Sorry just to add to my reply to your post.
For the correct breeding times of tarantulas. No offense, but I assume you haven't tried to breed spiders before. It is not as easy as you are making it out to be. I guarantee no one on this site (Or anywhere else for that matter) can tell me right now that they can accurately tell exactly when their tarantula is going to lay an eggcase a few months before the fact.

Secondly, why should nature conservation spend manpower and money on training people to identify spiders? What do they gain from the selling of exotic species in the country? If anything it will affect our natural populations negatively.

Never meant to make tarantula breeding sound easy, only exagerated on trying to proof a point. I actually don't even own a tarantula yet, all the necessary equipment is however already on order and underway.

Being a newbie it's just frustrating and scary that my new pets might be taken away by some guys in kakie pants and shirts before I actually realy get to appreciate them... I'm just trying to get my mind around the issue and figure out how best we can react once the crap hits the fan.

While I'm at it and you've already touched on it, I can just as well open another can of worms... Why are people opposed to so called 'hybrids'? I mean, if nature deems it possible to crossbreed a horse and a donkey (2 different species) to get a mule that's capable of breeding itself from that point on, who are we to tell nature it's wrong. Cats and dogs for example can't be crossbred because nature never intended it be so. I think that we sometimes try and control nature too much. We tend to think the Creator stopped creating when he placed us on this planet...

ewertb wrote:
Wif nature deems it possible to crossbreed a horse and a donkey (2 different species) to get a mule that's capable of breeding itself from that point on, who are we to tell nature it's wrong.

Mule's are sterile! thus not very good prove for your argument! sorry.

ewertb wrote: Never meant to make tarantula breeding sound easy, only exagerated on trying to proof a point. I actually don't even own a tarantula yet, all the necessary equipment is however already on order and underway.

Being a newbie it's just frustrating and scary that my new pets might be taken away by some guys in kakie pants and shirts before I actually realy get to appreciate them... I'm just trying to get my mind around the issue and figure out how best we can react once the crap hits the fan.

While I'm at it and you've already touched on it, I can just as well open another can of worms... Why are people opposed to so called 'hybrids'? I mean, if nature deems it possible to crossbreed a horse and a donkey (2 different species) to get a mule that's capable of breeding itself from that point on, who are we to tell nature it's wrong. Cats and dogs for example can't be crossbred because nature never intended it be so. I think that we sometimes try and control nature too much. We tend to think the Creator stopped creating when he placed us on this planet...

Well, lets speak again when you breed a tarantula.

I really sound like a broken record, but LOOK AT THE BIGGER PICTURE. Actually, I think this needs to be added to my signature.

What good can come from making it easier to import exotic tarantulas? It can only do more bad than good IMO.

Hybrids are an entirely different kettle of fish.
There are a few people that have bought hybrids as pure bred species and get pretty pissed off when they are lining up breeding attempts, etc only to find out they have something entirely different. Unfortunately people lie and thats a fact. Just ask the people considering buying Poecilotheria smithi, but that are too scared because they will probably end up with a R1500 hybrid P.fasciata.
How are we going to explain to our kids one day what a B.smithi is, if we don't even know from all the hybridisation? And don't say that the breeders will just tell the buyers what they crossed, because this doesn't happen.

On the flip side though, IMO if you want to try do hybridization, you need to keep all the babies to yourself. I have a few hybrids and am considering trying to "hybridise" soon with one of my future breeding attempts, but I will keep all the babies in a communal until I have 10 or so left. All the little one's will stay within my spider rooms walls.

Mmm... forgot about that, sorry. :blush:

Let's stick to dogs and cats then... Dalmation + sheep dog + dingo = australian cattle dog. No, a dog is not a dog is not a dog! This we deem ok because we've interfered with it so much that we can tag it as 'domesticated'.

@Cera - Nope, I wont be attempting any breeding. Just want one of a species to admire and enjoy. I might end up in Western Cape for all I know and what then...

Actually a dog is a dog is a dog.
All dogs are the same species. Next example?

Once you get one spider, you will get more and you will be attempting breeding sooner than you think. Trust me. This hobby is addictive.