• Are you a Tarantula hobbyist? If so, we invite you to join our community! Once you join you'll be able to post messages, upload pictures of your pets and enclosures and chat with other Tarantula enthusiasts. Sign up today!

When You Get Negative Feedback

Prudance

Active Member
3 Year Member
Messages
174
Location
Washington State, US
I sometimes get negative feedback from people when they I talk about my tarantulas. They range in from the "but why?" to "Are you crazy" to "well I'm never coming over to your house."

I tell them because I love them, they are fascinating and beautiful. One person I flat out told them they weren't invited to my house. I understand lots of people are afraid of or don't like the kinds of pets I keep. That still doesn't make it ok to be hostile. I don't want to respond just as ornery but sheesh.

Does anyone else get that kind of reactions from people? How do you respond?
 

Thistles

Well-Known Member
3 Year Member
Messages
914
Location
Virginia
Yeah, I get it a lot but I shrug it off or insult their little dogs or something. Sometimes I teasingly show them pictures of my spiders when they aren't expecting it and that seems to help desensitize them some.
 

Kymura

Well-Known Member
1,000+ Post Club
3 Year Member
Messages
3,315
Location
Alabama
Had a woman in the LPS (was buying crickets) tell me very rudely that it 'would be a cold day' before she stepped foot in my house. She had the whole disgust thing going on as if I were somehow going to infect her. I smiled very sweetly and told her that was perfectly fine as I didn't have a locking enclosure large enough for her anyway. I then held up the crickets and asked if her attitude was because she was hungry and offered her a snack.
Folks that are curious or a little arachnohobic I'm very patient with. My own daughter is very slowly getting used to them. So I do understand. Fear is met with patiently answering questions and pictures, rude is met with rude.


(My daughter by the way is in love with Nestly our A.anax because I described it as our chocolate T, she said it's hard to generate fear of chocolate)
 

VanessaS

Well-Known Member
3 Year Member
Messages
540
Location
Ontario, Canada
Had a woman in the LPS (was buying crickets) tell me very rudely that it 'would be a cold day' before she stepped foot in my house. She had the whole disgust thing going on as if I were somehow going to infect her. I smiled very sweetly and told her that was perfectly fine as I didn't have a locking enclosure large enough for her anyway. I then held up the crickets and asked if her attitude was because she was hungry and offered her a snack.
That response wins today - especially the part about offering her a cricket.

Most people I speak to about them either are very curious and ask lots of questions, or like to tell me things about them that are completely lies. Like how all of them will kill me and the cats and how irresponsible I am having deadly animals. :rolleyes:

My boss walked into work the other morning and the first thing she said to me was... "You would have been proud of me last night." I knew right away it is because she found a spider in her house and she didn't kill them. I thought about how often I hear that comment (because I actually hear it an awful lot) and how happy it makes me.
I mostly get curiosity over hostility.
 

Rmac88

Active Member
3 Year Member
Messages
160
Showed my boss a pic of my B. albo sling on my arm and he flat out said "Wtf are you doing with that anyway? Those things aren't pets [emoji49]

Sent from my SPH-L520 using Tapatalk
 

kormath

Well-Known Member
1,000+ Post Club
3 Year Member
Messages
3,565
Location
Idaho
I get that type of response from my co-workers. One lady told me "no wonder your still single with those things in your house" i asked her what her excuse for being single was and she stormed off, hasn't talked to me since ;)

I get some people at work thinking it's really cool though, one of the eye candies here asks quite often how they're doing and if she can see pictures.
 

Casey K.

Well-Known Member
1,000+ Post Club
3 Year Member
Tarantula Club Member
Messages
4,924
I have friends that are seriously arachnophobic but can now tolerate seeing a molt. So I do get the being a kind of ambassador. I do try but I am human. And people get really rude.

I was just wondering how people handle it.
Tell them to KYA! Join the hobby or get bit, lol......
 

Casey K.

Well-Known Member
1,000+ Post Club
3 Year Member
Tarantula Club Member
Messages
4,924
Showed my boss a pic of my B. albo sling on my arm and he flat out said "Wtf are you doing with that anyway? Those things aren't pets [emoji49]

Sent from my SPH-L520 using Tapatalk
Oh I get that from my fiance! I tell him my Tarantulas ARE pets and every one of them LOVE me!!! Even when they try to bite me, lol....I look at T's no different than a person with a dog, cat, bird, etc. Except, T's are more fun, of course!
 

MassExodus

Well-Known Member
1,000+ Post Club
3 Year Member
Messages
5,547
Location
Outside San Antonio, TX
I'll be honest, when they get disrespectful or derogatory about my hobby, I like to make a scene, break them down and make them look like fearful sissies. They usually stfu after that. Immature, but always funny :D Strangely enough, women seem less fearful and more open minded then guys. You think spider folks got it bad, try telling someone you have seven roach colonies. Our poor roach brothers..
 

Thistles

Well-Known Member
3 Year Member
Messages
914
Location
Virginia
Ok so my step brothers, my sister-in-law (who is a ridiulous excuse for a human) and my niece and nephew visited for the holiday today. I brought out a roach and hand-fed her some watermelon. My 6 y/o niece came over and said "ohh cute roachie!" I let her pet the roach and my sis-in-law FREAKED. It was beyond hilarious. My little nephew (18 months) kept saying "bug! bug!" and was way into it. I also pulled a drowned Dobson fly out of the pool, which he thought was the neatest thing ever.
 
Top