When you get a new tarantula, you will likely need a lot of help and advice. The great thing is that there are SO many places to gain information that were not around several years ago. Not only are there so many new tarantula websites due to their growing popularity, but there are tons of tarantula forums and Facebook groups. There’s a little bit of a dark side to all of this help though.

One thing that myself and many other new tarantula owners don’t know when they first get into the tarantula hobby is that people in this hobby are VERY vocal about tarantula care. While people are more accepting that there are multiple ways to raise pets like dogs or cats, it seems that this is a much more passionate community. I recall the first time I got a talking-to from a more experienced tarantula owner. I had been sold a sponge by a local pet store (mistake #1) and put a photo of Spidey with her sponge on Tumblr. It wasn’t long before another Tumblr user told me – and not very politely – that I was an idiot for having the sponge. And while her tone and delivery shocked me and hurt for a little, I had to admit that she was right and I learned something valuable that day.

That’s what I want you to be prepared for. There are tons of people in this hobby that love educating new tarantula owners because they really care about these creatures and the future of the hobby. And they want to help. Unfortunately as with any community, sometimes things don’t come off as polite or kind as the intention. If you’ve spent any time in any tarantula Facebook groups, you’ll have undoubtedly seen someone get bashed for making a mistake. And I’m talking about this so that you don’t get discouraged if this happens to you. In fact, you should accept that this may happen to you at least once in your journey as a tarantula keeper.

There are several great tarantula groups on Facebook that have moderators that do a great job at making sure that everyone plays nice however it’s a big job and there will always be things that fall through the cracks before someone can get to it. Even in my own tarantula Facebook group, which is only a fraction of the size of more of the other T groups, I get the occasional bully.

I think it’s important to keep in mind that in this community, very few people are actually bullies. Many tarantula owners have all intentions of educating others, protecting these animals, and helping new tarantula owners become the best they can be. Unfortunately, we all have different ways of communicating and it’s easy for things to be lost in translation, especially across the internet. Things that were meant in sarcasm or good fun can easily be misjudged as personal attacks. But either way, do not let these instances – if they happen – ruin the hobby for you.

Sometimes even the meanest comments can have some truth to them, or information that would be helpful to you. Take others’ experience, learn from them, and forget the rest. That would be my advice to you, because it will make you a better tarantula owner to learn from those who are more experienced. And if someone is bullying you, tell a moderator. I think most of us have dealt with this in some way and although it’s not fun or right, don’t let it ruin a perfectly good hobby for you. If you spend enough time in the tarantula community, you will find that most T owners are very caring and just want to see you succeed and provide the proper care for your new tarantula. Lean on them, make friends, and support each other! And if you are a very experience tarantula owner, please keep in mind that we were all once beginners and try to be gentle when you see someone new and struggling. There is always an opportunity to educate someone, and we can lose that if we come on too strong.