Using mine for Halloween

Mcskillz

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 9, 2007
Messages
38
I'm joking really, but I was curious if any of you guys like showing off your Tarantulas around Halloween?

I work with children and I had this spider decoration my boss gave me that looked like a tarantula but the kids got really freaked out because it was huge and realistic.

I told them that I had a real spider that looks like that and they couldn't believe it. I told them that tarantulas are harmless but people for some odd reason tend to be really scared of them.

Actually I wouldn't mind bringing my tarantula to school and teach the kids about it, except I think a lot of staff members have a fear of spiders and would think the spider was a danger.
 

whitewolf

Arachnolord
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
615
As kids when we lived more in the city style environment (not that this is country just were well off the road and forgotten) we used to go all out. Well mom and us kids helped work in a pet store and the owner was like family. Between our stuff and the stuff at the shop there were a lot of neat things to touch and learn about. We usually did a demo at my school and they would let me out on certain days to help her at other schools.

Halloween we brought out the animals at the school and the house. We did demos at the schools with P. Imperators and G Rosea along with a few reptiles. Big hit was always G Rosea and our 5 foot Speckled King "Seth". Mom is still known as the snake lady. Funny because she is terrified of them. Only reason she held Seth is because we did. {D Close to dusk (if it wasn't cold) we also brought them out into the driveway on tables with lights and a fully decorated yard. The kids loved it and we did too.

I wanted to do it this year but got invited to a Halloween party and we haven't had one tricker treater since we moved here. :( Plan was to decorate the yard and have everything out and let the kiddos see different things. Maybe next year and run it on craigs list and in the paper. Steal Kirks idea too for them. LOL.
 

Satellite Rob

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 2, 2008
Messages
927
Why risk the life of your T and that what you do everytime you handle it.
I see people say all the time that there T is so sweet,nice and thay wouldn't
hurt a fly.Thats all great until one day she gets startled and takes off.Then
the next thing you know your T hits the floor and dies a few days later.Now
people are going to say my T will never do that.But handling your is probably
one of biggest cause of unnatural death of T's by hobbyist.I'm a firm beleaver
that T's should be looked at and not touched.So keeping handling your T and
you might be the next to make a post about you T dying.T's are a beautiful
living creature.Thay are not toys and should be treared with the respect
thay deserve.I see so many pictures of T's with big bald spots.Thats a sign
of stress.The only time a T will kick hair is when you stressing them out.I
have hundreds of adult female Brachy's and not one of them has a bald spot.
Now your thing thats impossible.Well it's not impossible.Why you ask.BECAUSE
I DON'T STRESS MY T'S BY HANDLING THEM OUR ANNOYING THEM.
 

violentblossom

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 7, 2009
Messages
168
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the OP sounds like a sensible individual who is not going to treat his T's like "toys". You're certainly right, Satellite Rob, a T could easily be spooked by something and react in a sudden manner, but if they OP is cautious I don't see what the harm is in them showing their T and probably educating people in the process about an otherwise misunderstood and wrongly feared creature.
 

Abby

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 9, 2009
Messages
297
I've had several neighborhood kids asking me to see my T, so I won't be surprised if they want to see her when they come over trick or treating.

I don't take her out or handle her, and the kids are content just looking at her through her acrylic cage, the parents are not concerned for their kids, and most importantly I am not concerned for my baby :D
 

ArachnoYak

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 12, 2007
Messages
224
A good way to use T's at halloween without risking injury to the T is to use Molts. Paste them on your door or around your house, on the window, etc.
 

pouchedrat

Arachnolord
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 17, 2008
Messages
614
I'm not sure I'd want to take my T's out. I have a mad scientist costume and I usually have a rat or two on my shoulders while going out with my kid. THOSE get looks and "IS THAT REAL??" reactions. At least with them I don't worry about them getting hurt or biting a kid when they want to hold or pet one.

T's just seem like too much risk, unless they were in a tank and you were just bringing it to a classroom or something.

I like the idea of using giant molts and placing them around the house, lol!
 

Abby

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 9, 2009
Messages
297
Yes I love the idea of molts.

Now I just have to wait for my G. rosea to molt :)
I'll definitely use this idea next year. :D
 

night4now

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 23, 2009
Messages
171
A good way to use T's at halloween without risking injury to the T is to use Molts. Paste them on your door or around your house, on the window, etc.
I planned on doing just this!
I had set one in the cupboard for safekeeping until I would have it mounted, and it scared the bejeebers out of everyone, and I thought, yeah... why not! I was worried tho, I dont want to give them a 'bad reputation' or anything, but this is just the perfect time of year to break out some old exos and get things lookin interesting!
 

the nature boy

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 30, 2007
Messages
3,067
Why risk the life of your T and that what you do everytime you handle it.
Is this supposed to be some sort of joke? :? :? :? Dude, you are completely full of it. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: As long as you don't handle the T at such a height that a fall could harm/kill it and you're prepared not to fling it if you get tagged (and, yes, I have some experience with this--it's possible, lol) there's no risk to the T.
 

Exo

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 19, 2009
Messages
1,224
Is this supposed to be some sort of joke? :? :? :? Dude, you are completely full of it. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: As long as you don't handle the T at such a height that a fall could harm/kill it and you're prepared not to fling it if you get tagged (and, yes, I have some experience with this--it's possible, lol) there's no risk to the T.
My friend brings some of his Ts to halloween parties and lets people hold them, he just makes them sit on the floor while doing it.
 

Steve Calceatum

Arachnolord
Old Timer
Joined
May 22, 2009
Messages
661
I'm joking really, but I was curious if any of you guys like showing off your Tarantulas around Halloween?

I work with children and I had this spider decoration my boss gave me that looked like a tarantula but the kids got really freaked out because it was huge and realistic.

I told them that I had a real spider that looks like that and they couldn't believe it. I told them that tarantulas are harmless but people for some odd reason tend to be really scared of them.

Actually I wouldn't mind bringing my tarantula to school and teach the kids about it, except I think a lot of staff members have a fear of spiders and would think the spider was a danger.

You know, someone was joking around with me about my bedroom not needing any decorations to be a house of horrors, LOL. I like showing off my T's no matter what day of the year!!!!! It would be cool to teach the kids about tarantulas....most people will go their whole lives not seeing things like these. I would certainly bring a T or two to my son's school if they were open-minded enough!!!!!!


Why risk the life of your T and that what you do everytime you handle it.
I see people say all the time that there T is so sweet,nice and thay wouldn't
hurt a fly.Thats all great until one day she gets startled and takes off.Then
the next thing you know your T hits the floor and dies a few days later.Now
people are going to say my T will never do that.But handling your is probably
one of biggest cause of unnatural death of T's by hobbyist.I'm a firm beleaver
that T's should be looked at and not touched.So keeping handling your T and
you might be the next to make a post about you T dying.T's are a beautiful
living creature.Thay are not toys and should be treared with the respect
thay deserve.I see so many pictures of T's with big bald spots.Thats a sign
of stress.The only time a T will kick hair is when you stressing them out.I
have hundreds of adult female Brachy's and not one of them has a bald spot.
Now your thing thats impossible.Well it's not impossible.Why you ask.BECAUSE
I DON'T STRESS MY T'S BY HANDLING THEM OUR ANNOYING THEM.
Well, I think you'll find that not everyone feels the same way about it. There are a great number of people out there who do not handle for whatever reason, yet they do not see fit to shove their opinions down other hobbyist's throats. Furthermore, handling is one of my favorite aspects of this hobby, and I'm certainly not going to be stopping this practice anytime soon on account of whimsical beliefs, lofty ideals, and biased opinions. It is really hard for me to tell if the opinionated enthusiast truly believes this way out of experience, personal guilt, or to conceal the lack of courage to even handle in the first place. This does not mean I haven't considered the risks, though, nor does it mean that I do not take necesary precautions.

Handling is an art, and a valuable skill that every enthusiast should know how to employ, as there will come a time when you are going to need it. The more experienced you are at it, the less risk there is to the T. It may very well be that I post up a dead-T thread eventually, but I highly doubt that it will be from mishandling.

BTW: My B. smithi female is handled quite a bit, and does not have, nor has ever had, a bald patch. Conversely, my LP has only been handled once, and prodded at twice in the last two months...care to guess what that one's butt looks like???? :?

Is this supposed to be some sort of joke? :? :? :? Dude, you are completely full of it. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: As long as you don't handle the T at such a height that a fall could harm/kill it and you're prepared not to fling it if you get tagged (and, yes, I have some experience with this--it's possible, lol) there's no risk to the T.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that the risk to the T is non-existant. You could be handling a Pokie (for instance), and it runs off.....supposing it falls down your central-air vent, or runs up your chimney. That's a risk to the tarantula, isn't it? The best that you can hope for is to minimize the external risk factors, and as you pointed out, know what you are doing when handling.
 

MissChelly

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 9, 2009
Messages
107
Why risk the life of your T and that what you do everytime you handle it.
I see people say all the time that there T is so sweet,nice and thay wouldn't
hurt a fly.Thats all great until one day she gets startled and takes off.Then
the next thing you know your T hits the floor and dies a few days later.Now
people are going to say my T will never do that.But handling your is probably
one of biggest cause of unnatural death of T's by hobbyist.I'm a firm beleaver
that T's should be looked at and not touched.So keeping handling your T and
you might be the next to make a post about you T dying.T's are a beautiful
living creature.Thay are not toys and should be treared with the respect
thay deserve.I see so many pictures of T's with big bald spots.Thats a sign
of stress.The only time a T will kick hair is when you stressing them out.I
have hundreds of adult female Brachy's and not one of them has a bald spot.
Now your thing thats impossible.Well it's not impossible.Why you ask.BECAUSE
I DON'T STRESS MY T'S BY HANDLING THEM OUR ANNOYING THEM.
I get that that's your belief not to handle any of your Ts, and that's cool, but please don't be rude and try to shove that opinion down others' throats. Personal preference is fine, but please leave it said as just that. I agree with violentblossom and xsyorra... the OP seems sensible enough to not use them as toys and honestly... I didn't even see in the post where was stated the OP planned on letting anyone HOLD it in the first place. I just read that they wanted to bring it to school and teach the kids about it... did I miss some part in that post? You don't have to hold it in order to bring it to school, I'd imagine you'd bring it in it's cage. :rolleyes:

Personally, I don't see what would be wrong in handling your T anyway as long as you take safety precautions heavily into mind and use common sense.
 

ArachnoYak

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 12, 2007
Messages
224
Well, I think you'll find that not everyone feels the same way about it. There are a great number of people out there who do not handle for whatever reason, yet they do not see fit to shove their opinions down other hobbyist's throats.

Handling is an art, and a valuable skill that every enthusiast should know how to employ, as there will come a time when you are going to need it.
I agree 100%. Well said.
 

Mcskillz

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 9, 2007
Messages
38
I wasn't planning on handling the T if I was able to bring it to school and show the kids.

For one thing I have never really handled my T before, I just love to watch it. I want to learn better techniques at handling my T but I don't know anybody that owns Tarantulas that can help me out. I live by myself and I don't have any health insurance, the thought of getting tagged and having some allergic reaction is my only concern with it. Also my Rosie gives me this "I'm very unpredictable" vibe that I don't always feel comfortable with even though it's just a Rosie.

When I do need to remove it from its enclosure, I put a thick towel around my hands and it slowly crawls on the towel and I slowly sit the towel on my bed while I do what I need to do and then get it back on the towel and it crawls back into the enclosure. I know it's pretty pathetic of me to do that but I rather do it that way then try and get it on my hand and freak out and accidently drop it.

I'm not afraid of it, I'm just afraid I'm going to drop it if it tagged me for some reason.
 

whitewolf

Arachnolord
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
615
:? Who said anything about handling a T...
How did Halloween demos go to handling T's?
 

kripp_keeper

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
May 18, 2009
Messages
241
Last year I took my crested gecko and emperor scorpion to show my son's kindergarten class. The teachers made sure they knew not to touch, and I made sure everything was safe. The kids really enjoyed the gecko seeing it out as I walked around with it. The scorpion on the other hand some kids thought it was cool others kinda leaned back as if it would jump on them. All in all they liked seeing them, and I had fun seeing the different reactions.
 

Xian

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 20, 2009
Messages
342
There's a little pet store in Des Moines that has TarantulaWeen. They have usully have a guest speaker who brings in T's. Everybody was encouraged to bring in their T's as well. It's pretty educational, especially toward younger kids. I don't know if they still have it or not. Education of the masses is always a good thing.
 

Satellite Rob

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 2, 2008
Messages
927
Thats why so many T's have bald spots and it's and it's bacause poeple are
handling or annoying them.Plus I've herd countless story about people losing
or people dropping and killing there T's.It's alright don't take the advice from
someone whos been keeping T since 1978.The reason your T's have bald
spots is you keep stressing them out and only time T's kick hair is when thay
are under stress.So if you think you know more than I thats great.I applaud you.So keep stressing your T's and you will never see your T's go from molt
to molt without a bald spot.The only time a T kicks hair is when he's under
stress.So keep handling your T's and you maybe the next person to post a
tragic death of one of your T's.

PS:I have hundreds of T's and not one has a bald spot.
 

cacoseraph

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 5, 2005
Messages
8,325
hmm. i have done a good number of shows and always have a bug in my hands the whole day. i have played with hundreds of tarantulas, thousands of bugs... and have not obviously injured one whilst.


lol, and my taras never got bald spots. and i know ppl who absolutely do not handle their taras and they have some that have bald spots. it is a pretty crappy indicator of stress levels, imo. hell, i tried to drive a B. smithi insane by overhandling it... every day we would have at least a 10 minute session... after a couple weeks it "got used" to being handled and after a couple months i gave up the experiment as it kept thriving. it never got a bald spot, though it did kick hairs a bit in beginning. it did have its "revenge" though... i am heinously allergic/reactive to Brachy urts now =P



there is probably no better way to show ppl how sweet some of our spiders can be than to have them at a demo. further, i personally think my holding them brings a LOT to demo. at shows where we are one of the only booths with handling demos we are ALWAYS swamped. we have had the busiest booth at some shows :D


if you really want to have fun with ppl and have the right spider you can trick ppl into thinkingn you have a tame, commandable spider. in actuality i would use a gentle pressure to make a spider "sit" and use gentle breaths of air to make it "run away". of course, i would then use the commands to segue into the mental capability of the spiders and tell the ppl the truth... there is already WAY too much misinformation out there
 
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