hobby and collections?

something has been puzzling me since i came to these forums, and since i've been researching T's.

why do people think of it as a hobby? i mean, i have a pet dog and cat, but i don't consider them part of my dog and cat 'hobby' or sumthing. Lets say i run into a person with 25 dogs...i don't call them a dog hobbyist, i call them a dog breeder or the like.


same thing in regards to your 'collections'. i dunno... i think of collections as non-living things, such as sword collections or coin collections. I never heard of a dog collection or such. I reviewed the definition of the word 'collection' and it doesn't specify that a collection must be non-living...but it just seems that we often use it when referring to non-living groups of like things.


it seems to me, that because T's don't seem to move alot, and they are rather low maintenance, that people can just hang them on a wall like a painting, instead of regarding them as living things. I know people who have birds...they don't move much lol and they seem rather low maintenance as well, but they aren't compulsed to buy 100's etc. They seem to add them as part of the family as a dog or cat.

Perhaps this is only due to the fact that birds, dogs, and cats have been kept by humans for a long time in our culture. Perhaps in a 100 years a T could be considered in the same way.


Do any of you find that having more than X number of T's devalues them? I mean, I have one T and I find it very valuable because it is my only one...all my resources are devoted to it, rather than 100 of them dividing my resources. How can you pay the same amount of attention to one as you would 100? if you do, then it is merely a passing glance and not as invovling as it would be if you only had one. etc etc i think you understand what i'm saying.


is there anyone here who only has one T and doesn't plan on buying more in the future unless your current T dies?

Am I insane?

why do people think of it as a hobby? i mean, i have a pet dog and cat, but i don't consider them part of my dog and cat 'hobby' or sumthing. Lets say i run into a person with 25 dogs...i don't call them a dog hobbyist, i call them a dog breeder or the like.

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Keeping tarantulas generally attracts two seperate mindsets. Those who are fascinated and wish to fascinate or interest others and further their knowledge of the animals they keep - the learners; and the group who think they are cool, gory, scary and so on - the shockers. Personally I'd be happy to see the shockers leave the scene, but that's just me
If I ran into someone with 25 cats I'd say they were a cat enthusiast. Especially if they had cat books, researched cat behaviour, read cat trivia, posted on cat forums and so on. If you are enthusiastic about something rather than "here's my pet Reggie he lives in a tank and he is cool" then it tends to be thought of as a hobby or interest rather than just a house pet.

same thing in regards to your 'collections'. i dunno... i think of collections as non-living things, such as sword collections or coin collections. I never heard of a dog collection or such. I reviewed the definition of the word 'collection' and it doesn't specify that a collection must be non-living...but it just seems that we often use it when referring to non-living groups of like things.

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Hmmm, what else to call a large number of tarantulas? We can't use words like flock, tribe, group because these all indicate social groups which are (generally) not present in spiders. I think "collection" is probably the most accurate word.

it seems to me, that because T's don't seem to move alot, and they are rather low maintenance, that people can just hang them on a wall like a painting, instead of regarding them as living things. I know people who have birds...they don't move much lol and they seem rather low maintenance as well, but they aren't compulsed to buy 100's etc. They seem to add them as part of the family as a dog or cat.

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Birds, cats, dogs, guinea pigs and so on smell, eat a lot of food, and take up a lot of space. Fish don't, hence people have tankfuls of the thing. Spiders are equally space-friendly. You also have the fact that birds, dogs, cats and so on all respond to humans. They are pleased when we stroke them, they get upset if we scold them, they can be trained to a degree and have (reasonably limited in many cases) intelligence. Tarantulas do not exhibit these behaviours. Your spider won't wait up for you to come home at night. It won't hate you for not feeding it every day, it won't show affection to you if you give it a treat, and as long as it's basic husbandry needs are met it needs very very little "care".

Perhaps this is only due to the fact that birds, dogs, and cats have been kept by humans for a long time in our culture. Perhaps in a 100 years a T could be considered in the same way.

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I don't think so, it is not in the spider's nature to be "tamed" and learn association with it's "master" or owner.

Do any of you find that having more than X number of T's devalues them? I mean, I have one T and I find it very valuable because it is my only one...all my resources are devoted to it, rather than 100 of them dividing my resources. How can you pay the same amount of attention to one as you would 100? if you do, then it is merely a passing glance and not as invovling as it would be if you only had one. etc etc i think you understand what i'm saying.

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Of course you can lavish more attention on the 1 than 100. But when my collection passed 2, the additional numbers ceased to make much different. My attiditude to my spiders has not changed between spider number 3 and spider number 65. They are now my spider collection rather than my pet tarantula. My attitude probably changed a lot with it. I found myself becoming far more interested in taxonomy, scientific papers, locality data and so on. A new hunger for knowledge. Posts like "OMG it moulted" or "my t tried to bite me does she hate me" no longer hold much relevance or interest for me. Now a post like "Haplopelma identification key featuring summarisations from taxonomical papers over the last 300 years" or "New species of Poecilotheria reported" would grab my attention for sure.

Am I insane?

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To question one's sanity openly is one of the first signs of madness

Excellent responses Lopez....I concur.

"It won't hate you for not feeding it every day, it won't show affection to you if you give it a treat, and as long as it's basic husbandry needs are met it needs very very little "care"."


so your T's are not in telepathic communication with you? My T told me her name, Big bertha...and she hates me when i don't feed her lol ... she demands emancipation, but i just can't do everything she demands of me lol... i am insane ...

I agree, Lopez hits the nail on the head.
With as many tarantulas as I keep, I find that they still bring me the same joy as when I only had one. I can site for hours and watch my various keeps. The only difference now is in handling time, but as I've learned more, I handle less. The only one that benefits from handling is me, and I would rather not stress the animals.
I also find myself ignoring the "Its Molted" threads now and gravitating towards the threads that provide identification and photo elements. I also spend a large amount of time reading up on species and husbandry.
Call me a tarantula enthusiast and I'm thrilled, and although I've shyed away from the word "collection" to describe my group, I find there is not really a better way to describe them.
Ralph

yea collection is fine, but i find this is a rare case where it is a collection of living things.

the definition of collections suits a bunch of T's well, but it just seems weird is all i'm saying...just think of how many living collections of things you can think of vs the number of non-living collections. we use the word to describe non-living things more often than not IMO.

I don't regard it as a hobby.. I don't refer to my spiders as "collection" either, really. I just say "spiders"... But yeah... The term 'collection' does have a lot of negative connotations in regards to the actual animals; just use it in a light way I guess.

Yeah Leon I know what you mean about the gory/shocker people... I have a lot of them that I know asking me for spiders. Nearly every request involves the world "cool" or "scary" at which point I tell them to get a skateboard if they want to be cool. It's just beyond retarded and to be honest quite offensive that people want what are initially my main interest and devotion, merely to scare or to look cool. Does that make sense to anyone? Liek when they tell me they want one they can hold - WHY!? Get a freaking rat or something instead, rather than having an undomesticated spider to 'handle'. Gah, I can't find the words to express how much this 'irritates and annoys' me - I absolutely loathe it. Sorry to rant.

This "shocker" audince is quite the stereotypical one... I hang around with a fair few of them in college, so I'm often associated with it when peopel ask me if I keep spiders I can usually clear it up by saying how long I've had them, sharing my knowledge/future plans, or just questioning them. Uncultured swines thinking "ARE THEY POISONOUS? WILL THEY KILL ME IF I GET BIT? LOL!!!!!". Ever noticed how this "shocker" group always has to say "I kill spiders" or something similar? Such as "Will it eat LIVE rats?" "Do you feed it live rats!?"

Like when peopel say "WHOA! That's cool you keep spiders!" - that irriates me beyond belief. gah, the joys of teenagers

.GAH! OKAY... I'm going to stop with that oen now.

You forgot a third group - the money-hungry scavengers, to whom business is the main priority

Lots of peopel 'collect' birds en masse... You should see some backyard avaries around here. Are fish collectables?

I think that the term 'collection' is only applicable due to the huge variety, (even just within theraposhidae) accross genera then the mass species... Plus, in asense, spiders are for looking, not petting or touchign. So yes, collection seems quite the appropriate term.

EDIT: Terms like "I am insane" indicate a shocker :/ I keep spiders LOL and they bite LOL I must be insane.. Go on, ask me if I am!

Interesting subject... i dont know why but I consider tarantula keeping, fish keeping, gardening and a few other live such activities as hobbies... and its a collection when you are collecting species... I mean I suppose there is someone out there who collects rare dogs and considers it a hobby....

Also... maybe personality has something to do with it? Fish and spiders and plants... dont really have much personality of their own... all dogs and cats do

"EDIT: Terms like "I am insane" indicate a shocker :/ I keep spiders LOL and they bite LOL I must be insane.. Go on, ask me if I am!"

i may be egotistical here, but is that in referrance to me saying i'm insane?

if it is, then you must have not read the part where I communicate telepathically with my spider, and that my spider demands emanciption and hates me when i don't feed her...o yea and that she told me that her name was Big Bertha... are you insane?



"Also... maybe personality has something to do with it? Fish and spiders and plants... dont really have much personality of their own... all dogs and cats do"

i can understand that...that's what i thought at first too...but my Big Bertha has tons of personality...literally lol...

Originally posted by Shox



"Also... maybe personality has something to do with it? Fish and spiders and plants... dont really have much personality of their own... all dogs and cats do"

i can understand that...that's what i thought at first too...but my Big Bertha has tons of personality...literally lol...

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That sounds rather subjective... i doubt that she has her own personality... this is sort of a topic that has been over killed on here... but I personaly dont think that they think... or have individualized personalities. You can love your T and think its beautiful and call it such personified things as sweet or fiesty... when really these are all just instinctual. It will never know you are its "friend" it will never "like you" it will never enjoy being picked up and handled(not your T blondi... I assume you dont handle it... but in genral.) these things are tolerated or indulged because of instinct engrained into them...

You can love your T and think its beautiful and call it such personified things as sweet or fiesty... when really these are all just instinctual.

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I disagree....well, kindof anyway. Although a "sweet" or "fiesty" attitude of a spider might be instinctual, I think it is still a defining characteristic of the spider's "personality".

If someone were to ask me what the personality of my curly was like, I'd reply:
"Always hungry, pretty docile, kinda jumpy, and likes to re-arrange everying in it's enclosure."

Sounds like a personality definition to me, but I guess it'll all depend on the semantic "personality" arguement - what defines a "personality"?
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Thoughts on why it's called a collection?
Many varieties, little change in care betweem them all, and the fact they all stay in "display" cages 99% of the time, they're treated like other collections (minus the feeding etc). Plus, after moving past 3 or so T's, it's seems silly to say "I have 24 pet Tarantulas at home." That's too many "pets" for anyone.....

Am I insane?

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;P You may be.

My bug collection really isn't any different than my cat and dog.
I love them just the same. If I could pet them like a cat it would be
perfect But I can't, they make me itch something horrible


They are a part of who I am I suppose

And I KNOW I'M INSANE
I don't need to ask....................;P

Shoot, I have a whole HERD of Ts! I "collect" as many as I can. They are my pets, they are my hobby, they are helping me to further my knowledge of different forms of life around me, they are medicinal; i.e. stress-relieving, they help me meet new friends, they help me teach my children to properly care for our captive beasts, and so on and so on and so on! They aren't my life, but they sure aren't just a "collection" of "things!"

Shox,
Why can't the heeping of animals be a hobby, there is a rather good magazine out there "Tropical Fish Hobbyist" that title alone tells me that keeping tropical fish is a hobby.

Andy

I keep T's simply because I enjoy them, and they fascinate me. Caring for tarantulas is something you can do in your spare time, so I think it can justly be called a hobby- something you do in your spare time for relaxation, enjoyment etc. I wouldn't call someone a dog hobbyist if they had a lot of dogs, or even one dog, because dogs require so much more time and effort.

A collection is stationary. You collect the objects of your fascination, and they sit on display, or filed away in folders, boxes etc. More active animals like horses, dogs, cats, etc. , can't be put on a shelf or kept in boxes- like T's can, so I don't think they qualify for a "collection". I don't think size is as much an issue here as activity- we still use the term "snake collection", even if the keeper has multiple pythons or boas -- large animals. But because they are less active, you CAN keep them in cages, on display. In my eyes at least, those are the criteria for "hobby" and "collection".

Funk & Wagnalls circa 1916:
Hobby: Something in which one takes extravagant interest.
Collection: 1. A collecting; a group of collected objects or individuals. 2. An aggregation, an accumulation.

Webster's circa1996:
Hobby: Something that one likes to do in one's spare time.
Collection: 1. A collecting 2. Things collected 3. A mass or pile ; accumulation

On a related note:
Funk & Wagnalls circa 1916:
Addict: Reflexively, to apply or devote (oneself) persistently or continuously; give (oneself) up to.

Webster's circa1996:
Addict: To give up (oneself) to a strong habit.

"Why can't the heeping of animals be a hobby, there is a rather good magazine out there "Tropical Fish Hobbyist" that title alone tells me that keeping tropical fish is a hobby."


that justifies nothing. but i understand the sentiment behind it. Venom's point about T keeping taking up little time seems good.

but still, how many people deal with living things as a hobby and how many living collections of things can you think of that people have? T hobbyists and collections are part of a rare group of things that can be called as such.

i think the word "hobby" is used by those of use who do keep t's and use it for lack of a better word.

"collection" is used for lack of a better word as well.

try: menagerie, zoo, gaggle, plethora.

i personally refer to them as my fuzzy, eight-legged children.

dont think of the words hobby and collection in the general "non-hobby" associations. most people that think of those of us "in the hobby" as "those spider weirdos" and not as "mygalomorph Hobbyists".

"perception determines reality"

maybe passion or addiction would be better suited.

Originally posted by krtrman
maybe passion or addiction would be better suited.

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When I first met my boyfriend, he referred to his tarantulas as his "passion". I think that is a very good word for people like us who truly love and care for the spiders we keep. Every one of my little critters is precious to me. I've loved bugs since I was a little girl, but I always especially loved spiders... don't ask me why, because I have no idea

As for the "shockers", they are SOOOO annoying...

But, when I describe myself as an embalmer who loves horror movies, metal music, and spiders, most people think that I should look like the typical "shocker" freak goth girl, wearing chains and a spiked collar...

But I'm just a normal little red-headed mama's girl who wears a suit to work... who knew?