A Few Notes About Field-Collected Animals

At Spider Shoppe, you may notice that some of our listings are marked as field-collected—also commonly referred to as wild-caught. This simply means the animal was legally collected from its natural habitat (typically by local, licensed collectors) and then imported to the U.S.

What About Temperament?

When it comes to invertebrates, we’ve found that temperament doesn’t vary much between wild-caught (WC) and captive-bred (CB) individuals. The species itself tends to have more influence on behavior than whether it was born in the wild or in captivity. That said, reptiles may be a different story.

What About Health?

We take the health and wellbeing of our animals seriously. Every animal we ship—whether wild-caught or captive-bred—is carefully inspected. We do not send out animals that appear sick, parasitized, or injured (including spiders missing legs). Based on our many years of experience, health issues in WC animals are actually quite rare.

What About Ethics?

We understand and respect that some keepers prefer to avoid wild-caught animals altogether—and that’s totally valid! Our goal isn’t to change your mind. However, we do want to share that in some cases, field collection supports the hobby where captive breeding isn’t yet possible, and the species is plentiful in the wild. WC animals also escape the risks of predators and environmental threats in their natural habitat.

What Do We Guarantee?

Whether captive-bred or wild-caught, all of our animals come with a live-arrival guarantee. If you have any concerns when your new animal arrives, just reach out—we’re happy to help make things right.