Handling Ts

[Angel Minkov]

Angel, what facts do you have that support your statement? Depending upon the context of your thoughts you would be accurate, depending upon the context of others' thoughts you are definitely wrong.

Without providing information, such a statement is extremely misleading.

I guess I should have elaborated - yes, as already mentioned, very plump terrestrials are susceptible to falls and a rupture, but it still would need to be from a decent height of around 30-40cm., depending on how fed the tarantula is. Brachypelma albopilosum have been found as high as 5-6 metres up in trees. Tarantulas are definitely not fragile. If they're not overfed grossly, they will survive most, if not all, falls. I've had tarantulas drop from 1 metre and be completely fine, even though they were mostly juveniles.

 

[Mojo288]

Are you trying to say that the footing on a tree and someone's constantly moving hand is the same? Or that the tarantula will remain calm in the instance it's handled? The point isn't that these creatures are bound to ground level, it's simply safer for them , and most would prefer to err on the side of caution when the alternative is the death of a pet.

How exactly does being found higher in trees makes them "not fragile" in your opinion? Im having trouble following your logic there, so you would consider anything high off the ground to be "not fragile"?

This is a silly argument... equating a tree to handling...

 

[Swoop]

A "decent height" as you describe it is still below knee-level.

Being able to climb =/= being impervious to falls. Tarantulas aren't smart enough not to rip their legs off climbing on mesh, why would a B. albo climbing a tree be any indication that heights aren't dangerous?

 

[Anoplogaster]

Brachypelma albopilosum have been found as high as 5-6 metres up in trees. Tarantulas are definitely not fragile

You find humans on the top of the Empire State Building all the time. Are we to assume they could take THAT fall?

 

[Anoplogaster]

If they're not overfed grossly, they will survive most, if not all, falls. I've had tarantulas drop from 1 metre and be completely fine, even though they were mostly juveniles

Your key word here is “juveniles.” Juvenile spiders have a higher chance of surviving a fall.

 

[EulersK]

Fair enough, you’re cruel to fish, why not spooders?

Because fish are delicious.

 

[atraxrobustus]

Are you trying to say that the footing on a tree and someone's constantly moving hand is the same? Or that the tarantula will remain calm in the instance it's handled? The point isn't that these creatures are bound to ground level, it's simply safer for them , and most would prefer to err on the side of caution when the alternative is the death of a pet.

How exactly does being found higher in trees makes them "not fragile" in your opinion? Im having trouble following your logic there, so you would consider anything high off the ground to be "not fragile"?

This is a silly argument... equating a tree to handling...

This however would assume that the person Handling is an idiot- you safeguard against this sort of thing by handling low to a surface.- to where if the spider gets falls off your hand, it only has a few inches to fall at most. That's really just common sense about establishing a correct way to handle, and knowing one's limitations about what they're subject to do if bitten, when you think about it. Notably, when bitten by the C. lividus (which inflicted a series of significantly painful bites apart from the venom) I didn't go and fling it (as much as I would have liked to chuck it across the room at that particular moment) - that's really an element of self-control, I think, in recognizing that it's not the animals fault it bit you, but rather its always you that did something to cause the bite.. I would say that this particular point applies regardless of what kind of animal your dealing with- If a dog bites you, you probably did something stupid, at least within the perception of the dog involved.

 

[atraxrobustus]

Yeah She’s awesome and thank you my friend... I don’t want to open up another can of worms but she was sold to me as (WC) adult female so maybe she is a little darker than most of the captive bred sp out there...

Yes, that would explain things, due to selective breeding for color in the pet industry. and of course where she's at in terms of the molt at the time is significant as well. But all in all, I do think she's gorgeous. Of course, I've misidentified a P. metallica as C. lividus at one point long ago- mind you before I'd heard of P. metallica.

 

[atraxrobustus]

You find humans on the top of the Empire State Building all the time. Are we to assume they could take THAT fall?

I don't know- why don't we send you to jump off it, so we can find out? haha. JK.

 

[atraxrobustus]

Are you trying to say that the footing on a tree and someone's constantly moving hand is the same? Or that the tarantula will remain calm in the instance it's handled? The point isn't that these creatures are bound to ground level, it's simply safer for them , and most would prefer to err on the side of caution when the alternative is the death of a pet.

How exactly does being found higher in trees makes them "not fragile" in your opinion? Im having trouble following your logic there, so you would consider anything high off the ground to be "not fragile"?

This is a silly argument... equating a tree to handling...

The chances of loosing footing and falling out of a tree at some point in a 10 year or so life span are relatively high, absent Velcro attached to your feet. Not to mention the pesky thing called a thunder storm, etc. Think about it. The notion follows that if a species lives in a tree that it SHOULD be able to survive a fall out of the tree. Unfortunately, nature doesn't work that way.

 

[Angel Minkov]

You guys are so fun, literally taking pieces of information I've given and taking it out of context, trying to nitpick. I've had tarantulas fall from well over 1 meter without ruptures to their abdomens, or any wounds. They ARE NOT fragile animals by any means.

Mojo288, can you PLEASE point me to the part where I actually said handling is okay, if you would. It would mean a lot to me.

 

[Swoop]

You're asserting that something is not dangerous because of anecdotal evidence. Jacklyn Lucas fell 3,500 feet (1066.8 meters) out of a plane after his parachutes failed and he lived. Ergo, a 3,500 foot fall is not dangerous to humans. Right?

So... You've dropped multiple tarantulas from over one meter? Why?

 

[Angel Minkov]

Its not "anecdotal evidence", its firsthand experience. We're not trying to find the exact elasticity of their abdomens using a mathematical formula here, people. After being in the hobby for 8 years, you will inevitably have some accidents like falls, its just what it is.

 

[Swoop]

That's what anecdotal evidence is.

Plenty of other users can provide firsthand experience of their T's falling and being injured or killed. Each individual anecdote isn't worth much but put them together and it shows that falls tend to be dangerous for tarantulas.

 

[Angel Minkov]

I never said they weren't. I merely disagreed with the statement that tarantulas are fragile. They've been around for 500 million years and just look at what they look like in nature. They are in no way fragile animals.

 

[Mojo288]

I've had tarantulas fall from well over 1 meter without ruptures to their abdomens, or any wounds

So just because you got lucky and they happened to survive means they CAN'T be harmed by a fall? I'm having a bit of trouble following your logic.

PLEASE point me to the part where I actually said handling is okay, if you would

As for this, i have to sincerely apologize, i assumed (wrongly) that your statement had a point and was relevant to the topic at hand, but i guess you are in the habit of making irrelevant (and miss-informative) comments to who knows what end.

http://arachnoboards.com/threads/abdomen-rupture-g-rosea.287765/ here is a post on the boards of a tarantula falling ONE meter and sustaining a rupture, let alone 5-6.

Just because it doesn't happen every time, doesn't mean it CAN'T....

Why do you equate evolutionary success with fragility or lack there of? It is ANOTHER irrelevant point, the fragility is in reference to how easily WE can harm them, not to how well they can survive in nature....

 

[RTTB]

I learned long ago if you want to handle your tarantula, do so sitting on the floor or on your bed, etc.

 

[Angel Minkov]

You are, once again, throwing around assumptions. I said they are not fragile, not that they cannot be killed by a fall. I am in a habit of not getting into petty discussions like "should I handle my T" and "should I get an OW", because that's all that this forum has become, and its just a few individuals like yourself who take part in these discussions parroting the same old lines, trying to feel morally superior. But I understand, its just a phase.

 

[EulersK]

 

[TheFox]

So just because you got lucky and they happened to survive means they CAN'T be harmed by a fall? I'm having a bit of trouble following your logic.



As for this, i have to sincerely apologize, i assumed (wrongly) that your statement had a point and was relevant to the topic at hand, but i guess you are in the habit of making irrelevant (and miss-informative) comments to who knows what end.

http://arachnoboards.com/threads/abdomen-rupture-g-rosea.287765/ here is a post on the boards of a tarantula falling ONE meter and sustaining a rupture, let alone 5-6.

Just because it doesn't happen every time, doesn't mean it CAN'T....

Why do you equate evolutionary success with fragility or lack there of? It is ANOTHER irrelevant point, the fragility is in reference to how easily WE can harm them, not to how well they can survive in nature....

I think you're taking what he said wildly out of context. Just because he's sharing that he's had Ts survive falls in no way means he's implying that Ts can't sustain damage from a bad fall. Also, when you talk about compiling evidence from anecdotes that comes to the conclusion that handling Ts is a bad idea, you might not be looking at the full picture. For example, if my T had a nasty fall one of the first things I'd do is to post here and see what could be done. That being said, I wouldn't update the forum every single time I successfully handle a T with no problems. Just because you read a couple of horror stories on here does not mean that it is the norm for everybody. Even the anecdotal evidence you linked to resulted in the T falling from a height of over 5 feet (followed by a super gluing catastrophe) and surviving to carry on as normal. 5 feet is well above the height that almost anyone would be handling them at, even if they were standing up in the middle of the room, much less sitting at a table or on the floor to take the T out.

I think that all in all, as important as it is to shy people away from handling to keep as many Ts as safe as possible, it is even more important to provide accurate information, especially given how little the average person knows about tarantulas. Painting the picture that all Ts are fragile little sacks of joys will do people a disservice in the long run. If someone asks about handling a T, rather than just jump down their throats about the danger of it, it's much more important to explain why it is dangerous, and what can be done to minimize that danger (e.g. not handling in the first place).

Also i find the information he shared about wild Ts being found high up in trees very interesting and I think it does give a lot of insight into the fragility of Ts. Before you strawman me, I'm not saying that just because you can find some wild Ts climb up to 6m in height that your pet tarantula could take a fall from that height. But it does show that the tarantulas (at least that specific breed) have started to evolve to live at heights like that. That means that the ones that are falling off the trees and sustaining damage will start to die out and the ones that are either better climbers and don't fall, or are heartier and can survive the fall, will slowly evolve to become the majority of the species. Again, I'm not saying that this has anything to do with handling Ts, it's just some interesting information to think about.