A T for the Legally Blind

[Fran]

Ok, then im gonna give you my very personal opinion.

You are being too "romantic" and very little objetive.

First, ANY tarantula can easily bite you if you grabb her the wrong way,squeeze her,move fast...Even if shes hanging in your hand the T can hold on to it by its fangs.
Second, her mom is not a T expert, not even shes familiar with tarantulas. Shes gonna need to read a lot and get experience with the tarantula prior any handling. So its not gonna be, "the T got home, lets handle it"


Its an all around bad idea.Handling a tarantula with your 5 senses can be harmful for the animal and for you, let alone if you are blind.

I said it 3 or 4 times, its sad, but is not a good idea. There are hundreds of other pet options,pet friendly,more nice to the touch and totally harmless.

I think is not gonna be the end of the world if she doesnt get a tarantula, or at least not till her mom has done her homework.
She will be better off.

PS: I dont want to sound mean, but again, a tarantula does not want to be held. Really.Period.

 

[Bill S]

Although I tend to agree with one poster's suggestion of fish instead - I'm surprised nobody has suggested Aphonopelma. They are easy to keep, easy to handle, live forever, and pretty colors aren't an issue here. They do kick hairs, but the hairs aren't as likely to lead to allergic reactions as Brachypelma's do.

Overall, though, I agree with Fran. Maybe before anyone buys her a tarantula someone should introduce her to one. If she can hold one and undersand how non-interactive a pet tarantula will be, that may influence the decision in a wiser direction.

 

[jayefbe]

Kaydyn - I think you misunderstood most of the posts. People aren't saying she shouldn't have a T because "T's can't be handled" or some kind of ignorant belief that a blind person just shouldn't have a tarantula. No, most people's point of view was that it would be incredibly boring to own a tarantula if you can't visually observe it's behavior. Handling tarantula's probably makes up a very small percentage of a tarantula owners interaction with their animal. The vast majority of the time spent is feeding, watering, cleaning, watching them web/burrow, and if you're lucky, breeding them. I don't know if I would be in the majority here, but I'd even recommend another pet to a someone with perfect eyesight if their primary purpose for owning a tarantula was to hold it. I don't care if she gets a tarantula. If someone's there to take care of it, and help keep it from making a quick getaway then the tarantula will in all likelihood have a long life. Handling tarantula's is a thrill, and I genuinely hope she gets to hold them someday. If she lived near me I'd bring one over for her to hold. I just think owning a tarantula just to hold every once in a while would get very dull after a while. Also, anthropomorphism.

 

[The Spider Faery]

I think the daughter should experience what it feels like to let a T walk over her hand first, perhaps in the petshop if there's an experienced staff member available to acommodate this request. Or even more ideally by a petowner who's willing to allow her the experience.

It may just be a novelty, and once she's experienced it, she may lose fascination. A tarantula can live for many (sometimes many, many) years, and children/teens tend to be curious. I say satiate any curiosity first in order to ensure she has learned enough and to appreciate that it's not just a passing fancy. This goes for any child, by the way, not just one who is blind.

If the mother is interested in keeping a T as a pet just as much as the daughter, then by all means, I say the mother should have a T and then the daughter can let it crawl on her occassionaly, possibly, depending on the species and the temperment of the T.

Otherwise, I really don't think it's the ideal companion pet for someone who is blind. I never take my tarantulas out of their enclosures except for maintenance. They rarely move, and when they do, it's sometimes so slight that it takes good eyesight to truly appreciate what they are...A visual interest.

 

[kaydyn1512]

Ok, then im gonna give you my very personal opinion.

You are being too "romantic" and very little objetive.

First, ANY tarantula can easily bite you if you grabb her the wrong way,squeeze her,move fast...Even if shes hanging in your hand the T can hold on to it by its fangs.
Second, her mom is not a T expert, not even shes familiar with tarantulas. Shes gonna need to read a lot and get experience with the tarantula prior any handling. So its not gonna be, "the T got home, lets handle it"


Its an all around bad idea.Handling a tarantula with your 5 senses can be harmful for the animal and for you, let alone if you are blind.

I said it 3 or 4 times, its sad, but is not a good idea. There are hundreds of other pet options,pet friendly,more nice to the touch and totally harmless.

I think is not gonna be the end of the world if she doesnt get a tarantula, or at least not till her mom has done her homework.
She will be better off.

PS: I dont want to sound mean, but again, a tarantula does not want to be held. Really.Period.

You know what's great about people?? We all have opinions and woman are normally right..lol I'm just kidding.. But as far as being an expert, were you an expert when you got your first T?? I know I sure as heck wasn't.. But I read enough to know what to do or not to do. I never once said her Mom shouldn't know something about tarantulas. That wasn't even the question.. And I didn't say it would be the end of the world either.. I said there was no reason she shouldn't.. But our differing opinions about holding a tarantula is where the impasse lies. If I felt that tarantulas shouldn't be held, I would probably agree with your point of view. BUT I don't so we agree to disagree.

And I am being very objective here, I don't have a blind, deaf or disabled child.. I just feel that if there are people who are taking responsibility and there is a longing for an experience then why not?? I just don't agree with your thinking but that's OK right?? We can still be friends??

 

[kaydyn1512]

OK, I have to admit that I love and do sit in my T room for hours just watching my T's webbing, grooming or just walking around. But that is my experience because I can see. Blind people find joy in other ways right?? They see but from touch, smell and hearing.. Just saying, we don't all experience things the same way..

 

[Fran]

Well I really sugest you read about bugs inteligence.
Dont get me wrong, I mean it .



When I got my frist tarantula, at age 13, of course I wasnt an expert, but I have read about arachnids since I learned how to read.
Besides,My brother, who is 10 years older than me,gave me the T as a gift but he was the one taking care of her.
I wasnt blind, and my brother had years of experience with arachnids,yet he didnt let me touch the spider right away.

Im not saying that you need to be an expert to own one, but honestly, from that case to my case, theres a BIG difference.

Opinions are thousands, but, facts are facts. The fact is that a tarantula does not enjoy being handled....Theres not much else to say bout that.


PS: Thats the problem. Tarantulas CANT be touched too much, cant be pet,cant be squeeze,cant be palped several times or taped on...They just can be held, and pretty much still if you dont want a bite or a cloud of hairs or scare the tarantula and make her run and possibly hurt herself. So theres not much of an interaction someone blind can do with them.

 

[kaydyn1512]

We'll just have to disagree. But that's ok by me..

 

[Fran]

Lets do this.
Go grab a t, call your neighbour with no experience at all on t's and tell him to close his eyes and handle the t. Lets see what happens.
Oh you can tell her wife to supervise.

Its pretty obvious.

 

[Redbrandy00]

Just a thought..

If this young lady is unable to see to a discerning point, then I'm not sure a T is a great idea. For myself and most everyone here, the safety of our fuzzy buddies is #1. If this young lady obtains a T, and said T happens to be of the J. Bond genus (que 007 theme music!) and manages to escape and Mom isn't around... How will this young lady cope? One wrong step..and it's a little too shuddery to think about. Added to what most everyone else has said in regards to reading a T's body language, and not to mention the care, etc...a T's safety should be first and foremost above what we want. I understand this young girl's desire to have a T.. but this just may not be a good idea.

Just a thought, though, if she's set on it... how about having an arrangement with Mom/daughter and you? You can spend time with them with one of your T's in a supervisory position and give them some first hand education. Would be a good way to find out if a T is really what Mom and daughter want to contend with.. or perhaps just a snazzy passing fancy.

 

[kaydyn1512]

Redbrandy-I didn't say she should be holding a T on her own. That would make no sense at all. And for the record, my Ts safety is beryimportant.

Fran-Again, I DIDNT say her Mom shouldn't know something about Ts. What I said was she doesn't need to be an expert. Your talking about a man who knows nothing about t's with his wife who knows nothing about Ts. Come on, if you want to make a point against my way of thinking, you should get my point of view correct first. I think the catty fighting is rediculous at this point. I'm not sure why you're trying so hard to convince me that you're view is correct. We CLEARLY disagree so let it be at that. Although we do agree it would be idiotic to have unknowlegable people handling tarantulas.

 

[kaydyn1512]

"Just a thought, though, if she's set on it... how about having an arrangement with Mom/daughter and you? You can spend time with them with one of your T's in a supervisory position and give them some first hand education. Would be a good way to find out if a T is really what Mom and daughter want to contend with.. or perhaps just a snazzy passing fancy."

I think that's a great idea.

 

[ghordy]

This person needs a pet that can be touched, held, cuddled and played with.

Dogs, cats, hamsters, ferrets... fit that description.

Birds, fish, tarantulas... do not.

 

[BlackCat]

I know she wants a T, and I agree with what others have already said.

Instead of a T, what about a Leopard Gecko? In my experience they love to be held and will pretty much hug a person's hand when they are held. They take a bit more room to house than T's, but are generally just as easy to care for.

Just a though.

 

[Ictinike]

No I don't think it's a good idea, at this time; possibly in the future.

Many people who are NOT blind get T's and think they are something other than they really are and eventually get rid of the pet or severely hurt the pet trying to coax it into a lifestyle THEY want, not what the spider wants.

Since this girl is young and also has the disadvantage of sight I would feel allowing the spider to thrive would severely limit her interaction with it thus losing that `excited` need to own one.

As many have stated before the elure of most of us with T's is the aspect of visually watching them do their thing 99% of the time without interaction. I would imagine the few times the pet was handled would not substantiate the owning of the pet if indeed the idea was to care for the spider and not the girl.

Maybe that sounds harsh but I just cannot see the spider having a good life in the way I suspect the girl wishes to own it. Are we more worried about the girl or the spider?

Sure she's blind but being blind does not warrant a blanket ability to do what they want just because they are blind. I know, more being harsh but what if she really wanted to drive a car? It's not legal but because she is blind and deprived this right should we ignore the law?

I'm not trying to be an ass but only substantiate the claim. If the mother was already an expert and enjoyed them herself then definately I could see this but from two people who have no knowledge and one being blind ownership doesn't seem fair to all parties involved.

As recommended, something that's more user friendly and likes human interaction would be more warranted.

 

[curiousme]

I have not read the entire thread, but thought I would throw in my opinion and hope that it didn't sidetrack from the original question in the last 2 pages.

If the mom is willing to do the research, take care of it and learn to recognize the Ts body language to make the situation safe for all of them.(mom, daughter and T); then I see very little problem with the situation. I would not recommend a slig though, they are much harder to predict the movements of. Also for this reason, i wouldn't recommend an A. avicularia either. The safest way for this girl to 'handle', would be to put her hand on the ground and let the T walk over it. Our A. metallica would be stubborn about not touching our skin and i have read of others that have the same problem with handling the genus.

What would be great would be one of the more docile Aphonopelmas or Grammostolas. One that is big enough to 'see' the shape of the tarantula. It would take some looking, but surely something can be found that would work and not have the anger of an egsac. I wouldn't recommend a B. smithi either, because they can be quite the hair kickers and have all 5 types of urticating hairs and therefore are a greater risk of allergic reaction.

On a different note:

Currently my eyesight is very poor, i have to wear an eyepatch and now both eyes are 'blind' in the center of my vision, leaving me with peripherals only.(Which is why I didn't make it through all 4 pages ) Since I cannot 'see' most of our 25 Ts, because they are slings, the fun and interesting part of owning the tarantulas is lost to me. I cannot see feeding responses or really see any of them/webs/burrows, but our MF G. rosea; she is big enough i can see that she is shaped like a tarantula and not a blob. We don't handle often and I would feel comfortable with letting our G. rosea to be herded to walk over my hand, but not a sling. I would also have to have my hubby(Mr. Gone and is knowledgeable about Ts) right there next to me to watch the T for me. I am stating this, not for sympathy(in fact if you feel you must say something along those lines, please pm), but to give the mom something to think about, if she did indeed come to read this thread.

 

[aracnophiliac]

The Girl is blind....I belive it is wrong to say she couldnt enjoy a t as she cannot see...She may not be able to enjoy the T in the same ways we would enjoy the t But does that make her wrong for wanting to Enjoy the T in a different way ? Blind people enjoy things in different ways then We do Whos to say she wont enjoy and cherish the contact she makes with the T when it walks on her the same way we would enjoy watching the T walk aroung the container or molting ..Im sure her mother being so involved and supportive about her daughters wants that she wouldnt let it come to any harm because of her daughters condition nor her daughter any harm either. I say go ahead and Get her one! what harm could it do? If anything it would make a little girl with a rough life A little bit happyier.

 

[EightLeggedFrea]

I understand the situation, but I just can't see Ts as good animal companions for the visually impaired. Firstly, as has been covered, Ts are designed mostly for display purposes only. You also need sight to judge the T, if it throws up a threat display or goes into a death curl so something you wouldn't know it.

Sorry, but I recommend getting a rabbit or something.

 

[ravenruby]

DDaake, after a bit of research on T keeping on the mother's part, would you be able/willing to let mother and daughter babysit one of your docile T's for a few weeks with your supervision? This would allow them to learn what they're in for without having to take the plunge in purchasing.

She may realize that a keeping a T isn't what she expected it to be and at least she'll just be able to give it back to you, versus having to find a new home for it.

I would totally advise against a sling or even a juvenile, especially if you're leaning towards an Avic avic because they can be so delicate. It would probably be much easier for her to see a full grown T, and she'd at least be able to feel its movements better when handling.

 

[aracnophiliac]

I belive the mother is the one who is out most looking after the T i think it is a great idea made by ravenruby....A test run..But I belive that a girl and her mom in combination can surly look after a t and make it safe on all fronts. If thats waht the girls wants...I just know its not exactly easy to talk a girl who wants a t out of wanting one..

I understand the situation, but I just can't see Ts as good animal companions for the visually impaired. Firstly, as has been covered, Ts are designed mostly for display purposes only. You also need sight to judge the T, if it throws up a threat display or goes into a death curl so something you wouldn't know it.

Sorry, but I recommend getting a rabbit or something.