Stupid questions people outside of the hobby ask you...

sezra

sezra

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Apr 23, 2012
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Maybe stupid is the wrong word, because its more a case of people just dont know much about T's, but the question I get asked the most is "are they poisonous, and do they bite?", i then need to explain the difference between poison and venom and that 99% of my T's, although venomous are no more dangerous than a bee or wasp.

I also get asked if i let them out, and why are they in such small enclosures? People then try to argue that its cruel.

Anyway, I'm interested to hear what stupid questions you have been asked.
 
BobGrill

BobGrill

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sezra said:
Maybe stupid is the wrong word, because its more a case of people just dont know much about T's, but the question I get asked the most is "are they poisonous, and do they bite?", i then need to explain the difference between poison and venom and that 99% of my T's, although venomous are no more dangerous than a bee or wasp.

I also get asked if i let them out, and why are they in such small enclosures? People then try to argue that its cruel.

Anyway, I'm interested to hear what stupid questions you have been asked.
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An old world tarantulas venom is a heck of a lot worse than a bee or wasp sting.
 
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DVMT

DVMT

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sezra said:
why are they in such small enclosures? People then try to argue that its cruel.
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If people who don't know jack try and correct me or tell me I am doing something wrong I simply ignore them, walk away, or ask them if THEY have read TKG3. I ask them if they would argue with the Pope about being Catholic, too.
 
Sana

Sana

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One of my personal favorites is how I can possible sleep without being afraid that they will escape and bite me.
 
pyro fiend

pyro fiend

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Its fun explaining poison and venom. Especially when youv drank more venom then alchol in ur life xD... i strictly avoid the enclosure size thing for those dumb insults (especially because mine are typically in bigger enclosures then most ppl wld give them)....

The only question that annoys me is "do you let them roam around" or "do you/ how do you play with them" ppl dont understand they are display animals.. some ppl at work think im like puting them on a leash.. when i try to explain they arnt let out they are show animals like fish most just yell im waisting money on a nasty creature xp
 
I

IHeartTs

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I get asked if I keep them in one tank. Would you put your kids in a tank for an extended period of time and expect them not to kill each other? I think not. On a lighter note, I also get asked why do I keep animals that can kill me. Sometimes I let this one play out because it's funny.
 
Poec54

Poec54

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Sana said:
One of my personal favorites is how I can possible sleep without being afraid that they will escape and bite me.
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Apparently you haven't seen enough movies, because you'd know that the first thing an escaped tarantula does is hunts down it's keeper (often a mad scientist with weird hair), and then set about terrorizing the neighborhood, starting with the old ladies. I don't know what other proof you need. It's all there on film.

---------- Post added 12-27-2014 at 11:20 PM ----------
pyro fiend said:
when i try to explain they arnt let out they are show animals like fish most just yell im waisting money on a nasty creature
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You need to hang around with more intelligent people.
 
pyro fiend

pyro fiend

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Poec54 said:
You need to hang around with more intelligent people.
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haha i know right -.- sheesh tarantulas get about as bad, if not worse of a reputation of pit bulls lmao. im slowly grooming a few people.. but we can only tolerate stupidity as there is no surefire cure...yet...
 
Sana

Sana

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Poec54 said:
Apparently you haven't seen enough movies, because you'd know that the first thing an escaped tarantula does is hunts down it's keeper (often a mad scientist with weird hair), and then set about terrorizing the neighborhood, starting with the old ladies. I don't know what other proof you need. It's all there on film.

---------- Post added 12-27-2014 at 11:20 PM ----------




You need to hang around with more intelligent people.
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Hey! Don't make fun of my hair!
 
F

freedumbdclxvi

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I never get "stupid"questions - each inquiry is a possibility of getting people to at least respect spiders. I have people i work with that went from repulsed by spiders to asking to see updated pics and, in some cases, pics of spiders they have encountered. Same with my snakes. There are a few that will never "get it" for lack of a better term, but no one has ever been rude. I find a little patience and showing my enthusiasm tend to go a long way.
 
J

jigalojey

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Questions always end up in people buying a tarantula from my experience, so I welcome them and I welcome questions because it shows the willingness to learn about an animal that has had a bad reputation and actually seek proper information regarding them.
 
lalberts9310

lalberts9310

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I also had this situation where I needed to describe and explain the difference between poisonous and venomous. This was an argument with my hubbys uncle. He is the "mr know it all" type. According to him the tarantula has the exact same venom potency of some of the more dangerous and poisonous spiders found in SA. I had to sit there and listen how he "knew" people being bitten by certain spiders then having an arm or leg amputated or, in his worse case scenario, almost dying! Yep, tarantulas are indeed those "other arachnids", so beware if you get bitten, you're going to "die"!!!! Lol.

---------- Post added 12-28-2014 at 02:30 PM ----------
jigalojey said:
Questions always end up in people buying a tarantula from my experience, so I welcome them and I welcome questions because it shows the willingness to learn about an animal that has had a bad reputation and actually seek proper information regarding them.
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Well, in my experience, they ask questions and then still try to argue that Ts are "deadly".. lol.. in your case, you're lucky, I have rarely come across someone asking me questions about Ts without it ending up in an argument of how "deadly" tarantulas are.. well except for my brother and sister, they like my Ts, and surprisingly when my arachnophobic mom comes over for a visit she always wants to go have a look at how my Ts are doing. Also a few of my friends asked a few questions and thought Ts a pretty cool, especially this one friend of mine, she always wants me to send her photos of my Ts after a molt, she wants to see the transformation as it grows.
 
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pyro fiend

pyro fiend

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Had a geat one last night "isbit possible one of your tarantulas can shed its skin and become smarter and grow thumbs.. im just curious because then our town will be f****d and its be all your fault... *super facepalm*

Thats a new level of T questions xD
 
Poec54

Poec54

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pyro fiend said:
Had a geat one last night "isbit possible one of your tarantulas can shed its skin and become smarter and grow thumbs.. im just curious because then our town will be f****d and its be all your fault...
Click to expand...

Like I said, hang around with smarter people. Do you know anyone with an IQ over 75?
 
pyro fiend

pyro fiend

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Poec54 said:
Like I said, hang around with smarter people. Do you know anyone with an IQ over 75?
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At work, i think besides me and 3 briliant arachnophobes im slowly bringing to the "dark side", the highest IQ is prob like 45-50 lolol

In actuality theres only 4 ppl who understand and ask smart questions everyone elese.. im pretty sure the mop could hold smarter convos xD
 
Sana

Sana

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freedumbdclxvi said:
I never get "stupid"questions - each inquiry is a possibility of getting people to at least respect spiders. I have people i work with that went from repulsed by spiders to asking to see updated pics and, in some cases, pics of spiders they have encountered. Same with my snakes. There are a few that will never "get it" for lack of a better term, but no one has ever been rude. I find a little patience and showing my enthusiasm tend to go a long way.
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I have had this same experience. I've currently got a lady the is absolutely terrified of them, but still asks about them every time she sees me.
 
GG80

GG80

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I used to get annoyed with 'stupid' questions but I quickly realised that these questions could only be asked by someone who know nothing about tarantulas so I saw it as a way for me to somewhat educate (with my limited knowledge) the people who asked. Now I like getting the questions and I find it very satisfying to see genuine interest from people particularly from my friends when I explain different aspects about keeping Ts. They're not rushing out to by one but they are becoming more appreciative of why I keep them and always ask me for updates on my T's.

The one time I got really annoyed recently was when I was told how irresponsible I was for keeping non native animals and the repurcussions of them getting loose and breeding. Bear in mind I'm in Ireland, I don't think we're under much threat of being over-run with tarantulas anytime soon. It's currently 0 degrees celcius (32F) and getting colder by the hour.
 
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