Anyone Never Handle Their Tarantula?

[solaceofwinter]

i never handle any of mine either.

 

[bugs4life]

I only handle my two G. roseas. I leave the rest alone, they get kinda skittish. But with any of them, I just reach in to change out the water. I can't use a turkey baster anyway, I keep large decorative glass beads in the water dishes to help prevent drowning...they look great, too
With the rest of my T's, I use little plastic tubs and stuff to transfer them. I usually use forceps to get rid of cricket bodies, first of all because I don't want to touch that (ewwwwwww) and second of all because the bodies can turn up in the strangest places lol.

 

[T- RANCHOOLAAA]

I never handle them. However when I got my first T, Rambo a Rosehair, when I was in 8th grade. When I did maint. on the tank, I looked like I was ready for a battle. :? I put these huge gloves on that were used for stocking a coal stove just in case it decided to run up my arm. As I got older though I would just use a fish net to block the T into a corner and do the maint. Never had a problem,infact a lot of them would just clump themselves into a corner and sit there. Usually when that lid opened up they would retreat into their shelter.

 

[Jmadson13]

And thus the handling debate rages again

Seriously though, I can't resist occaisional handlings. These usually happen during cage transfers so as not to stress the spiders too much.

 

[bodar]

Nice to look at, not to hold is my motto, i just love watching a six of my T's

 

[MRL]

I never do.

 

[dragyn5]

I have 60 T's and I handle about 10-12 of them. The only ones I handle are my Grammastolas, Aphonapelmas and Brachys. I don't handle old world or Arboreal. I don't handle them often, maybe once a month. My husband is a photographer and I handle them so he can get some good photos. Actually, this Tarantula addiction is his fault!!! He got me started and MizM got me hooked!!!

 

[Libertykeeper]

Very, very rarely do I attempt to handle any of my T's, and actually my B. Vagans very recently "handled" me while I was performing maintenance, ouch.

 

[kitty_b]

i handled my oldest red knee years ago.

they seems happier being left alone in their tanks, and so i only interact with them when i need to clean their cages. i'm not as worried about being tagged as i am about accidently injuring one of my $100-200 children.

 

[ventell]

The only one that I could easily handle, my rosehair is rather psycho, and my a. seemani is always down in his hole, so that one is out too. All the others are either really fast, or really aggressive, dictating a hands off cleaning/maintenance program =).

 

[ZooKeeper78]

Ok, This im sure is a silly question, What is the coke Bottle method? Several people on this thread have mentioned it... :?
I Never handle any of My T's, Not so much for my safty but for thairs, as i dont trust myself not to drop them...

 

[GailC]

cut the top off of a 2 liter pop bottle and use it along with a paint brush as a "capture bell" worked wonderful with my Hap sp.

I only have 1 T I can handle and I don't even know what she is, shes supposed to be a rosie but doesn't quite look right. She's as docile as a rock and about as active

 

[kitty_b]

 

[Mr.Extreme]

ihandle mine all the time what i do is move it, i put my hand in there and take my other hand and use my index finder and touch his spinnerttes and it moves forward and goes on my hand thn i clean his tank. its easy and safe if u r still afraid u can go to a store thats sells gardning things and buy gloves NO RUBBER OR PLASTIC easy way to kill your tarantula if it bites the glove buy a cloth one thick cloth if u want ill take a pick of the type of gloves i use and make sure the gloves u have are new and not been use to touch other things

 

[snoflax]

I don't handle mine, for thier sake I feel it is healthier that I don't. If I were to drop one and injure it or worse I would feel awful. That isn't to say I don't touch any of them. I will occasionally pet the A.avic.,and twice I have had to help one of my T's out of a bad molt. But I do not pick them up or carry them around. When i need to clean a tank I transfer them into a deli cup and clean the tank then transfer them back. It's much safer for them and for me.

 

[kurisute_hasu]

I dont handle my T. My Rosea is insane would probably tag me.
She makes it clear she is look but no touch.
And as brave as I try to be, I am still a little phobic of spiders so...yeah.

 

[Vermis]

I don't. Well, maybe my Brachypelmas, but that's so infrequent it barely counts.
I'm not daft enough to handle my old word Ts (despite various photos and pointers and assurances posted here), and most of the time I just have no compulsion to handle the more docile ones. The latter are easily herded into cricket tubs with my hand, and luckily the former are easily herded into cricket tubs with long tweezers.

 

[Mister T]

I personally never handle my T's.1.simply because most of my T's are pokies and 2.I prefer to not give them any more stress or risk them accidently being injured because of my desire to hold them.

When I do tank maintenance,for my more aggressive T's,I plan it on a feeding day.Throw a couple cricks in and wait til they have begun eating.Then I do any tank maintenance I need to do .This method has never failed me yet even with the most aggressive of my T's.They are already occupied with some good grubbin's:}

 

[Count Tarantula]

I'm with the NEVERS

I do everything I can to not handle my T's. Its not worth getting bit or dropping the T. The only T's of mine i've handled are my G. rosea's and my A. avic's.;P

 

[fartkowski]

i don't handle mine
i am pretty confident about putting my hand in my g. rosea's cage
but the other guys i use 12 " tweezers and a wash bottle used in labs to fill the water dishes.
i also find that a pair of long needle nose pliers is good for removing the water dish if i have to clean it
i use those for my cobalt and OBT