RESEARCH BEFORE YOU BUY - Tumblr Posts
Keeper inexperience and lack of research is often so much more punishing to exotics than it is to truly domesticated animals. Canine experts and breeders rightfully spend so much time begging first time (and sometimes longtime) owners to understand the unique needs and expectations of their type of dog before committing, because the difference between some pure breeds is literally night and day regarding everything from activity levels, grooming requirements, health risks, to general temperament, etc. And this is just for different breeds within the same species. Imagine the catching up one has to do to familizarize themselves with what to expect from not just a completely different species, different family, but whole different phylum than the majority of people are familiar with. Caring for Old world tarantulas vs. New world tarantulas are completely different games to sign up for. Same with tarantulas generally vs jumping spiders, even more so for arachnids vs. mantids vs. whip scorpions. All of the above times 500 for arthropods vs anything like a guinea pig.
This exact thing is also what makes me nervous from time to time keeping an ear to the reptile community. Leopard and crested geckos are frequently touted as beginner friendly introductions to herp keeping. I’ve known children who had leos. “Beginner friendly” in pet husbandry means relatively easy/cheap to keep alive and healthy. It says NOTHING about the general tolerance of the animal to human handling or the amount of dedicated time and care you have to put in to desensitize said animal to human contact if your provider didn’t. These things will literally amputate their tails if startled too badly or handled wrong once, and tolerance to handling is not something anyone should be taking for granted from a new reptile. Times 500 again for athropods. There’s a huge reason that near every video of a smart keeper handling a defensive arachnid is preceded by moments of them testing where the line is with a pencil/stick and what sort of mood their pet is in before human hands come anywhere near it. You think owning cats is a strict lesson in respecting boundaries? Try and see how little leeway for harassment you’ll be granted from a cornered arachnid. That’s the thing- they’ll always be the one in a corner if they feel threatened, and their instincts are not unjustified to remind them of that. In terms of size alone, you’re basically Cthulhu in comparison to them.
It’s amazing and awesome to see enthusiasm for invertebrate keeping on a rise, but first and foremost as long as that enthusiasm is matched by a willingness to treat them with no less respect and humility than any other exotic. Loving invertebrates means loving them for what they really are instead of some anthropomorphized ideal of them. It’s part of what makes them truly unique and in their own category of experience, and maybe that’s not for everyone and okay! You can still find them cute without needing them to be cuddly.
I am somewhat happy that jumping spiders are becoming popular as pets and even people who normally don't like spiders seem to find them cute, but people have GOT to stop acting like they are miniature mammals who want love and affection and pets and want to hang out with you.
I have seen countless posts in jumper groups from people asking why their jumper tries to escape when they're holding it or seems skittish or threat poses at them. It's because you are a giant predator and they want to get away from you. They don't get any happy chemicals from handling like mammals would.
I'm starting to see this in millipede groups as well. "Why is my millipede secreting this liquid on me?" Because it does not want to be handled. It's stressful for the animal, and stress can kill them.
Not only does it stress them, but often taking them out of their enclosure is dangerous for them - I have seen a lot of posts from people whose spider escaped and was injured or was crushed in the door of the enclosure because they were taking it in and out frequently. Drops can also be harmful, especially for larger invertebrates like tarantulas and bigger millipedes.
In general, invertebrate pets are not going to be a good option if you want to handle something frequently. There are definitely some species and individuals who tolerate it more, and if you're an experienced keeper, you can learn the signs of a stressed animal and only handle ones that are chill about it. But the majority of the time, they should be left alone and observed only.