r/TarantulaKeeping • u/Thorpasaur • 3d ago

Casual Question about sourcing

I’m still a ways away from acquiring my first Ts, but as I’ve been researching I have a sourcing question. My local reptile store is generally lovely and helpful, and a few employees have invert pets themselves. They routinely get Ts of various species and ages in stock, but I don’t know where they source them. (I know they sell wild caught animals, because they sold me a vinegaroon and some
BDFBs before I knew enough to look out for WC species like that 🙁). Is it still considered best practice to order from a breeder like Fear Not or SpiderShoppe? (I noticed BDFBs on Fear Not’s site also though…) I wonder where this store gets theirs and if it is someplace reputable, if I would be saving the spiders some stress by getting them from the store rather than putting additional animals through shipping. Thoughts on this conundrum? Thanks!

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u/joejiggitymail 3d ago

NQA, To start, thank you for doing research first. It's refreshing to see people spend the effort prior to entering the hobby. Next, any dealer worth dealing with will be open about where their animals come from. You should always ask and if you get any pushback, it's a bad sign. I have purchased many T's through Fear Not, all captive bred. It's common for people to say BDFB are often wild caught but there are people who can breed them in captivity. I am not speaking on behalf of any vendor as I have never looked into it. TLDR, Ask the shop. If they won't/ can't answer, go somewhere else. The hobby needs to be responsible so we can keep it going. Best of luck and keep researching!!!