# Tarantulas are boring...



## jakakadave (Dec 29, 2009)

I thought I'd put forward an argument sure to ruffle some feathers. Tarantulas are boring. 

Now, I'm not going to come down on either side of the fence just yet, I have a few T's knocking about, and back in the day had about 60 different species but hear me out. They come in a few basic flavours (chilled, angry, arboreal, terrestrial, fossorial etc) and that's about it. All do the same thing, look more or less the same bar a few different colours here, a fluffy bit there... 

...anyway, discuss.


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## Kamike (Aug 3, 2009)

I have 20 and agree, they are boring until it comes to feeding, cleaning and re housing. My P lugardi loves a good fight :lol2:


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## Oderus (Nov 24, 2009)

I'd say fair enought, at least with regard to keeping them in plastic tub's anyway.


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## scorpion-boy (Dec 14, 2009)

Oderus said:


> I'd say fair enought, at least with regard to keeping them in plastic tub's anyway.


ive never undertood keeping them in plastic tubs or in drawer type things where they cant be seen - i like a big tank where a environment as close to there natural habtat can be made and to watch them as though they were n the wild


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## agreendream (Dec 8, 2009)

think Oderus is on to a good point, set up in a fair sized natural viv bet you they would look cool. I have darts and there TINY yet they get huge vivs.

I don't care for tarantulas but would be swayed for a natural viv all webbed up with say a colony of pinks in it.

Big thing though.
I really think there is an undercurrent of change going on in the "spider" world. People are wanting to develop there tastes...


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## jakakadave (Dec 29, 2009)

Couldn't agree with you more. With all of my stuff I try and make an interesting and attractive display. To me, if it's just a case of drawers and drawers of a different T's in different tubs on a rack, there's precious little difference between keeping tarantulas and collecting stamps.

EDIT: Well, apart from that stamps don't try and rip your face off if you dare to clean out their containing folder.


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## RAZZ-MCFC (Jan 25, 2010)

you're only saying this because i said that other user was crazy for selling his balfouri to buy a hardwickei :Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## tarantulamatt (Nov 12, 2009)

yeah i can see where your comeing from but there are different sizes from 3inches adult to 12inches theres dull brown to blue/green/reb but i can see they a boring.


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## Baldpoodle (Apr 18, 2007)

Of course they are boring but what do you expect them to do? They do what spiders do nothing more nothing less.


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## RAZZ-MCFC (Jan 25, 2010)

Baldpoodle said:


> Of course they are boring but what do you expect them to do? They do what spiders do nothing more nothing less.


agreed, 

they are boring, but they're purpose isn't to entertain, they're a display animal, which they do a very good job at


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## jakakadave (Dec 29, 2009)

RAZZ-MCFC said:


> you're only saying this because i said that other user was crazy for selling his balfouri to buy a hardwickei :Na_Na_Na_Na:


Nonsense! Though it did set my mind on it's path. I don't keep many T's any more, just because I think there are more interesting inverts out there.

Balfs and other fossorial species particularly I couldn't spare a tank for. You house them, heat them and feed them, and how do they repay you? By hiding for all but about a cumulative total of 2 minutes in the entirety of all the years you own them. How rude...

True spiders on the other hand are FAR more interesting. Every single one of mine exhibits a different and interesting behaviour.


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## Paul c 1 (Sep 30, 2009)

Personally I would like to see a bit more variation within the forum - definatley more scorpion/centipede /mantid even beetle and other invert based posts and threads - tarantulas are one of my favourite things and they will always be popular on here - but I also have other strong interests in scorps and centipedes and it would be nice to have an even mix on the forum:2thumb:


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## scorpion-boy (Dec 14, 2009)

but they dont repay us - they are at the end of the day not meant for the entertainment of humans they are spiders intended to be wild, they display the charectoristics of a spider as it would in the wild - you wouldnt expect to see T in the wild run over to your feet do the can-can followed by an impresive performance of michael flatleys river dance then scurry off back to its web. imsure they lookupon us and think what a strange bunch of twats always in a hurry always doing something never stopping andthen they just stare at us :Na_Na_Na_Na:
besies isnt it more of a treat when they do come out after so long 

gotta be better than a dog that licksits arse everyday then runs uptoyou everymorning and licks your face takes a leak in the corner on your new cream rug or digs your freshly laidlawn up


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## jakakadave (Dec 29, 2009)

scorpion-boy said:


> but they dont repay us - they are at the end of the day not meant for the entertainment of humans they are spiders intended to be wild, they display the charectoristics of a spider as it would in the wild - you wouldnt expect to see T in the wild run over to your feet do the can-can followed by an impresive performance of michael flatleys river dance then scurry off back to its web. imsure they lookupon us and think what a strange bunch of twats always in a hurry always doing something never stopping andthen they just stare at us :Na_Na_Na_Na:
> besies isnt it more of a treat when they do come out after so long
> 
> gotta be better than a dog that licksits arse everyday then runs uptoyou everymorning and licks your face takes a leak in the corner on your new cream rug or digs your freshly laidlawn up


Dude -I'm sorry, but I DEMAND good entertainment value from my inverts. That's why I have so many beetle grubs.


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## _TiMiSdRuNk_ (Aug 27, 2008)

I think the future is with the mighty true spiders!


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## DannyB (Nov 8, 2009)

jakakadave said:


> Dude -I'm sorry, but I DEMAND good entertainment value from my inverts. That's why I have so many beetle grubs.


How are beetle grubs any more entertaining then a tarantulas:lol2:

It is amazing though how little a tarantula can move throughout the day:bash:


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## Spider Call (Mar 23, 2007)

I don't think tarantulas are boring XD 
I love watching them <3 They all have their own little personalities, and have moods and stuff. I could sit and go gooey eyed at mine for hours <_<


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## exopet (Apr 20, 2007)

_TiMiSdRuNk_ said:


> I think the future is with the mighty true spiders!


 
I Hope so!!!

for sheer entertainment value you can't beat jumping spiders / Lynx spiders / wolf spiders


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## _TiMiSdRuNk_ (Aug 27, 2008)

exopet said:


> I Hope so!!!
> 
> for sheer entertainment value you can't beat jumping spiders / Lynx spiders / wolf spiders



Compared to T's, true spiders seem to do a lot more, and they range so vastly in the way they act, where as sadly T's are a bit of an old dinosaur, but still a beautiful dinosaur  But yeah true spiders are by far my favorites :2thumb:


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## mikemike118 (Aug 15, 2009)

they might be boring...but at the end of the day its what you make of them.


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## liz200898 (Oct 13, 2008)

Personally i don't find them boring at all but thats because i find everything about them fascinating each to their own and all that.


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## ShouldIBeDamned (Aug 24, 2008)

Most of mine are in tubs coz they're so little but I get em out a couple of times a day to check on them and love watching them develop.

I wonder if maybe the fact that a lot of people go for keeping females accounts for the fact that they don't see much action? My MM g.pulchripes is the first male spider I've kept and although he won't be around for all that long I've already seen more action from him than the pet rock I've kept for about 8 years or so. He was having a good old dig the other day and is constantly busy renovating his enclosure!!


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## Pinkytoes (Jun 25, 2009)

Amazing little creatures, nothing boring about them at all IMO


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## Chaika (Jun 5, 2009)

Spider Call said:


> I don't think tarantulas are boring XD
> I love watching them <3 They all have their own little personalities, and have moods and stuff. I could sit and go gooey eyed at mine for hours <_<


LOL that's me too. 
I do agree with some of the previous posters though, T's are terribly boring when you keep them in plastic tubs in a cupboard. That's why all of my T's, as soon as they hit the 1inch mark, get a nice naturalistic setup in a transparent enclosure. So, I can also sit and look at them buldozing stuff around and webbing to their heart's content. Some are shyer than others so you'll rarely see them doing much and just notice a bit more webbing here, a food bolus there while others like to redesign on a grand scale. I just came back from a 5 day trip to find my Euathlus 'red' female had created an elaborate burrow system in her enclosure and 'disappeared' the water bowl!


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## cervantes (Apr 24, 2008)

Spiders are great :no1:

Not boring at all, very undemanding pets. :2thumb::2thumb::2thumb:


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## purplekitten (Feb 24, 2010)

I love spiders, watching them feed, moult and seeing them grow... not boring at all, 
at least you dont have to put them on leads and take them for a walk in the rain... :lol2:


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## scorpion-boy (Dec 14, 2009)

Paul c 1 said:


> Personally I would like to see a bit more variation within the forum - definatley more scorpion/centipede /mantid even beetle and other invert based posts and threads:2thumb:


 Nail on the head - the forum seems to be a T orientated forum - i dont keep tarantulas myself - dont get me wrong i think theyre great but i find scorps way more fascinating - wheres all the scorpion keepers -idlove to see some different scorps/set-ups etc


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## matto2k (Nov 30, 2006)

heres an idea if you get loads of t's then chances are there will always be one out on display so some entertainment is always available


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## Richard77 (Feb 19, 2009)

I don't think they're boring, i find em fascinating, sad as this sounds, i love coming home from work every night seeing what my P irminia has done to his web through the day, found him yesterday evening, when i went into my spider room, with his hands full of ecco earth lugging it over to his ever growing camouflaged nest lol

Plus t tanks looks amazing as displays:2thumb:


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## Ozgi (Jun 1, 2008)

The one I have is pretty boring. As are my scorps. I have to dig around once a week to check they are still alive, lol. Not very entertaining!

Mantids on the other hand...... They are always on display!


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## jakakadave (Dec 29, 2009)

To be honest most of you have missed the point. It's not a matter of tarantulas being inherently boring creatures as creatures, rather that they're largely the same, so perhaps keeping lots and lots that are virtually identical apart from the colours is a bit boring. There are lots more different and interesting invert species out there!


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## Chaika (Jun 5, 2009)

jakakadave said:


> ...rather that they're largely the same, so perhaps keeping lots and lots that are virtually identical apart from the colours is a bit boring...


I feel there is an interesting point here but I think that you actually overlook a very important attribute of tarantulas, their 'collectability'. Many of the most collectable items out there (stamps, bottle caps, coins, dolls, figurines, plates, postcards to name a few) can be described as being essentially identical apart from variations in colour etc. But for the collector that is the whole point, the items they collect are somilar enough to constitute a recognisable collection but each one is a little bit different from the next. It's kind of hard to explain...

Tarantulas have all the attributes of being very collectable animals: 
- they come in a huge variety of colours and sizes but the same basic shape, 
- they are easily kept in small containers allowing you to amass a large collection while taking up relatively little space,
- there are easy and difficult to keep, common and relatively cheap examples and rare and expensive ones and this may have relatively little to do with how they look (eg. I think a female H. lividum is much prettier than an M. balfouri but the balfouri is rarer and therefore much more desirable.) 

Not all invertebrates have this 'collectable' quality and I believe that it contributes a lot to the apparent popularity of tarantulas :no1:.


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## Spider Call (Mar 23, 2007)

Chaika said:


> LOL that's me too.
> I do agree with some of the previous posters though, T's are terribly boring when you keep them in plastic tubs in a cupboard. That's why all of my T's, as soon as they hit the 1inch mark, get a nice naturalistic setup in a transparent enclosure. So, I can also sit and look at them buldozing stuff around and webbing to their heart's content. Some are shyer than others so you'll rarely see them doing much and just notice a bit more webbing here, a food bolus there while others like to redesign on a grand scale. I just came back from a 5 day trip to find my Euathlus 'red' female had created an elaborate burrow system in her enclosure and 'disappeared' the water bowl!


XD Even my little bubas get something to make it look more 'natural' than just boring. So they at least get leaves or something to hide under or a little bit of cork bark to climb.
Can't be doing with blank tanks.


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## Ally (Mar 8, 2006)

For me tarantulas are perfect!
I keep quite a lot, I'm working at getting my adults into pretty tanks, the youngsters all live in tubs in a cabinet. They appeal to the hoarder in me, I can collect to my hearts content and they still don't take up too much of my time. I can rush about my day, glance at the tanks and think "ooh, pretty"
I also love the challenge of breeding something that isn't bred by every other person on my street, and appreciate the ease of selling them with the ability to post out and the wholsalers willing to buy a few at a time.
I don't feel guilty about switching and swapping if I find a species that doesn't appeal as much as some of my others, I like the hunt for a partner for something I already have or the new species that has caught my eye.
There is plenty of variation with colours, patterns and temperaments to keep this going for a looong while yet!


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