Knowing when to stop purchasing T's.

[RoseT]

Ive always wondered about those owners that own over 100 Ts, excluding their offspring slings. Do you guys actually give each of them the same attention you do to lets say your favorite ones?. I mean other than feeding, do you guys actually go into each and everyone of their enclosures to see what they are up to?...Lets be honest here, is it really Ideal for someone to own more than 40,50,60 Ts Etc, unless of course that all you do. I know the hobby can get addicting, and in some cases there Isnt much money to be spend before you have a collection of over 30-40 T's. I barely have 17, looking to get at 20 but we will see how that goes. I just dont want it come to the point where I start buying more T's just to have them you know?....

 

[Rue]

I suppose it's the same for any collection...know why you're collecting and what your limits are.

It is more of a concern with animals though...because they do need care and attention...

 

[RoseT]

I suppose it's the same for any collection...know why you're collecting and what your limits are.

It is more of a concern with animals though...because they do need care and attention...

Yeah I understand that, but As a passionate hobbyist I like to treat my T's with care, assisting in any way they might need...Sounds dumb, but I look at them as my pets, and I want to make sure they all get the time and respect they deserve. Hell my Rosea was my first T, and I know its prob the most common and least desired to the experienced, but Its still my favorite T. And I treat it like I did the first day I got it...

 

[Rue]

You should treat her well! Just because a species is more common doesn't mean they're at all less deserving the same care and attention as the more uncommon or higher-priced species.

I know this happens a lot. Esp. with fish. Goldfish for example...if of good stock and well cared for ...can live 20+ years - longer than most dogs and cats. Yet they're so common and cheap people treat the poor babies like they're disposable - thinking that they are short-lived. I've talked with people who thought a 2-year old goldfish was ancient.

My T's are fully intended to be pets. I'll be watching their biology...but no secret that they're primarily pets.

 

[Najakeeper]

I have recently hit 20 and it is getting a little hard to spend time with each. However I only buy favorites and I am running out of what else to buy. I would still like a King baboon, T.stirmi, P.irmina, A.bicegoi and an Aussie Goliath if I can find one and after that I do not want any other species.

But then I will start needing mature males etc. I guess I need 20 or so females with an MM dropping by once in a while. And I still think 20s are manageable.

100s to 1000s feels like an actual business venture to me and I do not want that.

 

[Johnny1320]

I've wondered if people that keep their t's in those non transparent tupperwear tubs actually get to enjoy them. I know housing 100 t's could get expensive.

We have almost 40 T's right now, and I can say I give them equal attention. I dont really handle, but with this many at least one is busy doing something to check out.

I would say stop buying ones it feels like a chore?

 

[Quixtar]

After having Ts for awhile, I tend to get picky about what I want to keep since I can't afford the time to take care of so many and as Rue said, just because they're more common doesn't mean they're any less deserving of my care. I've traded or sold most of the Ts I've ever owned and only keep a small group now. Also, due to shifting interests, I only keep a select few rare Ts that usually command a high price because I intend to breed them. There are also a few I keep that I don't intend to breed simply because they make such great pets themselves and they're better for showing off to friends or acquaintances. For example, I wouldn't take out my Encyocratella olivacea to show off, because my Grammostola pulchra and Brachypelma albiceps are much better options.

 

[Lolita]

i'm at 21 right now granted 5 of them are up for adoption but i check on mine nightly to make sure everyones good i like watching my slings burrow (i love the way the ball up eco earth and move it around) they reason for my mulitples is i tend to get more than one sling of the same species since i want femles but don't have the finances to get females all the time i love all my tarantulas i don't i'd ever get more than 30 tops at a time but i also don't work so i fill my time with school and hobbies my hobbies just happen to be adorable spiders

 

[ZergFront]

I'm at 14 right now and so far I've never gotten my collection over 18. I'd love to get more which is why I've sent two males off and there are a few female tarantulas among the owners which I've been watching and waiting for spiderlings because I like how the mother is.

If crickets are disappearing really fast not long after the shipment came, then I know I have enough. X-D

 

[Redneck]

I have had close to 200 (Maybe a little over.) at one time... That is including the offspring.

I didnt house them all the same, I housed my favorite Ts in nice enclosures.

However, I did glare in each and every enclosure a couple times a day. Reason for that. I want to make sure they are all cared for properly. (Watering, cleaning, mites, or the unfortunate dead T..)

I never thought it was a chore. I enjoyed it.

I didnt/dont hold my Ts. So, I could actually enjoy watching them decorate their homes the way they wanted it.

 

[Hamburglar]

You can care for them properly and still do it quickly. I have a "few" and I usually just rotate groups or shelves day by day. I set up the ones that need something extra, like water or whatever, for efficiency. For example, my avics and such have a screen top so I can just use a mister to water them.

I check on them often, but I can't say that I look at every one of them every day.

 

[ornamentalist]

wont be long until your at the 50 mark. We were going to stop at 20, that was 40 ago..... Iv always got time for them and always will, they all get lots of attention. There is a limit tho, i do agree, its silly if you, say, have to give up a full time job for it. But with a properly worked out routine for feeding, i dont see how 100 would be a huge problem, they dont need feeding every day and changing a water dish/misting a sling vial isnt too time consuming. Its the crickets fault yknow! Think about it, the more of them you need to buy, the more times you visit the lps and see all the lovely t's. Thats my excuse for buying a p. Cancerides, p. Cambridgei, g. Pulchripes and aphonopelma Paysoni this week anyways.......i can stop any time i want!

 

[Spidershane1]

When I first started out, I went nuts. I lived in a small town & the LPS's did'nt have much variety so anytime ANY new species came in I would buy it, even if I previously had no interest in the species. This led to me having a collection where I spent the majority of time observing a select few & simply "keeping" the rest.
Now I live in the city & the LPS has ALOT of T's and many that I have always been interested in. I have sent off my less desirable(for me anyway) species to new homes & I limit myself now to just the ones I have always really wanted. I just got a P. irminia, T. stirmi & a centipede on sunday from the LPS, but I have always wanted those types. I went in yesterday to pick up a 3" P miranda, but then realized I probably should'nt be spending several hundred dollars in one week on bugs lol, and left with some supplies instead.
I am much more content now with a more refined collection only containing the species I really desire. Don't get me wrong, its still a pretty big collection & I plan on growing it much bigger, but I definetly get what the OP was saying when mentioned people 'buying T's just to buy T's'.
I still am gonna go back and get that P miranda next payday though & I got my eye on an M balfouri, B bohmei, B smithi, L Klugi, A versi, E cyanognathus, P muticus, C fasciatum a A sp newriver and S mutilans of which my LPS has all of them, lol.
I'm like a drug addict that only does good drugs

I do spend alot of time with my critters too. Most Americans spend a few hours a day watching TV, but I dont watch TV so I spend pretty much all my time at home going between arachnoboards and my collection. I'd say 15-20 hours are spent on my bugs each week if you include all the tarantulas, spiders, roaches, scorpions, centipedes, milipedes, mantids & solfugids.