"Tarantulas don't bite"

MrsHaas

Arachnoangel
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Nov 1, 2012
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875
Ok, mini rant- I had someone give this statement on another board:
"Tarantulas don't bite unless hurt. The owners handle them and they get used to it."
I tried to explain to her that That's actually not true. and that handling for various reasons is not ideal.
I got the response: "I had that Tarantula for five years. Never bitten or flicked hairs at anyone."
I directed her to the arachnoboards bite reports section...
Oh boy...
 
Last edited:

cold blood

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Ignorance is indeed bliss...as the saying goes.....and there's no shortage of the ignorant, that's for sure.
 

cold blood

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I was just looking at t's on my local craigslist just to see....and man, you should see some of the ads.....multiple full grown G. porteri for sale....all in the "claimed" 6" range...yet, every ad tries to tell me they are 3, 4 and 6 YEARS old...omg...not a chance guys!! And the set-ups, without exception, are absolutely horrid.....and also offering heat lamps:wall:

Another guy is trying to tell people that a blue fang is valued at over $400 and is super rare...not on my planet they're not, buddy.
 

MrsHaas

Arachnoangel
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Nov 1, 2012
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lol omg... You are right ab there not being a shortage of dummys out there... And I bet if you corrected them, they would get all defensive and try to argue back. Sometimes I hate people...
 

spiderbesideher

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Jul 17, 2015
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I love the "de-fanged" allegations the best... I have an acquaintance who tried to convince me quite insistently that her father had a "Rose Petal Hair" that was de-fanged. I explained that their fangs are 100% necessary for eating and the tarantula would starve, and that even if they were somehow removed, the tarantula would likely bleed to death. And that if SOMEHOW they were removed and the creature survived, they would regenerate anyway with successive molts... She was insistent that the pet store owner de-fanged his tarantulas with nail clippers. *shudder* For all I know that could be horrifically true and the poor creature survived until it's next molt?
 

cold blood

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I love the "de-fanged" allegations the best... I have an acquaintance who tried to convince me quite insistently that her father had a "Rose Petal Hair" that was de-fanged. I explained that their fangs are 100% necessary for eating and the tarantula would starve, and that even if they were somehow removed, the tarantula would likely bleed to death. And that if SOMEHOW they were removed and the creature survived, they would regenerate anyway with successive molts... She was insistent that the pet store owner de-fanged his tarantulas with nail clippers. *shudder* For all I know that could be horrifically true and the poor creature survived until it's next molt?
And I find it "funny" that the most ignorant are also seemingly the most sure of themselves and willing to argue...without a clue that the more they say/argue, the straight up less intelligent they look with every word.

And they'll use arguments like my uncle's fried is an expert and he told me all this...then you ask what this person does for a living or what animals he keeps and its like, he's a dentist, he has a cat.:wall: Sounds qualified then...lol....NOT.

All I think is...."just walk away Dennis, there's no hope here, its not worth it"
 

Chris11

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Jul 13, 2015
Messages
329
Another guy is trying to tell people that a blue fang is valued at over $400 and is super rare...not on my planet they're not, buddy.
I was cruising craigslist for t's and came across a mf rose hair for $100!!! Called the guy and offered him 15 and he accepted lol :p
 

cold blood

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Its almost like if you told some of these people, "don't worry, my dog can't jump up on you, he's been de-legged...and he can't bite because I had its teeth removed"...would they not easily recognize that the bodily mutilation was abusive or just wrong, or would they just believe that that's how you keep a dog from jumping or biting??
 

NTslinger

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Jul 14, 2015
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I once met an animal lover, and we quickly became friends over our shared passion for animals of all sorts. One day, I was introducing her to my dogs and my snakes. She was impressed by how well they were kept and how friendly they all were. When I showed her my tarantulas, they made threat postures. She yelled at me for not properly socializing my tarantulas, and that she felt I was neglecting them by not allowing them to come out their enclosures "at least daily." She let me know full well that she's seen people handling tarantulas, which is probably true, but some of mine were nervous OW species. I told her that some species I kept just seemed happier being left alone. She then went on about them sensing my fear, and that I shouldn't be owning exotics since she felt I wasn't ready for them. To be honest, I was kind of hurt since I always felt that most people thought I loved my tarantulas. Back then, I wasn't really one to argue or defend myself, so I just let her go on. I felt her heart was in the right place, but that she was very misinformed. A few days later, we hung out again, and she had read up more on tarantulas this time and actually apologized. She didn't realize many species were unsuitable for handling.
 

advan

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Mod Note

I'm not sure what cats, unicorns and puppy dog talk have to do with tarantulas but how about we stay on topic or start a new thread in the appropriate sub-forum?

Carry on.
 

NTslinger

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Jul 14, 2015
Messages
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I'm not sure what cats, unicorns and puppy dog talk have to do with tarantulas but how about we stay on topic or start a new thread in the appropriate sub-forum?

Carry on.
Oops, sorry about that.
 
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