Why are you addicted/highly enjoy T ownership!

Travis21v4

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 2, 2015
Messages
11
So I am new-ish to owning my own T's. I have been around them with my brother my entire life etc and growing up I hated them. I hated anything that moved and crawled at night. It was so bad I would never go into his T room etc. But now I am 25 in the USAF and have 27 of my own little spiderlings. It bugged be so bad last night I stayed up just thinking about why I like the hobby so much and this is what I came up with for myself lol.
1. Raising something really small and watching it grow.
2. The feeding is so fun to watch
3. Taking the time to learn and care for
4. Properly housing T's. I find it the ultimate reward for providing a "perfect" set up.
5. The different temperaments and characteristics.
6. I suffer from some pretty nasty anxiety attacks but, taking so much time with the t's is definitely keeping my mind of the panic attacks etc.

So what are yall's top 5-6 reasons why you enjoy this hobby. I think it would be awesome to see different peoples perspectives
 

louise f

Arachnoangel
Joined
Jul 8, 2012
Messages
936
1) it is not noisy
2) does not cause contamination throughout the house
3) They must not be fed every day
4) They do not smell
5) They don't eat you out of the house
6) You can easily go on holiday a week without someone to feed them:cool:
 

Chris11

ArachnoBat
Joined
Jul 13, 2015
Messages
329
1. They don't follow you around expecting something.
2. They are fairly cheap to take care of.
3. I find them utterly amazing and fascinating.
4. Feeding time!!!
5. The different personalities amongst genus' as well as individuals.
6. The fact that it's different and freaks most people (who are boring) out.
7. It's a hobby where you can never stop learning.
 

Monique

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 9, 2015
Messages
2
I think we as humans have a natural desire to be unique, and in this hobby the reactions you receive when you talk about it cater to the desire of feeling unique. I also think there's an adrenaline rush to their care and learning their tempermants. And it is low maintenance. I also think that humans have a natural desire to collect, that's why hoarders exist, and keeping is collecting. There's a thrill to fining new species. And I personally find joy in learning about all of gods creatures, or natures/sciences miracles, however you choose to look at it. :)
 

Shawnee

Arachnosquire
Joined
Mar 14, 2015
Messages
85
I've owned a good number of different species of animals. T's are easily in my top 3 favorite animals to own.

1) They don't eat very much or very often. Raising bearded dragons is super horrible because they will eat you out of house and home.
2) They don't require attention. This is important for a couple reasons. Sometimes I don't want to have to deal with anyone or anything. But you have dogs that are happy to see you so I feel like I have to act happy for them. The T's don't give a shit and just want to be left alone. Also sometimes I am so tired I just want to sleep whenever I want (Which doesn't normally happen considering I'm the sole provider for many animals, sleep is a privilege here..) If I only had T's, I could probably sleep whenever I wanted. Don't have to have strict feeding schedules, don't have to walk them, don't have to bathe them. Nothing. Low maintenance.
3) They are beautiful and unique and fun to look at/watch. I think this about pretty much every animal.
4) Satisfaction of watching them grow and thrive. Again, I get this with every animal.
5) The ability to learn about such different species. Bolivian boas are bolivian boas, whether it's from a silverback line or not. But not all tarantulas are the same tarantulas. There's always new stuff to learn, and even have the opportunity to add to the research about certain species if they are rare and you have one.
6) I just love them. As much as I love my dogs, my snakes, my lizards.. I just love having them around.
 

Ellenantula

Arachnoking
Joined
Sep 14, 2014
Messages
2,009
1) They look unique and are fun to peek in on midnight with a flashlight
2) It's fun to feed them and watch the prey 'take down'
3) They don't meow all night and keep you awake
4) They are cheap to feed (plus I enjoy raising their feeders)
5) I have them because I can. :)
 

Tim Benzedrine

Prankster Possum
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 4, 2004
Messages
1,496
1) Revenge against my enemies.*

Yeah, I'm looking at you Philip Bratwurstslidenhammengetzersrugenmoore. Remember the time in third grade when you pushed me in the mud? Well, it won't be so funny now when you have an OBT shoved down your lederhosen, will it? And you, Margarite Sclepwulfveblanrepazennestein, you laughed in my face when I asked you to the senior prom, The last laugh will be mine when we see who gets dates with a nervous tic created by a pokie bite! Ah, sweet, sweet, revenge!

Er... I mean, I like tarantulas because they are interesting and fun to take care of. Yeah, that's why.




*Remember, when exacting revenge against you enemies using tarantulas, always use the ladder system. Start with people who were minor nuisances and work your way up to the ones you really hate. it is much more satisfying.
 

Radium

Outlaw Valkyrie
Joined
May 20, 2015
Messages
128
  1. don't take up much space
  2. really cheap to keep up (after the pricey initial investment)
  3. don't smell
  4. quiet
  5. hardy (I got into T keeping right after failing to keep two orchids alive, so it's been great for the recovery of my self-esteem)
  6. easy to clean up after
  7. they're spiders, and spiders are wonderful
  8. cute
  9. fluffy
  10. colorful
  11. T husbandry is heavily intertwined with science, and I love anything having to do with science other than statistics
  12. It actually has one of the more welcoming communities, unlike some of my other hobbies - unlike gaming and hockey, no one cares that I'm a woman, and unlike nail polish, no one cares that I'm not 100% frou-frou feminine all the time. It's truly a gender-neutral hobby.
 

truecreature

Arachnoknight
Joined
Oct 24, 2014
Messages
206
Pretty much the reasons already mentioned. One other thing I really love about keeping tarantulas is they don't require supplemental heating or UVB light like my reptiles do, so I can buy as many as I want without having to think "okay so this is going to be an extra $60 a year in UV bulbs plus the additional electricity".
 

Shawnee

Arachnosquire
Joined
Mar 14, 2015
Messages
85
Pretty much the reasons already mentioned. One other thing I really love about keeping tarantulas is they don't require supplemental heating or UVB light like my reptiles do, so I can buy as many as I want without having to think "okay so this is going to be an extra $60 a year in UV bulbs plus the additional electricity".
True, my electricity bill skyrocketed once my I got heavy into reptiles. I had to upgrade my outlets to handle it, too. It's worth it, but it's really nice that the T's don't require it.
 

PanzoN88

Arachnodemon
Joined
Sep 15, 2014
Messages
713
1. Watching a sling grow
2. Observing the feeding responses
3. Rehousing them (especially my B. Sabulosum which acts like an OBT)
4. Watching the heavy webers do their thing.
5. Everything else concerning the hobby
 

Coconana

Arachnosquire
Joined
May 21, 2015
Messages
105
1.) Tarantulas are ridiculously low maintenance in comparison to other animals.
2.) They hardly make any noise, and yet they still manage to communicate their mood well.
3.) Watching their little personalities develop from sling to adult is worth the wait.
4.) Rehousing always gets you to prepare for the unexpected! Plus, photo opportunities.
5.) I've known and met some wonderful people in this hobby, and I wouldn't give it up for the world :)
 

leaveittoweaver

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
May 7, 2009
Messages
153
1) Low maintenance
2) Can be a very inexpensive hobby if you want it to be!
3) I like making DIY enclosures out of plastic containers haha.
4) Love to watch them eat.
5) I enjoy research and you can never stop researching with Tarantulas!

I would also disagree that people want to tarantulas because they are unique and it makes people feel unique to talk about them...I actually hate talking about my tarantula hobby with anyone but people already into the hobby or people who are genuinely interested in getting into the hobby. I hate explaining it to people "Why do you have them?". As if their hobbies are any more "significant".
 

Storm76

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 30, 2012
Messages
3,797
2.) They hardly make any noise, and yet they still manage to communicate their mood well.
You obviously don't sleep in the same room with your T's - I can attest to them being quite loud when tapping like crazy or "shoving" their waterdishes against the glass (my genic female...who else) :D
 

dementedlullaby

Arachnobaron
Joined
May 8, 2014
Messages
300
Because i'm a "Theraphosidae registered sex offender" :coffee:
I literally have no response to that. lol



1) Gonna go with all the others and agree, watching them grow. It's a great way to gain some patience. The end result is a fantastic looking spider so win/win.
2) All the different species and behaviors. Not to mention colours and patterns. Amazing.
3) Let's face it, watching the takedowns is fun. Yeah I feel bad for the cricket/other feeder but the way they hunt and the way they hit prey is amazing.
4) Web castles. I love watching them build things. It's truly a marvel of spider engineering. I can't get over some of the species intricate web funnels and mazes.
5) Working up the ladder. I'm still not ready for H. lividium/OBT and a few others but it gives me something to look forward to.

I'm sure there's other things I haven't thought of. Also not spider related but this great community is another reason to keep going :D.
 

louise f

Arachnoangel
Joined
Jul 8, 2012
Messages
936
You obviously don't sleep in the same room with your T's - I can attest to them being quite loud when tapping like crazy or "shoving" their waterdishes against the glass (my genic female...who else) :D
hehe you are so right. they can be noisy at night. especially mature male pokies:biggrin:
 

TsunamiSpike

Arachnosquire
Joined
Nov 8, 2012
Messages
86
Low maintenance, don't require long walks in the park, always something to do or going on with one of them, relatively inexpensive hobby. Fascinating to watch. Interesting to learn about. And as much as anything they're very unique, as are the keepers themselves and the responses they get tend to be satisfying in an 'I love to watch people squirm' way.
 
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