My apologies to anyone upset by my poecilotheria regalis handling photos..

[Wolfspidurguy]

WOAH okay man calm down some people dont know any better and need to be educated on why not to handle Ts and even then i think banning them for doing that once without warning is a bit mean.

okay i made a mistake and have apologized can we move on now

 

[FuzzyFreaks420]

I did not mean to start WWIII

 

[FuzzyFreaks420]

Don't beat yourself up. I can assure you, you didn't shorten your T's lifespan at all by handling it and causing some stress. The issue with handling and when it does harm the T, is when they're physically damaged from being dropped or something along those lines.

Thank you I feel a little better. Still will not be doing it again.

 

[FuzzyFreaks420]

I knew the risks of the bite and did research on the Species in their bites.

still did it not to show off, or anything like trying to tame her.. (not possible with a tarantula anyways) but more so just enjoying my animals beauty up close and personal. Feeling her soft belly as she crawls and such.

Still will not be repeating handling of any Species do to the safety of my animals. I am sure they are more happy to be left alone anyways.. now with a little more experience under my belt lol

 

[shutout2000]

Want to hold something? Get a mantis.

 

[Vanessa]

There is no difference in stress levels to the animal between handling it and taking it out to pose it for staged photographs. The only difference is why they are being manhandled - not how.
In both cases you are taking them out of the safety of their home. In both cases you are putting them into a situation where something can go very wrong and they can be injured or lost. In both cases the animal is put into a situation where they are not in control and are being herded to go somewhere they might not want to go. In both cases there is a risk of the person being bitten. Just because you have a camera in one hand doesn't make the animal any less stressed or any less unpredictable.
I have done both and there is very little difference - so little that it is negligible to the animal. Both handling and staging photographs can prove to be catastrophic for both the animal and the people involved.
However, you will find that the reaction to handling is vastly different to the reaction that people have to staged photographs on this forum, which puts those people condemning one and not the other into the hypocrite category.
I wonder if some of those same people who took a strip off you have complimented those members doing staged photos of OW tarantulas?

 

[14pokies]

There is no difference in stress levels to the animal between handling it and taking it out to pose it for staged photographs. The only difference is why they are being manhandled - not how.
In both cases you are taking them out of the safety of their home. In both cases you are putting them into a situation where something can go very wrong and they can be injured or lost. In both cases the animal is put into a situation where they are not in control and are being herded to go somewhere they might not want to go. In both cases there is a risk of the person being bitten. Just because you have a camera in one hand doesn't make the animal any less stressed or any less unpredictable.
I have done both and there is very little difference - so little that it is negligible to the animal. Both handling and staging photographs can prove to be catastrophic for both the animal and the people involved.

I couldn't agree more.. I have an Instagram and take and upload photos when I catch the Tarantulas out and about or when I have to remove them from there enclosures for rehousing.. I never shift them around for photos..

 

[Nightstalker47]

There is no difference in stress levels to the animal between handling it and taking it out to pose it for staged photographs. The only difference is why they are being manhandled - not how.
In both cases you are taking them out of the safety of their home. In both cases you are putting them into a situation where something can go very wrong and they can be injured or lost. In both cases the animal is put into a situation where they are not in control and are being herded to go somewhere they might not want to go. In both cases there is a risk of the person being bitten. Just because you have a camera in one hand doesn't make the animal any less stressed or any less unpredictable.
I have done both and there is very little difference - so little that it is negligible to the animal. Both handling and staging photographs can prove to be catastrophic for both the animal and the people involved.
However, you will find that the reaction to handling is vastly different to the reaction that people have to staged photographs on this forum, which puts those people condemning one and not the other into the hypocrite category.
I wonder if some of those same people who took a strip off you have complimented those members doing staged photos of OW tarantulas?

I disagree entirely. Taking pics of OWs outside their enclosures and handling them really isn't even comparable lol. That has to be one of the most ridiculous statements I have seen here. No, you aren't just as prone to get bit...that's complete nonsense. The only truth to those words is the stress factor...which isn't a huge deal unless you do so everyday to the point where your spider is being harassed. You have to move them regularly enough for rehouses...nobody worries about stress then, but the difference there is the necessity in what your doing.

I don't ever get them out of their enclosures for photographs...but I know some people that do. Nothing wrong with that if you are competent enough to deal with the spider, and aren't doing so in an area where it might easily escape or jump to its death. Loads of our members take stunning photos this way, and they wouldn't be doing it if it was as perilous as you describe. Doesn't surprise me coming from someone who has never kept them though, so many people think OWs are out to kill you first chance they get. Just isn't the case.

Handling OWs like poecs is an easy way to get bit or cause an escape, taking pics safely in an open room with your catch cups at the ready is not. With that kind of thought process every single interaction you may have will be the end of the world. Good thing you stuck to NWs.

 

[cold blood]

There is no difference in stress levels to the animal between handling it and taking it out to pose it for staged photographs. The only difference is why they are being manhandled - not how.
In both cases you are taking them out of the safety of their home. In both cases you are putting them into a situation where something can go very wrong and they can be injured or lost. In both cases the animal is put into a situation where they are not in control and are being herded to go somewhere they might not want to go. In both cases there is a risk of the person being bitten. Just because you have a camera in one hand doesn't make the animal any less stressed or any less unpredictable.
I have done both and there is very little difference - so little that it is negligible to the animal. Both handling and staging photographs can prove to be catastrophic for both the animal and the people involved.
However, you will find that the reaction to handling is vastly different to the reaction that people have to staged photographs on this forum, which puts those people condemning one and not the other into the hypocrite category.
I wonder if some of those same people who took a strip off you have complimented those members doing staged photos of OW tarantulas?

I agree to a point...but I don't think stress is a/the real issue....stress is something all living things feel at some point, and it unto its self, isn't generally life threatening or even slightly dangerous....just a bump in the road of life. IMO stress is one of those completely over-used and misunderstood words in the hobby.

 

[Whitelightning777]

Most people know that you can handle in emergency situations such as treating an injury etc. Typically this is done by lowering the temperature. Of course, if you lower an animal's temperature, it will peacefully try to absorb your body heat until it warms up. That's the dirty trick used in the vast majority of handling pics or videos.

Ever notice how not one of these people uses an infrared thermometer that you point at the animal to prove its not chilled?

What a coincidence!!

I had to handle my scorp once because a piece of string was lodged in it's mouth and tangled around 2 of it's legs. I cooled to 55 degrees, removed it and then put it back into it's enclosure. At it's proper temperature, it's hell on wheels.

This picture was taken at repticon in Baltimore in February. The ambient air temperature was about 60 to 65 degrees. I was sold a pregnant wild caught "selfie scorpion". I wasn't told she was gravid.

Still, I'm never going to sell her or give her away. I even kept one of the 23 scorplings, aka the Trouble scorpling!!

60-65 degrees



Approximately 80 degrees.



See the difference?

Stay safe.