What do tarantulas mean to you, and how did you get to the hobby?

[Hyeniik]

I´ve been wondering...since spiders in general are so hated and feared, what got you into deciding to keep one in the first place? And what do your tarantulas mean to you?

So far, I only have one tarantula, B. Smithi named Oncie. She is a beautiful young lady and I fell in love with her as soon as I saw her. As a kid, I would always pick up bugs, slugs, milipedes, and a bunch of spiders and would observe them and "cuddle" with them. They didn´t seem gross to me and I was very fascinated by them. As I grew, I noticed nearly everyone around me feared spiders. I never understood their fear. Even now, when I´m at highschool, it always has to be me to catch a spider running around in our classroom and release it outside, otherwise my classmates would jump out of the window, especially this HUGE guy named Denis. It´s funny to see someone who tries to be tough and is so big to be feraked out by a spider! With time, I realised I actually really like spiders and wanna learn more about them. So I started being interested into keeping T´s. After I bough Oncie, I am 100% sure I will get more spider puppies, as I call them.

To me, tarantulas are very gentle, beuatiful creatures that are sadly misunderstood by many. I try to teach my friends who fear them that they do not need to be feared. I want the world to give these cuties the love they deserve. <3

 

[Moakmeister]

I was never scared of spiders at any point in my life, but as a kid I found them cool because I was always told that they were humanity's helpers in eradicating other bugs. You know, the whole "spiders get rid of mosquitos" deal. Then when I was about ten, my uncle told me a story of how he caught a scorpion, a beetle, and two yellow jackets and put them in a jar, and the scorpion and the beetle fought. I thought it sounded like the coolest thing ever and I immediately wanted a pet scorpion. Fast forward eight years later, and I finally got my first tarantula because I had realized by that point that there was much more variety to be found in tarantulas than scorpions. I don't really have a huge desire to get more tarantulas, though the A. geniculata and the GBB are on my list.

 

[MGery92]

As a kid I was just like you. I liked to study bugs and insects of all kind. Me and my grandfather caught cross spiders (Araneus diadematus) in the forest near us. Of course, we always released them, but I enjoyed these adventures with my grandfather. I have never thought that I would keep tarantulas. Last year I just surfed on the internet, and saw a pic of an Acanthoscurria geniculata on a Hungarian website. After hours of searching I was fascinated by the colorful world of tarantulas. So, I am at 27 now and it is a really addictive hobby, so it is still not enough. All of them are NW's (except one, who was a freebie sling), I don't want to keep OW's just yet. I'm not ready for that. I think I will stop at 30, but who knows... I really enjoy to work with the little guys/gals, it calms me down.

 

[Deb60]

I'd always been interested in keeping some kind of pet , but always been limited to what I'd be able to keep due to being allergic to most animals with fur etc . Fast forward to last year ( and being all of 56 ) I babysat three Ts for my daughter for about six weeks till we could transport them over to her , at first I wasn't very happy about having them , but my course knew I'd have to look after them ( with her advise daily via the phone ) Once they had gone I found I actually missed them as I found them so interesting , my husband found someone selling a Eauthlus Chile Flame Red . So of we went to see it . He was so cute , we named him Kaiser , I've got some more since then , but his still my favourite. That's how it all started with me anyway.

 

[Hyeniik]

As a kid I was just like you. I liked to study bugs and insects of all kind. Me and my grandfather caught cross spiders (Araneus diadematus) in the forest near us. Of course, we always released them, but I enjoyed these adventures with my grandfather. I have never thought that I would keep tarantulas. Last year I just surfed on the internet, and saw a pic of an Acanthoscurria geniculata on a Hungarian website. After hours of searching I was fascinated by the colorful world of tarantulas. So, I am at 27 now and it is a really addictive hobby, so it is still not enough. All of them are NW's (except one, who was a freebie sling), I don't want to keep OW's just yet. I'm not ready for that. I think I will stop at 30, but who knows... I really enjoy to work with the little guys/gals, it calms me down.

I hear you, haha! At school I usually don´t pay attention to anything but tarantulas videos, pictures, blogs and such.

Right? The way my Oncie moves is so hypnotizing and calming, I love to watch her wander around her enclosure! She´s also a very, very intereseting speciment for me, because I am an art student and her body is full of lovely textures and details that would definitelly be worth doing an art study on someday.

 

[basin79]

I'm mentally ill, personality disorder and (recently) I'm autistic.

My inverts mean the world to me. I cry when one dies and I celebrate when a new one arrives.

Humans don't get that.

My dog and parrot get more because they appreciate it. But that hurts more.

 

[Hyeniik]

I'm mentally ill, personality disorder and (recently) I'm autistic.

My inverts mean the world to me. I cry when one dies and I celebrate when a new one arrives.

Humans don't get that.

My dog and parrot get more because they appreciate it. But that hurts more.

I agree with you.
I myself have a lot, lot of psychic issues, such as social anxiety, paranoia and PTSD, and my pets are the best medicine.
I would cry over how adorable my B. Smithi is when she´d press her legs to her body and create this adorable fluffy loaf of pure happiness.

 

[GreyPsyche]

I loved animals all my life and I've always been fascinated by them. I did a report on spiders during the third grade and learned a lot about them. Idk when or how it occurred to me later in life (23) that I wanted one but I had a plan to get one asap but I didn't have a very stable lifestyle so I dedicated the next few years to learning as much as I could about them, I got a steady job and was constantly working and one day I bit the bullet and ordered a few then a month later I had seven. Love em! Of course, I love all animals still but tarantulas fit my lifestyle the best. I'm reclusive and I work a lot and they don't take up much of my time or space. So to me they're the ideal pet, fascinating yet easy to care for. Of course, I have two dogs and I'd like a cat and if I ever live my dream and get to quit my day job I'd love to get some more exotic pets to take up some of my down time.

 

[basin79]

It might seem odd but I had to tell my parents I didn't love them but I love my inverts.

 

[MGery92]

I'm kind of an introvert, and I have a social anxiety too. And I had some really bad panic attacks in my life. But I don't have any phobias that is related to animals. If you accept their existence and you are willing to learn about them (and from them), you won't fear them anymore. I always get quotes from other people like "What is beautiful in a freakin' spider?", "these are monsters", "it wants to kill you" and other dumb sentences. Some of them are think that I am crazy, and they say it is not normal. But what if we are the "normal" people, who can accept nature as it was created?

Just thinking out loud...

 

[Caseyface]

I've always loved bugs of all kinds. When I was little, my mother didn't allow us to have pets. So, I found my own loophole and started bringing home invertebrates, that'll teach my mom! I had dozens of jumping spiders, caterpillars, roly-polies, moths and butterflies, all caught with my little, bare hands. I even brought some of my pets to school with me.

As I got older, I noticed that many of my friends and kids my age stopped playing in the grass, stopped searching for insect friends. While their interests moved on, mine remained with creepy crawlies. I didn't understand why so many people were so frightened of a few extra legs...

I always wanted a tarantula, especially after having one as a "class pet" in kindergarten (Thank you, Mrs. Abraham, for being an awesome, open-minded teacher). Well, I recently dove into this mad world, starting with one and not realizing how addicting it can be. I now have 31 tarantulas and my own Tarantula Room.

I suffer from depression, some pretty severe social anxiety, and the ever-so-lovely PTSD. Needless to say, I don't really like leaving my house. It is my safe place, everything I love and need is there. My tarantulas mean so much to me. They are huge sources of comfort on hard days; their resilience and beauty give me hope. I name each new addition, and truly care for each of my tarantulas babies. I create each enclosure with the future inhabitant in mind. I want them to do well. I want them to be healthy. Sometimes, and most of the time, I don't even want that for myself.

I am going to love the frig out of these little ones, always.

 

[BishopiMaster]

I name none of my tarantulas, i like watching them eat, burrow, and do random tarantula shit under the pretense of studying biology.

 

[nicodimus22]

I was always into bugs as a kid. At one point I thought I could be an entomologist, but after high school I tried my hand at meteorology instead. That lasted about one semester, until I flunked out of calculus. I was an A student in high school, but I didn't understand a lick of it. Still don't.

I started doing macro photography of insects and spiders in the field in 2012, and the next year I just decided to get a tarantula sling to try it out. Things come into and out of your life, and we don't always know exactly why. I'm very lucky to have a GF that likes all kinds of animals. Well, not kangaroos, but that's a story for another day.

 

[Ungoliant]

I´ve been wondering...since spiders in general are so hated and feared, what got you into deciding to keep one in the first place? And what do your tarantulas mean to you?

I've always liked spiders and other things people consider to be "creepy crawlies." However, it wasn't until a few years ago that I began learning about spiders in earnest, and now my interest in spiders has snowballed into an obsession. (As far as my hobbies go, I don't seem to be capable of casual interest. It's either 1 or 10.)

I started keeping true spiders around that time, mostly the web-building ones I can find locally. (My favorite local true spider is Kukulcania hibernalis, and I still have seven of them as pets.)

At the time, I was interested in getting a tarantula one day, but I hadn't begun researching or preparing in earnest. Then, as a complete surprise, my mother (who fears and hates spiders) gave me a mature female Avicularia avicularia (from Craigslist) for my birthday. I had almost no information about the spider (not even an ID), just that it was seven years old, likes to be petted, and was given several crickets a week. It was also in a terrestrial setup with no leaves. Needless to say, it didn't take me long to figure out that the enclosure was wrong, the feeding schedule was wrong, and she would rather not be handled at all.

I bought a second Avicularia avicularia several months later and have since added six others to my collection. My first tarantula passed away two months ago during a bad molt. (I'd had her for over three years, so she was ten years old if the previous owner was correct.) I buried her under an azalea with little pink flowers the same color as her toes.

Years ago, I would never have expected to have tarantulas, but now that I do, I can't imagine not having them. My tarantulas are pets (even though I don't handle them), but they're also interesting to observe and learn about. Sometimes they are even amusing. Pets, even of the ornamental variety, are also good for mental health.

 

[GreyPsyche]

I name none of my tarantulas, i like watching them eat, burrow, and do random tarantula shit under the pretense of studying biology.

I name all of my females but only because I have a small collection and I don't really like referring to them by their common or scientific names in normal conversations with my gf. She's the only one that knows their names other than me and it feels silly sometimes but I give them cool unique names. Another reason I do this is because scientific names aggravate me by changing and common names are just annoying. Although I still occasionally use them.

 

[BishopiMaster]

I name all of my females but only because I have a small collection and I don't really like referring to them by their common or scientific names in normal conversations with my gf. She's the only one that knows their names other than me and it feels silly sometimes but I give them cool unique names. Another reason I do this is because scientific names aggravate me by changing and common names are just annoying. Although I still occasionally use them.

Hahaha totally get it, you onl have a small window to capture attention span with the arcane

 

[JoshDM020]

I think its mostly conservation for me. The idea of possibly saving a species from extinction is great. And its sortof a big deal in some countries because of deforestation and what-not. I also enjoy learning about their stange little mannerisms that we will probably never understand. Two of my three are currently too small to really observe too much, its mostly eating and running away from them. But my Avicularia avicularia has become quite interesting to observe, even though hes a lazy bum. What he DOES do is fascinating. And the fact that he only started most of it recently makes it that much more fun. Hes become quite the little sharp shooter with the poop, thats for sure.

 

[kevinlowl]

I now fill mine with tarantulas. Before this I filled it with anime merchandise, bought a whole shitload of it. At some point I realized materialism is bad, then I stopped.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

They're big, hairy, reclusive, antisocial, think everything is either food or a threat and are considered weird or scary by people who don't understand them...

The eight-legged murder tank of old is my spirit animal.

 

[Hyeniik]

They're big, hairy, reclusive, antisocial, think everything is either food or a threat and are considered weird or scary by people who don't understand them...

The eight-legged murder tank of old is my spirit animal.

Yes! Haha, exactly. Other than my dog, my B. Smithi Oncie is the animal that reflects my personality the best. Her legs even look like mine during winter, haha!