Hello tarantula friends! Tarantula addiction is kind of a tongue in cheek topic, because we all know and openly joke about how addicting tarantula keeping can be, and how you can go from one tarantula to 50 REAL quick!

However, I do think this is an important topic to address. This came to my mind after doing a podcast with Richard Stewart from The Tarantula Collective and The Exotic Pet Collective, in which we spoke about the growth of the hobby, mental health, and how to manage large collections. I think this is a really important hobby because as Richard and I spoke about it, expanding too quickly in this hobby can be a real issue if you’re not aware of how you’re doing. And as a mental health professional, I’d like to be able to help people become more aware of this so that they can enjoy this hobby in a way that’s manageable for them!

One thing we need to practice is tuning in. Being able to examine our reasons and “why.” Believe it or not, there’s a bit of social pressure in this hobby – the pressure to be seen as an experienced, seasoned T owner, or someone who is knowledgeable. This is particularly important right now because aside from getting acclimated with tarantula online spaces, a lot of people are branching out into YouTube channels – which is wonderful! However, with YouTube I think there is more pressure to own a lot of tarantulas or other critters to provide more content or get more attention. So be able to tune in and ask yourself – “Why do I want 10 more tarantulas right now?” Why do I need to buy 10 more if I just got a new shipment? Pay attention to how this feels and sits in your body. Acquiring more tarantulas is not a bad thing – but if it’s not for the benefit of the animals, I would spend more time thinking about it.

The other way I like to separate a hobby from an addiction (or perhaps obsession) is by using a framework I use in my work as a therapist. What makes something a disorder or addiction is that the issue is causing impairment in your life, perhaps in multiple areas of your life. So you have to be able to examine and ask yourself a few hard questions:

Can my finances support my current hobby and plans to expand? Do I have enough room in my home for this? Is this taking too much of my time to where I don’t have time to take care of my other hobbies, responsibilities or myself? Are my jobs or relationships suffering because I’m spending so much time on this hobby? Tarantulas are nice, but if they’re causing you to isolate yourself, regularly miss work, or not be able to pay your bills, you might have bitten off more than you can chew.

Tarantulas take a lot of time and space. Not only in our hearts, but also in our homes. Taking care of a bunch of slings seems easy at first – until they all grow up, need bigger enclosures, and your feeding/cleaning routine takes hours every week. Understand that this will be a big commitment, even if it doesn’t seem like it at first.

Avoidance

Another thing we might look at is avoidance. Sometimes when we struggle mentally, we might use a new hobby or obsession as a way to avoid or provide a distraction for ourselves. So be honest with yourself – are you obsessing over tarantulas and getting super deep in this hobby because you’re avoiding dealing with something in your life? Of course, a little distraction here and there during a hard time in life is HEALTHY. But know that there is a line and we do need balance.

Substitute addictions

Another thing I think is important to touch is in the nature of addictions. Many of us who have struggled with addiction might agree that we have an “addictive personality”, and are more prone to latch onto something more than others. This is something great to be aware of in yourself. And to be fair – I have met so many people who struggled with drug or alcohol addiction and tarantulas actually HELPED them stay clean or helped them get through depression in a healthier way than substance abuse. This is GREAT! The thing we just need to be aware of is that sometimes we might substitute one addiction for another. And technically, having a tarantula addiction is NOT bad! It just goes back to my earlier point of having this addiction in a controlled and healthy way so it’s not draining your finances, threatening your livelihood or putting strain on your relationships.

I hope this was helpful! Here’s the video of Richard and I speaking on this!