Tarantula Facebook groups

[Arachnopets]

In some of the german groups people like Volker von Wirth are writing pretty interesting stuff.

He posts interesting stuff here too, under the name @Theraphosid Research Team .

 

[Theraphosid Research Team]

In this context, a brief note. We established the science page "Theraphosid Research Team" on Facebook to bring the non-scientific community a bit closer to the latest scientific findings about our animal group, the tarantulas. We are not professional scientists ourselves and therefore call ourselves "Citizen Scientists" . But since the topics on Facebook disappear very quickly in "Nirvana", we decided to create a website where we present all our Facebook postings and other interesting aspects of our hobby and findings. We invite every interested keeper, breeder and Tarantula lover to visit our site and have a look at the topics on our site -> THERAPHOSID RESEARCH TEAM

 

[darkness975]

I try not to be a judgy turd... but these larger tarantula facebook groups are pretty cringe.
Tarantula moms, tarantula karens, " Spoods" all that goofy stuff aside... the husbandry and the questions are next level terrible. Have any of you joined and then left after the endless barrage of misinformation and goofy posts? How many times can you read stuff like "hey I just got a spider how do I take care of it" before you want to gouge your eyes out or throw the computer in the lake or something? Was there anything redeeming about those groups? I do occasionally see a really awesome photo or two or someone post some good advice to a noob but... if there is a good Tarantula group on Facebook which one is it?

This is my tarantula Mystic Midnight , i'm a witch, now Im a tarantula Mom, oh and by the way how do I water it? I cant really read another one of those and they are endless for some reason.

I got called ignorant and uninformed by some idiot the other day on one of those. FB tarantula groups suck.

 

[Matt Man]

I avoid them. My parents told me to not waste my time with fools many moons ago

the 2 I visit are both friends, and they are both sellers

I just noted that there is a certain look tarantula keepers have in north America especially females.

my daughter would be the anomaly I am guessing

or bashing on them cause we gave blunt to the point replies what ever happened to the days of being straight forward was a good thing?

the younger generations are, how do I say, more tender, than their predecessors

 

[kingshockey]

the younger generations are, how do I say, more tender, than their predecessors

they are weak dont even know how to change a flat tire afraid to get their hands dirty

 

[A guy]

You can help people but not too much, if you help too much you'll be a know it all

 

[campj]

"My name is BwueBewwy and I'm a vewsicowor. Mummy says im her baby."

Oh man that's just so awful. Makes me want to commit some crimes or something.

 

[slocoj91]

Maybe it's just that the people with "certain looks" are the ones who i always see in the groups that has killed their versicolors and GBB's. Or flood the groups with the basic most basic questions and get defensive when corrected. Again if they have a certain look and they provide the best for their animals i'm all for it. But is that always the case? Not all the time. How many versicolors have died and how many more? Versicolors and GBB's lives matter.

I think this is simply because 'alternative' people are the ones more likely to become interested in, or start in the hobby. Like any group of people there are those who do the work and those who don't. You see the posts from the ones who don't, because they're the ones making the posts to begin with.

At the same time there'll be plenty of alternative women who are well versed in the hobby, like other species of tarantula as much or more than those you mention, or that you don't know are in that group of people (because they don't use a picture of themselves). A lot of internal bias means people will still tend to assume everyone online is a man.

For what it's worth, people in alternative style groups are used to being outsiders and bullied or mocked for it. So it's no big deal doing yet another thing that's unusual. And some of the treatment by others means the idea of facing a fear like arachnophobia is more of a challenge than anything else.

 

[TheHound]

I'm in a few - a couple of UK-based ones, which are fine. Average level of knowledge and discussion is decent, no handling pictures are allowed.

Another more recent one I joined though - winds me up a lot. Handling pictures are allowed; people tend to preface them with "handle at your own risk", which irks me as it avoids the point that it is even more at the tarantula's risk.

Average husbandry knowledge is low. Few have a clue about scientific names. Lots of people keeping their spiders wrong. Lots of newbies expecting to be spoonfed, having done no research of their own. Worse is relative newbies who have been keeping spiders for a bit but getting it wrong who have done no research and the spiders suffered or died for it. I have been keeping for 2 and a half years - I'm solid but hardly a veteran, and I still have plenty to learn, but within that group I feel like the greatest tarantula expert in the world. That's one reason I stay - for the tarantulas' sake, to try and help those screwing it up. Those who respond well to constructive criticism. Those who don't are the worst. Drives me mad.

 

[starlight_kitsune]

I'm going to guess instagram / YouTube / Tiktok

Ah that makes sense. I'm not often on 2/3 of those very often and I stay away from the tarantula side of TikTok because there's just so. much. handling. I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut on those so I just avoid them since I know they won't listen/care what I say anyways and I don't want to spend my time arguing on there.

Nothing wrong with it. it's just a mere observation. when I browse into my group I noticed that MAJORITY of the female keepers (especilly new keepers) have tattoos, nose piercings and hair color. they also love GBBs and versicolors. i don't have a problem on how they look. as long as they keep their spiders healthy. which sometimes does not happen. like how many times you have seen basic questions about GBB's and versicolors.? or my versicolor died, and responses would be "oh it happen/ not your fault/you did everything".

also, I joined FB groups to increase my knowledge. and unfortunately I have not learned anything new since.

I'd like to offer the counterpoint that rather than being the majority of female keepers behavior wise, those are just the ones that are loudest in those particular groups lol. I know a lot of female keepers who are fairly quiet online but absolutely know their stuff. The people who aren't killing their GBBS and who've researched also aren't going to be posting about problems with them because they're not having problems with them. I will concede that about half the female keepers I know besides myself have colored hair and like certain styles though.

I think I have an idea what group you might be in that the responses are always "oh its not your fault" even when it was very clearly their fault. One of the international ones would drive me insane because they would show a setup that was basically animal abuse it was so terrible with a clearly dead or dying tarantula in the middle. Then everyone would be like oh no we all make mistakes! Which yeah, I'm sure almost everyone in the hobby has made mistakes at some point, but there's a difference between making a mistake or being ignorant and not even trying to do it right/not caring at all.

I'm sorry if my original post got negative feedback due to me generalizing everyone with a certain look.

Its all good, sorry if I came across extra crabby in my last reply. I got defensive which is my bad. I had read your first comment more as a "haha female keepers, amiright?" type snarky comment than just a simple observation which is on me.

Oh man that's just so awful. Makes me want to commit some crimes or something.

I normally just roll my eyes and scroll. I love my tarantulas but I just don't cutesy talk them too often. 90% of my talking to them is smack talk like "Candice, its a worm. Its not going to hurt you you fuzzy coward." but with forum inappropriate language lol. The publicly posting as them with the cutesy talk just gives me secondhand embarrassment.

A lot of internal bias means people will still tend to assume everyone online is a man.

This is a good point too. Multiple times in the past when I've had my profile picture set as one of my pets and not my face I've had comments automatically assuming I'm a man. Even when the picture IS my face, there's been times where people haven't noticed it and still assumed I was a man commenting.

 

[Paolo G]

I'd like to offer the counterpoint that rather than being the majority of female keepers behavior wise, those are just the ones that are loudest in those particular groups lol. I know a lot of female keepers who are fairly quiet online but absolutely know their stuff. The people who aren't killing their GBBS and who've researched also aren't going to be posting about problems with them because they're not having problems with them. I will concede that about half the female keepers I know besides myself have colored hair and like certain styles though.

I think I have an idea what group you might be in that the responses are always "oh its not your fault" even when it was very clearly their fault. One of the international ones would drive me insane because they would show a setup that was basically animal abuse it was so terrible with a clearly dead or dying tarantula in the middle. Then everyone would be like oh no we all make mistakes! Which yeah, I'm sure almost everyone in the hobby has made mistakes at some point, but there's a difference between making a mistake or being ignorant and not even trying to do it right/not caring at all.



Its all good, sorry if I came across extra crabby in my last reply. I got defensive which is my bad. I had read your first comment more as a "haha female keepers, amiright?" type snarky comment than just a simple observation which is on me.

Hello! I apologize again if i generalized people on the way they look. I have no problem with people being different. That being said i made my own experiment and posted something in the FB group i am in. I posted something in the lines of i noticed not a lot of people keep OW T's. A lot of female keepers actually responded that they own OW's and they have been keeping for years! you are absolutely right! They do not look like the stereotype i just mentioned and they keep to themselves. They observe from a distance and mind their own business as much as possible.

honestly it's exhausting looking at GBB's and versi and other beginner tarantula every other FB post. You see lots of deathcurls too. I'm not perfect by any means and i have lost T's. If a tarantula arrived alive and it died, no matter what the reason it will always be my fault. It's just really annoying that the loud ones are the ones who gives advice like they know their shit.

Hello! I apologize again if i generalized people on the way they look. I have no problem with people being different. That being said i made my own experiment and posted something in the FB group i am in. I posted something in the lines of i noticed not a lot of people keep OW T's. A lot of female keepers actually responded that they own OW's and they have been keeping for years! you are absolutely right! They do not look like the stereotype i just mentioned and they keep to themselves. They observe from a distance and mind their own business as much as possible.

honestly it's exhausting looking at GBB's and versi and other beginner tarantula every other FB post. You see lots of deathcurls too. I'm not perfect by any means and i have lost T's. If a tarantula arrived alive and it died, no matter what the reason it will always be my fault. It's just really annoying that the loud ones are the ones who gives advice like they know their stuff.