Handling and Holding Your T - How Much Is Too Much?

[Fran]

Wow.....the never-ending controversy........
I come back from hiatus, and the seasoned hobbyists are at it again!!!

When I started the hobby, I asked something similar and got completely slammed for it. So, I had to learn the hard way, and find my own thresholds. Haven't we learned by now that the chest-pounding vs. self-righteousness debate gets us nowhere???

The simple fact is that:
1) Even science doesn't know how much handling is too much, so what gives any of us "Regular-People" the right to determine that for their fellow-hobbyist???

2) Outside of bringing harm to their animal (see #1) NO ONE should be telling ANYONE what they can or cannot do with animals they payed THEIR hard-earned money for.

3) Holding your inverts is a personal decision. NO ONE CAN MAKE IT FOR YOU!!! Just because I like to play with my T's and think EVERYONE should know how to hold your animals, doesn't give me any right to bash my rhetoric into the neophyte hobbyist to "get to them before the others do."

Whew!!! Done with rant now......

Yeah...rant is what it was .

"
1) Even science doesn't know how much handling is too much, so what gives any of us "Regular-People" the right to determine that for their fellow-hobbyist???"

Any handleing is too much since they cant enjoy it, they dont benefict from it and they arent inteligent domesticated animals. No need to ask Roger Penrose, Stephen Hawking or the guy who works at the security gate of the CERN Hadron colider.


"2) Outside of bringing harm to their animal (see #1) NO ONE should be telling ANYONE what they can or cannot do with animals they payed THEIR hard-earned money for."

Thats not what is being discussed here.

 

[Steve Calceatum]

"2) Outside of bringing harm to their animal (see #1) NO ONE should be telling ANYONE what they can or cannot do with animals they payed THEIR hard-earned money for."

Thats not what is being discussed here.

So sorry, because I hate to disagree with you once again, my friend. Buuuuut.........

Any handleing is too much since they cant enjoy it, they dont benefict from it and they arent inteligent domesticated animals. No need to ask Roger Penrose, Stephen Hawking or the guy who works at the security gate of the CERN Hadron colider.

Unless you really ARE NOT asserting your position that Tarantulas SHOULD NOT be held........


You know Fran, it's just too bad that the two of us frequently seem to find ourselves on the opposite ends of the same coin.......

 

[Fran]

So sorry, because I hate to disagree with you once again, my friend. Buuuuut.........




Unless you really ARE NOT asserting your position that Tarantulas SHOULD NOT be held........

Yes. Indeed. Tarantulas should not be held.

 

[Steve Calceatum]

Yes. Indeed. Tarantulas should not be held.

Then #2 from my post is qutie valid........Unless someone is abusing their animals, then we have NO RIGHT to tell them what to do with their "property."

And to reiterate #3: It is a personal decision.
There are some T's I have that I just do not hold, and others I hold all the time. Some other Joe Blow will handle the most vile specimens they can get their hands on. Then there are those, like you, who just will not play with their T's for whatever reasons.

The original question was, "How much is too much??"
There is no definitive answer. Unless someone can provide me with empirical evidence that it does, in fact, HARM the T, I am not inclined to believe anything more than that.

My experience has been that they WILL most certainly tell you when you're crossing lines. Some of mine don't seem to mind being held, and others simply will have no part of it. They have the fangs, they have the venom, and thus they make the rules. We'd all be wise to listen.

 

[arachnorama]

Yes. Indeed. Tarantulas should not be held.

At all? So when you are transferring it to a new home, how do you go about doing that? Plastic cups? Psh. I'd rather have something warm to carry me new places than be restricted into a small space with no air holes.

IMO, as long as you're near to the floor and aren't being stupid with the tarantula, it's fine. Of course, I don't have a tarantula, but I have seen how fragile they are and do know for a fact that letting people that are incompetent about glass (or other fragile items) should definitely not hold a tarantula.

I don't think that the tarantula is stressed unless your hands are pushing it around. If it's just walking on your arm and not being poked or prodded it shouldn't stress it out too much.

 

[ArachnoYak]

I must reiterate that handling is a necessity that goes hand in hand with keeping. I just watched a video yesterday where a keeper was transferring a p. irminia to it's new enclosure and it escaped as he was trying to shake it out of the yogurt container into its new home. It escaped during this process and he had to go looking for his "catch cups" before he could capture it. In that time it had already travelled about 50 feet. Now had he been comfortable handling her he could have corralled her in seconds. Were this a pokie he'd be in somewhat of a sticky situation.
That's why it's a good idea for t keepers to get used to handling their Ts if for no other reason than to prevent escapes. I will continue to handle all of my Ts, as if I wanted to just look at a tarantula I would have bought a painting.

 

[arachnorama]

They have the fangs, they have the venom, and thus they make the rules. We'd all be wise to listen.

Don't forget the urticating hairs. Those things itch!:evil:

 

[Steve Calceatum]

Getting off track........

Don't forget people:
The question here IS NOT whether or not you should hold your T's. Rather, it is a question regarding the Tarantula's stress levels, and what would be the "breaking-point" (for lack of a better term). Again, that is extremely subjective, and probably best answered by those who DO regularly play with their T's.

Don't forget the urticating hairs. Those things itch!:evil:

That's why I'm an arboreal guy, LOL!!!

 

[OxDionysus]

I also think handling them is not recommended.

It's funny how threads go from simple questions to straight up personal attacks.

 

[arachnorama]

As long as you don't poke/prod/push/flip/throw/mutilate/send it on a rollercoaster/breakdance with your tarantula while you're holding it and let it explore and are over a relatively close surface or are close to the floor, it should be fine.

Stress mainly comes from being disturbed. So, in a way, getting it out to handle it causes stress. If you put your hand in front of it and let it walk on, it shouldn't be as stressed. If it doesn't walk on, it obviously means that it's not interested.

 

[Fran]

II will continue to handle all of my Ts, as if I wanted to just look at a tarantula I would have bought a painting.

I guess you handle your fish, then. Great reasoning.

You must not be into collectables either, since you can really touch them and play with them.

 

[Steve Calceatum]

This thread needs to DIE.......

Really?????

These are living animals in our care. They are not Pokemon cards, paintings, Matchbox cars, or vintage Barbies. Despite being kept in an aquarium, they are not kept IN water, and (barring human stupidity) will not die if removed from the enclosure.

Being living animals, it is within the nature nature of some people to see them as PETS, give them names, and want to interact with them on some level. Rather than have some sort of a logically-minded utilitarian warehouse of specimens labeled "Whatever sp. #blah-blah."

Furthermore, the "Collector"-types are not wrong either. The basic requirements of husbandry are in order, and a room full of monolithic racks of super-rare, and beautiful specimens can be quite impressive.

That is the beauty of our hobby!!!! We can choose how we want to enjoy it!!! Please, let's let this thread DIE......

 

[ZergFront]

Your best bet is to run a few searches through here - this topic has been addressed (and argued about) many times over.

I was just about to say. I thought I was revisiting a LONG, ongoing topic again to see where it went until I checked the date and looked at the # of pages. Dei ja vou! All well... sigh.. *opens bag of popcorn, a soda can and puts up a blood-proof shield*

It also puts your tarantulas in dangers that would normally not be thought of.

Like coming in contact with a poison or chemical. Your dog could have rolled on the floor where your T for some reason ended up and the dog had a tick control applied to it's back. Sorry, I work with dogs and wash my hands after work for that reason and that popped into my head. Carry on *or let thread die a blissfully quick death...*.

 

[Fran]

No need for that.

Is just that some people need to grow up and realize that being an adult means that sometimes you sacrifice your impulses for the well being of the animal. Kids cant,but adults should be able to.

If you are not capable to keep a T in a tank and let the animal be, you really need a psicologist.

 

[Pociemon]

No need for that.

Is just that some people need to grow up and realize that being an adult means that sometimes you sacrifice your impulses for the well being of the animal. Kids cant,but adults should be able to.

If you are not capable to keep a T in a tank and let the animal be, you really need a psicologist.

Are you scared of T´s?

It strikes me that you are repeating yourself all the time. And you dont listen to any arguments that is not like yours. What makes you think that others will listen to your opinion then?

I have gotten sacks from many T´s now. Does not sound like a stressed T to me! Like i said before as others have, it is a personal choice, and you point is NO more valid than other peoples. Stop acting like a child and write insults to others, it doesnt make your point more valid by doing childish behavior.

I do respect your point of view, but you really should act more mature.

 

[tnyxpt]

Are you scared of T´s?

It strikes me that you are repeating yourself all the time. And you dont listen to any arguments that is not like yours. What makes you think that others will listen to your opinion then?

I have gotten sacks from many T´s now. Does not sound like a stressed T to me! Like i said before as others have, it is a personal choice, and you point is NO more valid than other peoples. Stop acting like a child and write insults to others, it doesnt make your point more valid by doing childish behavior.

I revived this doing a search as I'm new to the hobby and all. Not having been on here for more than a week, I already know to pass over any posts by that specific person as I don't care for narrow-minded condescending opinions, especially without actual scientific facts to support them. I'm in the same boat with you.
Moving on...

 

[JamieC]

The general rule I follow is, only handle your T's when absolutely necessary. Cage transfers, etc. Handling them for fun is a no brainer, it stresses the animal and you put it's welfare in danger. While some people have stated that their is no proof that handling stresses them out, we no for sure that they don't benefit from it.

 

[Pociemon]

I think it is really crazy that people in these kind of topics go to extremes and many times gets personal. There really is no need for that.
Generally when you are a new T owner, most will be curious about handling them. It is and will probably allways be this way. So why in the world people start to tell newbees that they are "fish" is beyond me. They should of course tell them the pros and cons about it, but if a new T owner wants to try handling, chances are that he will do it regardless of the "no brainer" answers who he/she probably is in no need of getting.

Why not inform them on the subject instead of these flame wars we see in here allways! It strikes me as everyone just want to be right. So these topics never go anywhere, because people are just different. Some handle, some dont, simple as that.

And this handling thing or curiosity will in most cases end, either because they have now tried it, and is not new anymore, or in many cases simply gets many T´s and gets other interest, such as breeding.

 

[RBJ]

I need to try some drugs..dont care if you say it's crazy,so please inform me how to do it proberly
Sorry if you think I'm being too offtopic but I do think it's nearly the same thing..just because somebody whats to do something stupid doesn't mean that he or she should be advised how to do it..
Why is that...well check youtube and then check our bite/sting reports and you will have your answer...so many careless people around.So many, that it isn't advisable to make a sticky thats teaching people how to do that.And thats why those treats like this allways ending with trouble..
I have never handheld any of my T's or scorps (except for an Euscorpius sp.) and I dont have to either for moving,cleaning or such.I don't blame people because they do handheld them but I don't think it's advisable to recommend to do it either.

You can find sting reports about LQ that have coursed no trouble but thats no reason to say...try it,I have done it so you should be fine too if you get stung

Anything living should be treated with proberly respect.That being a dog,cat,horse or T's or whatever,and not be treated for someones own fun.

 

[Pociemon]

Well, i have my opinion, and others theirs. We will never agree anyway. So why bother;-)