I Don't Have Time for My Tarantula Anymore

[Vanessa]

Looking on Kijiji this morning and that is the reason being given for someone selling their tarantula. Just one tarantula - not a collection of 100 - one tarantula that they don't have the time for. Who the hell doesn't have the time to take care of one tarantula?
I cannot tell from the photo what species it is, could be a B. albo or vagans, and they apparently have no clue either. They are selling this unsexed juvenile/sub-adult for $150.
I guess it could be worse... they could decide to neglect it to death and they still might do that when they realize that they aren't getting any money for it, let alone what they're asking.
This is why I don't want anything to do with breeding or selling tarantulas and why I refuse to pressure anyone else to.

 

[Bugmom]

Looking on Kijiji this morning and that is the reason being given for someone selling their tarantula. Just one tarantula - not a collection of 100 - one tarantula that they don't have the time for. Who the hell doesn't have the time to take care of one tarantula?

Someone who thinks you can tame a tarantula and thinks they are neglecting it by not holding it everyday. There's a lot of ... not well informed... people out there. And that's about as nice a way as I can say what I'm thinking.

This is why I don't want anything to do with breeding or selling tarantulas and why I refuse to pressure anyone else to.

I'm not sure how you're linking breeding/selling and "pressure anyone else to" together. If you don't want to breed or sell because you can't verify that every single tarantula will be well-cared for, that's understandable, but there would be no tarantulas for you or anyone else to buy without people who *do* breed and sell. People who can't care for a pet won't care where they get that pet from. They'll go to Petco or Craigslist or anywhere else they can get what they want, when they want it; there is no stopping them.

It's like people who say "Never buy a new car" are forgetting that if that advice was heeded by everyone, cars would never be used, and now no one is buying a car because they've made what they want unattainable.

 

[ledzeppelin]

Ah cmon, having no time is just an excuse for : "I got tired of it" .. Having one tarantula is virtually the same time consuming as having i don't know.. five.. Depends which species, but even having 5 pokies is not time consuming.. once, maybe twice a week you toss in a roach/crix.. w/e, refill the water dish and press 3 times on a spray bottle.. Having one cat is more time and money consuming than having 20 T's ... bigots!!!!

 

[ledzeppelin]

oh just a clarification of my comparison between owning 20 t's and owning one cat -> breeding own feeders is a must for this comparison to work even though I think that cat eats more food in a week than 20 dubia roaches cost I guess.. At least in my country

 

[Rittdk01]

Having one beagle is as time consuming as 100 tarantulas (or so I would imagine). I have 5 adults, 4 juveniles and 6 or so slings. I check the water, poop and feeder parts every day...and that takes me ten minutes. I normally spend an hour or so, but that's just looking at them mostly

 

[Trenor]

You never know what's going on in people's lives. I am no longer required to be on the road for my job like I used to be. However, if I was told I had to be, with the amount of time that it required, I'd have to sell off all my Ts. I'm single and it would be impossible to find anyone to care for them while I was on the road.

Most likely they just got bored but there could be other issues as well. In the end, I'd rather them sale the unwanted pet rather than neglect it.

 

[Bugmom]

Having one beagle is as time consuming as 100 tarantulas (or so I would imagine). I have 5 adults, 4 juveniles and 6 or so slings. I check the water, poop and feeder parts every day...and that takes me ten minutes. I normally spend an hour or so, but that's just looking at them mostly

I'm around 100 inverts, and three roach colonies, so that's more time consuming than 10 or 20. Especially with 60ish slings to care for. But in terms of "Needs daily interaction," the dogs trump all others, hands down. Needy little furballs.

 

[Teal]

It depends on your priorities and responsibilities in life. I never fault anyone who is looking for a better home than they think they are providing for an animal.

 

[Vanessa]

People are pressured all the time to mate their males with complete strangers. Not even established breeders who do have a network of people that they sell to that they have relationships with. Personally, I would rather have one life, that of my male, unfulfilled than 50 of his offspring die before they can even reach maturity.
And while I agree that trying to find your animals a good home sure does beat letting them die of neglect - trying to make $150 off an unsexed, unknown species, of tarantula is not doing what is in their best interest. One tarantula takes less than an hour a month time out of your day and that includes going to the store and buying some food for them. It is a negligible amount of time and it is shameful that a person can't find that time for a living creature who deserves it. A creature who they have a responsibility to and who relies on them entirely for every aspect of their well being.
I'm no spring chicken and I think about what will happen to some of mine... many of mine. I think about what I would do if, God forbid, I couldn't look after them anymore. Personally, I am lucky to have a handful of local people who I know somewhat and I would be giving them my collection for free.
I would rather do that than make a cent from selling them to strangers.

 

[Kymura]

Just nonsense, I agree that they are doing right in getting rid of it if they don't want it, but to my way of thinking they simply got tired of it.
I'm in extremely bad health, I manage my forty with zero issues along with my 3 species of hissers and the silly dubia. That's not counting the menagerie of mammals we 'rescue'. It's simply to make themselves sound better and hopefully make a few dollars.

 

[Oreo]

Point taken, especially since the species is unknown. If they have other stressors in their life, they may believe there's not enough time to care for a living creature.

So you're buying it, right?

 

[EulersK]

I try and buy Craigslist tarantulas when they pop up. They almost always ask for ridiculous prices like that - I'm up front and offer $20 for the spider. An unsexed, unknown species is lucky to be worth that much. More often than not, they take the money. I've got more than a couple spiders that are unknown species. I consider it an adoption agency, and my little unknown/hybrid corner is growing slowly but surely.

 

[Teal]

I try and buy Craigslist tarantulas when they pop up. They almost always ask for ridiculous prices like that - I'm up front and offer $20 for the spider. An unsexed, unknown species is lucky to be worth that much. More often than not, they take the money. I've got more than a couple spiders that are unknown species. I consider it an adoption agency, and my little unknown/hybrid corner is growing slowly but surely.

I do the same thing. Oftentimes, they bought the spider from a pet store and way overpaid to begin with. When you explain to them the reality of the situation, they are often happy for the spider to go to an experienced home for little to no money.

 

[Vanessa]

No, I won't be buying them. They are an hour drive, one way, from the city and there are plenty of others very close by that I would consider before driving that distance - even if they were giving them away for free.
Unfortunately, they live in an area that is not known for it's affluence. There has been a gorgeous adult female A. avic for sale in the exact same city, enclosure included, for $100 and she hasn't managed to sell her. That seller is screening thoroughly though and is only selling to someone with experience.
An unknown sex, unknown species has a slim to none chance of being purchased. It bothers me what is going to happen to the spider if they can't sell it.

 

[chanda]

While I agree that "I got bored with it" is highly probable as the real reason they are getting rid of it, there are other, equally plausible scenarios. I've heard the same reason cited for getting rid of pets, when what the seller really means is "My kid REALLY wanted this (animal) and promised to take care it every day, but he/she isn't taking care of it and I don't have the time/ interest/inclination (or am afraid of it.)"

 

[Jeff23]

I really feel sorry for the poor T in this situation. While they don't have emotions they do get the receiving end of poor conditions that makes their life a miserable one. Too many people completely misunderstand the purpose of a tarantula. The people who love plant life and aquariums should be the ones who would also love a tarantula but instead we have people who expect this T to be doing things all the time and want to be held like a pet which is the opposite of what T's want to provide.

I have 60 T's with 50 of them as slings and do this while working 60+ hours per week on my job along with occasional work travel. Everything is about "what" you want to do with your available time unless it is some exceptional situation like health issues, etc.

 

[Vanessa]

Someone asked a question on the forum a few months ago along the lines of - are tarantulas priced too high to encourage new people to the hobby?
My answer was that they are priced far too low and there are far too many available. If they only cost someone $10 - then that is going to be how much their lives are worth. Their lives hold far more value to me.
I have the species and the quantity that I do because they are available anyway. If there were half as many available, and they were far higher in price, I would be much happier. That weeds out a lot of the people who aren't prepared for the commitment that they carry and aren't prepared to care for them the way that they deserve to be cared for.

 

[Trenor]

I like how everyone reads a simple for sale posting and automatically knows another person's life. You don't know this person. Anything you might think you glean of their life based on a for sale post is just really just speculation. I see this all the time. I've often seen people read a FB posts and make judgments on other people as if they know everything the other person is facing. You don't know, I don't know. Making up some narrative to fit what you want to believe has happened is kinda lame.

When I was on the road for work it was often for weeks (up to 3) at the time. So, yes, I would have to get rid of my Ts were that to happen regardless of how much I enjoy keeping them. Lucky for me that is not likely to happen.

Yes, people often get pets only to find they are unwilling to care for them. I don't like it but it happens. I've ended up with several pets because their owners didn't want to care for them any longer.

As far as the price, if they are selling it with an enclosure and other things it's not unreasonable to ask for more than the T alone is worth. It's like any other listing on for sale sites. Everyone often places it priced higher and you work out a price using haggle skills. It's like this with everything (not just pets) and if you pay listing price for something on site like that you're kinda cheating yourself.

 

[Vanessa]

You have some good points, but I am not exactly assuming anything. My original post was a rant over the fact that someone out there is rehousing a tarantula based on 'not having the time' and that is the lamest, most ridiculous, excuse ever when they take less than an hour a month to care of one individual. Where the conversation has led to doesn't change the original post and the reasoning behind it.
The ad clearly states the following...
"We are selling our tarantula as we do not have the time for him he is good with bei g handled and good with kids. We are not sure on what kind he is tho. He comes with tank and food."
Could they be lying to cover other circumstances for getting rid of the tarantula? Sure. But when the ad says we don't have the hour a month it takes to take care of one tarantula, and we didn't feel they were worth the effort to even find out what species he is, then it really doesn't leave room for too many assumptions.

 

[ledzeppelin]

"We are selling our tarantula as we do not have the time for him he is good with bei g handled and good with kids.

You have got to be kidding me. Good with kids? This sentence is so idiotic im laughing histerically