Excuse the glove. I had severe arachnophobia to the point that I could not even look at pictures of spiders without wanting to vomit. They still make my heart flutter but this is a big step! Handled near the ground and I was only doing so to put her into her new enclosure.
People may ridicule this but in all honesty using the glove makes this miles safer than how most insensible people handle OW sp. by hand. I still probably wouldn't do this with Phlogius sp. especially though, simply because of the venom and how there are so many newbies I see that try and hold them by hand on the basis of that they see pictures of others doing it, and misinterpret tarantulas behaviour for affection. There was a rather hilarious resurrection thread the other week that showed a prime example of just that.
Anyway, glad to see you've come a long way from your arachnophobia. Keep enjoying this wonderful hobby! Just keep in mind that alot of users on here are strongly against handling. I sit on the fence between "do and don't", but these days I mostly rehouse with just tweezers and catch cup. Selenotypus are alot better for handling IME if the need arises
@RezonantVoid Gloves make sense to me too because anything can happen! I definitely do not condone handling for sure especially OWs and I’ve never put myself in the position. Even when rehousing I always wear gloves just in case something like this happens. Thanks for your kind words!! Hope you’re enjoying the USA.
I also am in the camp that I do not handle my T's. However, I will admit that I will sometimes "help" them and my hands act like a bridge to go into the new enclosure. That is my excuse anyways. No problem wearing gloves. There are some NW T's that the hairs can be bad and cause rashes. I use glove with some of those guys even when I am cleaning out substrate from the enclosure. My N. chrom hairs are very irritating to me. Great job with facing your fears.
@Dman I think at some point of time, I hope to handle a NW if the opportunity arises. I’m at the point of my arachnophobia “recovery” that I’m desensitised to them being around, seeing them etc. Handling would be the next “step” but I’m definitely not in a rush to do so with my OWs. I think I misphrased my caption; I wasn’t handling her per se just helping her into her new enclosure as she ran up the side of the plastic tub I had her in. Slamming the lid on wasn’t an option as it might have hurt her legs so I did what I felt was the best in that moment and used my gloved hand as means to make sure she doesn’t fall off the tub. Thanks for your kind words!
@Oompoofishy I love to hear stories of people like yourself over coming arachnophobia. Any phobia really but I feel especially happy when people join my world from the other side when it comes to spiders.
It is a huge personal accomplishment to not only over come a fear but to embrace what once was terrifying to you is just remarkable.
@RezonantVoid I think it is super cool you are in the states. I hope you have great time and meet only awesome people.
@Drea been touring Yellowstone this week and the whole place is just indescribably beautiful. We've got to see 2 bears gridiron tackle each other while playfighting... It's never a dull moment just hoping to see a few more spiders, so far I've found a trapdoor and a bunch of little orb weavers, but hopefully a few more before I'm done!
@RezonantVoid I will be in Yellowstone on Sunday. The grizzlies are out about this year but the wolves have been very reclusive lately. Hopefully you can catch a sighting of the pack members.
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