Poecilotheria

Aboreal Rayne

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 7, 2003
Messages
58
Nixy I love ya, but...

I'm past Jame.
Sorry but Mommabird is titsy.

What I keep seeing is. ' All you people saying no are just afraid and attempting to restrain experience and demonise a lovely species.'
I see 'experts' stating 10, 20, 30 years experience of not getting bitten.
Woo hoo, good for you.
But saying you have twnty years experience and saying it's ok for someone with little experience to get something demanding greater experience is like saying.
"I have twenty years experience sky diving mi lad. I see you've read some books and Own a parachute. I think you should grab your little sister and jump out of a plane tomarrow."

Or

"I have one. That makes me an expert. Screw experience do it anyway! Don't let the old farts bring you down, they don't know that we know everything yet."

Oooooh, time for me to just Shut up now and recage my opinions.

I think it's time to reinsate my lurkers status now.

Ok this is pure ranting... Seriously, ok I'll be rational about what I type as not to piss off the edgey "Dinosaurs" as it was put. First off a Pokie is EASY to take care off. I appreciate those who with to denounce my opinion based on age,(really that's cool!!NOT.) but I'll have you all know my family laughed at the mokery made here, of this wonderfull family of spiders. Nixy I accepted you as a knolegeable individual untill now. Sorry, but here ya wrong. People need to know that they are probably less likly to bite you than an "Orange bity thing" as my friend has one, and is WAY more aggresive then my gentile Pandora. I may be only nineteen, you got personal issues with teen-agers/kids? That's cool that the ones you deal with are a bit off..But in reality if they *Know what the spiders can do, and they know not even the owner picks it up, why would they try? Suicidal children? Misgiuded teaching? Hell I don't know what's going on in YOUR house, but in mine, my brother has no problem understanding what the cautions are...so if my seventeen year old brother can do this, what's wrong with yours? I also have to agree with Lycanthrope, if you guys keep your T's correctly you won't have problems.

"And for the small price of being subject to high-school like drama scene portrayed by defective (and a bit wierd too) Tarantula addicts, you too can own a Pokie!! One of the most dangerous, sparatic, and agile tarantula's in the world!! If you MAN enough, and are a die-hard they are a must!! Be in the IN crowd"

This kind of BULL,(example above) is what I'm talking about, Yall grow-up. By the way for all you "Old" people, I do respect you, and your opinion. But I really don't think I have a "God like" attitude, ya know,neither does my brother. In fact, I believe I make excellent decisions, based on logic. See that really suck's that your kids don't listen to you... I listen to mine. I think Pokies are no more difficult to care for than a rosie. All yall who think, that they are too dangerous should even own a spider- as they contribute to the continued criminalization of Tarantulas. They may be "hot"...So? who cares? Look, don't toutch..Got it? No? That sucks,and if you don't have that much disapline, no wonder your kids don't...huh, I just sounded like my parents...Wierd.
 

Nixy

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 6, 2003
Messages
1,486
Ooooh no.
I will not attack back.
Thank you for not reading a damn thing except what you wanted to see as a personal attack.
And thanks much for all the nice insults.
Nothing I didn't expect.

I have now officialy pulled out of this pissing contest.

And I weep for the future.
 

Valael

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 19, 2002
Messages
756
Oh, one last thing kind of off subject (And no, this isn't my arguement for supporting the owning of Pokies).



Why do you think no one believed any of the extreme bite reports until fairly recently?


Because the bites weren't very common.




I honestly have a harder time keeping my docile species in the cage rather than my pokie. Give it a good hide and it never moves. My G. Rosea runs out whenever I open it, my pinktoe will occasionally make a break for freedom..


And my Usambaras is 100 times harder than my P. Regalis will ever be. Both of my Usambaras are much more likely to try to run/bite than my regalis.



And an honest fact of mine: My G. Rosea has attempted to 'strike' at me literally 4 times as much my Regalis - I've only had my Regalis get up in a defensive posture once. My G. Rosea has done it atleast 4 times that I can remember.
 

Brandon

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 19, 2002
Messages
415
Nixy,
I see no reason to weep. Both sides do have there points, and to tell you the truth I am not all for what I originally posted.

I think that there is a "Thin Red Line" when it comes to keeping tarantulas. And that is personal belief. Something one person feels is right may not come across that way to another, and visversa. It can be the same way with substrate, and other such things tarantulas need to have. We can all stand behind what we believe, and that is great. There really isn’t anything like standing up for what you feel is right. The name calling or whatever people who post her perceive it has should stop. I will be the first to apologize for anything offensive that I have said. With this one people there will be no common ground.

Sincerely,

Brandon
 

Lasiodora

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 11, 2002
Messages
852
This is going to be long.
Well, here is what I think: I've kept a couple of pokies over the years. In fact I own two right now. P.fasciata was actually my first spider. I was confident working with a fast potentially dangerous animal. This is only because I had experience working with other fast creatures (eg. arboreal boids, some viperids and elapids). I would have been more reluctant about buying a pokie if I thought I wouldn't be able to handle most situations. I see that age and maturity seems to be a hot topic in this thread. It is not how old James is mentally that made me caution him against buying a pokie. I cautioned him because of how old he and his siblings are phisiologically. Toxins tend to have a more adverse affect on a child than they do on a healthy adult. There has been a point made about him not having to handle the spider. What happens when the spider needs to be transfered into a new container as it out grew the old one. He doesn't have much experience moving fast spiders. It's no walk in the park, especially if you're inexperienced. Why take the chance right now. The people who are for him getting one are not looking at the big picture. What happens to one person can affect the whole hobby. The pokie bite is potentially medically significant. This means that it should be treated as if it were a significant bite until scientific reasearch proves or disproves that. Look at NYC. All boids and monitors are illegal. This includes 3foot long (harmless) childrens pythons and rosy boas. This all because of the few people who did not give their animals respect. The humane society is working on making owning herps illegal on a national level. Do we want to take the risk with our invert hobby?

I do believe Poecilotheria behavior misunderstood. They are not aggressive, jump at you, spiders. My Nhandu will rear up at me before my pokies will. Poecilotherias are very shy. As soon as they feel your presence they are off to their hiding spot. That is their first reaction to a disturbance. Even though they are not aggressive by nature they still need to be treated with respect and should only be kept by people who are a little more experienced in keeping fast (adult) species of tarantulas. Keeping other fast critters can help prepare you for dealing with their speed when you have to.

BTW Brandon,
I didn't know your age before this thread. I don't think you know any less because of your age. Besides I'm only seven years older than you and I'm still learning about T's, herps, and life in general. No matter how old you are, there is still plenty to learn.
Mike
 

Ephesians

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 12, 2002
Messages
353
Man, I am coming in here late and have a lot I would like to quote from some really immature people. Being only 20 years of age, I can speak as a rational post-teen; freshborn. There is a lot of difference between 13 and 17, 17 and 20. One year can change a lot, 3 can impact an entire way of thought. At 20 I can speak on a thin line between adult and teenager. I don't know everything, at 74 I still won't. Last year I thought I did. Let me give everyone here my four cents. (I would say two, but I have more to say than that..lol).

1. I agree with some of the "yes" people. They're (the pokies) potential is high, but the chances are slim.

2. To the "yes" people...the chances are THERE.

3. I think the main focus of concern with most of the "NO" people, which by the way includes me, is the factor of having siblings. You cannot tell a child "no" and expect an "okay" behind your back. I work with kids and it never happens that way regardless of situation and discipline. Kids are generally curious. The more you tell the smaller ones, (and I mean James's siblings here) "No", the more curious they become.

4. I see a great deal of immaturity behind most of the yes', two reasons I suspect is 1). Age and 2). It's not your family, what does it matter to you if a pokie does by chance get out and hides in your sisters sock drawer.

It sounds like a horror story, but accidents happen. Even to the most experienced. I'm sorry, but I agree with the "no" people. James, I can give you nothing but respect right now after reading your posts and I back Chip up 100%. You have deemed yourself as outstanding amongst your age genre and appear to me as very teachable, and respectable...that I give you with appllause.

Another thing I would like to comment on...I think Nixy gets the award for the longest freakin' posts I have ever seen. lol.


I see a lot of naive statements and for sake of Scott's rules I will not mark my opinion on them.
 

Ephesians

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 12, 2002
Messages
353
I think that there is a "Thin Red Line" when it comes to keeping tarantulas. And that is personal belief. Something one person feels is right may not come across that way to another, and visversa. It can be the same way with substrate, and other such things tarantulas need to have. We can all stand behind what we believe, and that is great. There really isn’t anything like standing up for what you feel is right. The name calling or whatever people who post her perceive it has should stop. I will be the first to apologize for anything offensive that I have said. With this one people there will be no common ground.
That is probably THE most mature, and respectable thing I have seen in this thread. Brandon, I applaud you for this. I hope some of you hold this as an example and act on it.

In Him,
Marcus
 

Immortal_sin

Arachnotemptress
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 17, 2002
Messages
3,952
wow...it took me a LONG time to read through five pages of opinions.....
I do not feel qualified to give my opinion, and as enough people here have, I don't think it will be missed ;)
I don't feel qualified, as I have/had an escaped P regalis somewhere in the house, probably dead here in the T room (it's been a year)
This little girl was extremely shy, and it's a probably a good thing, but nevertheless, for the first few months we were all rather paranoid. We looked under the covers, behind curtains, watched where we sat etc. :)
This was LONG before Darrin posted his bite report. Was I concerned? Yes....
Was I overly concerned and freaked out? No....
It's not pleasant having an escaped pokie, and even less pleasant to never find it. However, it hasn't ruined our lives or anything. I hope I've learned from my mistake. I do have other Poecs now.....and they are in the most escape proof containers possible.
So....that being said, I think James and his parents will be weighing the options, thinking of contingencies, and make the right decision.
This is not a 'yes' or 'no' opinion, like I stated above, it's just one person's experience, you can make of it what you will :)
 

Gillian

Arachnoblessed
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 13, 2002
Messages
1,123
Re: Nixy I love ya, but...

Originally posted by Aboreal Rayne


Ok this is pure ranting... Seriously, ok I'll be rational about what I type as not to piss off the edgey "Dinosaurs" as it was put. First off a Pokie is EASY to take care off. I appreciate those who with to denounce my opinion based on age,(really that's cool!!NOT.) but I'll have you all know my family laughed at the mokery made here, of this wonderfull family of spiders. Nixy I accepted you as a knolegeable individual untill now. Sorry, but here ya wrong. People need to know that they are probably less likly to bite you than an "Orange bity thing" as my friend has one, and is WAY more aggresive then my gentile Pandora. I may be only nineteen, you got personal issues with teen-agers/kids? That's cool that the ones you deal with are a bit off..But in reality if they *Know what the spiders can do, and they know not even the owner picks it up, why would they try? Suicidal children? Misgiuded teaching? Hell I don't know what's going on in YOUR house, but in mine, my brother has no problem understanding what the cautions are...so if my seventeen year old brother can do this, what's wrong with yours? I also have to agree with Lycanthrope, if you guys keep your T's correctly you won't have problems.

"And for the small price of being subject to high-school like drama scene portrayed by defective (and a bit wierd too) Tarantula addicts, you too can own a Pokie!! One of the most dangerous, sparatic, and agile tarantula's in the world!! If you MAN enough, and are a die-hard they are a must!! Be in the IN crowd"

This kind of BULL,(example above) is what I'm talking about, Yall grow-up. By the way for all you "Old" people, I do respect you, and your opinion. But I really don't think I have a "God like" attitude, ya know,neither does my brother. In fact, I believe I make excellent decisions, based on logic. See that really suck's that your kids don't listen to you... I listen to mine. I think Pokies are no more difficult to care for than a rosie. All yall who think, that they are too dangerous should even own a spider- as they contribute to the continued criminalization of Tarantulas. They may be "hot"...So? who cares? Look, don't toutch..Got it? No? That sucks,and if you don't have that much disapline, no wonder your kids don't...huh, I just sounded like my parents...Wierd.
Well, as usual, a very useful, and potentially enlightening thread has gone haywire....

First off, we are not "edgy dinosaurs". We are careful people who have been to the school of hard knocks. Granted, I was forced to grow up way too fast, as a teenager, but I was still rather dumb, in very many respects, dumb, as is anyone who has not had some real world experience.

From first hand experience of raising my niece and nephew; telling them no, means yes. (Hell, it meant that to me, when I was a kid)

I must add, insinuating poor and shoddy parenting skills really isn't helping the message of the thread....

I seem to remember that James has younger siblings..much younger. I myself, if so inclined, could have a pokie, as I have a separate room, for my inverts. However, I'm scared of nothing, not after what I've been through. They just aren't for me.

Peace,
Gillian
(p.s., your opinion DOES matter here, Nixy)
 

safetypinup

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 17, 2003
Messages
118
I debated about posting my opinion here, so I'll make this as short as possible.

First of all, I was one of the "go ahead and do it" voters in James' original post (and Code, I am not a "stupid teenager" by the way :p Please review your facts before you make blanket statements like this).

Second of all, I have a soon-to-be 2 year old daughter. And I currently own 12 members of the Poecilotheria genus. From the tone of some peoples' posts, it almost seems like this makes me a bad parent :rolleyes:
(makes you wonder what these people would say if they went into my snake room and saw the "man eating" Reticulated Pythons, eh? :p)

I do agree with those that have stated that Poecilotheria are better suited for advanced keepers, but age does *not* have anything to do with this. I have known people as young as 11 years old who have successfully kept Poecilotheria, and whose parents were fully informed about the "nature" of these beasts. Yes, my first tarantula was a Rose Hair, and yes, I "learned to crawl before I learned to walk" (as you put it Code), but I think many of you are being overly harsh in your judgements of younger hobbyists.

Would I let my daughter keep Poecilotheria at 13 years old? Absolutely. So long as she had adequate supervision/knowledge and knew the 'risks' of keeping ANY tarantula.
At the end of the day, my 25 year old Rosie would gladly sink her fangs into my hand before ANY of my Poecs would.

I think that these "scare tactics" that some posters are using are entirely unfair. This sort of thing is what gives this genus their undeserved bad reputation. If you want a tarantula with potent venom, go for a Stromatopelma, not a Pokie; those things will gladly put you in the hospital any day of the week :p

It's true that a Poecilotheria bite can be serious, but these are NOT AGGRESSIVE SPIDERS, people!

However, I am in no way saying that everyone should go out and get a Pokie as their first tarantula. In fact, I advised someone against a P. regalis just last week. I *do* think that they make excellent additions to collections that already contain quick arboreals (Psalmopoeus would be a GREAT example of this). James has demonstrated that he is mature enough to successfully keep this genus, so why not a Poec?
Maybe I'm missing something here.......
That's my 2 cents. Take it for what it's worth.
 

Nixy

Arachnoprince
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Joined
Feb 6, 2003
Messages
1,486
Oh for gods sake I never said a god damned responsable experienced adult was incapable of keeping pokes or anything else with kids.
I am saying and PLease read this carefuly.

The Avergae 13 year olds room is NOT fort knox!
The average 13 year olds LITTLE siblings USUALY CANNOT BE Kept from the Average 13 year olds Room which is NOT fort knox.
The average 2-5 year old has their fingers in Everything they Can. No matter how well of a parent you are.
MOST parents Do Not know as much about a hobby their 13 year old is into.
Keeping ANY hot species combining average 13 year old bedroom, little kids and the law of averages should Never be Taken Lightly.
Ever.
If your Going to give advice to a 13 year old PLEASE NOTE that a 13 year old will read the words of what they consider an "expert" and move on it Very Often.
If your going to Give advice to a 13 year old In This Kind of situation PLEASE. for gods Sake add a note or two of caution.
Think about the Whole picture and Stop twisting up the words of people that might have a bit more concerned about a little child and what MIGHT POSSABLY happen then a spider.
I Am Glad you know what your doing and are confident in your skills.
Good for you.
You have the experience to Back It.
You can say you are comfortable with your child having a potentialy hot species. (ANY type of hot species NOT JUST pokes).
But remeber YOU are experienced. So YOU can PERSONALY Guide them.
That is a Hell of alot different then the child starting the hobby and the collecting witht he parents in tow trying to catch up.
And One child at two is Easier to keep safe then two or three or five children ranged from toddler to ten.
Try remembering that not everyone Does have seperate rooms or that not Everyone has the ability to take the same precautions as you.
Especialy when your giving a CHILD advice.
No matter How mature they are.
 

Code Monkey

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 22, 2002
Messages
3,783
Originally posted by safetypinup
and Code, I am not a "stupid teenager" by the way :p Please review your facts before you make blanket statements like this
Never made a blanket statement that all the yes votes were from "stupid" teens, merely observed the trend that most of them were from teens (and not stupid teens beyond what I pointed about aging and what it teaches you about what you don't know at 17), and most still are. More importantly, I was only referring to this thread, and at the time I wrote that, every single 'yes' post was from a teen excepting Phil's. Check your own facts before getting bent out of shape ;)

I do agree with those that have stated that Poecilotheria are better suited for advanced keepers, but age does *not* have anything to do with this.
Again, I don't think anyone who has commented on the situation in detail says age does have anything to do with it. My reservations are based solely on James' lack of experience. He's got a 2+" Psalmopoeus as his most challenging spider, and only about seven months total experience with Ts at all - do you seriously think that's enough for anyone but James and his parents to judge?

I think that these "scare tactics" that some posters are using are entirely unfair. This sort of thing is what gives this genus their undeserved bad reputation.
I haven't seen much in the way of scare tactics. In fact, this is one my prime beefs with some people in this hobby. They are so paranoid about inaccurate impressions that they go to the opposite extreme and try to downplay the real dangers and problems. Like I said, even if pokies had liquid bubblegum for venom, I still think they're too big and too fast for James to necessarily be jumping into yet.

It's true that a Poecilotheria bite can be serious, but these are NOT AGGRESSIVE SPIDERS, people!
No one ever said they were. This is what, for lack of a better term, the apologists hear every time caution is urged with certain species/genera. Saying that the only people in a position to make this decision is James' parents after they are fully informed on the unhyped complications posed by a pokie is by no means calling them aggressive.

I *do* think that they make excellent additions to collections that already contain quick arboreals (Psalmopoeus would be a GREAT example of this). James has demonstrated that he is mature enough to successfully keep this genus, so why not a Poec?
Maybe I'm missing something here.......
Yes, you're missing the part about James only being involved with Ts for a hair over a half a year and only having a Psalmopoeus juvenile and a couple of slings for a few months. My recommendation is the same as always: since he already has these, wait for them to grow up (it'll only take a year or so) and when he actually knows he is comfortable with such a T go ahead and get all the pokies he wants.
 

Tarantula Lover

Psalmopoeus Lover
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 21, 2002
Messages
1,373
Originally posted by Code Monkey

Yes, you're missing the part about James only being involved with Ts for a hair over a half a year and only having a Psalmopoeus juvenile and a couple of slings for a few months. My recommendation is the same as always: since he already has these, wait for them to grow up (it'll only take a year or so) and when he actually knows he is comfortable with such a T go ahead and get all the pokies he wants.
Man chip, just finished the talk with my dad, he said the same thing! are you spying???;P
yeah, i have only had been keeping t's since september, and thats seven months, i changed my psalmopoeus cage all by myself which is a big step for me, i just have fun reading these posts with the name "James" in all of them! :D
I am learning alot, especially from you chip and nixy!

Thanks for the applause Ephesians!


Thanks again everyone! I cant wait too see my t's get some size, then i will make my decision. My dad said to wait now, let mine grow, then go more advanced! Thanks again guys!


James;)
 

Tarantula Lover

Psalmopoeus Lover
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 21, 2002
Messages
1,373
To give you guys my backround:

Mom=33
Dad=44
Kids:
Rosalie: 15 female
James (me): 13 male
Anthony: 11 male
David: 10 male
Gloria: 9 female
Micheal: 6 male
Mario: 4 male
Maria: 2 female

Thats the backround info, just to let you all know! i have my own invert room, they never come in hear! except david that is :D

James;)
 

Static_69

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 14, 2003
Messages
377
woah...now this is a heated debate....it's quite interesting here seeing all different people's opinions of different ages and experience levels...but i find myself on the fence with this one. on one side i feel i've sort of been offended by hearing people say "i feel sorry for the future" or whatever they said and i think myself i have enough brains not to mess with a pokie yet and all because i've just started carings for T's....but on the other side i think its kind of rude tell people older and wiser that they are smarter than them and such.....either way my opinion is i feel james should just get the pokey if he wants and he should take it at his own risk, and let him take his own responsibility for his actions and such....besides if any1 does get bitten by his pokie man of you will prolly just think "not my problem".
 

kellygirl

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 1, 2002
Messages
1,055
Wow, calm down people! Especially young folks.

Brandon, I never noticed your age before you mentioned it and I have always respected your posts. Through this thread, however, you have managed to display your immaturity for all to see. You may know your inverts but your attitude is quite juvenile. Please don't misunderstand me--I'm not putting myself above you. I throw my tantrums now and then. All I'm saying is that your arguments are only further proving the points people are making. If you haven't noticed before, Chip has been keeping tarantulas longer than you have been alive but he is the first to say that he is no expert. THAT, my friend, is maturity.

----------------
*EDIT* I missed the 5th page so I didn't see your humble words. I don't retract the statement that your prior attitude was immature but you did show great maturity with your 7:52 post.
----------------

I'm a whopping 21 years old (kinda straddling the two "sides" here) and while I know more about tarantulas than your average joe on the street, I know am no expert and I know my limits. I have been keeping tarantulas for under 2 years and I already have quite an extensive collection--of SPIDERLINGS! I have only a handful of adults/juveniles because I am not ready for the big fiesty biteys yet. I do own an H. lividum, some P. irminia, and a C. thorelli. I have some quick L. dificilis (that is one skittish species!) and I have a fiesty little B. angustum. I felt ready for them when I bought them but the moment I feel overwhelmed by them, they will go on sale to someone who will be able to handle them.

The T. blondi just sorta landed in my lap and I am very thankful for her but I'm also giving her space. She doesn't move around much and she hasn't proven to be a major hair kicker but I am still respecting her until I can feel her "personality" out a bit more. I'm not afraid of her but I'm not going to recommend a blondi to a child. No one is saying that Poecilotheria is the evil bad yucky genus--most people would agree that it holds some of the finest tarantula specimens in the world. But just because most people haven't been bitten by their Poecs doesn't mean that it never happens. Once again, think about how the Poec venom affects a large, healthy adult. Think about the ratio of venom to blood in a person like that and compare to the ratio of what it would be for, say, a 2 year old. If it can knock a full grown man on his back for several days with continuing muscle spasms and cramps, then it could POSSIBLY kill a child. I personally would rather leave it as a "possibility."

I'm sick of all the whining that is going on in this thread about how Poecs have a bad reputation because of all the paranoid old folk. Poecilotheria should not be feared but they should be respected, as I said before. James, please continue to be rational as you have been. You have enough on your hands with the species you've got--hold off on the Poecilotheria for your siblings' sake. No one is saying that you are irresponsible or that you're gonna take your Poec out and squeeze it or pet it. We are only saying that you should wait a bit.

My first tarantula to escape was a 2 inch H. lividum during a feeding watering time. I opened the deli cup and it bolted. How in the world was I supposed to prevent that? I wasn't being irresponsible but some things just plain can't be prevented. JUST ACCEPT IT! People typically don't let their tarantulas go for strolls or purposefully try to get bitten. Many of the people who have Ts lose in the house or were bitten have been keeping inverts for awhile. ANYONE can have an escape so get off your soapbox before your karma knocks you off and you end up being the next one posting a bite report! Oh, but wait, that would never happen because you take precautions... :rolleyes:

kellygirl
 
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Ephesians

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 12, 2002
Messages
353
Glory to God, James...you have the biggest family I've seen with this generation. Tell your parents I am proud of them; it takes a lot to raise that many kids. Especially if they all turn out as well as you have, lad. And I also give cheer to your fathers decision. He made I wise one, I believe. Go dad.
 

Valael

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 19, 2002
Messages
756
Originally posted by kellygirl

My first tarantula to escape was a 2 inch H. lividum during a feeding watering time. I opened the deli cup and it bolted. How in the world was I supposed to prevent that? I wasn't being irresponsible but some things just plain can't be prevented. JUST ACCEPT IT! People typically don't let their tarantulas go for strolls or purposefully try to get bitten. Many of the people who have Ts lose in the house or were bitten have been keeping inverts for awhile. ANYONE can have an escape so get off your soapbox before your karma knocks you off and you end up being the next one posting a bite report! Oh, but wait, that would never happen because you take precautions... :rolleyes:

kellygirl
(Since we're nitpicking, you managed to keep your maturity until the end. Then you lost it.)

I have accepted it. Long ago when I had 3 usumbara escapes.


But like I said, you don't even have to risk yourself if it escapes. Just get a tupperware container large enough to enclose the spider without damaging it. Slide cardboard/stiff paper under it and you're pretty much done. If you're scared about releasing the spider back in to the cage, just place it in there and shut it. It'll get out on it's own.

I honestly don't care if you've had tarantulas for 20 years, 10 years, 1 week, or never. I honestly don't care if you're 40, 30, 20, or 10. I don't view you any different. I've met far too many fools (And no, I'm not attacking anyone on this board.) I'll never accept that someone older than me is my better just because of age, but that's another subject.


Anybody, with a little maturity, common sense, knowledge, and calmness can take care of even the worst of tarantulas.

That's my opinion. You believe what you want.


This whole thread went down hill when people started focusing on the posters' age (James is different).
 

Brandon

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 19, 2002
Messages
415
Kelly, and all,
Thank you for your nice comments about my post on page 5. We can all lose our temper as seen in this thread that is all that merely happened to me. Swelled up anger so to speak. Once again there is no right and wrong so lets end the "you don’t know what you’re talking about" sort of thing. I don’t think its age, or responsibility, I think it is respect for the creature at hand. We are all on this board for a good reason, and it’s because we enjoy tarantulas (correct me if im wrong) so lets act like it. Once again sorry for my lake of control.

Sincerely yours,

Brandon
 

safetypinup

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 17, 2003
Messages
118
Originally posted by Code Monkey

Again, I don't think anyone who has commented on the situation in detail says age does have anything to do with it.
This may very well be true (honestly, I didn't have the patience to read through everyone's replies to this thread in detail :p)
However, there was a lot of "age descrimination" going on (for lack of a better term). Believe me when I say I agree with you about teenagers who think they know everything, and then 5, 10, 20 years later look back on what dumbasses they were...Been there, done that.
The age comment was not directed at anyone or any post in particular--just a "blanket statement", if you will. lol...


My reservations are based solely on James' lack of experience. He's got a 2+" Psalmopoeus as his most challenging spider, and only about seven months total experience with Ts at all - do you seriously think that's enough for anyone but James and his parents to judge?
You're absolutely right---At thirteen, any final decision should be left up to the parents/guardians. I was simply saying that, as far as "challenging" spiders go, Poecilotheria is not at the top of the list. Honestly, I wouldn't hesitate to put Psalmopoeus way above Poecilotheria on the "bad spiders" list......But that's just me.



I haven't seen much in the way of scare tactics.
Not referring to this thread in particular, here. It just irks me to hear about people who are "too afraid" to keep Poecilotheria because of all the negative "gossip" they've been subjected to.
I'm sure you've read the threads on this board (and others) that go just an inch short of saying that your 1 inch P. regalis is going to gnaw out of its cage, drop off of the ceiling, land in your bed and kill you in your sleep, just for the hell of it...

In fact, this is one my prime beefs with some people in this hobby. They are so paranoid about inaccurate impressions that they go to the opposite extreme and try to downplay the real dangers and problems.
This is true, and I'm certainly not saying that one should not exercise a certain level of caution with this genus--they ARE fast, and, to a certain degree, they are unpredictable. I'm simply saying that there are several genera that I would be more cautious with, personally (ie: stromatopelma).

Hope I cleared some of that up :p
 
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