Ethics, Ecology, Conservation

[Megmelodia]

Hi,
I'm really interested keeping a pet tarantula, my daughter loves spiders and I've always wanted one myself. My only concern is, what environmental implications are there to keeping trantulas? Or are there specific species that should not be obtained for conservation reasons? I don't normally condone keeping wild animals as pets, including parrots, because it fuels illegal poaching of threatened species, and their needs are often not met in captivity.
Thanks for your time, any and all feedback is welcome.

 

[Rbales427]

It really depends on where you live. I'm in the states so I can only attest to that. As far as conservation goes, there isn't much in the way of anything to avoid. The biggest thing is ensuring that whatever species you do get, you make sure that it is captive bred and not wild caught. Most Ts you get from major chains like PetCo and the like are wild caught, hence why I refuse to purchase from them. If you have a small local pet store, you can feel more confident in buying a captive bred species.

 

[DVirginiana]

I'd recommend buying from a breeder either online (I got my G. rosea from Jamie's Tarantulas and it was a good experience) or waiting until a repticon event is near where you live and pick one up there

 

[Denny Dee]

Agree with everything here. Make sure it is a reputable dealer and ask them specifically if the T was wild caught or captive bred. There are concerns in the Ecology world that the T's are being overharvested. So purchasing captive bred is a great way to avoid contributing to the reduction of T's in the wild. At some point, I am optimistic that people will be breeding to re-release into the wild once we realize the damage we have caused. The B. smithi story is a great example of what can happen with over harvesting.

 

[Poec54]

many animals aren't safe in the wild. Locals often kill tarantulas on sight. With so much 'slash and burn' being done all over the world, countless plants and animals are needlessly killed every year. Governments that claim to care about and 'protect' wildlife, don't even let those animals and plants be rescued or relocated. 'Better off in the wild'? Not in a lot of cases.

 

[Megmelodia]

Thank you all for the input, really helpful!

 

[Denny Dee]

This video is a little lengthy but if you are interested in Tarantula ecology and some of the challenges they are currently facing in the wild, this was a real eye opener for me.