The question(s) you get asked the most

[dukegarda]

Nothing against the men on this site, but in my everyday life, definitely more boys are freaked out by my Ts than girls. No joke! It's so funny since most guys try to act all tough then act like little sissies when they see or hear about my spiders. xD

You sound like my ideal date. =D

I dunno about the ratio though... most of my friends who are female are pretty freaked out about Ts, meanwhile, most of my guy friends are 'no thanks'. They just want nothing to do with them. I have yet to put them to the test in person, but when I talk about it, they just dismiss it.

 

[kyrga]

mina, tarantulas are this season's hottest accessory, didn't you know! I, for one, always keep one in my purse

now that's a fashion! the heck with chihuahua's in your purse, the new portable pet is a pokey! think Paris would go for it?

Nothing against the men on this site, but in my everyday life, definitely more boys are freaked out by my Ts than girls. No joke! It's so funny since most guys try to act all tough then act like little sissies when they see or hear about my spiders. xD

I've also noticed there are much more girls into Ts than I would've thought. And the people I know who tend to accept my spiders the most are girls.

 

[KingBowser]

When my friend came to visit for a couple of weeks I took out one of my tarantulas' molts(this one being my B. smithi's) and touched his hear with it while he was on the computer. He almost pissed himself and screamed "I'm allergic to those!!". Haha. It was cruel but funny. :}

 

[AviculariaLover]

I agree that while some girls may have a more intense reaction (screaming, etc.) for the most part, girls have been much more open to getting a better look and even holding my tarantula. They like the cute little pink toes Most guys are just like "uhhh no thanks" and back away slowly, trying not to show how scared/grossed out they are. Even my zoology lab TA, when I took in my pink toe for our invertebrate lab, he screamed and ran out of the room all the way down the hallway, and would not come back until we assured him it would stay in the cage. This was a guy who dissected sharks for us, and a number of other disgusting things, yet a cute furry tarantula was just too much for him I guess

 

[Vermis]

The ones I get the most are:

1. Are they poisonous?

2. How many do you have?

3. So do you keep them all in the same cage? (usually asked right after question #2)

4. What do you feed them?

5. Have you ever been bitten?

6. Do you ever take them out? (meaning hold them)

7. So do they like the dark? (after seeing the closet I keep them in)

8. Do you sell them?

Those are the most common questions I get asked.

Ha! That's almost exactly what I get, word-for-word, apart from 7. Pull that out and plug in the old "Do you pull out their fangs?" and "Why?" chestnuts, along with "Do they sting?" (Conversely, "Do they bite?" for my scorps) and "What would you do if one escaped?"

I don't mind too much. You can't expect everyone to be completely read up on Ts before being introduced to your collection. But it does bug me when my young cousins ask the very same questions every time they come over (Older relatives tend not to enquire too closely about my collection). Although I guess that says more about my gene pool than the public perception of tarantulas.

As for "Why?", usually accompanied by a disappointed look or comment at the response to "Do you take them out?" and/or "Can you pet them?" (I don't): I like the tropical fish analogy, myself. People with a tankful of angel fish and neon tetras in their front rooms generally don't get crazy looks for having them, or because they don't plunge their hands in to pull one out and play with it like a hamster. I think it gets through. I think.

Poisonous/Venomous is the same thing in swedish, but when as usual I get asked that as the first question I say: "Yes. All spiders are venomous, even the tinyest of house spiders. They need the venom to subdue and and digest their prey and without it there wouldn't be any. "Next the person asking sighs (happens every time!) and restates the question "But are they deadly venomous?" whereas I aswer in the way you can proberbly imagine.

Again, almost word-for-word.

 

[Drachenjager]

Getting asked if it's poisonous drives me up the wall.

Then the whole pet rock thing. Why doesn't it move? I always answer with it doesn't feel like it, it's lounging.

The worst question that I got, in the sense that it pissed me off was; "Why tarantulas?" And the tone was kind of like, you know that's useless, so why are you doing it? My reply was this; "Why do you have a cat or dog? They stink, poop everywhere, are noisy, take up a whole lot of room, and you buy expensive dog food for it, not to mention all those pricey shots you must get for them, oh and did you pay your canine license yet?

I have a dog and love him to death, so don't go saying I'm being mean to dog owners. =D

lol i reply because they eat the neighbors dogs and cats lol

 

[Drachenjager]

Going beyond the usual questions I've dealt with over the years, the big one that people are in shock by is my answers to the question "How much did you pay for that thing?" and any number over $10 is nutsville to them. I usually decide not to get into the fact that I have several expensive tarantulas. I think the all time best question I got was from my stepdad though..."Do you want me to come over and kill them for ya?" :?

reply " do you want me to come over and kill your cat?"

 

[Drachenjager]

haha i get that alot from girls.. but some guys too.. but they frist try to act like they are not scared then i take out my g. rosea and they scream like the girls... but I do know lots for girls that are not scared of my Ts they just don't know about them haha i started all my friends into loving ts.. so now they hold them and say there cute.. one of my friends is crazy tho when ever she sees my G. rosea she says "aww cute kitty!"

no need to curse your rosie

 

[Transylvania]

now that's a fashion! the heck with chihuahua's in your purse, the new portable pet is a pokey! think Paris would go for it?

Haha oh please yes. Throw in an OBT and some Lividums and my dream will come true.

 

[octoo]

I haven't really gotten any questions that would offend me about my tarantula. Actually, most of my friends have taken interest in her. They usually stop me and ask me how she's doing, and when I say she's hanging out in her log in pre-molt, they get pretty interested and ask about that.

I guess I'm lucky to have some pretty open-minded friends about the whole thing. Even though I'm no expert on the hobby, I'm glad I can at least educate a few people about them.

 

[fscorpion]

Wow... it's amazing how naive some people can be... wait, never mind, it's not amazing...

People are always afraid of what's different. I suppose it takes a special type of person to appreciate Tarantulas in all their mystic glory. Their Tarantula walk... to their tarantula grooming habits. They look so cute when they eat! ^__^

Well, I guess all of you understand that very few people know anything about tarantulas, so it is really not so strange that they ask silly questions. Making fun of them is like making fun of a person that lacks of knowledge in a certain field, it is simply rude and I don't like it. How many times did all of you (and me) ask stupid questions about things you don't know. The last visit to the doctor or to your matematician friend, maybe your first sexual questions and stuff like that...
We shoud all respect the people who are amazed by those animals and ask questions, even if they seem stupid to us, we should try to just give them the correct answerd and try not to judge them...
F.

 

[spider_fan]

The question I've been asked by most of the people that have seen my collection is, "There is more than one kind of tarantula?" You'd be amazed how many people think that there is only one kind of T and that its plain brown.

 

[AviculariaLover]

Yeah, lots of people are surprised at how bright and colorful my pink toe is, and they ask general questions about "tarantulas" and it's really hard to give a short answer, because there are so many species with so many different temperments.

I don't blame people for not knowing much about Ts, but there are some elementary things (like they are arachnids not insects/reptiles/whatever) that you learn in elementary school that people should be able to get right. But then again, I'm a HUGE stickler for getting things technically right (like the usage of the word "bug"... oh you have no idea how long I could go back and forth about that with someone). And if I'm talking to fellow zoology/entomology students, I expect a certain level of prior general knowledge of inverts so it's much easier talking about Ts... but with other students, who knows. And I don't want people to feel like I'm talking down to them when I mention basic things, but it *is* surprising how little some people know. But then I make it my duty to inform them All of my friends in high school ended up being quite well rounded in their insect/arachnid/reptile/amphibian education by the time they graduated, hehehe. (I want to be a college professor... so I'm practicing

No matter what I think it's really cool when people ask questions and are genuinly interested... better than running away screaming

 

[DavidRS]

Number 1. Is it poisonous?
Number 2. How many do you have?
Number 3. Do you keep them alll in a big tank?

 

[Bothrops]

1) Are they venomous?
2) Why do you have tarantulas? <-- The most idiot question IMO.
3) Have you ever been bitten?

 

[SpiderZone2]

I also get asked if you can have their fangs removed! So I asked if they could eat if all their teeth were removed too!!! Ignorant people. Or they are totally grossed out that I keep them at all. I have fewer visitors that way!! Just telling them the size of them is enough to see the faces these people make.

 

[ShadowBlade]

"Have you been bitten by one before?"
-"yes"
"Are you turning into like Spiderman?"

-Sean

 

[Bothrops]

"Have you been bitten by one before?"
-"yes"
"Are you turning into like Spiderman?"

-Sean

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ROFLMAO!!!!

That's a very good one!!!!!!

 

[jr47]

i got a new one the other night. my future son in law was looking at the spiders and he seen my obt. he said that that one wasnt a true t, they dont make webs. when i tried to expain that they did he asked me why it had stingers coming out its butt if it was a t.
i tried to explain that they were not stingers and t's did make webs but he wouldnt listen so i just let him think he was right. maybe he'll go look it up and find he is wrong.