How did we get addicted?

I have a question for everyone here. What started your interest in tarantulas? As for me it all started when I was 11 or 12 years old I caught a wild tarantula which would have been A hentzi from this area. When I was a kid I always had fruit jars with bugs in them mostly mantids and jumping spiders. I had that 1 T for 3 or 4 yrs until I turned back loose one day. Finally I have the interest that I have now in them and it doesn't look like it will die anytime soon.

beacause we're weak, I to have had an interest in inverts since I was young. My mom used to get right pissed off at me for bringing bugs into the house.

i'm not sure how i got started in the hobby. my buddy had one for a long time and every since i was a kid i would love to look at pics of them, so one day i saw one in a pet store and i bought it.

as my GF would put it "but honey they are so cute and fuzzy"

well my petrat died ( and were i live we are not allowed cat and dogs as pets),
and i didn't want a bird or a hampster.
so i decided to cure my arachnophobia ( a few years back i could not even look at a tarantula in a cage that was BEHIND a glass wall).
got me a rosehair in jan.04, then an A.avic in july, then 8 more end of july...
i still wont hold any exept my rosie ( and her only after my hubby picks her up and lets her crawl on my arm).
at least i'm able to set the cages up, feed then, clean cages, and watch them...
dianne

I came to this planet 24 years ago on that day I met the spider god, he told me that his children would be my minions. Ever since that day they have helped me in the prepration of the 6th extinction, the end of the human race!

Really my ex-gf got me a rosehair for my birthday when I was 17..been keeping at least on sp. since then.

I'm not addicted

My 12-year old got me hooked. He insisted on wanting a Tarantula, and I just laughed in his face because I used to be terrified to spiders. Well, he didn't give up, and after about a month of fussing over the subject I told him: "Look, you and I both know I'm afraid of spiders, but I tell you what. Let's just go to the pet shop to see if they even sell tarantulas. If they do I will look at them. If I can manage to look at them up close without running out of the store screaming, I'll think about it." We came home with our G. Rosea that day.

Now I'm up to 5. ....and wouldn't have a problem whatsoever to keep on going.

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Wendy
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My hubby started me into it. I was like Honey I want to get 1 when you order and that was that for me I have been wanting more ever since

Sorry to be anal (again) but I hate this term and phrase of "addiction" people keep using. To me it's just a severe interest that is fueled by having different specimens. I grew up with so many different 'exotic animals' so in a sense I'm oblivious to what "normal life" is without such animals.

The huge diversity allows for the huge desireable aspect to 'manifest' whilst similarities, e.g., within and throughout genera/sub families account for the precision collecting aspects.

I wouldn't say addiction though... It seems such a mindless word that lacks any logical reason as to why people repeatedly do something, which this interest clearly isn't.

That sounded like something Mr Spock would say. just kiddin'

I'm hopelessly and illogically addicted and I couldn't care less. LOL

I had a ton of pets growing up, until about 7 years ago I had no less than about 30 exotics at a time, from about age 11. Lizards and rats started the obsession... fish aquariums, tarantulas and snakes were next. Large (20 and 50 gallon) terrariums are my main interest, 1/2 land and 1/2 water. There is a high interspecies gobble rate with those, so I tend to stick to with cheap yet attractive things for them, LOL

But onto tarantulas... I didn't used to be afraid of spiders... really I didn't. I had tarantulas for awhile, then I dated this guy for 10 years who had SEVERE arachnaphobia -- I'm talking a case for the books, and he had no shame about recoiling from the tiniest spider. It kind of rubbed off on me for awhile, I can't stand for little spiders I'm not sure of the species to get on me/ near me. Needless to say, I abandonded my tarantula hobby after the Ts I had passed away while we were dating... well that relationship is over now and I am back! LOL The interest in Ts has been steadily growing again for the past two years though, and the only reason I've waited (we broke up 7 months ago now) so long to start buying again was space and money, which I have now. I really want to be responsible about how I do it -- we had leaks down here in the basement which needed to get fixed, I was concerned about the health of the habitat for myself and anything else. All that's being taken care of now, soooo... there's just really no more excuses I could come up with on why I should wait on getting them again.

My latest is an evil g. rosea I have named "Sheelah" (after Shelob, since they are both beeotches, lol) but I love her anyway. I find her amusing. I also feel bad for her, since she was so skinny and weak when I got her. She's looking much better and is more lively now after all the meal worms.

8leggedrobot, I think you made a good trade!! Your ex for some Ts

I worked part time in a pet store back in 99. They had a G. rosea there, and she terrified me. I didn't know a thing, just that spiders were horrible, and they lived to bite people!! I also seen how they had her living When I could manage to look!!

They had her in a cage type thing, w/ a heat light above her She was crawling constantly to get away. But couldn't. The heat killed her. I felt bad
for it, and managed to get its dead body out of there

Then, I decided I had to have the next one! So, the following week, that is what I did!!! AND boy was I scared, and excited! I couldn't even take it out of the deli cup to put it in its cage!

The second one I bought was a pinktoe, and on and on and on! The first website I found was www.petbugs.com Met a lot of great people! LaRiz and Joy are 2 that come to mind

So NOW, I have learned SO MUCH in the past few years, that I pride myself on spideys, and the knowledge. I try to give the best feedback whenever I get a chance to talk to someone about them! People have SO many wrong ideas! They just look at me like, "eww". Yall know what I am talking about!
And I am a very normal person!

Anyway, sorry so long! And now the hubby loves them! He took care of them
for me while I was gone to boot camp in SC and job school for 6+ months!!!
Boy did I miss them

Here is a similar thread that covered this topic not too long ago. You will find many members sharing thier reasons as to why they got started in the hobby that may not want to re-hash it so soon.

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=27776

i got into tarantula's after watching a movie called "kingdom of the spiders"
it's a complete rip-off , the story is almost the same as "birds" from alfred hitchcock, only the birds have been replaced by spiders.
after seeing this terrible Z-movie , i decided i wanted a T as a pet.
this was 17 years ago and i've been keeping spiders ever since.
much to the horror of most of my friends

my mother said no more... she was tired of the noise, the mess, and the smell. She told me if I wanted a pet I had to find something quiet, clean, small, and odorless... so I brought home my first tarantula, an A. seemanni named Spaz.

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this was the first post in this tread:http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=27776

how did your mother react to this new silent,clean and oderless pet???

my mom said it was ok to get a T, but when i showed up with it at home my mom kinda freaked out a little

The addiction...

I have been asked this a hundred times, and I always enjoy telling the tale.
When I was little I was terrified with spiders and yet found them fascinating.At the ripe age of 13 I wandered into the mall and saw a beautiful mexican red leg. I gazed at her for a while then pulled out my $20.00 and bought her. I took her home and proceeded to my room where I let her crawl all over me, at that moment my fear was dispelled and have been keeping T's ever since. It's been over 20 years since that glorious day and I am truly addicted to keeping, breeding and caring for my beasts.

now that sounds like it was love at first sight
a true love story , and i think it was like that for most of us

Greg Wolfe said:

I have been asked this a hundred times, and I always enjoy telling the tale.
When I was little I was terrified with spiders and yet found them fascinating.At the ripe age of 13 I wandered into the mall and saw a beautiful mexican red leg. I gazed at her for a while then pulled out my $20.00 and bought her. I took her home and proceeded to my room where I let her crawl all over me, at that moment my fear was dispelled and have been keeping T's ever since. It's been over 20 years since that glorious day and I am truly addicted to keeping, breeding and caring for my beasts.

Click to expand...

Greg, you have a great story! I can't imagine what all you have learned over the years!! I would love to know just a 1/3 of what you have learned!

The Addiction (part two)

I often sit in my spider room late at night and watch them. I can't explain the wonder, the fascination with tarantulas. It never fades, the profound bliss I experience going through all my T's.
Some people are ignorant, curling their upper lip up and saying, " That's disgusting, why don't you collect stamps or Faberge eggs"?
And yet they start asking questions about T's, slowly emerging from the fog of fear that urban legends and Hollywood have portrayed about tarantulas.
The more I teach them, the more they illuminate with curiosity and eventually pull out their checkbook to purchase one! Hook, line and sinker.
It sure beats gerbils or pet rocks!LOL