Thoughts on Exotics Lair??

[Aracnoenthusiast]

The lair= icky yucky

 

[shatteredpast7]

....ok, honestly.. it is impossible to avoid every single bad thing or person. You enjoy something someone does or shows you and then you feel obliged to stop watching the the videos you like just because the person has done something stupid or cause people think hes bad. Honestly, watch what you wanna watch, believe in what you want to believe. Not every content creator OR VIEWER can be a saint. There are things we don't know about the people we consider to be genuine or good. If we worry about all of these little things, no one would watch any videos or read any blogs. Im not disregarding anyone's opinions here because i asked for them. I think you guys make some really good points. Just remember no everyone is a saint. They may be hiding something. Live your life, enjoy videos, if you think you see abuse, report it and keep living your life. It's all we can do, don't worry about the past. Unpopular opinion? Probably, thanks for readying

 

[shatteredpast7]

P.s. YouTube is a job.... subscribers are the commission. It would be ignorant or silly to expect everyone to make videos just for the FUN of it. It's their lively hood, subscribers and views put food on the table, I would want as many as possible too.

 

[shatteredpast7]

I am in no way supporting any individual youtubers with my above comments, I am simply talking about the way I choose content to watch. I will state one more time I NEVER EVER go to youtube as a source.

 

[Frogdaddy]

....ok, honestly.. it is impossible to avoid every single bad thing or person. You enjoy something someone does or shows you and then you feel obliged to stop watching the the videos you like just because the person has done something stupid or cause people think hes bad. Honestly, watch what you wanna watch, believe in what you want to believe. Not every content creator OR VIEWER can be a saint. There are things we don't know about the people we consider to be genuine or good. If we worry about all of these little things, no one would watch any videos or read any blogs. Im not disregarding anyone's opinions here because i asked for them. I think you guys make some really good points. Just remember no everyone is a saint. They may be hiding something. Live your life, enjoy videos, if you think you see abuse, report it and keep living your life. It's all we can do, don't worry about the past. Unpopular opinion? Probably, thanks for readying

It's very easy to avoid bad husbandry and bad keepers on YouTube. Don't click, don't watch. See, super easy.
You mentioned people being bad people or hiding something. I don't freakin care. When I watch Tarantula videos on YouTube the only thing I care about is correct information, proper husbandry, healthy T's. That's it. I don't care if Exotics Lair murdered someone right before hitting the record button (though if he did kill someone he would have done it one handed) all I care about is the T's. That is the sole basis any of us watches any of those videos. I'm sure Exotics Lair started posting videos to expose the general public to Tarantulas. That they are beautiful and fascinating creatures. But the day clicks, subscribers, and income became more important than why you started in the first place you have lost your vision and should stop, remember your "why" and adjust your approach.
Thank you, I'll stick to watching Tom Moran.

 

[timc]

I’ve watched exactly one video of his, he was feeding old worlds with one hand while filming with the other. Then, if I recall he said he didn’t know where his catch cup was. I mean, personally, focus and catch cup are like the first two things in my check list lol. I turned it off. Plus his accent and mannerisms are kind of just annoying.

 

[AdamG]

....ok, honestly.. it is impossible to avoid every single bad thing or person. You enjoy something someone does or shows you and then you feel obliged to stop watching the the videos you like just because the person has done something stupid or cause people think hes bad. Honestly, watch what you wanna watch, believe in what you want to believe. Not every content creator OR VIEWER can be a saint. There are things we don't know about the people we consider to be genuine or good. If we worry about all of these little things, no one would watch any videos or read any blogs. Im not disregarding anyone's opinions here because i asked for them. I think you guys make some really good points. Just remember no everyone is a saint. They may be hiding something. Live your life, enjoy videos, if you think you see abuse, report it and keep living your life. It's all we can do, don't worry about the past. Unpopular opinion? Probably, thanks for readying

I think what you're saying is 'nobody's perfect' which as a statement I agree with.

But there is a huge difference between making mistakes through ignorance but being willing to learn, rectify them and embrace accountability compared to wilfully repeating mistakes to add viewers and subscribers at the cost of your animals' safety and comfort.

And that's the key element to consider here. There are animals in play here.

I personally agree with accountability in all walks of life and one of the things sure to annoy the hell out of me is an attempt to absolve openly crappy behaviour by using whataboutery to say others may behave the same when the camera is off.

There's an integrity at play here. Any of the decent content creators could add to their subscribers by following the Exotics Lair model of sensationalism at the cost of their animals' comfort. They make a conscious choice not to. That's integrity.

There's a weird cult of personality on YouTube where people support their favourite Youtubers like they are a sports team. The zealotry is on a similar level.

If you can try and absolve a guy like Exotics Lair who drowned a tarantula in chemicals for views after feigning concern and badly researching tarantula euthanasia (one handed of course) then you're a step away from defending him in the comments section as a good keeper when the evidence suggests otherwise.

There's plenty of entertaining channels that don't demonise, antagonise and at worst display cruelty to liviny creatures. Your life will not be ruined by acknowledging the differences in those content creators rather than trying to say 'they're all the same' against reams of evidence to the contrary.

I give credit to Exotics Lair for bringing eyes to the hobby, nothing more. I just hope the eyes he brings are perceptive enough to see the wrong doing and evolve away from his brand of sensationalist, animal risking nonsense.

 

[shatteredpast7]

I think what you're saying is 'nobody's perfect' which as a statement I agree with.

But there is a huge difference between making mistakes through ignorance but being willing to learn, rectify them and embrace accountability compared to wilfully repeating mistakes to add viewers and subscribers at the cost of your animals' safety and comfort.

And that's the key element to consider here. There are animals in play here.

I personally agree with accountability in all walks of life and one of the things sure to annoy the hell out of me is an attempt to absolve openly crappy behaviour by using whataboutery to say others may behave the same when the camera is off.

There's an integrity at play here. Any of the decent content creators could add to their subscribers by following the Exotics Lair model of sensationalism at the cost of their animals' comfort. They make a conscious choice not to. That's integrity.

There's a weird cult of personality on YouTube where people support their favourite Youtubers like they are a sports team. The zealotry is on a similar level.

If you can try and absolve a guy like Exotics Lair who drowned a tarantula in chemicals for views after feigning concern and badly researching tarantula euthanasia (one handed of course) then you're a step away from defending him in the comments section as a good keeper when the evidence suggests otherwise.

There's plenty of entertaining channels that don't demonise, antagonise and at worst display cruelty to liviny creatures. Your life will not be ruined by acknowledging the differences in those content creators rather than trying to say 'they're all the same' against reams of evidence to the contrary.

I give credit to Exotics Lair for bringing eyes to the hobby, nothing more. I just hope the eyes he brings are perceptive enough to see the wrong doing and evolve away from his brand of sensationalist, animal risking nonsense.

Did he ever get reported for that? Just curious, i don't watch any of his videos unless they are watering videos. His watering videos are the only vids i watch on his channel, cause it shows his collection and also asmr lol.

 

[AdamG]

Did he ever get reported for that? Just curious, i don't watch any of his videos unless they are watering videos. His watering videos are the only vids i watch on his channel, cause it shows his collection and also asmr lol.

I don't think so. If you even question a YouTuber with that many followers everyone will just pile on you anyway.

They aren't interested in learning unfortunately.

 

[shatteredpast7]

I don't think so. If you even question a YouTuber with that many followers everyone will just pile on you anyway.

They aren't interested in learning unfortunately

Maybe if the T community did it all together there might be a sliver of a chance lol. We need an uprising revenge of the T's

 

[AdamG]

Maybe if the T community did it all together there might be a sliver of a chance lol. We need an uprising revenge of the T's

Unfortunately I'm a cynic in that sense. The kind of person who's backing celebrity and sensationalism over care doesn't want to listen to reason or welfare concerns. They just want to see OBTs running around tables and one of thr world's greatest actors yelling OH MY GOSH like he didn't know the outcome of his buffoonery when he antagonised the animal .

 

[timc]

Funny enough I just searched “tarantula feeding” on YouTube just now, and guess who has a video from this week. From the thumbnail it looks like he got bit by a snake. I’m not going to watch it because, well, that’s what he wants, but if that is the case I’m schadenfreuding all over lol

 

[Kicks]

What is everyone's thoughts on Exotics Lair on YouTube? Genuinely curious if others watch him or think he is a good voice for the community. Watching his videos inspired me to get a tarantula.

He actually inspired me to get a tarantula too! I think he’s a pretty good tarantula owner, he seems to take good care of his T’s as well as being informed on all of them. Sometimes I think he gets his phone with the flash a little too close to the T’s and that he waves his hands around them too much. But they don’t seem to be really bothered by it. It probably bothers me more than it does them. But I’m no expert

 

[Kicks]

He actually inspired me to get a tarantula too! I think he’s a pretty good tarantula owner, he seems to take good care of his T’s as well as being informed on all of them. Sometimes I think he gets his phone with the flash a little too close to the T’s and that he waves his hands around them too much. But they don’t seem to be really bothered by it. It probably bothers me more than it does them. But I’m no expert

Reading some other people’s replies I’m already starting to rethink my opinions on him lol

 

[timc]

Reading some other people’s replies I’m already starting to rethink my opinions on him lol

Nothing wrong with being inspired and getting into the hobby because of him. That’s probably the only good thing I can say about him is he gets eyes on tarantulas in a way that doesn’t paint them as 8 legged spawns of satan(though some of his titles suggest otherwise). Plus, when you’re just getting started, you don’t know what you don’t know. I’d been keeping for at least 5 years before I tried watching him, and (I hate to sound supercilious) I kinda just knew better. But if that’s how you find out there are beautiful spiders that you really want to keep, and you’re willing to grow and learn beyond his ridiculous entertainment, well, that’s not horrible I suppose.

 

[timc]

But yeah, don’t go to him for good advice lol.

 

[AdamG]

Nothing wrong with being inspired and getting into the hobby because of him. That’s probably the only good thing I can say about him is he gets eyes on tarantulas in a way that doesn’t paint them as 8 legged spawns of satan(though some of his titles suggest otherwise). Plus, when you’re just getting started, you don’t know what you don’t know. I’d been keeping for at least 5 years before I tried watching him, and (I hate to sound supercilious) I kinda just knew better. But if that’s how you find out there are beautiful spiders that you really want to keep, and you’re willing to grow and learn beyond his ridiculous entertainment, well, that’s not horrible I suppose.

I had the reverse experience in stumbling upon his channel and then it really putting me off as I assumed every tarantula was an aggressive nightmare which would get tiresome quick.

It was only when I did further research I started to understand just how much he was encouraging this behaviour that was actually defensive.

Agree with the eyes on the hobby though. Imagine if he used that platform for spreading good knowledge.

 

[Kicks]

Nothing wrong with being inspired and getting into the hobby because of him. That’s probably the only good thing I can say about him is he gets eyes on tarantulas in a way that doesn’t paint them as 8 legged spawns of satan(though some of his titles suggest otherwise). Plus, when you’re just getting started, you don’t know what you don’t know. I’d been keeping for at least 5 years before I tried watching him, and (I hate to sound supercilious) I kinda just knew better. But if that’s how you find out there are beautiful spiders that you really want to keep, and you’re willing to grow and learn beyond his ridiculous entertainment, well, that’s not horrible I suppose.

Very well said. I started watching his videos and was terrified to see the T’s bolt and such but over time as I watched feeding videos, watering, etc I started to see that T’s were very interesting creatures and eventually it peaked my interest enough to get one myself. So far this forum has been the biggest help in terms of helping answer my questions, I haven’t really been relying on exotics lair too much for info, more just looking at the cool T’s

 

[Dream]

He is a suppurating boil on the ar*e of tarantula keeping. I had the misfortune to follow a link to his channel and personally I think he should be banned from YT for cruelty to animals. He doesn’t give one iota of concern for his animals and will hurt a T if it means getting more subscribers. I was horrified when I heard of him “euthanising” a T.
there is a lot id like to add but it would be a waste of bandwidth as it’s all been said before. I’m waiting on the one poster new folk all piling in to say how wonderful he is.

go to Tom Moran, Daves Little Beasties, Tarantula Collective and a few others mentioned here. I won’t mention a certain friend of exotics lair but I certainly won’t recommend her as i remember being chased away from A FB channel for disagreeing with her

 

[steaksauce357]

Exotics lair feeding vids got me into the hobby