I need help with my skittish Red Knee

[Katmarlett]

Hello. This is my first posting and I am in search of advice. I got my first T about a month ago and have yet to hold it (I do not know its sex). It is a two year old Brachypelma hamorii with a hyper attitude! When I put him into his current inclosure for the first time he ran very fast and has been in hiding ever since. He does eat every meal and every quickly. I have attempted to handle it but that did not go so well. I nudged him first with a paint brush end and he did not seem to show any signs of aggression but bolted! I quickly but the top back on his inclosure.

I am searching for help! How do I go about handling this T? I am planning on having him for years to come and would like for him to be comfortable with my touch. I have handled T's before but adults who seemed to stay in one place. Do you think he will calm with age or time in the inclosure? Or do you think he will always be prone to this type of activity?

And if so, the question remains how should I handle him with out him running away, getting lost, or falling and potentially hurting himself?

 

[MGery92]

Hello. This is my first posting and I am in search of advice. I got my first T about a month ago and have yet to hold it (I do not know its sex). It is a two year old Brachypelma hamorii with a hyper attitude! When I put him into his current inclosure for the first time he ran very fast and has been in hiding ever since. He does eat every meal and every quickly. I have attempted to handle it but that did not go so well. I nudged him first with a paint brush end and he did not seem to show any signs of aggression but bolted! I quickly but the top back on his inclosure.

I am searching for help! How do I go about handling this T? I am planning on having him for years to come and would like for him to be comfortable with my touch. I have handled T's before but adults who seemed to stay in one place. Do you think he will calm with age or time in the inclosure? Or do you think he will always be prone to this type of activity?

And if so, the question remains how should I handle him with out him running away, getting lost, or falling and potentially hurting himself?

It's very simple. Don't handle it.

 

[Swede Baboon]

It's very simple. Don't handle it.

Haha.. you beat me to it

 

[boina]

Another handling thread...

I'll have to save my response somewhere so I don't have to type it out all over again every time this pops up - seems to be once a week at least.

Question: Why do you want to handle an animal that gets no benefit from it and is running from you?

On this boards about 90% of people are strongly against handling. I'll tell you why:

Any tarantula, even a very docile one, may get spooked and run. If it runs and falls of your hand it will go splat on the floor - a tarantulas abdomen is very fragile and they will pop open like an overripe melon. That's not survivable for the tarantula. If you are really lucky they die quick. If not you have a tarantula dying a slow death drawn out over days. Can a tarantula suffer? You tell me. I cannot count the number of threads I've seen where this happened - there were quite a few and it always was: It's never run before, it was so docile, why did it run now? With handling everything goes fine until it doesn't.

Any tarantula, even the most docile one, may get spooked and bite you. Now I don't care if you get bit - your choice, after all, but 99 out of 100 people will flinch in reflex and the tarantula will get flung off their hand - results see above.

Handling is extremely dangerous - not for you, but for your tarantula. The tarantula gets absolutely nothing out of it. They can be conditioned to tolerate handling up to an extend, but they'll never like it.

You trying to handle an already skittish tarantula is just reckless - playing lottery with your tarantulas life.

 

[sasker]

I find that smooth jazz calms them down enough to handle them. Just put the music on for about ten minutes and you are good to go.

Seriously now, I think this is the wrong forum for asking questions on handling as the general consensus is that you should not handle any tarantula at all for the reasons that @boina stated above. It's usually only noobs that handle tarantulas and they stop doing so because most of the fun in keeping tarantulas is not holding them but observing them. If you handled one, it will not be so interesting to hold another one.

I do not encourage handling, nor do I handle my own (I have handled my Euathlus sp. red on a few occasions, though).

To answer your question about the temperament of your Brachypelma hamorii, they are more skittish when they are young and they tend to calm down when they are older. This is not always the case as some become psychopathic monsters. I believe @The Grym Reaper has one that thinks she is a Phormictopus sp. Just its personality, I guess.

My experience with B. hamorii is that they have great appetites and they adopt a 'bite first, ask the question of edibility later' attitude. For that reason alone I would not recommend sticking you hands in its enclosure or trying to handle it. It may bite you, not out of aggression, but thinking you are food.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

To answer your question about the temperament of your Brachypelma hamorii, they are more skittish when they are young and they tend to calm down when they are older. This is not always the case as some become psychopathic monsters. I believe @The Grym Reaper has one that thinks she is a Phormictopus sp. Just its personality, I guess.

Yeah, she used to be catatonically docile and then moulted out into a "wannabe P. cancerides" evil witch of anger who goes straight to threat postures and slapping as soon as you touch her, or even open/move the enclosure on some days.

My B. hamorii is still defective.

• The Grym Reaper
• Jul 23, 2017
• 8
• brachypelma brachypelma hamorii brachypelma smithi hamorii mexican redknee tarantula threat threat pose threat posture

She still thinks she's a P. cancerides.

@Katmarlett, your B. hamorii doesn't want to be handled, it doesn't have the mental capacity to bond with you (they have limited memory and problem-solving capabilities but that's about it, they primarily function on instinct), it will get no enjoyment from being handled and it will likely always perceive you as a threat and try to run away, tarantulas are "look but don't touch" animals in the same way that fish are.
As already shown above, mine is an evil bitch, she will more than likely stay that way, even if I still handled my tarantulas I would not attempt to handle her, she'd definitely tag me and I'd more than likely panic and fling her across the room, killing her in the process (which would suck as I find her evil ways quite endearing).

As @boina said above "You trying to handle an already skittish tarantula is just reckless - playing lottery with your tarantulas life".

 

[RemyZee]

They do tend to calm down as they age, but as @The Grym Reaper and @sasker stated, this is not always the case. If you feel you must handle your T, wait until it gets some size and age on it, then carefully temperament test with a paint brush. Please do not handle a skittish T! You are asking for trouble and it will likely end very badly for your little one.

 

[Devin B]

If you want a pet that you can handle that also takes up little space, then I would recommend a hamster or mouse. Tarantulas are better for looking at but not touching.

 

[Graves6661]

A skittish T will almost always remain skittish to some extent. If it bolts when you open the lid of its enclosure, how will it react while in your hands and you accidentally breathe on it and spook it.

Best to only handle it if you absolutely need too and even then there are alternative ways to move the T.

 

[Walker253]

Yeah, if it bolts, never handle it, even if loose. Have the catch cup ready. It's really a safety thing. You may get something out of it, your tarantula doesn't. I have a couple T's that will walk out when the lid comes off. Honestly they're calm enough, I will let them sit on my hand while I do the maintenance needed when the lid is off. Then back they go. The T that bolts is the T that is lost, injured, or killed when you handle it unnecessarily. Your B hamorii is too expensive to have something unnecessarily happen to it, if that helps justify it.

 

[Katmarlett]

Another handling thread...

I'll have to save my response somewhere so I don't have to type it out all over again every time this pops up - seems to be once a week at least.

Question: Why do you want to handle an animal that gets no benefit from it and is running from you?

On this boards about 90% of people are strongly against handling. I'll tell you why:

Any tarantula, even a very docile one, may get spooked and run. If it runs and falls of your hand it will go splat on the floor - a tarantulas abdomen is very fragile and they will pop open like an overripe melon. That's not survivable for the tarantula. If you are really lucky they die quick. If not you have a tarantula dying a slow death drawn out over days. Can a tarantula suffer? You tell me. I cannot count the number of threads I've seen where this happened - there were quite a few and it always was: It's never run before, it was so docile, why did it run now? With handling everything goes fine until it doesn't.

Any tarantula, even the most docile one, may get spooked and bite you. Now I don't care if you get bit - your choice, after all, but 99 out of 100 people will flinch in reflex and the tarantula will get flung off their hand - results see above.

Handling is extremely dangerous - not for you, but for your tarantula. The tarantula gets absolutely nothing out of it. They can be conditioned to tolerate handling up to an extend, but they'll never like it.

You trying to handle an already skittish tarantula is just reckless - playing lottery with your tarantulas life.

I am sorry to annoy people by adding yet another question about handling but I have gone through post and have not landed on any regarding holding spiderlings. And in response to your response: I agree that Ts are not built for humans holding them and are not pets that need to be held! I simply feel that I should be aware of how to handle it for occasions such as those rare couple times a year when its inclosure needs to be cleaned. How am I supposed to remove my T in the case that mold should break out or any such instance if it bolts. I plan on having it for 10-30 years depending on its sex and so your telling me that in what could be 3 decades I am never supposed to know what it feels like or see it up close. I got a T to watch to not to hold it but I I just need help knowing how to get it out if I need to.

 

[TownesVanZandt]

I am sorry to annoy people by adding yet another question about handling but I have gone through post and have not landed on any regarding holding spiderlings. And in response to your response: I agree that Ts are not built for humans holding them and are not pets that need to be held! I simply feel that I should be aware of how to handle it for occasions such as those rare couple times a year when its inclosure needs to be cleaned. How am I supposed to remove my T in the case that mold should break out or any such instance if it bolts. I plan on having it for 10-30 years depending on its sex and so your telling me that in what could be 3 decades I am never supposed to know what it feels like or see it up close. I got a T to watch to not to hold it but I I just need help knowing how to get it out if I need to.

If you´re doing normal cage maintenance and spot cleaning, there´s no need to clean the enclosure a couple of times per year. You can leave an adult specimen in the same enclosure for years with no problems. With that being said, use a catch cup to transfer the T when needed. That´s what most of us does.

 

[JoshDM020]

If "cleaning the enclosure" means changing the substrate, you dont have to do that. There are a few people here who've had spiders in the same enclosure, on the same substrate, for a decade or more. Dirt doesnt go bad. Earth is kinda made of it.
On the mold: this is a relatively arid species. All you need for moisture is a water dish. With NO sponge. The sub doesnt need to be damp unless its a small sling that isnt showing colors yet. Dry sub = very mold resistant.

 

[boina]

I am sorry to annoy people by adding yet another question about handling but I have gone through post and have not landed on any regarding holding spiderlings.

That's because you don't hold spiderlings - ever. They are very fragile and too many things can go wrong, much more than with an older animal.

I simply feel that I should be aware of how to handle it for occasions such as those rare couple times a year when its inclosure needs to be cleaned.

In other words: Never. An enclosure of an arid species should never need to be cleaned. If you need to clean it you are doing something wrong.

How am I supposed to remove my T in the case that mold should break out or any such instance if it bolts.

You will never have mold in the enclosure of an arid species.

3 decades I am never supposed to know what it feels like or see it up close.

No, you aren't supposed to know "what it feels like". You can see it up close without touching it just fine.

But: If it's still a spiderling you will need to rehouse it at some point if you have housed it properly right now, as an adult enclosure is not suitable for a spiderling. Use the usual catch cup method. Do not try to grab it - spiderlings are fragile and chances are you'll hurt it. If you try to transfer it by letting it walk on your hand chances are you'll lose it. Spiderlings are nearly always fast and flighty. Good luck finding it ever again once you lose sight of it.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

I have gone through post and have not landed on any regarding holding spiderlings.

You shouldn't do it, slings are extremely fragile and prone to bolting, two things that don't go well with handling.

The only times I've ever "handled" mine is when they've bolted out of the enclosure and onto my hand/arm and then I've had to carefully coax them back into their enclosure.

I simply feel that I should be aware of how to handle it for occasions such as those rare couple times a year when its inclosure needs to be cleaned.

You shouldn't need to change the substrate and deep clean the enclosure unless there is a major mould outbreak or mite infestation, both of those events are highly unlikely in a B. hamorii enclosure as they like it mostly dry from juvenile stage upwards (mould/mites need moist/poorly ventilated environments to survive), just pick out boluses/poop as and when you find them, there are people on here who have kept their tarantulas on the same substrate for over decade without issue, tarantulas are very clean animals.

How am I supposed to remove my T in the case that mold should break out or any such instance if it bolts.

If, for example, you need to rehouse your tarantula to a larger enclosure because it has outgrown its current one then it is best to usher it into a catch cup using a long paintbrush (or tongs etc.) and then usher it back out into the new enclosure.

I plan on having it for 10-30 years depending on its sex and so your telling me that in what could be 3 decades I am never supposed to know what it feels like or see it up close.

You said you'd handled other tarantulas before you got this one, you already know what it feels like, it's not like different species feel different and you can see it up close in its enclosure. Basically, there is no need to ever handle your tarantula.

 

[boina]

@The Grym Reaper You know, you've said the same as I did, just so much nicer. I really need to work on my patience .

 

[The Grym Reaper]

@The Grym Reaper You know, you've said the same as I did, just so much nicer. I really need to work on my patience .

I tend to overthink what I write so my responses are usually somewhat reigned in (I can be pretty blunt but I also hate conflict unless it involves hurling abuse in rhyme lol), I also have to factor in that cussing isn't allowed.

 

[boina]

unless it involves hurling abuse in rhyme lol

That I have to see!

 

[The Grym Reaper]

That I have to see!

I haven't battled for a few years but this was supposed to be my third round (on beat) from a battle that got cancelled.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1396811703665598

 

[Paul1126]

I am sorry to annoy people by adding yet another question about handling but I have gone through post and have not landed on any regarding holding spiderlings. And in response to your response: I agree that Ts are not built for humans holding them and are not pets that need to be held! I simply feel that I should be aware of how to handle it for occasions such as those rare couple times a year when its inclosure needs to be cleaned. How am I supposed to remove my T in the case that mold should break out or any such instance if it bolts. I plan on having it for 10-30 years depending on its sex and so your telling me that in what could be 3 decades I am never supposed to know what it feels like or see it up close. I got a T to watch to not to hold it but I I just need help knowing how to get it out if I need to.

To be fair you will need to rehome a young spider eventually, but holding them still isn't necessary, just prod him using a paint brush into a catch cup and move him that way.
I was nervous doing this at first with my GBB, patience is key with spiders. Especially with skittish Ts, with all the hair kicking and what not.
Your hands shouldn't be near it during the process unless something unavoidable happens, such as the T climbing the tongs or paintbrush you're using.