Tarantulas!

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This is one reason why I love this forum so much...I refuse to kill bugs, spiders, or any creatures because my aunt always taught me "every life is precious." People think I'm weird....you guys are my kind of people. Just reading that someone loves a tarantulas little furry feet makes me smile :) They are quite cute!!

What about in nature?
 
I don't kill bugs or spiders in nature...I'm also a vegetarian so I don't eat them. Maybe if I accidentally stepped on one without knowing it was there but if I find a spider in my house, I let it go free.
 
I respect all opinions but I will continue to keep my tarantulas. I doubt that I will acquire any more in the future, due to me rescuing rats and other small animals. But I enjoy my spiders and believe they are content. :cheerful:
They have also taught me a lot. I respect my little fuzzie 8-legged friends. :heart:
 
So from the information here... it seems that they really should stay in the wild in their natural habitat.

I agree!
I like spiders but like many other species of animals they are wild caught or captive bred wild animals.
They are nit domesticated and do not belong in captivity.
Not fair to them and not fair to the animals they eat

:(
 
I agree!
I like spiders but like many other species of animals they are wild caught or captive bred wild animals.
They are nit domesticated and do not belong in captivity.
Not fair to them and not fair to the animals they eat

:(


The only way to domesticate them would be to take them out of the wild and breed the right one's. Thats how everything became domesticated. but that takes a group of people actually knowing what there doing.
 
The only way to domesticate them would be to take them out of the wild and breed the right one's. Thats how everything became domesticated. but that takes a group of people actually knowing what there doing.

I was not suggesting that they should be domesticated. I was saying that it is wrong for spiders (etc) to be imprisoned (kept as "pets")
 
There are very stringent requirements that animals have to meet in order to start the domestication process - spiders do not even come close to meeting any of those requirements. Neither do snakes, lizards or any other herps.
There is a HUGE difference between domestication and being 'tame'. Some animals have a much higher tolerance level for human interaction than others, but that does NOT make them domesticated, or even tame for that matter. Going hand in hand with that is the fact that they are not able to kill you.
For an example - a corn snake is no more tame or domesticated than a rattlesnake is. It is just that one is capable of killing you and the other isn't. A snake that is small can't kill you either, but if it is allowed to reach it's full, natural, size - it can very easily kill you. We have all seen the news stories of people being killed by their 'pet' snakes and that is because they are NOT pets - they are wild animals and will kill you under the right circumstances. They will never be domesticated and they will never be tame - they are wild and unpredictable.
Tarantulas will not kill you as their venom is not potent enough. In most cases it is not even potent enough to kill a cat or a dog. But that doesn't mean they are any more tame that a Recluse would be just because a recluse can potentially seriously harm or kill you. Tarantulas can, and many will, still bite you without thought and it is not a fun thing to experience. Their fangs can do a lot of mechanical damage to nerves, and tendons, and you don't want to be bitten.
Don't mix up domestication with captive bred - the two things are WORLDS apart and are not synonymous by any stretch. And don't think that their tolerance level is any indication of tameness either - they are unpredictable and, an otherwise calm and docile animal, can easily harm or kill you without provocation.
Many tarantulas, including a species that I have had, are on the endangered (CITIES) listing due to one factor only - the pet trade. These creatures can't afford the pet trade to have that effect on them because other factors are already making sure that they ALL end up extinct long before they should be - environmental destruction, drought, lack of food, loss of habitat, etc., etc., and the list goes on.
We all have a choice whether we want to be the nail in their coffin, or not, by supporting the pet trade. I, personally, will not contribute in the future and will forever advocate for them being left in the wild where they belong.
 
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Personally, they're much like fish...just minus the water.
I don't find it cruel to keep (reasonably-sized) species of aquarium fish in proper set-ups, so I don't see anything wrong with keeping (captive-bred) tarantulas.

As per the whole 'reptiles' thing, with all due respect Vanessa you and SQ are massively off base.
Plenty of domesticated species kill human beings every year (particularly cattle, horses and dogs).
Like with the (comparatively rare) deaths associated with the large constrictor snakes it has nothing to do with domestication vs not but everything to do with a) animals in general are unpredictable and b) human error or stupidity.
*ANY* animal will kill you under 'the right circumstances' if it has the capability to do so and *EVERY* animal can be unpredictable. Be it a large snake, a dog, a horse or cattle or something else. Domesticated 'pet' or not.

As per domesticated (or not) or how far along the domestication process one species will be versus another.
A rattlesnake is not a corn snake and the two are not comparable, especially in terms of temperament.
Many of the common pet trade reptiles (bearded dragons, ball pythons, boas and colubrids such as corns) are indeed being altered by man in terms of genetics, appearance and indeed temperament to an extent because a captive-bred animal is miles away temperamentally from one born in the wild. So one could argue the domestication process is (for some) underway already.

I just really wish we could drop the whole 'killer crazy snake' rhetoric guys...it's inaccurate and frustrating.
I am more afraid to interact with someone's dog than I am to reach into my ball python's cage. Or the beardie's cage. Or the skink. Or the boa.
They're extremely predictable (though, like any animal nothing is guaranteed and you should always be ready for that) once you understand them. Body language and behaviour is *everything*.

Saying we shouldn't have pet reptiles or arachnids because not all animals are captive-bred/there is strain on wild population is like saying due to puppy mills no one should ever have dogs. What is really needed is regulation and education.
 
My thoughts exactly. I also find it weird to have such a stance where you would let another species of animals suffer because you dont agree with what they eat.
 
Very interesting ....I had no idea they lived that long and longer from what I read. That's crazy! I personally don't think I would aquire one for myself but I bet they can be interesting to watch.:D
 
I am absolutely NOT way off base when it comes to what criteria animals need to meet to successfully begin domestication. One of the very top criteria is that they can never be full carnivores - and snakes, along with many other herps, are definitely full carnivores.
House cats will be the closest that we ever get to domesticating a full carnivore and we have only been able to accomplish that because they are small. If they were bigger - they would not be able to be domesticated.
I adore snakes myself, but the truth is that they have always been wild animals, are wild animals, and will always be wild animals. They will never be domesticated, even if some are more tolerant to human interaction than others.
As for your statement about dogs being unpredictable - you are only making my argument that much stronger. Yes, dogs kill way more people every year, as do horses, and all that proves is how unpredictable animals are that we HAVE been successful domesticating over thousands of years. That backs my argument that animals who are NOT domesticated are even that much more unpredictable.
The reason why the statistics are skewed to reflect how many dogs and horses kill, versus animals like snakes, is based entirely on the number that are kept in homes. When the number of snakes in households matches the number of dogs and horses - let's talk about the resulting number of fatalities then.
 
Actually Vanessa we have domesticated (either fully or partially) a variety of carnivorous animals. Hedgehogs, ferrets...various species of mongoose etc for example.

Can any animal be unpredictable? Sure. But are reptiles somehow as a whole more dangerous or unpredictable? No.
There will always be species who have more unstable temperaments and individual animals with difficult temperaments than others but you cannot say that snakes as a whole are these incredibly dangerous animals.

Even if we multiplied and thereby equalized the numbers of non-venomous pet reptiles kept in homes compared to dogs/horses etc there would still not be the same amount of incidents.
Also...the vast majority of homes who keep pet reptiles are keeping small things like corns or ball pythons or beardies. Few keep 'the big guys' like monitors or large constrictors.
Small reptiles cannot and never will be the same level of potential danger as even a small or medium sized dog.

Domestication has nothing to do with how potentially dangerous an animal can be and should NOT be a criteria for what should or should not be a pet. Again, all your domesticated animals had to start somewhere. Who knows what could be achieved with various (omnivorous reptiles do exist) species given the time?
 
EDITED: Not worth my time, there are more animals than just rats. every animal deserves a chance even snakes. Wild or NOT. I find it funny how you guys say tarantula's are "wild" and shouldn't be pets. but a lot of rescues on here have a wild mouse or rat that they have tried to domesticate. Its actually dumb that because its not the animal you would want as a pet shouldn't be aloud to be a pet for anyone.
 
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Hedgehogs are absolutely NOT full carnivores - they are omnivores and eat a very wide range of vegetation and fruit. Please do your homework.
Ferrets are obligate carnivores and, like our housecats, are only able to be kept in homes due to their small size. Very often, if not socialized extensively from birth, they will be extremely aggressive animals. They are nowhere near being fully domesticated regardless of the fact that we have been trying for over 2,000 years. States in the US still ban them and classify them as 'wild animals' and entire countries have banned them based on the fact that they very easily revert back to a feral animal quickly and decimate native wildlife.
 
I am a member of a group called 'Friends of Ferals'. Several of my friends are involved in rescue and this group is a Trap-Neuter-Release group. Feral cats on peoples' properties are trapped, neutered and released. They are released because they are wild. You cannot handle these animals unless they are unconscious. They are sedated while still in the trap. Kittens rounded up are rehomed if suitable, but usually unless you get them before they are weaned, there is a good chance they will be wild. This animal, the domesticated cat, if born outdoors and is not handled by humans in the first month or two, is completely wild.
Food for thought...
 
Vanessa---all my research has always classified them as insectivores and the *vast* amount of their diet coming from insect matter. Most carnivores will consume plant matter (and herbivores will do the reverse) sometimes and thus imo I would not classify them as omnivores say on the same level of human beings.
If your criteria is 'staying small' as to the exception of the 'must be omnivorous to be tamed' rule...then does that not open the door to most small reptiles?

All of our 'domesticated' animals are 'domesticated' in that we have modified them to suit our needs either physically or mentally or both. It is not an achievement of 'tameness' or docility. If you take a domesticated species and raise it without human contact it will be feral. Wild. Domestication does not ensure docility nor tameness to human contact.
Furthermore, how successful do you honestly presume a captive tame reptile would be if released? Not very successful at all. Now yes, there are exceptions---just as there are populations of feral horses, cats and dogs.

If the lines are so blurred...why bother fussing over the distinction? As long as people are taking proper precautions, proper care and buying captive bred stock...what *really* is the big deal about captive reptiles or arachnids?

+1 to Joanne's thoughts. I'll stand down over this now...
 
I've been following this thread and have learned a lot. There's one thing that doesn't seem to have come up much, and that is what is in the best interest of the animal. I'm not here to say that I know that, I definitely do NOT. but I think when it comes to what we keep as pets and what we don't, the needs and preferences of the animal must come into the equation.

It bothers me to see birds that have flight confined to cages. I know many ppl rescue tropical birds that were abused or abandoned, and of course there's a need for that. But you'd have to go a long way to convince me that a bird is happier, or even just as happy, as a 'pet' compared to living in its natural habitat.

I don't much if anything about reptiles or other species of animal but it concerns me that we are finding ways, it seems, to justify keeping more and more species as pets because we think they are cute or whatever. It's not all about us. It shouldn't be, anyway.

I wonder how anyone knows if a snake or a turtle or a frog even, is happy being kept captive as a pet.
I don't know, I'm just raising this issues as another way to think about how we treat animals in general.

I dont have the answers, but I believe these are things we should be thinking about, not just what animals are safe for us, etc.
When it comes to our children, the first thing we consider is what is in the best interest of our child
I think that should be our primary consideration when it comes to animals as well.
at the very least it should be a big part of the conversation
 
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