It's a Cheap Hobby

GPulchra

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jul 21, 2010
Messages
279
SUPER COOL STORY BRO.
You know, I hate when I take time out of my life to type something that took lots of thought to make perfect and no one even bothers to read it, yet you stretch the page with a stupid, meaningless picture. At least +1 the comment or give an opinion about it or something.
 

KoriTamashii

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 21, 2009
Messages
419
My approach to keeping animals in the herp/invert hobby is this; keep your numbers of actual living things down, and devote time and money into making the animals beautiful enclosures that you'd be proud to display. The 'ick' factor for people creeped out by my snake, or my T's, or (for some reason?) my geckos is greatly reduced when they see them in a beatiful cage, rather than a shoebox.
This this this.

+1
 

GPulchra

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jul 21, 2010
Messages
279
My approach to keeping animals in the herp/invert hobby is this; keep your numbers of actual living things down, and devote time and money into making the animals beautiful enclosures that you'd be proud to display. The 'ick' factor for people creeped out by my snake, or my T's, or (for some reason?) my geckos is greatly reduced when they see them in a beatiful cage, rather than a shoebox.
I think people appreciate the pets that they would normally be grossed out by when they see a nice enclosure for it. I could just imagine being a real arachnophobe and, rather than looking at some T in a shoebox with a Gatorade cap "water dish" and boluses all over, finding the same T in some amazing, naturalistic habitat. I would notice the plants, some sphagnum completely enveloping a rock hide and a ceramic dish in the bottom with little golden pothos seedlings sprouting all over. It's all green, and then I see the T reveal itself and slowly crawl out of the rock hide. It looks more amazing and gives a better view of how elegant the T really is.
 

AmbushArachnids

Arachnoculturist
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 30, 2010
Messages
629
It's like stamp collecting, except more amazing and you can spend more time on it. If I got a new T, it wouldn't be like getting a new dog (I don't want another dog). It would be like, "Yeah! A new T!" This is a great hobby that can be done at home and it's a shame that so many people don't recognize theraphosids as what they are because they claim to be "arachnophobic". Screw that- if someone was a real arachnophobe, that would mean that they would remove all hiding spots and furniture with flaps from their house. A phobia is not being slightly squeamish of something, it's a disorder. To most people, spiders are slightly gross. I don't blame them, I'm not much of a spider fan myself. Give anything 4 pairs of legs and even a drop of usable venom and I can almost guarantee that some people won't like it. But tarantulas are much more than that. Call me biased, but if I can't find one in my backyard then it's something I could keep as a pet. Personally, I don't think of them even closely like true spiders. My Pulchra doesn't even web, and my A. Metallica is so furry (yeah, I said furry, sue me) that I could pet it- but dear lord help me if I ever tried. I could spoil a spider with fancy cages and overkill decor, but I could look at it and it would still be something that I see crawling around my house that I have stomped on before. Ts have a distinctive look that can be compared to mammals when the bodily details are not magnified, and that is why I can look at them more like mammals or animals than bugs. My point is that it's hard to find people that would even think about owning a T because they don't know them like I do, but T's are great fun and something to look forward to when coming home. Always offering surprises, exciting each feeding, one of the cheaper hobbies because of the time it is able to give, and pretty simple. The reason why people can't control buying them is because they are, well, part of an irresistible :)drool:) hobby. Take stamp-collecting, for instance. If a person saw one of the first stamps ever made in mint condition for dirt-cheap, they would buy it ASAP. In my situation, my stamp-book is full, but I can try to find the space for another. I wouldn't be fine with just one stamp-book, but it's the fact that tarantulas are more appealing and active that makes my collection size bearable for now.
Everything you said made no scense. It was just a giant rant. You bash people for not liking Ts. On the other hand you bash true spiders because they arent as cuddly and you can find them in your backyard. The whole stamp collection just made me confused. You need to go through your post and make scense of it. Just because you pumped out a entire paragraph without breathing doesnt mean you did a good job. I found myself confused and lost. You come off quite arrogant. You should of considered yourself lucky anyone would reply to your posts after your childish fit in that one thread i was reading. I did get a good kick when you thought you were going to create a new username. :clap:
 

Redneck

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Messages
1,393
I think people appreciate the pets that they would normally be grossed out by when they see a nice enclosure for it. I could just imagine being a real arachnophobe and, rather than looking at some T in a shoebox with a Gatorade cap "water dish" and boluses all over, finding the same T in some amazing, naturalistic habitat. I would notice the plants, some sphagnum completely enveloping a rock hide and a ceramic dish in the bottom with little golden pothos seedlings sprouting all over. It's all green, and then I see the T reveal itself and slowly crawl out of the rock hide. It looks more amazing and gives a better view of how elegant the T really is.
Just because someone uses a shoebox & a Gatorate cap "water dish"...doesnt mean they are going to leave boluses all over..

You would understand why not everyone uses "fancy" enclosures if you had an actual understanding of the all mighty dollar... :rolleyes: Maybe if my mommy & daddy bought all my enclosures I could have one of those "naturalistic habitats" for all of my Ts... ;)
 

BlujayOnTheWing

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 27, 2010
Messages
3
My approach to keeping animals in the herp/invert hobby is this; keep your numbers of actual living things down, and devote time and money into making the animals beautiful enclosures that you'd be proud to display. The 'ick' factor for people creeped out by my snake, or my T's, or (for some reason?) my geckos is greatly reduced when they see them in a beatiful cage, rather than a shoebox.
Exactly! n__n All my animals (several herps and only ONE T, can you imagine??), with the exception of the turtles because for some reason aquarium plants are expensive, have gorgeous, lavish terrariums that they absolutely don't care about, haha. Sometimes I feel silly having a toad who spends most of his time underground in a tank lovingly decorated with live plants and interesting bits of wood- not to mention my red-knee, who can hardly see, for crying out loud- but they look much more appealing than just a plastic dish of water sitting on flat dirt. And with that kind of "shelf pet", isn't aesthetic appeal at least half the point?
 

GPulchra

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jul 21, 2010
Messages
279
Everything you said made no scense. It was just a giant rant. You bash people for not liking Ts. On the other hand you bash true spiders because they arent as cuddly and you can find them in your backyard. The whole stamp collection just made me confused. You need to go through your post and make scense of it. Just because you pumped out a entire paragraph without breathing doesnt mean you did a good job. I found myself confused and lost. You come off quite arrogant. You should of considered yourself lucky anyone would reply to your posts after your childish fit in that one thread i was reading. I did get a good kick when you thought you were going to create a new username. :clap:
New username? Huh? The damienthetarantula thing? I just made a youtube account, etc. for my Ts because my current account was full of toy videos and videos of my dog. It's not like I was making some new AB account and abandon this one, I was just trying to make a youtube account for my Ts because I'm going to put a lot of tarantula videos and don't want people to be like, "Hey, I was looking for tarantula videos. What's with all this tamagotchi crap?" or vice versa.
Anyways, I was just saying that it would be disturbing to keep something that I find crawling around my house and I don't get that same impression from Ts. Assuming that all the spiders in the world are switched with Ts and I walk outside one day and one starts flicking hairs for whatever reason (maybe I disturbed it without noticing or something), it would kind of creep me out to just scoop it up and keep it as a pet. If others do that with spiders, and they do,I don't have a problem with that. They can do whatever, I just wouldn't be so calm with one in my house.
As for the stamp collection, I was trying to explain that a hobby like stamp-collecting where someone finds a good deal on a stamp they need, they would buy it. If their stamp-book gets filled, it's not much of a big deal to get a new one or a new paper or something to keep future stamps. With tarantulas, they are living, active creatures which is probably why they are so appealing and addicting to hobbyists.
 

GPulchra

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jul 21, 2010
Messages
279
Just because someone uses a shoebox & a Gatorate cap "water dish"...doesnt mean they are going to leave boluses all over..

You would understand why not everyone uses "fancy" enclosures if you had an actual understanding of the all mighty dollar... :rolleyes: Maybe if my mommy & daddy bought all my enclosures I could have one of those "naturalistic habitats" for all of my Ts... ;)
Yeah, uh-huh *smiles and nods*. I'm going to do that every time you make a reply, because it's likely bashing me. For your information, I actually make my own money. My parents didn't pay for any of this, and I still have restrictions, whereas you could just buy whatever you want if you want it and you have the money. Also, I'm not saying that I have one of those naturalistic habitats, nor could I afford it right now, (spent all my money on my gecko's enclosure). I was trying to make a point that someone would probably be grossed out by the scenario with the shoebox compared to a higher-quality home.
 
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AmbushArachnids

Arachnoculturist
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 30, 2010
Messages
629
New username? Huh? The damienthetarantula thing? I just made a youtube account, etc. for my Ts because my current account was full of toy videos and videos of my dog. It's not like I was making some new AB account and abandon this one, I was just trying to make a youtube account for my Ts because I'm going to put a lot of tarantula videos and don't want people to be like, "Hey, I was looking for tarantula videos. What's with all this tamagotchi crap?" or vice versa.
Anyways, I was just saying that it would be disturbing to keep something that I find crawling around my house and I don't get that same impression from Ts. Assuming that all the spiders in the world are switched with Ts and I walk outside one day and one starts flicking hairs for whatever reason (maybe I disturbed it without noticing or something), it would kind of creep me out to just scoop it up and keep it as a pet. If others do that with spiders, and they do,I don't have a problem with that. They can do whatever, I just wouldn't be so calm with one in my house.
As for the stamp collection, I was trying to explain that a hobby like stamp-collecting where someone finds a good deal on a stamp they need, they would buy it. If their stamp-book gets filled, it's not much of a big deal to get a new one or a new paper or something to keep future stamps. With tarantulas, they are living, active creatures which is probably why they are so appealing and addicting to hobbyists.
I was refering to this thread http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=189253
Post 45, 46 and 49. {D
 

BlujayOnTheWing

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 27, 2010
Messages
3
Just because someone uses a shoebox & a Gatorate cap "water dish"...doesnt mean they are going to leave boluses all over..

You would understand why not everyone uses "fancy" enclosures if you had an actual understanding of the all mighty dollar... :rolleyes: Maybe if my mommy & daddy bought all my enclosures I could have one of those "naturalistic habitats" for all of my Ts... ;)
There's nothing wrong with the simple method... but there's nothing stuck up about the decorative method, either. You don't have to be snippy :\ The almighty dollar has little to do with it. I bought small houseplants from Horrocks for three dollars each and they look fantastic. The terrariums are just plain five gal. tanks, apart from my T's, which my boyfriend had sitting around from his "very large collection of herps" days :p lol. To each his own. I personally don't look down on a plastic shoebox; I'm just visually oriented, so for myself I prefer a visual smorgesbord. Or something like that.
 

Redneck

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Messages
1,393
Yeah, uh-huh *smiles and nods*. I'm going to do that every time you make a reply, because it's likely bashing me. For your information, I actually make my own money. My parents didn't pay for any of this, and I still have restrictions, whereas you could just buy whatever you want if you want it and you have the money. Also, I'm not saying that I have one of those naturalistic habitats, nor could I afford it right now, (spent all my money on my gecko's enclosure). I was trying to make a point that someone would probably be grossed out by the scenario with the shoebox compared to a higher-quality home.
I wouldnt expect any less from you... ;)

There's nothing wrong with the simple method... but there's nothing stuck up about the decorative method, either. You don't have to be snippy :\ The almighty dollar has little to do with it. I bought small houseplants from Horrocks for three dollars each and they look fantastic. The terrariums are just plain five gal. tanks, apart from my T's, which my boyfriend had sitting around from his "very large collection of herps" days :p lol. To each his own. I personally don't look down on a plastic shoebox; I'm just visually oriented, so for myself I prefer a visual smorgesbord. Or something like that.
I wasnt being snippy... I didnt think I was atleast.. I was just making a point..

Which is.. Just because someone uses those plastic containers.. Doesnt mean they are just going to let their Ts sit around in a crap/bolus filled enclosure.. (Like Burntsnow is saying in his previous post..)

I also dont think someone using the fancy setup is stuck up.. I know alot of keepers that have fancy setups.. They are really cool folks..
 

BlujayOnTheWing

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 27, 2010
Messages
3
I wouldnt expect any less from you... ;)



I wasnt being snippy... I didnt think I was atleast.. I was just making a point..

Which is.. Just because someone uses those plastic containers.. Doesnt mean they are just going to let their Ts sit around in a crap/bolus filled enclosure.. (Like Burntsnow is saying in his previous post..)

I also dont think someone using the fancy setup is stuck up.. I know alot of keepers that have fancy setups.. They are really cool folks..
Fair enough! :) Just the bit about getting moms to buy fancy terrariums seemed a little touchy. But I get where you're coming from. In fact, you'd think someone with a really barebones setup would have a VERY clean and well-maintained enclosure, because they obviously are only interested in tarantula upkeep, which of course is the important thing, anyway.
 

2oCHEVYo0

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 29, 2010
Messages
67
Ummm to each his own... Some people use shoebox type containers, some use oversized insanely decorated enclosures. I garuntee the one using shoeboxes has at least double or triple (if not more) the amount of T's than the one with the "fancy" enclosures. Neither method is wrong in anyway. And honestly, just because someone has shoeboxes don't assume that they don't keep the enclosures maintained. Don't even hint at that, it's rude not to mention UNTRUE. I am the type of person that is more into building immaculate enclosures because I'm artistic and like to be able to build and design things like crazy backgrounds and stuff like that... I also only have 9 T's, probably about maxed out in that area for awhile!
 

Mack&Cass

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 14, 2007
Messages
1,574
As someone who uses shoebox style enclosures, I just want to say that I have a huge collection that I am proud of. I have weird, and rare species and if I made a nice enclosure for each and every one of them not only would I have half the collection I currently do due to space restrictions, but I also wouldn't have any money at all. I would much rather spend the money on cool new Ts than pimped out enclosures. Also, while yes, non-tarantula enthusiasts might respond better to a spider in a decked out enclosure, I do this hobby for myself, not to impress others, especially those who don't truly appreciate a tarantula regardless of what kind of enclosure they're in. If people are "grossed out" by them in shoebox container, then that's their problem, it's my hobby; not theirs. And like Tommy said, just because we use shoeboxes and popcaps as waterdishes, doesn't mean we don't properly maintain their enclosures.

And while you say that money has little to do with it, for someone with two hundred tarantulas, buying a $3 plant for each would cost $600. Also, take into account the actual tank, which if we used a 5 gal for each tarantula would then be $3000. Like I said earlier I would much rather use that money to invest in breeding pairs or new species.

Cass
 

GPulchra

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jul 21, 2010
Messages
279
Ummm to each his own... Some people use shoebox type containers, some use oversized insanely decorated enclosures. I garuntee the one using shoeboxes has at least double or triple (if not more) the amount of T's than the one with the "fancy" enclosures. Neither method is wrong in anyway. And honestly, just because someone has shoeboxes don't assume that they don't keep the enclosures maintained. Don't even hint at that, it's rude not to mention UNTRUE. I am the type of person that is more into building immaculate enclosures because I'm artistic and like to be able to build and design things like crazy backgrounds and stuff like that... I also only have 9 T's, probably about maxed out in that area for awhile!
I never said they were automatically gross because of the shoebox.
AgentD006las- "I'd rather use up the infraction space and make a new account or something than let the others think they can flame me altogether."
How does that mean I will make a new account? It said that I'd rather make a new account and say whatever the heck I want. Everyone else was.
Mack&Cass, I have a lot of friends coming over to my house. Yeah, I could choose to put my Ts in cheap enclosures to save money and space, but it's already not that expensive compared to what some others spend. I'd rather(<-pay attention, AgentD006las) my friends not be grossed out when they see a T in a really nice enclosure (it will look nicer overall, too) than have more Ts in shoeboxes. I still wouldn't be allowed to get more, though.
 

2oCHEVYo0

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 29, 2010
Messages
67
You were reffering that they were gross by making the statement of having boluses laying everywhere. Making it sound terrible compared to having nice enclosures, when they are not at all bad. And nobody is flaming you, you are flaming YOURSELF... Why don't you reread your posts before you send them and reword or edit the stuff out that may cause conflict.
 

GPulchra

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jul 21, 2010
Messages
279
You were reffering that they were gross by making the statement of having boluses laying everywhere. Making it sound terrible compared to having nice enclosures, when they are not at all bad. And nobody is flaming you, you are flaming YOURSELF... Why don't you reread your posts before you send them and reword or edit the stuff out that may cause conflict.
It's already caused conflict. And you're right- I was trying to show that anything gross in some way would even cause someone to be more grossed out. I admit, I went too far with the opposites. Here, let me try again-

a. You are an arachnophobe and walk inside a friend's house, seeing 5 stacked containers with Ts inside.
b. You are an arachnophobe and walk inside a friend's house, seeing 5 beautiful acrylic enclosures with a nice plant in each one and a T perched on top.
 

Fran

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 8, 2007
Messages
1,533
I preffer to have a reasonable number of tarantulas in great habitats with "optimun" conditions than to have 500 tarantulas in taperware boxes.I did the later and I didnt enjoy it. I dont know about you guys but to me fresh daily water is a must, as well as pretty much daily maintenance .
With 50 Ts I have to invest quite a lot of time, but when I had hundreds it was a 2nd full time job.

There are people who know exactly what , when and how the individual is eating and behaving and have record of the molts, and there are other people who just open a box and realize the T has molted.
Im one of the 1st example.

To each, his own :)
 
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