Mexican red knee behavior

[Cantstop229]

So I have had my smithy for ablut a year and a half. I handled her often when i forst got her but i became pregnant and my doctor advised me noto to handle her util the baby was born in case of a severe allergic reaction. I am wondering if months of not being handled is what is causing her current behavior. I have watched video after video of people enjoying handling their spiders but my spider freaking hates people. Last night i was sitting in a quiet dim rook alone with her bowl open. I very gently touched her back leg with my paint brush and in half a second she flew like a bat out of hell onto the crotch of my jeans. She was furious and basically teleported. Thank goodness she didn’t get hurt. It took some creativity to get her back in her enclosure. This is the second time she has done this. She has attacked maintenance tools once or twoce but not often. So at the risk of sounding stupid my question is this... do i just leave her alone from now on and assume she cant be handled or should i try a few more times and see if she can get used to it? While i am dissapointed i cant handle her her safety is my first concern. What do yall think?

 

[Liquifin]

T.'s really don't like being handled. I would never advise handling a T. Just leave your T. alone so you don't annoy or bother it. Because we are never sure of how a T. is feeling, one day it could be calm as a rock, the next day could be acting like a crazed machine.

 

[TownesVanZandt]

Tarantulas are primitive creatures, so you can´t "tame" them or get them used to handling like a snake for example. They are also quite fragile when it comes to falls, so handling them is never a good idea.

 

[Toddydog]

The thing is tarantulas a pray creatures. There are many things that will eat a tarantula in the wild so instintually they do not like humans. We are big and scary to them.
Some might have feeding responses to seeing us. As soon as I open the lid to my A. geniculatas enclosure it's up and ready for food. That doesn't mean it's not scared of me. If I were to pick it up it wouldn't be pleased.
Tarantulas don't always have the best eyesight so they rely a lot on touch. They can feel our warmth from out bodies so they know it's a living being and they can tell we are quite large so really they don't like us.
Some tarantulas like smithi's can be calm and docile which makes them seem like they may "enjoy" being handled but really they are just more tolerant of it.
Whether you want to handle or not it's up to you but I do suggest you do some research on safe handling procedures.

 

[Cantstop229]

The thing is tarantulas a pray creatures. There are many things that will eat a tarantula in the wild so instintually they do not like humans. We are big and scary to them.
Some might have feeding responses to seeing us. As soon as I open the lid to my A. geniculatas enclosure it's up and ready for food. That doesn't mean it's not scared of me. If I were to pick it up it wouldn't be pleased.
Tarantulas don't always have the best eyesight so they rely a lot on touch. They can feel our warmth from out bodies so they know it's a living being and they can tell we are quite large so really they don't like us.
Some tarantulas like smithi's can be calm and docile which makes them seem like they may "enjoy" being handled but really they are just more tolerant of it.
Whether you want to handle or not it's up to you but I do suggest you do some research on safe handling procedures.

Thank you

The thing is tarantulas a pray creatures. There are many things that will eat a tarantula in the wild so instintually they do not like humans. We are big and scary to them.
Some might have feeding responses to seeing us. As soon as I open the lid to my A. geniculatas enclosure it's up and ready for food. That doesn't mean it's not scared of me. If I were to pick it up it wouldn't be pleased.
Tarantulas don't always have the best eyesight so they rely a lot on touch. They can feel our warmth from out bodies so they know it's a living being and they can tell we are quite large so really they don't like us.
Some tarantulas like smithi's can be calm and docile which makes them seem like they may "enjoy" being handled but really they are just more tolerant of it.
Whether you want to handle or not it's up to you but I do suggest you do some research on safe handling procedures.

Thank you!

 

[Sana]

As far as a tarantula is concerned a human is either a giant tree or a giant predator. Their response to a threat is to run, kick hair (in the case of a NW with urticating hair), or to bite. These responses are a survival mechanism. At any time a tarantula may view you as a threat, even if it didn’t thirty seconds ago. Sudden mood shifts and extreme personality shifts have been documented and observed by many members here. All tarantulas, even docile beginner tarantulas, have the same instincts. Most folks don’t recommend handling for a number of reasons and this is a good example of one of those reasons.

 

[Cantstop229]

T.'s really don't like being handled. I would never advise handling a T. Just leave your T. alone so you don't annoy or bother it. Because we are never sure of how a T. is feeling, one day it could be calm as a rock, the next day could be acting like a crazed machine.

Thank you!

As far as a tarantula is concerned a human is either a giant tree or a giant predator. Their response to a threat is to run, kick hair (in the case of a NW with urticating hair), or to bite. These responses are a survival mechanism. At any time a tarantula may view you as a threat, even if it didn’t thirty seconds ago. Sudden mood shifts and extreme personality shifts have been documented and observed by many members here. All tarantulas, even docile beginner tarantulas, have the same instincts. Most folks don’t recommend handling for a number of reasons and this is a good example of one of those reasons.

thank you