Just exactly how uninformed is the general public?

[FryLock]

I was selling some large juv/sub adult Haplopelma.sp "aureopilosum" once at a show and a chap come's over asks if he can look in the jar's "ok" i say then he opens one to look fine i think but then he sticks a finger down one of there burrow's :? that must have been the most good natured hap ever

 

[protheus]

So she goes on to say how she's not afraid, and that T's dont have venom, because the pet shop wont sale venemouse T's. :? duh, All T's are venemouse, and the only reason I let her try to pet him is because he's realy a big wimp. But I did'nt know she would spook em like that. My C. Ceratogryus is just a sling, but I wont be letting just any-1 pet him once he's an adult. People like this can hurt themselves. What if he was an agressive KICKER, and blasted her hand with hairs....I would rather have some scared ignorrance around my T's than some dip-s$%# who thinks there Jack the crocodile hunter, atleast the scaredy cats wont bother him.

Heh, actually, if I weren't concerned with the welfare of your pet -- which I am -- I would suggest that you let her do it. If he kicks hair at her, she'll have an itchy hand for a day or so. If he bites her, it will hurt enough that she learns not to put her hand where it doesn't belong.

They're pets, not toys.

As it is, yeah, I would have been pretty upset with her recklessness, too. Not because I'd worry about a reaction to the venom so much as stress to the spider. (who has a lot less choice in the matter than she does)

Chris

 

[WayneT]

Maybe tarantula lovers should band together and propagate tales of "wild-herds of blood-thirsty hamsters that roam the earth stealing babies"

I don't know...just a thought

 

[Gene]

Maybe tarantula lovers should band together and propagate tales of "wild-herds of blood-thirsty hamsters that roam the earth stealing babies"

I don't know...just a thought

I'll buy the blood-thirsty part..........bitey little bastards. Why my daughter likes them and not Ts I will never understand.

 

[protheus]

I'll buy the blood-thirsty part..........bitey little bastards. Why my daughter likes them and not Ts I will never understand.

Have you tried to get her to breed them so that your bugs can have a more varied diet?

 

[Gene]

Have you tried to get her to breed them so that your bugs can have a more varied diet?

No, in fact I have as many as a thousand frozen mice & pinkies in my freezer at any given time. Breeding rodents is a smelly involved affair and between all my other interests it's just easier to order them frozen. Obviously they are not all bug food I keep herps too.

 

[Scorpiove]

Many think that tarantulas are spiders and that spiders are insects.

Oh but tarantulas are spiders there is no way around that they are in the order Araneae, and and in the sub-order mygalamorph and so on. But any animal under araneae is deffinately some type of spider primitive or not. Just because they are in the mygalamorph sub-order and not the Araneomorphae sub-order doesn't mean they aren't spiders.

 

[moricollins]

people are so uninformed, i was at the Toronto Zoo this week (great place for anyone who hasn't been there), and people would be looking at the tarantulas (which they DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH OF ) and saying things like, "watch out, it could kill you", then walk over by the lions or lynx's, or cougars, and saying "aw, isn't it cute" Hm, i just don't know about people some times.

 

[MizM]

I have done more presentations than I can count. Schools, from kindergarten to junior high, the local public library, the local county fair, the local Optimist's Club..... you would not BELIEVE some of the questions I get!!

Are they de-fanged?
Did you have their poison sacs removed?
Do they just run around your house?
Why don't they kill you?

I've not said anything prior to this, but I actually wrote a book called "The Truth About Tarantulas". It dispels some of the nasty myths that the media has perpetuated about Ts. It's been edited and approved by Rhys at the ATS, I'm just trying to scrounge up the dough to get it printed.

 

[SkyeSpider]

Just to address the original question: I would have stepped in and corrected the two. I always do. As long as you're friendly and can answer any question they throw at you (not as hard as it seems), most people love learning.

Notice I said "most," though. I have gotten a few stubborn losers who want to keep their idiotic ideas.

-Bryan

 

[Peloquin]

Tim was Scottish wasn't he?

 

[WayneT]

I have done more presentations than I can count. Schools, from kindergarten to junior high, the local public library, the local county fair, the local Optimist's Club..... you would not BELIEVE some of the questions I get!!

Are they de-fanged?
Did you have their poison sacs removed?
Do they just run around your house?
Why don't they kill you?

I've not said anything prior to this, but I actually wrote a book called "The Truth About Tarantulas". It dispels some of the nasty myths that the media has perpetuated about Ts. It's been edited and approved by Rhys at the ATS, I'm just trying to scrounge up the dough to get it printed.

I hope I get an autographed copy!!

 

[Pheonixx]

hmmmm...

well folks i agree the general public is pretty stupid, but to me the rest of you are the general public. And to you i am part of the general public. that is to say from a certian point of view we all dont know much about things that others know alot about. As far as T's go we hobbyists dont know much about our T's other than what we see and read here and watch our T's do.
unless your an entemologist you dont know it all, i would imagine even they have something yet to learn. i'm not trying to insult anyones intelegence here
god knows i have a ton to learn. but all anyone lacks is education and maybe in the case of "joe redneck and his father" maybe a few teeth as well.

P.S. for those of us in NY they are planning a statewide ban on venomous pets "including but not limited to...certian reptiles, cricidilia, and almost every montior i know of. i think the including but not limited to thing may have something to do with T's PLEASE SIGN MY PETITION ! I will be mailing it to the govenor to try and keep him from signing the bill about the ban on venemous pets. heres the link
http://www.petitionpetition.com/cgi/petition.cgi?id=7251

 

[Scorpiove]

I would have to agree with Pheonixx....... whatever you are in to you are gonna know more than someone who doesn't have an interest in the subject.

 

[Immortal_sin]

I also do school presentations, and have found that 99% of the kids (and even adults) end up being more fascinated than frightened by the end of the lecture. MOST people are naturally curious, and if the information is presented in a nonconfrontational and nonthreatening way, then they get to learn something they knew nothing about.
I just started working at a local veterinary hospital..I'm already known as that spider loving weirdo! I get questions all day long from the staff, even the doctor. I may at one point ask to bring in a spider if enough people are interested.
I think our approach is critical in getting information to the 'general public'.

 

[chuck]

then why are these people writing and voting on laws they have no info on? shouldnt they consult a "expert" b4 they cast their vote?

 

[Pheonixx]

FEAR...
they watched 8 legged freaks and arachnophobia one too many times.

like i said above i have a petition to stop gov. pataki from doing this in NY state but i need your help, spread the link around, lets get it stopped in NY. laws tend to be put into effect based on precedence (SP?) if we can stop it now it may be stopped somewhere else in the future. I DO NOT MEAN OR INTEND TO HIJACK THIS THREAD BUT I AM SO T'd off AT THIS STUPID STATE
(no pun intended)

 

[Tarangela]

I to have ran into these kind of situations many times. The local pet store, I actually try to help. I have ordered some spiders for them, avics, and helped them w/ their knowledge. They were feeding them the jelly stuff for water before I came into the picture. And keeping them on some kind of mulch. Right now they have 2 rose hairs, 1 male, 1 female.

Whenever I am getting crickets there, people ask, What are those for? Your lizard? I am like, no, my tarantuals. The looks on their faces. Pure horror. Like I am crazy. But, aren't they *poisionous*? I try to get through that as best as possible explaining that every spider posses venom, etc.

I have thought of asking the owner if he would like to have a Sat. for Arachnids? I could come in one day, and be available for anyone wanting to know about tarantuals and scorpions, and have a little class or something. I would love to do that

I also went to a local middle shcool last month for a Spider day, lol The science teacher wanted me to come in and have 6 classes on taratulas and common spiders. COOL! I brought a couple specimens w/ me, that behanved really well, my 8" birdeaters last molt, and a lot of books and information. For regular spiders I had the wolf spider, black widow, all famous
brown recluse, and jumping spiders. Then, a little special on daddy long legs,
loving to show and explain they are NOT venemous or poisonous. Maybe, if you eat them All in all, it was a lot of fun.

I couldn't/can't believe how the public really perceives tarantulas. I almost wish I could start a TV show about them here in town, lol My husband's parents do not even KNOW about my wonderful hobby yet. Can you all believe that? LLLLLLOL Anyway, the general public have learned nothing but myths, and most have their minds made up

We have to help them realize the truth. The kids will be the only hope. The things the school kids were asking me, just blew my mind. They really had no idea how gentle these creatures could be. A person will pet an elephant, huge dog, a STRAY dog/cat, or guinea pig, rabbit, etc. you get the idea, and never think about it biting the crap outta them. Unreal.

We went to the zoo yesterday, and I was so hoping to see a tarantula. But all I seen was a desert hairy scorpion. But ever web on a tree or building I seen, I stopped, and stared, and named out the type and species of spider
Mostly orb weavers and wolf spiders. It really made me miss my little T's here at home. Even my little A. versicolor w/ her fake eggsac

Ok, this was long, but I had to chime in

 

[Pheonixx]

i know i dont know much about T's and spiders but i have been thinking of talking to the local school and the science dept. about some classes and you just helped me make my mind up. i'm gonna call when the next semester starts up at the local h.s. and middle school. perhaps you have some good ideas for me. i'm gonna have to read alot this summer.

 

[ddale]

Another problem I have found is that many of these "educational guest speakers" perpetuate inaccuracies. No offense to those of you who give these "educational presentations" - I know there are many quality presenters out there - but this is just an example of what I'm talking about:

A local herp keeper (who shall remain nameless) set up a display of his animals at a recent community event (he does this two-three times a year). He hands out brochures advertising his "educational talks" and speaks with interested folks who pass by. I gave his animals the once-over and read all of his labels. Did you know that the Leopard Gecko (Eublepharis macularius) is a native species of the NE United States? How about the fact that Ball (Royal) Pythons (Python regius) come from Asia? Did you know that Burmese Pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) can reach an adult length of 25 feet? If these fictional facts are what is being spread, I vote for ignorance.