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General Tarantula Discussion
Serious questions from an arachnophobe- about species, enclosures etc.
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<blockquote data-quote="faceinvader" data-source="post: 165633" data-attributes="member: 31314"><p>[USER=31783]@SwedishArachnophobe84[/USER] </p><p></p><p>Just an opinion from a noob, so please take with a pinch of salt, and if anyone more experienced disagrees with me, their perspective will be far more valuable. That caveat out of the way... have you thought about starting with a jumping spider?</p><p></p><p>I used to be an arachnophobe but managed to condition myself out of it by learning about spiders and even went to a local petting zoo to hold a goliath bird-eater - it all helped me immensely and I wanted to start keeping some as - like you - I find them fascinating, if a little unnerving at times. </p><p></p><p>However, my partner's a much more committed arachnophobe and couldn't bear the thought of having a T in the house. He was convinced it'd escape, bury itself in the sofa cushions or bedclothes and he'd end up getting bitten without warning. That's just one of the "worst case" scenarios he'd go through whenever I started talking about getting spiders.</p><p></p><p>Anyway, I kind of changed course and got a Phidippus Regius - a jumping spider about 1" across. And those things are CUTE, making it really easy to anthropomorphise them. They're super intelligent and have great big eyes which they'll use to look directly at you, while ****ing their heads or occasionally even giving you a little wave. They can look cute even while they're feeding and, once you've got one, it's very difficult to stay nervous of them. They're fast but it's <strong>generally </strong>best not to handle spiders anyway, and they're lots of fun to just sit back and watch.</p><p></p><p>After a couple of weeks, my first p. regius had an identical neighbour, then I added a p. audax and an H. diardi to the collection - the last 2 were my partner's suggestions - he'd gotten attached <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> </p><p></p><p>He became <strong>very </strong>enthusiastic about the whole thing and, as a result, I now have my first T - a trinidad dwarf tiger - which is just a lovely animal to look after. My ex-arachnophobe partner is now talking about buying "me" an A. Versicolor because he loves the way they look. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big Grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /></p><p></p><p>We don't handle our spiders, we just like watching and looking at them. But to demonstrate the difference it's made, my partner has gone from being someone who'll automatically smash a spider with a shoe the moment he sees it, to someone who'll happily open small enclosures to feed spiders and replace a water dish.</p><p></p><p>He said the jumping spiders were easy to anthropomorphise which helped him get used to them very quickly, then learning about them and spiders in general, helped him even more with his phobia - to the point where he became more interested than scared, and the rest is history. </p><p></p><p>I don't know if this would be the right way for anyone else but, regardless of the path you choose, overcoming your arachnophobia by learning about these amazing little creatures will give you so much pleasure and is immensely satisfying - it certainly was for us. </p><p></p><p>Best of luck on your journey!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="faceinvader, post: 165633, member: 31314"] [USER=31783]@SwedishArachnophobe84[/USER] Just an opinion from a noob, so please take with a pinch of salt, and if anyone more experienced disagrees with me, their perspective will be far more valuable. That caveat out of the way... have you thought about starting with a jumping spider? I used to be an arachnophobe but managed to condition myself out of it by learning about spiders and even went to a local petting zoo to hold a goliath bird-eater - it all helped me immensely and I wanted to start keeping some as - like you - I find them fascinating, if a little unnerving at times. However, my partner's a much more committed arachnophobe and couldn't bear the thought of having a T in the house. He was convinced it'd escape, bury itself in the sofa cushions or bedclothes and he'd end up getting bitten without warning. That's just one of the "worst case" scenarios he'd go through whenever I started talking about getting spiders. Anyway, I kind of changed course and got a Phidippus Regius - a jumping spider about 1" across. And those things are CUTE, making it really easy to anthropomorphise them. They're super intelligent and have great big eyes which they'll use to look directly at you, while ****ing their heads or occasionally even giving you a little wave. They can look cute even while they're feeding and, once you've got one, it's very difficult to stay nervous of them. They're fast but it's [B]generally [/B]best not to handle spiders anyway, and they're lots of fun to just sit back and watch. After a couple of weeks, my first p. regius had an identical neighbour, then I added a p. audax and an H. diardi to the collection - the last 2 were my partner's suggestions - he'd gotten attached :) He became [B]very [/B]enthusiastic about the whole thing and, as a result, I now have my first T - a trinidad dwarf tiger - which is just a lovely animal to look after. My ex-arachnophobe partner is now talking about buying "me" an A. Versicolor because he loves the way they look. :D We don't handle our spiders, we just like watching and looking at them. But to demonstrate the difference it's made, my partner has gone from being someone who'll automatically smash a spider with a shoe the moment he sees it, to someone who'll happily open small enclosures to feed spiders and replace a water dish. He said the jumping spiders were easy to anthropomorphise which helped him get used to them very quickly, then learning about them and spiders in general, helped him even more with his phobia - to the point where he became more interested than scared, and the rest is history. I don't know if this would be the right way for anyone else but, regardless of the path you choose, overcoming your arachnophobia by learning about these amazing little creatures will give you so much pleasure and is immensely satisfying - it certainly was for us. Best of luck on your journey! [/QUOTE]
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