Chile closed??...

scotland

Arachnopeon
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Feb 17, 2014
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Heard a lot coming from us that chile is closed from exporting tarantulas out of chile?... Is this true or just a rumour?...
 

BobBarley

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Thank God. After decades of over-collecting slow-growing species, it could take hundreds of years for the tarantula population to recover.
Very true! Have they only placed a ban on tarantulas? That would seem a little weird.
 

Exoskeleton Invertebrates

Arachnoprince
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Thank God. After decades of over-collecting slow-growing species, it could take hundreds of years for the tarantula population to recover.
Yes very true, this is one of the reasons I stocked up on the Grammostola sp. "Northern Gold". I would hate to see some of this spiders slowly disappear so quickly in captivity. I don't care how simple looking some of this spiders are they are still unique in their own way. Some people like colorful spiders and some don't, either way we need to preserve of what we have.

---------- Post added 11-28-2015 at 05:33 PM ----------

Its been closed for quite awhile, hasnt it?
Yes earlier this year when it happened.
 

Radium

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I'm so glad. Not only is it good for the habitat, but it eventually eliminates wondering whether your specimen was wild caught.
 

BobBarley

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Yes very true, this is one of the reasons I stocked up on the Grammostola sp. "Northern Gold". I would hate to see some of this spiders slowly disappear so quickly in captivity. I don't care how simple looking some of this spiders are they are still unique in their own way. Some people like colorful spiders and some don't, either way we need to preserve of what we have.

---------- Post added 11-28-2015 at 05:33 PM ----------

Yes earlier this year when it happened.
So, now, all the pet store stock is captive bred?
 

sdsnybny

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Tarantulas don't recognize political borders, so the pet stores can still import some of the
Chilean species from neighboring countries where species boundaries overlap.
 

scotland

Arachnopeon
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Feb 17, 2014
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Yes very true, this is one of the reasons I stocked up on the Grammostola sp. "Northern Gold". I would hate to see some of this spiders slowly disappear so quickly in captivity. I don't care how simple looking some of this spiders are they are still unique in their own way. Some people like colorful spiders and some don't, either way we need to preserve of what we have.

---------- Post added 11-28-2015 at 05:33 PM ----------

Yes earlier this year when it happened.

Problem we have is, it's a lot of species not just the grammostola species (never mind the gram species we don't have in hobby. which will be harder/possible to get into the hobby) but yes it had to happen. I have wild caught species (Brachypelma albo (true) / pterinochilus vorax / pterinochilus BCF) but I only believe it should be done to just get them into the hobby not over collect for decades. But as humans we will not give enough care to keep these in captivity our vanity wouldn't allow it
 

AphonopelmaTX

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http://www.tarantulasdemexico.com/en/statuspoblacion_en.htm

Read the Chile part. It's possible that if what it says is true, some other species might be reproducing in the same way.
The answer to that is yes, more or less. To quote the article from this web site...

Amazingly, and according to the information obtained, some of these species (G. Porteri, mainly), do not present a dwindling population, remaining stable, and even increasing in numbers. Apparently, humans have been a determining factor for the population elevation, eliminating or pushing farther away their natural predators (reptiles, birds, mammals), so a greater number of spiderings make their nests close to where their mother is. This indicates a high rate of adaptation to an impacted environment, taking advantage of the situation.
The above describes a similar situation to what I have observed over the years with populations of Aphonopelma hentzi here in the urban environment of Dallas, TX. I can say for sure that habitat destruction is the main culprit of fragmenting population of A. hentzi in the suburbs. Through one interview with a long time resident in a Dallas suburb, I was told at one time they would witness wandering males move en masse in their neighborhood but at the time I spoke with this person they stated the observations eventually declined to the point where they don't see the tarantulas anymore. It was so prominent, they knick-named one of their streets "tarantula crossing." Also this resident stated they also noticed a decline in the observations of other animals such as bats and coyotes. These observations coincided with real estate development in the area. Therefore it was quite obvious habitat destruction was the mail culprit of the dwindling wild life.

Now there is another interesting observation I have been able to make in other Dallas suburbs. The creation of pockets of A. hentzi populations with numbers so high males, females, and immature tarantulas can be found only a few feet to a few inches from each other. This is the observation here in the Dallas area that is a lot like that written about the Chilean tarantula species quoted above. As the urban sprawl spreads, the surviving tarantulas either from the developed area or from nearby populations repopulate the destroyed habitat and adapt to it by building burrows underneath the artificial structures (sidewalks, wooden decks, cinder blocks, etc.). As property owners build irrigation systems for their lawns they are providing the tarantulas with a continued source of clean water to drink and attracting prey items to eat. At the same time, as people protect their gardens, structures (houses and businesses), etc. from pests, they are then also eliminating any natural predators of the tarantulas. This in turn creates many fragmented, but thriving populations of A. hentzi in an unnatural habitat. Some of these fragmented population can be as large as several blocks of a town or as small as city park. What long term effect fragmented breeding populations of tarantulas have to their survival, I can't be sure but I can say they do adapt and survive.

All that being said though, one should not take it as justification to collect tarantulas from the wild to keep as pets no matter how natural or unnatural it is. We all know tarantulas have a long life cycle and populations have a hard time to bounce back if at all because of it. Fortunately, I don't have a concern for Aphonopelma hentzi for two reasons. They are not a popular pet species and they have a huge distribution. I don't worry too much for urban tarantulas for those two reasons and also they are mainly protected by being located on private properties. I do worry however for the Texas species that are popular as pets- Aphonopelma moderatum and Aphonopelma gurleyi. Please don't mess with Texas (spiders). :)
 
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viper69

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Yes very true, this is one of the reasons I stocked up on the Grammostola sp. "Northern Gold". I would hate to see some of this spiders slowly disappear so quickly in captivity. I don't care how simple looking some of this spiders are they are still unique in their own way. Some people like colorful spiders and some don't, either way we need to preserve of what we have.

---------- Post added 11-28-2015 at 05:33 PM ----------

Yes earlier this year when it happened.
I can't find any official documentation indicating this is true, so far all I read is some one saying it's true on the internet, not one piece of documented evidence, or even a reputable news source. Can you or someone link me to such information.

Assuming there is a ban, is there a ban on farmed raised species?
 
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Exoskeleton Invertebrates

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I can't find any official documentation indicating this is true, so far all I read is some one saying it's true on the internet, not one piece of documented evidence, or even a reputable news source. Can you or someone link me to such information.

Assuming there is a ban, is there a ban on farmed raised species?
I have not seen any documents either but as my local pet stores in Utah and wholesalers in Florida has confirm to me that Chile closed. Even LLLReptile on their website has it listed that Chile closed. I'm sure there are still a crap load of spiders from chile that still needs to be moved by this sellers. If I had the funds I would purchase every single one. This spider like any other tarantulas that are wild caught were probably better of in the wild than in captivity, the reason why I say this is because I feel that a lot of them are not being taken care of like they should.
 
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