iclazion wrote: Some people also just leave the hobby out of pure trust issues, with other members.
Really.

They leave the public hobby, not the hobby as a whole.

Some valid points being brought across.

I can tell you the first guy that left the hobby a couple of month after I joined, He sold he's collection due to Financial issues. And it has been going on for years, seems a bit more people are doing this year than any other year!

Panama is also right in what he said, it seems to be a curtain time frame when decision to focus on curtain species or get out the hobby starts.
But it also not such a problem, cause often it some awesome spiders that come out of hiding and back into circulation of the hobby!

I also don't think buying an "expert" Tarantula or R20,000 tarantula has anything to do with people losing interest or buying 1000 spiders in 10 months. two words, LIFE HAPPENS!

I think it is the fast pace life we live in, we are rushed, over worked, not earning enough cash, trying to make millions, sitting in traffic and then you get DSTV and you get series and then you wont to party Friday to Sunday, you have kids, new girlfriend or boyfriend, work ships you off, babies and the list goes on.
It not just the spider hobby, it happens in any hobby for that matter.

It is also disposable income, someone gets a bonus or walks into a shop and they see something they won't so they buy it, a couple months down the line it becomes a problem, to much work so they get rid of it for there their next money waister.
I'm sure every one remembers the game of paint ball?
There was a massive boom in paint balling, people would go play every weekend, every tom owned he's own gun, every chance people got to play they went, and know it is the hardcore/passionate players that are left.


Dimitri, I was thinking about the whole pet thing yesterday.
I think with regards to curtain pets you as the owner build a relationship with the animals, Dogs, cats, horses and maybe snakes, some people are more gaga over animals than others.
I think it is easy to get rid of your spider that lives in a tank and the only bonding you get from it is a bite. :eyepoke:
And the fact is Spiders tend to grow in value where pets tend to stay at one price. Priceless to some.

Carlo good to have semi back and Happy! :starwars: :chainsaw: :spider:

.

Just read through all the posts and picked up two other points.

Carlo wrote: i have realized that i do not have to have all the spiders on the list!!

Here is another reason why the hobby in SA is probably shorter lived per person compared to overseas i would think. The selection in Europe or America is much bigger when it comes to new/different species. I would think it takes longer to work your way through a larger number of species there, compared to the limited number here. Most people that enter the hobby have a goal (even if it is just a dream in their mind) of owning every spider there is, so once they collect all the spiders most commonly sold here, they lose interest when nothing new comes along to purchase. End of the hobby for them. A few people decide to 'specialise' and extend the hobby for themselves, possibly even permanently. Some of those though decide to own every species of a certain genera/group of spiders and when that is not possible, they also leave.

Panama wrote: I'm wondering if there is a seasonal pattern like this. This was my first winter as a tarantula enthusiast and I must admit that I felt quite a lull in the hobby. Does this happen around this time every year?

This is also a good reason. Most tarantulas slow down during winter, especially for keepers who don't have special regulated rooms that keep their spiders at 28 degrees through winter. This means less feeding, moulting and generally just less active. As these are the things that keep lots of keepers interested, I would think they lose interest and decide to rather sell. Added to the fact that you could experience a few deaths at this stage, this could just add to the frustration. For me, I have been generally lucky to have had spiders drop egg cases during winter for the last few years. Besides that though, I have hardly been into my spider room for the last few weeks, so use it as a bit of a break to do other things during this time while my room is cold and activity levels are down with the spiders. When spring arrives again, I'll be spending my late nights in the room, feeding and observing more.

Ceratogyrus wrote:

F1refly wrote: If I could recommend something (and I have been guilty of this before) when you write out a post, read through it once or thrice first before clicking the submit button. I know this is difficult when you are in a heated discussion, but will prevent things like this.

Another pointer on this topic. When reading, try to ascertain what the audience MIGHT read into what you (ambiguous 'you' not anyone specific) are are trying to say. It is also not just what you say (sometimes it is) but also how you say it. I always tell people that the intention with what you do something is not the most important aspect, it is how it is received or perceived that counts in the end. Example: If your folks say something that offends you, they might not have intended to offend, but rather to give constructive criticism, but the effect in the end is the offence. So rather try to say something that will be taken up in the correct light, rather than just say what want to say and have it taken up as negative, snarky, arrogant, condescending, etc.
These happen most when someone doesn't know how to give a complement.
Nice example: "Wow, you have lost a lot of weight, now people won't think that you are pregnant anymore". The intention is a complement about the weight you lost, but the effect is that everyone (including the speaker) has always thought that you looked pregnant.

Anyway. I have not read ALL the posts in this thread.
What I can add to the topic.
Many people have this ideal list (which is usually all of them - pokemon like) but eventually people realize that all brachy slings look identical and you have to wait quite a bit before they are pretty, while buying juvie/adult spiders are too expensive. Space, feeding, etc. gets too much as well when you have that many spiders.
Blue spiders are attractive, but it is like bling, if you have one, your fellow T enthusiasts will ooh and aah but the rest of the world is: "that's a nice blue spider". So eventually the thrill wains.

I bought a P metallica male to breed and sell the slings to get money from it to do other things with. Yes, P metallicas are pretty, but there are better looking Ts that I would rather have.

I have sold many of my Ts because I needed the money, I have specific species I keep as a savings plan, others I won't sell, they tend to be the cheaper of the lot, B boehmei for example, one of my favorites, will sell it if I need the money. Even if I were to sell every single T, I will not leave the hobby and start building my collection back up starting with slings, I don't care that they all look alike

The thing with every aspect of life is that each and every person's approach is different, motivated by different things. Some people will buy expensive cars, others will buy expensive cars with a residual, others will by expensive 2nd hand cars, others will just drive an old car they can service themselves, some go for fuel economy while others go for the sound of a V8. Everyone that buys a car buys it based on a specific list of criteria and needs. My philosophy in life is that : "Just because someone does something different than what I would have done, doesn't make them wrong".

I have a friend that has 1 tarantula. He takes it on holiday, it sits next to them on the night stand and gets carried to the kitchen when they get up in the morning. They take it out to roam in the garden or furniture on it's own and handle it quite a bit. Some might frown upon this, but very few people like their 1 tarantula as much as this person does. His name is Bruce btw, the spider, not the person, and it is the humble P albopilosum. Beautiful specimen.

So that is my 2c on life and T keeping