Is our hobby dieing?

[Arachnoholic420]

I think as long as T's are readily available... it would be hard for something like this to die..... there are T lover's all over the world.... i dont see this coming to an end soon... not unless the goverment gets involed...

 

[Exo]

I think as long as T's are readily available... it would be hard for something like this to die..... there are T lover's all over the world.... i dont see this coming to an end soon... not unless the goverment gets involed...

I just wish that it was as popular here as it is in Germany.

 

[satanslilhelper]

If you look at the rules for any of the carriers, it says that they will not ship spiders. UPS and fed ex can ban you from service and the USPS can charge you with a felony. I am not overeacting by any means, these are facts.

Yes your are. The rules have been like that since at least the early 80's. Maybe you weren't aware of that until recently when one of our major dealers got popped. Most of us were and it didn't impede on the transporting of animals in any major way. If it did the hobby wouldn't be where it is today. How on earth do you think everyone in the for sale/trade section is shipping their T's.....pigeons, pony express?

 

[Arachnoholic420]

I just wish that it was as popular here as it is in Germany.

well for me i like it the way it is.... kinda under ground not too mainstream....
i like excitement of acquiring a new T... specially if it's not easy to get..... and having to experience and watch the way they grow is the biggest reward...

 

[Xian]

I think you are all just talking nonsense. There are at least 20(guessing) times the number of people in this hobby as there were when I bought my first T. The main dealers that were around then are still here for the most part. When I started out there was very little internet, much less internet trade. Now at any time, any day, you can find someone selling just about any T you would want.
So, dieing, not hardly, just the opposite.

 

[satanslilhelper]

I think you are all just talking nonsense. There are at least 20(guessing) times the number of people in this hobby as there were when I bought my first T. The main dealers that were around then are still here for the most part. When I started out there was very little internet, much less internet trade. Now at any time, any day, you can find someone selling just about any T you would want.
So, dieing, not hardly, just the opposite.

I agree 100%

 

[Stopdroproll]

Nah.
Most users ever online was 783, 11-10-2009 at 05:53 PM.

I find it sad many things come and go so quickly based on trends, but this hobby has been around for quite some time and will probably continue to do so. I don't think the ownership of any sort of pets will die.

 

[jayefbe]

Yes your are. The rules have been like that since at least the early 80's. Maybe you weren't aware of that until recently when one of our major dealers got popped. Most of us were and it didn't impede on the transporting of animals in any major way. If it did the hobby wouldn't be where it is today. How on earth do you think everyone in the for sale/trade section is shipping their T's.....pigeons, pony express?

Also, the dealer that got popped has sent thousands of tarantulas in the mail. Did he get charged with a felony? He just got a 'cease and desist' type letter. If anyone got caught that's pretty much as far as it would go.

 

[jb7741]

I wonder if the decline of the online breeder (pro pet shop) has been influenced by so many novice to intermediate keepers now reaching the point where they are comfortable enough to try their hand at breeding?

Most of my Ts came from experienced keepers who breed Ts occasionally, not as a job or business.

It's generally much cheaper to get Ts this way. The pro folks have to make enough to justify the expense, but the "casual" breeder isn't under those same restrictions.

 

[Onagro]

but we have lost a good importer recently. Mr. James Tuttle. though i bet he comes back(i hope!)

Wait, what happened to Mr. Tuttle?

 

[codykrr]

mark, i meant every day dealers not like pet shops. but casual deallers on the net.

and james said he was taking a "break" in he classifieds.said he would be back eventually. so im assuming he wont be exporting anything anytime soon as well.

like said, this hobby is actually growing fast. look at how many people you see now who joined just within the last part of 09...

as for it becoming as popular here as in germany...maybe. but its probly a long way off.

once thing i see as a potential problem though. is no new imports. while we have an amazing U.S. stock, if we dont have people like james, ken and a few others that import, i see people getting bored, and eventually prices dropping as americans breed the same sp. over and over again. eventually i know id get bored, if there was nothing to look forward too. the wants are what keep most of us going. for instance, if P. metallica was bred to the point where they cost 5 bucks each, would you look at them the same? i probly would like them, but i wouldnt drool over them like i do now. its the advancements that keep this going. plain and simple, and as long as their are new imports, rarer sp. and importers to keep the demands met. we will always be in buisness.

i for one am a lifer too. but i dont just piddle in tarantulas. i like scorps, snakes, and various other "bugs"

 

[Only Exotics]

Exo, part of it is due to the economy things are slow for everybody now.

 

[Edd Eskimo]

I'm very sorry to tell you this, But this LIFE of collecting T's Will NEVER stop!!! Theres always new people joining this little lovely hobby of ours

 

[forrestpengra]

I collected from 1999 to 2004... Life changed and I had to quit... I just got back into it in September. I would like to consider myself a lifer but the truth is things can change.

I think despite people leaving the hobby that by no means suggests their lust for the eight legged type has ended, rather other things have taken priority.

 

[Jilly1337]

I collected from 1999 to 2004... Life changed and I had to quit... I just got back into it in September. I would like to consider myself a lifer but the truth is things can change.

I think despite people leaving the hobby that by no means suggests their lust for the eight legged type has ended, rather other things have taken priority.

Wow, that's pretty much when I was and out of the hobby. Just got back on Christmas. I was busy enough not to miss it when I stopped but now that I'm back into it, it's like I never stopped.

 

[Arachnoholic420]

bottom line it's like drug's.... People in the hobby may at one point in their lives (what ever the issue maybe)stop collecting... and go T free... but they always tend to relapse... they cant stay away from it... it's the addiction... it's very hard to resist this lil'guys....

 

[MexicanRedKnee]

I'm 24 years old and went out and bought my very first T's ever yesterday, quite a few of them, too. 3 smithis, 3 g. pulchra, 1 a. hentzi and 1 p. scrofa (which was a freebie . I've done ball pythons, other snakes, geckos, frogs, everything, and after thinking about it for years and lurking on this site the past few months I decided I would give it a shot and I am so glad I did. I really like how easy it is to care for T's and how little care they require. I'm probably going to end up selling all my reptiles and frogs and just keeping T's for a while and once they mature try to breed them. I think no matter how busy you get you can always have time for care for a few T's, and it's not like they're expensive to feed. I'm actually contemplating collecting all the USA and Mexican T's, but it's hard to resist some of the South & Central Americans, like g. pulchra.

 

[Green Mantis]

After going to the Red Deer Show/Sale last Summer, I Don't think the Hobby is dying, It was Quite Funny actually, because we paid to go in an hour earlier. I went to the Tarantula table--(Dave Avery's) and was just standing there looking at one, as I was still trying to find out about some of them ( still am). This Lady came rushing up and reached over me to grab the T I was looking at, she hesitated at first, but I told her I was only looking. So it got added to her pile of containers she was buying. Was like a garage Sale. Grab it Quick or it's gone! It was funny actually! Those tables at ALL the Shows are the hardest to get near! Tarcan came to the ERAS show/Sale in Edmonton last fall, and you couldn't get near there! One guy bought 30 of them!--So it's definately not going away! Not around Alberta anyway.

 

[Obelisk]

I also think it's because of the economy. I think that arachnids are actually becoming more popular because of how little maintenance they require.

While some people leave and others join the hobby, I think that, overall, it's expanding pretty well.

There's this shop I would pass by sometimes before they closed down. While they were still in business, they said that they were surprised at how many customers had started to come in to order tarantulas

 

[Kamikaze]

I have been out of the hobby for 8 months and I am now slowly going back again. I don't think our hobby is dying as a lot of people are still interested in T's.