your jump to OW?

hunterc

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 14, 2020
Messages
24
Just for fun, curiosity, and conversation..did anyone "unknowingly" make the jump to OW?

When i first got into the hobby i started with a g. Rosea, a fairly common starter T. Got hooked and wanted more. Waited close to a year, then went to a convention (still very green and rather unexperienced in the hobby). Found a T vendor with alllll these little deli cups with their scientific names on them (i barley knew common names let alone those)..found a couple that caught my intrest, quickly googled their care (neglected to look up NW or OW, venom, speed, experince level, or anything else) and wound up bringing home a p. Regalis and a p. Muticus..it wasnt until i got them home and settled into their enclosures that i decided to read more on them and found out quick that due to my ignorance, inexperience, neglect to research ANYTHING, and buying them because they "looked cool" i had to step my game up quick:rofl:. Did as much research as i could about them, corrected my husbandry mistakes, and the rest is history.

I learned more from the p. Regalis in 1 year than i have to this day from my g. Rosea:rofl:
Anyone have a similar, comparible, or just plain funny story to their jump to OW
 

PanzoN88

Arachnodemon
Joined
Sep 15, 2014
Messages
713
Yes and no, yes because I didn't expect to get my first OW (Orphnaecus sp. 'Cebu') as a freebie when I got it as a freebie in 2017 and no since I was already looking into OWs at the time anyway. Getting the freebie just simply started my OW collection a few months early.
 

Sinned

Arachnosquire
Joined
Nov 23, 2017
Messages
144
I got a mystery freebie sling when receiving my order, my 2nd and 3rd T. Called the breeder asking what it was...

:shifty: Heteroscodra maculata. :bored:

A bit of a step up after having a juvi T. albopilosum for like 2-3 months. It died before I even got the chance to give it away/return it a few days later. Poor little bastard...:(
 

Jesse607

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 29, 2002
Messages
715
Twenty years ago when I started, there weren't forums and facebook groups to help beginners out. I started with a juvenile T. albopilosum, P. murinus sling, and P. muticus sling. I grew up keeping anything I could catch as a pet, including ants and wasps, as well as Dolomedes fishing spiders, so I was reasonably prepared.
 

nicodimus22

Arachnomancer
Arachnosupporter
Joined
Sep 26, 2013
Messages
715
I have no interest in them, personally. But it's cool if other people want them.
 

CommanderBacon

Arachnobaron
Joined
May 21, 2018
Messages
498
I was at a show last year and I saw "2i Ceratogyrus darlingi 2 for $25" and I was like BOX THEM UP MY GOOD MAN.

I never even wanted one before then. I don't know what it is about deals.

Anyway, they're great and I love them <3

I also received a free scorpion.
 

The Grym Reaper

Arachnoreaper
Joined
Jul 19, 2016
Messages
4,835
I ordered a B. emilia juvie and received a Chilobrachys huahini sling as a surprise freebie, I'd only been in the hobby for about 4 months at the time and I'd not planned to get any OWs until I'd been keeping tarantulas for at least a year (the closest thing I had to one was a P. irminia sling that I'd gotten a week before) so that kinda threw a spanner in the works.
 

FrDoc

Gen. 1:24-25
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Jul 18, 2017
Messages
832
My intro was half and half. I planned on buying a P. muticus but I received a H. himalayana as a freebie in the deal. So, I was “double-dosed” into the realm or OW’s AND fossorials at the same time.
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
17,851
I knew they were OW, knew about the venom- wasn't worried about that I'm very careful. What had me on edge was their speed
 

mack1855

Arachnoangel
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Sep 5, 2016
Messages
820
I did the ladder system...in reverse.OW then progressed to NW.Really did not think about it honestly.
I never had arachnophobia,so it was one spider is pretty much like another.
 

SonsofArachne

Arachnoangel
Joined
Dec 10, 2017
Messages
961
I knew about OW's but didn't really worry about it. Got my first two adult pokies about a month after I started. I will say I did some things as a newb that I wouldn't attempt now, but I was lucky.
 

Teds ts and Inverts

Arachnobaron
Joined
Nov 10, 2017
Messages
504
I had been in the hobby for a little less than two years, and while I only had 3 Ts before I bought my first OW, I figured I had enough experience with the ones I already had (Two of them being T. stirmi and E. murinus, which are Ts recommended for more advanced keepers) to be able to make the jump. So when I saw a 3" CB Female C. lividus for sale at an expo (which also happened to be on my birthday), I decided that I simply couldn't pass it up!

Was I ready? Yes and no. I was completely aware of this T's speed and defensive behavior, but I wasn't ready this T's unpredictability. One minute, they don't budge despite you trying to usher them along, then bolting a lap around the enclosure or flaring up into a threat pose the next. The jumpscares are real!!! But as I've acquired more and gotten some more experience with them, I absolutely love my OWs.
 

Ian14

Arachnobaron
Joined
Nov 27, 2019
Messages
324
I'm new to the tarantula world but old in the tooth with snakes. I simply do not subscribe to the view that there is a beginner species and a subsequent scale of species.
Provided you have researched fully the husbandry needs, along with the potential speed and damage a species is capable of, then there is no such thing as beginner or advanced. What makes a species "advanced" is its specific husbandry and environmental needs. Provided they are catered for, then any species is simple - it just needs food! The hard part is providing its environment and as long as the keeper has fully researched that and provided what's needed, everything else is simple.
I have a mixture of old and new world spiders, having started keeping them in November. All of mine are feeding and molting. I've rehoused my O sp negros without any issues.
Ts are not pets. They are wild animals. As long as you know that, and what each species' temperament is, there is no reason why an old world should be seen as not for beginners.
I am sure this post will attract plenty of face palm, thumbs down etc etc but there we go!
 

Pyroxian

Arachnophobophiliac
Joined
Aug 31, 2019
Messages
187
I'm new to the tarantula world but old in the tooth with snakes. I simply do not subscribe to the view that there is a beginner species and a subsequent scale of species.
Provided you have researched fully the husbandry needs, along with the potential speed and damage a species is capable of, then there is no such thing as beginner or advanced. What makes a species "advanced" is its specific husbandry and environmental needs. Provided they are catered for, then any species is simple - it just needs food! The hard part is providing its environment and as long as the keeper has fully researched that and provided what's needed, everything else is simple.
I have a mixture of old and new world spiders, having started keeping them in November. All of mine are feeding and molting. I've rehoused my O sp negros without any issues.
Ts are not pets. They are wild animals. As long as you know that, and what each species' temperament is, there is no reason why an old world should be seen as not for beginners.
I am sure this post will attract plenty of face palm, thumbs down etc etc but there we go!
2 things...

1st, that's not what the OP asked. This thread is specifically "did you unknowingly make the jump?"

2nd it's not the care or husbandry needs that make an old world unsuitable for new keepers, it's the magnitude of the consequences of the inevitable mistakes. Getting tagged by a fast/bolty new world has much less severe consequences than being tagged by an old world (in general).
 

Ian14

Arachnobaron
Joined
Nov 27, 2019
Messages
324
And therein lies the issue.
Yes, they are more dangerous in terms of a bite. Provided you as a keeper.are awake to that, then there is no issue.
I appreciate my point of view is very different to that of the tarantula hobby but that is no reason to say i am wrong.
As for the first point that frankly is just stupidity.
If you buy a t but don't know if it's old or new world then frankly you shouldn't have one!
I cannot see how you can unknowingly keep an old world species. Its name is shown on the pricelist. So if someone buys a spider without knowing what it is then that is in itself idiotic.
So the issue is magnitude?
Then hows that different from a new snake keeper buying a corn snake or a mangrove snake. Honestly, having come to this hobby all I am seeing is a real elitist attitude! The herp hobby was the same for years. But ultimately if you know what you are getting, and research how to work with that animal, why should one be different to another??
 
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