Insane

Lilija

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Messages
138
I don't get "defanged" much, but I have gotten into discussions with people that INSISTED tarantulas can and should be "devenomed"...That's a little bizarre, to me, I'd never heard of such a thing for inverts. Why would you do that, even if you could? Hell, I wouldn't even declaw my cat.

Generally, though, most of my non-tarantula friends greet my hobby with interest, because I talk about them like they're any other pets, with glowing praise. Whether I think they'll care or not, heh. I use common names around my friends, so I don't go way over their head, and I think for descriptive purposes, they're far more dramatic.

I had an entire group of "soccer mom" types captivated a few days ago, when I showed up to pick my son up from school. My friend asked me how my day was, and I couldn't resist telling everyone that my Giant Stripe Knee molted, and almost doubled in size, and ohhh her colors are so striking! How much I love watching them molt, and grow, and taking care of even the eensiest little spider, nursing it to a powerful, and elegant adult. I've gotten my whole peer group interested, hehe. Kids love coming to my house, because it's like visiting the reptile room at a good zoo.

I find that people sorta become more understanding, if you can engage them, and get them to think of tarantulas not as "icky bugs" but as beautiful exotic creatures.
 

Selenops

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 13, 2006
Messages
844
Yes, engage them and even gently correct any misperceptions they may have of or hold against your pets.

Finesse!
 

Selenops

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 13, 2006
Messages
844
And it can be difficult at times especially for me to keep all this wonder and discovery in the world of inverts bottled up. Just casually let them know about your hobby and see what happens from there.

But it takes putting yourself in the other person's shoes and knowing not everyone is on your plane of thought (... yet).
 

Lilija

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Messages
138
Yes, engage them and even gently correct any misperceptions they may have of or hold against your pets.

Finesse!

You're exactly right, finesse! Good word for it. I agree, it's all about gently de-mything, and educating people properly. Being all preachy and in-your-face about it tends to have the opposite effect.

I have encountered some people that were downright negative, with threats of bug spray or whomping it with a newspaper if they saw it, and I have to tell them, that comments like that genuinely hurt my feelings. I explain that these are my pets, and creatures that I choose to care for, almost equal to someone saying "I should poison your pet kitten". Comments like that have a profound effect on people.

I'm sure some people think I'm absolutely nuts, I've seen the sidelong glances. I avoid those types anyway, who wants to be friends with people that are deliberately ignorant, or judgemental?
 

eight leg goth

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 2, 2006
Messages
87
dont worry im not a murderer i just get annoyed when the person who threatens my t is a person hus idea of a good time is to shoot animals and gets annoyed wen he missed a fox. sometimes i think we should use the saying "an eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth"
 

CrypticRealism

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 7, 2007
Messages
46
Well..with the "defanging" questions..I do end up educating those who ask..I actually enjoy doing so!..I must have spoken to over a hundred people the other day..
But those who make ridiculous comments about wanting to kill it get on my nerves. I have a feisty attitude and wont stand for it.

I met the rare few who have arachnophobia but still worked up the gut to come up to me and ask questions..I hold much respect for them.

Ignorance is not bliss.
 

CrypticRealism

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 7, 2007
Messages
46
Well what I noticed was that the idiotic comments generally came from the younger group..kids around my age.
Those older were way more respectful and willing to listen.
i dont show off my babies to any one really... i have, but they were friends who was in the hobby themselves... occasionally i show them to guests that come over but ive never had that ignorant comment in my life, they were very interested.....
 

becca81

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 17, 2004
Messages
3,783
The "is it defanged" question is pretty common and there are actually petshops who claim to sell "defanged" tarantulas. Of course, if they are actually defanged, they'll quickly force a molt to repair the damage, so the entire process is pretty much pointless (pun intended ;)).
 

Selenops

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 13, 2006
Messages
844
And sadly some people can not differentiate between reality and fantasy. The media floods the public with negative ideas about arachnids because the sensational sells even the nature programs get carried away. Yes, it is cool to learn what a super-predator these mini-marvels are but not everyone is digesting that information the same way. That's highly education and stimulating to a person like me but what about the individual predisposed to media images.

As much as I would love to dive into conversations about arachnids and I have friends that both collect inverts and even moreso reptiles but others require time and patience. Maybe saying nothing at all but action alone works better a la preoccupation.
 

Scorpendra

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 16, 2005
Messages
1,499
i have pretty good luck with discussing my pets in public. i think i got the "defanged" thing once, but it was a while ago. i actually have a harder time discussing my lungfish. the whole "it lives in water but breathes air" concept doesn't click with some people.
 

CrypticRealism

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 7, 2007
Messages
46
Touche
Great post!
And sadly some people can not differentiate between reality and fantasy. The media floods the public with negative ideas about arachnids because the sensational sells even the nature programs get carried away. Yes, it is cool to learn what a super-predator these mini-marvels are but not everyone is digesting that information the same way. That's highly education and stimulating to a person like me but what about the individual predisposed to media images.

As much as I would love to dive into conversations about arachnids and I have friends that both collect inverts and even moreso reptiles but others require time and patience. Maybe saying nothing at all but action alone works better a la preoccupation.
 

LeilaNami

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 8, 2006
Messages
2,164
When people ask about defanging I just tell them: No, it will starve to death if you defang a T. That usually gets the point across. After that, they either walk away with an "Oh." or they ask more questions which I happily answer. I can never get enough of talking about my babies.{D
 

Mina

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 4, 2005
Messages
2,136
I've never been asked if they are defanged when my T's come up in conversation. What I always get is "Do you have any with you?" like I would carry them around in my pockets. My reply is "I have a tarantula, not a hamster." I also have people ask me what kinds and how many I have, and I can reel off the list of all 40. Then they ask me, "How can you tell them apart?" and I say, "Can you tell your kids apart? Well, so can I."
 

cockroach52

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
May 1, 2006
Messages
91
i used to think you could have the venom taken out as well.. not a big deal.. one of my friends said something about squishing it if it got close to him, i suggested my fist would squish his nose as a direct result.

he hasn't come into my room since. haha
 

bushbuster

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 11, 2006
Messages
344
I think I would just fire 5 warning shots into the base of his skull, then feed his liver to a Pit Bull....;P LOL
 
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