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Message: <blockquote data-quote="sschind" data-source="post: 132864" data-attributes="member: 27691">I couldn't agree more with your post Mass.  I am far from an expert on tarantulas as I am more of a reptile and fish guy but I have often made the same types of comments.People always ask what makes a good beginner spider (or snake or lizard or fish tank etc) and in all the replies I have yet to see what I consider to be a very important aspect, that being "what do you want".  Now if someone were to tell me they really wanted to get a king cobra as their first snake I'd do everything I could to discourage that but within reason many animals that are not considered good "beginner" species  can make very good species for the beginner if he or she has the passion to keep it.When I had my store a regular customer of mine really wanted a ball python for his first snake.  Now BPs are not bad beginner snakes but in this case his mom was dead set against it.  He would literally beg her every time they came in for their fish supplies.  He was 16 years old and I knew just from talking to him that he had done his research and would most likely succeed.  She was adamant about no ball pythons even though I had several conversations with her in private about them.  She told him if he wanted a snake he could get a corn snake.  After about 6 months he broke down and bought a corn snake.  Another 6 months went by and she brought me the snake back saying he didn't pay any attention to it and she knew that's what would happen and its why she didn't want him to get the python.  He came in several times and apologized for not paying attention to the corn snake (he took care of it but it was just that, fed and housed and cleaned up after but nothing more) and said he just had no interest in corn snakes but he still really wanted a ball python.   A year or so later he was moving into his own apartment and after he got settled he came to me and bought everything he needed and purchased an adult female ball python from me.  Shortly thereafter he got a male from a friend and the next year he successfully bred them.  He started buying a few low end morphs and within 3 years he had a nice little collection and had produced albinos and several other morphs. The last I heard from him he had about 2 dozen snakes and was getting into some pretty high end morphs. Its not exactly beginner vs advanced but my point is that even the most beginner friendly animal may not be the right choice for a beginner if he or she has no interest in it.   Now I know this story is a little different because Balls are not considered to be an advanced snake like pokies are in the spider world but my point is that if someone really wants something and is willing to do their research first (a very important part of it to be sure) there is no reason why someone can't start with an advanced species and be successful with it.  Someone with their heart set on a pokie just may not be interested enough in a curly hair to be able to keep it alive.Its similar with saltwater aquariums.  People came to me and say they have no aquarium experience and they want a saltwater tank.  Now most advice would be to get a freshwater tanks for a few years to gain experience but if they are settling for something they do not want they may not be interested enough to succeed.  Does that mean it was good idea that they didn't start with the SW tank?  Maybe but its not a certainty.  I would tell them that if they had their heart set on a SW setup that's fine but its not easy and they had better do their research.Just because something may be more difficult does not automatically mean a beginner can't succeed with it.  Obviously it has to be within reason.  I mentioned a king cobra earlier and I certainly would not support any venomous snake for a beginner but in the world of tarantulas I can't think of any I would absolutely 100% try to dissuade a beginner from getting if that's the one they really wanted and they did their research first.You would be surprised at what a beginner can do if they set their mind to it.</blockquote>

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