. Same thing happened to other hobbies.

I'd argue overexcited idiots have always been around (I was one; still am), but participating in a forum might be some kinda filter that isn't there for FB/IG. I've seen the absolute worst come out of people on FB. Doesn't exactly create a great "community" vibe.

 

[ColeopteraC]

The vast increase of STUPID people in the hobby. It wasn't like this, but as this hobby is experience, stupidity, combined with stupid media (or "social" as they call it) has hurt the hobby significantly in not obvious ways to the average person who doesn't give a crap wouldn't notice.

It’s worrying, but simply the case when a hobby goes mainstream. Remember when ‘Nerds and Geeks’ were the only ones truly intrigued with universes such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel universe etc. and I’m a small minority.

Thanks to multiple mainstream influences and the adaptation of marvel to cinema now there are loads of people fascinated by such universes, it’s almost become trendy. But of course you get idiots who just do it to be unique and to create a signature style with little interest in the subject matter.

It’s the same with t and invert keeping, it’s becoming a far more mainstream. I tell people my passion and interest is the study of invertebrates and I keep insects. Quite a few will say ‘Oh, Like ants Canada!’ instead of looking puzzled as to where the conversation should go next. But with that comes idiots who come in because they ‘want a cool O/W to hang out with’ or because it ‘compliments their style’

This will sadly yet likely become more common and we shall have to remand these fools for decades to come...

 

[viper69]

It’s worrying, but simply the case when a hobby goes mainstream. Remember when ‘Nerds and Geeks’ were the only ones truly intrigued with universes such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel universe etc. and I’m a small minority.

Thanks to multiple mainstream influences and the adaptation of marvel to cinema now there are loads of people fascinated by such universes, it’s almost become trendy. But of course you get idiots who just do it to be unique and to create a signature style with little interest in the subject matter.

It’s the same with t and invert keeping, it’s becoming a far more mainstream. I tell people my passion and interest is the study of invertebrates and I keep insects. Quite a few will say ‘Oh, Like ants Canada!’ instead of looking puzzled as to where the conversation should go next. But with that comes idiots who come in because they ‘want a cool O/W to hang out with’ or because it ‘compliments their style’

This will sadly yet likely become more common and we shall have to remand these fools for decades to come...

Yep I knew all of that; this isn’t my first rodeo.

 

[Jesse607]

Things I have noticed that are different now compared to maybe a decade ago or so; The current dogma that desert/scrub/certain whole genera (Aphonopelma, Grammostola, Brachypelma, Pterinochilus, etc.) REQUIRE bone dry substrate or they will suffer and die. Also, I see many new age keepers insisting on providing some sort of water bowl to even the smallest slings. Unfortunately, "misting" is still a thing. Keepers are finally figuring out that Pelinobius muticus does better in moist substrate than bone dry.

 

[Arthroverts]

Well, we had the uproars over Birupes simoroxigorum, Typhochlaena seladonia, and pretty much all Poecilotheria as interstate movement of specimens was banned. Brazil has also made a huge fuss over wanting their tarantulas and other mygalomorphs back, saying they didn't ever authorize the exportation of their species; this came amidst the "Amazon On Fire" crisis, which was only slightly ironic and terribly morbid. Now you can't really get any Brazilian species from outside the country to my understanding.

There has also been a move to make enclosures more natural in the form of bioactive setups.

I'd argue overexcited idiots have always been around (I was one; still am), but participating in a forum might be some kinda filter that isn't there for FB/IG. I've seen the absolute worst come out of people on FB. Doesn't exactly create a great "community" vibe.

Yes, exactly! I've noticed with Arachnoboards that it doesn't gate keep or anything, but it does weed out "enthusiasts" who aren't necessarily willing to do what it takes to make sure their specimens are well taken care of, which is unlike (most of) Facebook where people like posts indiscriminately. And that's just the nature of the beast; there are enough serious hobbyists on here to make the environment hostile to someone who, say, keeps their G. porteri on aquarium gravel.
That has been both a bane and a boon however, as some people are so zealous for correct care that some neophytes who are genuinely misinformed are driven away.

Keepers are finally figuring out that Pelinobius muticus does better in moist substrate than bone dry.

I have seen some pushback against that as well, and not just with tarantulas. More people are realizing that when a tarantula has a five-foot deep burrow in the desert its not going to be as dry as the surface all the way to the bottom. A friend of mine has seen survival rates soar with many of his desert buthids because he is providing them access to a moist area.

That's just my two cents anyway.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

Shoot, I've been into tarantulas for so long that I can remember when they used to be calmed by tasty accordion licks!

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

-I find the change in consensus Theraphosa and Avicularia care interesting, as well as shift in opinions on ICUs.

What has changed in the consensus on how Theraphosa species and Avicularia species are cared for?

 

[SharkNATO]

What has changed in the consensus on how Theraphosa species and Avicularia species are cared for?

Maybe I wasn't 'with it' at the time, but I remembered a lot of emphasis on humidity and warm temperatures. Looking through the sticky-ed care guides, it looks like the recommendation has shifted to good ventilation and just having moisture available in the cage. If I'm off-base definitely let me know.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

Maybe I wasn't 'with it' at the time, but I remembered a lot of emphasis on humidity and warm temperatures. Looking through the sticky-ed care guides, it looks like the recommendation has shifted to good ventilation and just having moisture available in the cage. If I'm off-base definitely let me know.

I understand what you mean. Same care regimen, but different phrasing. Instead of saying "80% humidity" (or whatever number) people are now saying "just keep the substrate damp by watering it, don't worry about the humidity %, and use good ventilation." The latter is a better explanation since it takes the emphasis off of chasing a humidity % number and only being concerned with moisture content of the soil. The old timers who have been keeping tarantulas for a long time at some point figured out that the best way to achieve that "80% humidity" (again, just an example to make a point) was to water the substrate.

 

[SharkNATO]

I understand what you mean. Same care regimen, but different phrasing. Instead of saying "80% humidity" (or whatever number) people are now saying "just keep the substrate damp by watering it, don't worry about the humidity %, and use good ventilation." The latter is a better explanation since it takes the emphasis off of chasing a humidity % number and only being concerned with moisture content of the soil. The old timers who have been keeping tarantulas for a long time at some point figured out that the best way to achieve that "80% humidity" (again, just an example to make a point) was to water the substrate.

Very good to know, appreciate the clarification