Hobby Vs. Hoarding

[kgrigoryev]

I see that a lot of people refer to tarantula keeping as a "hobby". I own two T's at the moment and consider them pets. I clean the enclosures and feed them regularly as with any other pets. At what point does it then become a hobby? I think that if some people have 4..5..6, 10, etc. T's they are either breeding or hoarding them. Usually people don't collect dogs, cats, birds or gerbils/rabbits and call that a hobby right? If they do its called a job or there just crazy, just ask the cat lady who lives down the block. I am not trying to offend anyone here. I just want to know why people call keeping a pet a hobby.

 

[Silenus]

Because tarantulas are not pets in the way that cats and dogs are. Many species are "look but don't touch", and they really don't do too much besides eat, defecate, and act like a spider. Whereas most dogs and cats serve the function to make us feel loved by acknowledging our arrivals home, a tarantula will never do this. It is for those reasons that they can be considered a hobby, but if you are keeping 2 or so and are devote to them, feel free to call them pets.

 

[BobGrill]

I can see what you mean. Truth is while it is fun to keep many species at once, it is not as addicting as many make it out to be. You CAN stop yourself from having to acquire dozens upon dozens.

 

[Arachtion]

Personally I own over sixty at the moment, and here in UK there are lots of people that own well over 100, depends where you draw the line between breeding/hobby as many of us do not specifically own solely for breeding/money making, rather the breeding supplements the acquisition of other species financially and help make available more species at better prices, it could be argued as "hoarding" however all my spiders are given the time and care/set up they need and unlike some "breeders" who do breed merely for profit, all my spiders are given ample space and food, obviously its practical to keep many spiders as opposed to sat dogs/cats etc because of the limited space requirements for a start, I mean, imagine owning 60 dogs?! also it would be impossible to control so many dogs as well as exercise and take good care of them, whereas spiders require no exercise, they need only be fed once or twice a week, they take up very little space and cleaning can be done quickly and easily in the same instance as feeding takes place, don't get me wrong, I do not have large aquaria-type extravagant set up's for every spider, mainly they are in RUB's on a racking system, with a few favourites as show pieces, I guess it depends on the scale of your interest in keeping T's and the time/money you are willing to invest in them, personally, I don't drink or smoke, so besides exercising they are my main "hobby" and what I enjoy spending my spare money on, they last much longer than a bottle of vodka and don't leave you feeling like dirt in a morning (unless of course you are bitten by a Haplopelma on the face maybe!) hope this gives you an insight into maybe how some of us choose to pursue the hobby

greets from UK

Joe

 

[spiderengineer]

with the fact their are a wider variety of T's and they are extremely low maintenance it easy to see why some people get so many. until you are unable to take care of all the T's you have and let things pile up like dead food and letting certain species dry out. then it becomes hoarding.

 

[Oreo]

So if having 4 Ts makes someone a hoarder/breeder, and you have two...looks like you're halfway there.

 

[Poec54]

You CAN stop yourself from having to acquire dozens upon dozens.

Well, then there are many thousands of people that need group therapy in 'Tarantulas Anonymous.'

The hobby includes people content with one spider (what, are they weird?), to collectors, to breeders, and dealers. I'm building breeding groups of the T's I have. I don't see the appeal in only having a few T's that never get paired up, but others are fine with that. There's room for everybody.

And why would anyone feel compelled to have to control themselves from having 'dozens and dozens?'

 

[kgrigoryev]

So if having 4 Ts makes someone a hoarder/breeder, and you have two...looks like you're halfway there.

What I meant by that was when people get 4, 5, 6, 10, 20, etc, etc.. it becomes something other than a hobby, rather an obsession. I am just trying to figure it out what draws people to buying so many. When I have two its an easy upkeep. I would imagine it would take much more time and effort to properly take care of so many at once. I like the input others made though, very incisive.

---------- Post added 04-05-2013 at 10:04 AM ----------

Well, then there are many thousands of people that need group therapy in 'Tarantulas Anonymous.'

The hobby includes people content with one spider (what, are they weird?), to collectors, to breeders, and dealers. I'm building breeding groups of the T's I have. I don't see the appeal in only having a few T's that never get paired up, but others are fine with that. There's room for everybody.

And why would anyone feel compelled to have to control themselves from having 'dozens and dozens?'

I like Tarantulas Anonymous .

 

[spiderengineer]

like I said they are low maintance the upkeep on them is simple establish a feeding schedule and thats about it. they are literally a pet you can set it and forget them.

 

[Cydaea]

T's are more like 'collectibles' than pets. Collecting dolls, stamps, figurines, sports memorabilia,comic books, vinyl records, action figures oranything else could be called a hobby. And T's don't require much more maintenance than any of the aforementioned items. Plus the creativity that goes into creating enclosures is very much a part of the hobby to most.

I think a collection becomes a hoard when it's no longer manageable. A person could have 15 dogs or cats but still keep them all clean, healthy and well fed. I don't call that a hoard. Someone else could have the same amount of dogs or cats but not have the resources to take care of them properly. That would be a hoard.

As long as you can take care of or your animals, enjoy them, and not be overwhelmed it's not a hoard but a hobby.

 

[Arachtion]

What I meant by that was when people get 4, 5, 6, 10, 20, etc, etc.. it becomes something other than a hobby, rather an obsession. I am just trying to figure it out what draws people to buying so many. When I have two its an easy upkeep. I would imagine it would take much more time and effort to properly take care of so many at once. I like the input others made though, very incisive.

---------- Post added 04-05-2013 at 10:04 AM ----------



I like Tarantulas Anonymous .

Like I say, different people have different ideas on what is manageable and what isn't, this could be dictated by many things such as, family commitments, lack of funding, controlling dragon of a girlfriend... and so on, or maybe some people are just more fascinated by the hobby than others, whether you call it "hobbying", hoarding or an obsession, the only thing that really matters is that the animals are looked after properly, if they're not then they ARE being hoarded and that would suggest the animals are being kept for some other (probably deep seated and requiring therapeutic treatment) reason than simply as a hobby, but so far as it being called an "obsession" is in the eye of the beholder and could be misconstrued as a kind of derogatory term insinuating the person has a "problem" (not that I am saying this was your intention as you did say "not meant to offend" so please don't misunderstand me) I'd be more inclined to say people have a different level of commitment or interest in keeping tarantulas, like I say usually decided by external factors, but it is, in my opinion fine to keep as many as you like as they are your animals SO LONG AS THEY ARE LOOKED AFTER WELL, I know a young lady who estimates to have between 3-5000 spiders in various stages of growth obviously she is a serious breeder, but if you have the time money and commitment to them then I see no problem, but I bet you don't stop at two

Joe

 

[Marijan2]

What I meant by that was when people get 4, 5, 6, 10, 20, etc, etc.. it becomes something other than a hobby, rather an obsession. I am just trying to figure it out what draws people to buying so many. When I have two its an easy upkeep. I would imagine it would take much more time and effort to properly take care of so many at once. I like the input others made though, very incisive.

I don't know. here on this forum you see alot of people talk about their collections, and many that have alot of T's say they are really easy to take care for, even some with 100+ T's. Few days ago forum user "cptMarga"(or something like that, not 100% sure) said now that she have over 600 of them it becomes a bit hard to take care of them by herself and she need help. so it's safely to assume unless you go into professional breeding and acquire over 200 of them it's considered hobby. There is just great diversity of T in this hobby, and it makes it special. You never get bored, there are always some awesome species on wishlist you don't have. Over 900 T species are there ready to be bred and collected. Low cost and low mainterance, aswell as easy availability makes them very easy to keep in masses and enjoy. Another point why people have alot of them, are if you have only one or few of them, there is not alot of action going, as there will be times when they will be in premoult, fasting period etc. With alot of them you ensore there are always some T in open ready for you to stalk her, there are always some ready for feeding, photo session, handling, mating etc.

 

[ragnarokxg]

What I meant by that was when people get 4, 5, 6, 10, 20, etc, etc.. it becomes something other than a hobby, rather an obsession. I am just trying to figure it out what draws people to buying so many. When I have two its an easy upkeep. I would imagine it would take much more time and effort to properly take care of so many at once. I like the input others made though, very incisive.

I have 10 at the moment, 9 are mine and 1 is my sons. It takes me 10 to 15 minutes two nights a week for basic upkeep. Feeding, cleaning, watering, etc.... And maybe checking on there water two other days a week. That is no time at all for the amount of T's I have. The rest of the time I spend is just observing and holding one or two every little while. They do not need our constant presence. They are my pets, but they have also become my hobby and collection.

 

[NGLepine]

Every have a big fish tank with "1" cool looking fish? Probably not.

Every have a big fish tank with lots of cool fish? Great possibility!

Ever have a big fish tank with lots of cool fish of different species that live at different depths in the tank? Great possibility!

I have 9 Tarantulas.... Some dig..... Some sit around like a pig pi$$ing, some climb!

Can you pet the fish? Or just look at the fish?

 

[poisoned]

What I meant by that was when people get 4, 5, 6, 10, 20, etc, etc.. it becomes something other than a hobby, rather an obsession. I am just trying to figure it out what draws people to buying so many. When I have two its an easy upkeep. I would imagine it would take much more time and effort to properly take care of so many at once. I like the input others made though, very incisive.

---------- Post added 04-05-2013 at 10:04 AM ----------



I like Tarantulas Anonymous .

Caring for 20 Ts takes almost the same amount of time as caring for one. If you have that many, it's also much easier to feed all crickets you got in store without letting them die and you can also breed your food.

Why so many? Because their behaviors are so interesting, but they take long time before anything actually happens. You'll see when both of yours will be in premolt for over a month.

Only a really busy person can't take care of 20Ts in terms of time. I know some people here have more than 100 and they enter their T room only once a week.

 

[kgrigoryev]

Very valid points thanks. I can't understand comparing a Tarantula with a fish. That's like saying a snake is like a whale.
But I do think that taking care of a lot of t's should take some time. If not, then it probably isn't done correctly. The other thing is also taking care of the t's food. I must feed and give water to the crickets who in return feed the t. So there is another thing I must take care of couple times a week. I don't know about a whole room dedicated to t's but I find mine fascinating and I observe them all the time as they are in my room right in front of me when I'm home. I can't even imagine having 10 or more enclosures. And Tarantulas are living things, how can they be compared to collecting inanimate objects like stamps, dolls...etc.?

 

[Hobo]

Having lots of spiders doesn't mean you're hoarding in the way you mean.
Compulsive hoarding is a disorder (sort of) where you collect so much that you literally fill your house with it and are unwilling to let go of it, among other things. Reading through the diagnoses for this disorder from the yet unpublished DSM-5, it's very unlikely that anyone on the forums would be considered "hoarders". You will have to have at least several hundred thousand Ts to fill up your place enough to be a hoarder, as well as almost never think of getting rid of any. So I guess at that point - being unable to cook, sleep on your bed, or go to the bathroom because your house is full of enclosures - you would be considered to be a compulsive hoarder of tarantulas.

Being very easy "pets" to care for, it's very simple to keep large numbers of tarantulas and still provide them with optimal care. It isn't the same as dogs, cats, or even fish and reptiles. It's significantly less time consuming than caring for these things. Tarantulas are a just a small step above house plants!

I'm currently caring for about 120-ish individual tarantulas plus a communal of at least 15 adults. It takes me a little over 2 hours every week (or two weeks, if I have to) for general maintenance and feeding (and I like to observe them, take pictures, and just gawk while I'm doing so, so it would probably go a lot faster if I wasn't enjoying myself!). That's no time at all, and I work full time. I can assure you they are cared for very well.

Having lots of tarantulas doesn't automatically mean you're hoarding.

 

[Cydaea]

Very valid points thanks. I can't understand comparing a Tarantula with a fish. That's like saying a snake is like a whale.
But I do think that taking care of a lot of t's should take some time. If not, then it probably isn't done correctly. The other thing is also taking care of the t's food. I must feed and give water to the crickets who in return feed the t. So there is another thing I must take care of couple times a week. I don't know about a whole room dedicated to t's but I find mine fascinating and I observe them all the time as they are in my room right in front of me when I'm home. I can't even imagine having 10 or more enclosures. And Tarantulas are living things, how can they be compared to collecting inanimate objects like stamps, dolls...etc.?

Yes, they are living things. But you don't get a lot out of them, not much more than an inanimate object. Yes, they're fascinating to look at and they're beautiful to most of us hobbyists. But a lot of people would say the same about their non-living collectibles. And you don't get the same connection with T's that you get with animals. So they're not exactly the same as inanimate objects, but they can be compared.

Right now I have 11 T's. 3 Adults, 2 juvies and 6 slings. They take me all of 20 minutes (if that) a week, and everyone is taken care of. Watered, fed, cleaned up after. And yes, I'm doing it properly. The 20 minutes also includes feeding the crickets.

I spend a little more time on my phasmids, but not a whole lot more. And I have dozens (hundreds?) of those.

As for comparing T's with a fish, again it's not exactly the same thing but you kind of get the same out of them. Put them in a tank/enclosure, observe, make sure they have what they need and otherwise leave alone.

 

[kgrigoryev]

Having lots of spiders doesn't mean you're hoarding in the way you mean.
Compulsive hoarding is a disorder (sort of) where you collect so much that you literally fill your house with it and are unwilling to let to of it, among other things. Reading through the diagnoses for this disorder from the yet unpublished DSM-5, it's very unlikely that anyone on the forums would be considered "hoarders". You will have to have at least several hundred thousand Ts to fill up your place enough to be a hoarder, as well as almost never think of getting rid of any. So I guess at that point - being unable to cook, sleep on your bed, or go to the bathroom because your house is full of enclosures - you would be considered to be a compulsive hoarder of tarantulas.

Being very easy "pets" to care for, it's very simple to keep large numbers of tarantulas and still provide them with optimal care. It isn't the same as dogs, cats, or even fish and reptiles. It significantly less time consuming than caring for these things. Tarantulas are a just a small step above house plants!

I'm currently caring for about 120-ish individual tarantulas plus a communal of at least 15 adults. It takes me a little over 2 hours every week (or two weeks, if I have to) for general maintenance and feeding (and I like to observe them, take pictures, and just gawk while I'm doing so, so it would probably go a lot faster if I wasn't enjoying myself!). That's no time at all, and I work full time. I can assure you they are cared for very well.

Having lots of tarantulas doesn't automatically mean your hoarding.

Nicely Said.

 

[Arachtion]

Very valid points thanks. I can't understand comparing a Tarantula with a fish. That's like saying a snake is like a whale.
But I do think that taking care of a lot of t's should take some time. If not, then it probably isn't done correctly. The other thing is also taking care of the t's food. I must feed and give water to the crickets who in return feed the t. So there is another thing I must take care of couple times a week. I don't know about a whole room dedicated to t's but I find mine fascinating and I observe them all the time as they are in my room right in front of me when I'm home. I can't even imagine having 10 or more enclosures. And Tarantulas are living things, how can they be compared to collecting inanimate objects like stamps, dolls...etc.?

I personally spend quite a lot of time caring for mine and have far less than probably some people do but I find them really fascinating so when I'm not meticulously cleaning or checking the water or food or moults/general health of them, I quite often just look at them or the few that I handle occasionally I may get them out or even just see what they're all doing, mine are in my room and I have a torch next to my bed as a lot of my collection being fossorial (burrowers) can often only be seen at night, but as the other guy mentioned, some people (myself being one) enjoy also the "miniature landscaping" side of the hobby and have a few "show piece" tanks that are decorated and set up in a very aesthetically pleasing way, kinda like gardening (which is why it can also be seen as a something to "look" at hobby) but this also keeps you busy, but moreover than that, when you become more involved in T keeping and extend your collection to those less readily available species, you find quite often they are rather "looky-wooky but no touchy-wuchy" specimens that are basically a "living piece of art" as handling them (although sometimes this is done by people) is predominantly a big no-no as they are very fast and take little provocation to incite defensive behaviours and can result in injured animals and possibly keepers, and these are usually the ones I kit out with the nice set ups as looking is pretty much the greatest pleasure/interaction you will REGULARLY get from them which is why people say they are like collecting inanimate objects, as many people don't handle theirs at all, and even those that do handle theirs (as I like to occasionally) don't regularly handle the afore mentioned types of spiders, personally when I get my own place again they will have a room for themselves (and my snakes).