New owner questions

[AnimalNewbie]

Scroll over sweetie..he has called me names....i have not called him anything insulting...
My God why did i even bother?

Ok you have to understand that we deal with people like you everyday who act like their knowledge is superior and as we respect your opinion you also have to respect ours. We try to be helpful and nice but some of us get a little frustrated.

Seriously feel im getting <edit> just coz im British is


Ok ...welll respect there my big sister was an army baby born in Germany...the father of my child thought Hitler was God...so we can talk about that all day long...However....fine British glass is derogatory i thoink you will find...i have no idea what you mean but it`s obviously intended as a critisism...
Ok i promise ...just for you i will never hold Moon ever ok?Happy now?
Do bist cool ?

Well that is good but we’re not doing this because your British... there are plenty of other British members on the forum.

 

[cold blood]

Seriously feel im getting <edit> just coz im British is

If you have spend any amount of time here, you would see just how ridiculous this "belief" is. There are no shortage of Brits here, many are some of the most respected and active people here. Your origin has zero effect...we literally have people from all over the globe using AB, literally, all are welcome and its never once that I can recall, been an issue. We all are here because of a love for ts or inverts...we are ultimately all on the same team here...so to speak.

 

[Moon Unit]

Ok you have to understand that we deal with people like you everyday who act like their knowledge is superior and as we respect your opinion you also have to respect ours. We try to be helpful and nice but some of us get a little frustrated.

You deal with "people like me evey day"
People like me?
That`s not very nice :/

 

[Kendricks]

Seriously feel im getting <edit> just coz im British is

That is simply delusional.
I love England, its colorful history, the terrible food (@basin79) and the black humor that I share.
Nothing anyone in this thread said even remotely hints at you being British is an issue.

Ok ...welll respect there my big sister was an army baby born in Germany...the father of my child thought Hitler was God...so we can talk about that all day long...However....fine British glass is derogatory i thoink you will find...i have no idea what you mean but it`s obviously intended as a critisism...
Ok i promise ...just for you i will never hold Moon ever ok?Happy now?
Do bist cool ?

Fine British glass is derogatory...!? Alrighty then, tin-foil hat time!
(That was derogatory)
And no it wasn't 'criticism', I just tried to point out that you're being hypocritical. All the things you claim I do to you, without exception, you do to me. But you don't realize it.
I don't mind, not at all, but I wanted to point it out regardless. The British glass thing was merely to spice things up. I will not apologize for having a colorful writing style just because you desperately want to be offended.

As for you not handling your spider, well:

If i want to hold my spider i will.

You're either confused or you're just trash-talking now.
Neither is useful.

No one can nor will stop you from handling, and no one here will lose any sleep over it.
What so many people with experience here are trying to tell you is that you are very mistaken about how your tarantula perceives being handled and that the possible danger is not worth the risk.

The rest is up to you.

 

[AnimalNewbie]

You deal with "people like me evey day"
People like me?
That`s not very nice :/

I’m sorry I didn’t mean to call you and ignorant or bad person. Completely my fault. I’m sorry
By people like you there are beginners like you and even me who think everything they say is right such as them having feeling when people with way more experience are trying to give you tips but ignore them and say your right. It’s like if you hired a surf instructor and you started to teach the instructor how to surf. It just doesn’t make sense and people eventually get frustrated. Many of these people were in your place days, months, or years ago and they get it.

 

[Moon Unit]

Tin foil hats?did you Google that Kenny? Ha do not even pretend to understand that kind
of stuff.....Everything you type is so obviosly made to try & impress your " mates" here...
hey...sweets it does not impress me...i desparately want to be offended?
Do you like the band Placabo by the way? I have a feeling you do..
I have a spider called Moon Unit..she is lovely can we start again and not argue..?
Because just cos you have had a T longer than me does not make you right

I’m sorry I didn’t mean to call you and ignorant or bad person. Completely my fault. I’m sorry
By people like you there are beginners like you and even me who think everything they say is right such as them having feeling when people with way more experience are trying to give you tips but ignore them and say your right. It’s like if you hired a surf instructor and you started to teach the instructor how to surf. It just doesn’t make sense and people eventually get frustrated. Many of these people were in your place days, months, or years ago and they get it.

I get it honey thank you x

 

[cold blood]

I have a spider called Moon Unit..she is lovely can we start again and not argue..?

Mod note...this is a good idea. The hostility needs to end (for all) or the thread will be locked and infractions handed out. Keep it civil and do not try to imply attitude in what is read.....we cannot do this accurately with merely the written word.

Big smiles everyone Stay positive.

 

[Moon Unit]

Thank you Cold x you are so right


Thank you to everyone for your informative replies

 

[Greasylake]

May I suggest a mantid species for you? I have a feeling they are right up your alley. Gorgeous animals, very inquisitive and actually kind of remind me of a puppy in the way they cock their heads when they're watching something. They're actually the invert that got my mom to start realizing that these animals are more than just something to be squished. I had a big 5+ inch female Polyspilota Griffinii and she would stick over her piece of cork bark and watch me when I walked into the room. More than once I came home to find her with her face glued to the glass watching the tarantula in the enclosure next to her, really a fascinating animal. My mom used to take her out and hold her for a minute or two, with my supervision of course and I really only allowed it because it was making my mom comfortable with inverts. Well the mantis would walk right out onto her hand and walk from hand to hand, I actually eventually trained it to jump from one hand to the other (yes they're that smart). Eventually old age caught up with her and I think my mom was more bummed out by it than I was, so she immediately allowed me to buy two of these beauties.

 

[Moon Unit]

May I suggest a mantid species for you? I have a feeling they are right up your alley. Gorgeous animals, very inquisitive and actually kind of remind me of a puppy in the way they cock their heads when they're watching something. They're actually the invert that got my mom to start realizing that these animals are more than just something to be squished. I had a big 5+ inch female Polyspilota Griffinii and she would stick over her piece of cork bark and watch me when I walked into the room. More than once I came home to find her with her face glued to the glass watching the tarantula in the enclosure next to her, really a fascinating animal. My mom used to take her out and hold her for a minute or two, with my supervision of course and I really only allowed it because it was making my mom comfortable with inverts. Well the mantis would walk right out onto her hand and walk from hand to hand, I actually eventually trained it to jump from one hand to the other (yes they're that smart). Eventually old age caught up with her and I think my mom was more bummed out by it than I was, so she immediately allowed me to buy two of these beauties.

Hahaha!That is so teeny & cute .....thank you for your story..to be honest I never
planned to get a spider.....but i`m glad i did

You suggested a mantid?like a praying mantis?I don`t think we get them here in the u.k......

 

[Greasylake]

Hahaha!That is so teeny & cute .....thank you for your story..to be honest I never
planned to get a spider.....but i`m glad i did

You suggested a mantid?like a praying mantis?I don`t think we get them here in the u.k......

You can find praying mantis for sale in the U.K. maybe someone else can suggest some vendors over there that carry them because I'm not familiar with European shops. I usually see them available at expos though, and I think the British Tarantula Show is coming up so I'm sure you could find some really nice mantis there. The one I posted a picture of is a Creobroter Gemmatus, aka jewelled flower mantis and its native to India.

 

[cold blood]

@basin79 is an avid mantid keeper in the UK.

 

[AnimalNewbie]

Hahaha!That is so teeny & cute .....thank you for your story..to be honest I never
planned to get a spider.....but i`m glad i did

You suggested a mantid?like a praying mantis?I don`t think we get them here in the u.k......

Could always go for centipedes if you want to socialize an invertebrate or Mantids are also another great option.

 

[Andrea82]

Sorry Animal i missed your reply 99 of people are against holding your spider?really?
wow...i never knew that...but lets face it as you say that cannot talk so how
do you know she/they don`t like it?
I do not understandwhy you people are so certain i`m gonna drop her!
I understand the implications if i do she will break like an egg.....
If i want to hold my spider i will.If she shows any defensive signs i won`t..

What people here have failed to mention so far is the danger it actually poses to the spider if you handle her.
Say you have her on your hand, and she is just sitting there. The next second, she makes a mad dash because of a stimulation we cannot perceive. She runs of your hand (like I posted earlier, she will be able to act faster than you can react) and falls to the floor from say 30, 40 cm?
She'll be dead.
Theraphosidae have an exoskeleton that protects them from impact and other harmful things. Except for the abdomen. That is basically a sac of 'skin', filled with fluids and organs, and this ruptures very easily. They are not the tanks they seem to be.
Next scenario.
You are getting her out of the enclosure, and she's on your hand. Suddenly, she has a mood shift, goes psycho on you and bites you. Grammostola have relatively large fangs, so you're looking at two needles of approximately 1,5 cm EACH that will go into your finger. What happens if you suddenly feel pain in your hand? You shake it off and jerk your hand back right? It's a reflex that is hard to control.
So what happens? You fling the spider of your hand and it goes splat against the wall and on to the floor. It will be dead.

Another point is the urticating hairs. These are located on the abdomen and can be kicked off when she feels threatened. These hairs are like tiny arrows with barbs on them and can cause severe itching and sometimes blisters. This reaction worsens over time so the more you handle, the more sensitive you'll become.

You are still geared towards a mammal pet like cats, hamsters, dogs and such. Which is how a lot of people start, but you need to switch gears. Invertebrates don't need attention through handling, don't need to be fed every day, and don't do well when disturbed.

You are new, which is okay. But it means that you are not able to 'read' your spiders body language yet. I had to tell you that she is defensive and definitley not happy in your picture. Which, again is fine because you're new. But this also means that I know what I am talking about and I am able to tell you what your spider likes or doesn't like. Theraphosids don't have different personalities in the that mammals do. One spider may be more defensive or skittish, but that's it really.

There are people here that have 10+ years of experience and know what they're talking about. Please listen.

And I am not American, lol,I am Dutch

 

[Yorkshire]

I can`t get a snake i can`t kill other creatures to feed it ...it breaks my heart
I had 3 Florida blue garter snakes but luckily they ate frozen whitebait fish...
I promise if i hold my Moonie it`s always close to the ground etc..i am very aware how delicate she is...
I don`t have a scooby do what a scolopendra polymorpha is...i shall Google it thank you....

Regardless of the handling debate (yawn)

You do realise that when you feed a tarantula something has to die, right?

It's either killed by you or by the T itself, after you have dropped it in, thus condemning it to death.

You cannot purchase pre killed tarantula food (even if you could, someone still has to do the deed)

If you have such a problem with this then you really have chosen the wrong pet.

 

[Moon Unit]

Wow! Thank you Andrea.....i understand...i don`t think i know more than everyone here...
I have researched before i bought her and had a long convo with her previous owner...i know
if she falls she dies..i am going to observe her moods and just watch from a distance from now
on I won`t touch her anymore...i read she has enough venom to kill a 6 month old baby....and
as i have a much loved cat who would grab her if he could it`s not worth the risk is it?

Kenny....thanks once again lol you are a funny guy.....much love

Yorkshire....i did not know i`d have to kill to feed her....as i mentioned i had snakes befre that
were fed on frozen fish....i have a small viv now i will be keeping my crickets in

Thanks everyone

Can i ask another question...


Is there any way to tell if she is hungry?I really don`t wanna buy another 100 crickets if she is
just pre molt or something.....Thanks

 

[Greasylake]

i read she has enough venom to kill a 6 month old baby....and
as i have a much loved cat who would grab her if he could it`s not worth the risk is it?

Rosie's have very mild venom. It won't kill any size human or your cat.

 

[Moon Unit]

Phew! Ok thanks Greasy

Rosie's have very mild venom. It won't kill any size human or your cat.

Phew! Ok thanks Greasy

Phew! Ok thanks alot Greasy

 

[Kendricks]

What people here have failed to mention so far is the danger it actually poses to the spider if you handle her.

I think you have failed to read the thread, my dear Andrea.

 

[Greasylake]

Phew! Ok thanks Greasy

Some old world species have very nasty bites that could kill a small dog or cat, and its speculated a newborn baby as well. However, your T is one of the new worlds that has a pretty mild venom. It would probably feel comparably to a bee or wasp sting.