Best handlers?

[123rc123]

hey guys just wondering what handler spiders that could be recommend? Handle as in occasionally, not all the time. I am looking for something that is not too too readily available. I already have a curly hair, gbb, and forest scorpion. Looking for a gem to add to my collection. Preferably faster growing.

Thank you

 

[Exoskeleton Invertebrates]

If you're looking for a spider that you wish to handle all the the time I would get Xenesthis monstrosa. Very rarely available if not at all available but you can pick one up in South America. Good luck!
Since that species is the best one to handle than all the rest of the species that are available in the hobby is pretty much hands off

 

[Pociemon]

hey guys just wondering what handler spiders that could be recommend? I am looking for something that is not too too readily available. I already have a curly hair, gbb, and forest scorpion. Looking for a gem to add to my collection. Preferably faster growing.

Thank you

If you would have just used 2 minutes of doing a search with the word "handling" before you post this, then you would have avoided getting such useless answers as below yours, and there will be maybe 20 more post who are just as "informative". Be ready......

Not saying handling is correct, just saying people are very predictable with their comments!

 

[Radium]

Why handle? Would you like it if some bizarre-looking, vibration-intensive creature hundreds of times your sized tried to handle you?

It's not worth the risk, even occasionally. Get a tarantula, and if it decides it wants to crickets and chill, it'll handle you.

 

[Sharno]

So, playing devil's advocate on one of the many, many "handling" threads for a moment.

First, I will state that I also agree that there's no reason to hold, cuddle, or try to bond with a tarantula. Too much downside, not enough upside. Always. This is for people who want to just sit at home and have their tarantula out the way they have a pet small mammal out for bonding time.

However, there are some instances where I think there's SOME benefit to handling. If you take a B. smithi for example, a tarantula pretty well known for being docile -- I can see a couple of reasons to justify LIMITED handling:

1) There's something to be said for every tarantula keeper having some first hand knowledge of what it feels like to have your tarantula in your hand, feel how it moves, learn how to position your body for safety, etc. That way, if you ever have an escape or issue while cleaning, you won't be totally uncertain about how handling one will affect you. If you are skittish and freaked out because you've never had a docile tarantula in your palm or scooped gently into your hand, you may risk hurting it or losing it when you delay.

2) For education purposes. I am not sure how many others were romanced into the hobby -- even as a young child - by seeing a zookeeper or animal expert hold a large tarantula and hold it out for a closer look. When I have teenage-aged guests in the house that are very interested in seeing one up close, I may make an exception to carefully remove a B. smithi and have it out for five minutes. This helps to reduce some arachnophobia and educate people.

Other than those things, in very limited scenarios, I would agree.

Do you ever see a reason where handling a tarantula - when not forced to do so - is acceptable?

 

[Radium]

Do you ever see a reason where handling a tarantula - when not forced to do so - is acceptable?

Well, if a tarantula crawls onto me during enclosure maintenance (as my A. geroldi occasionally does), I'm not going to drop what I'm doing and shoo it back in. But otherwise, no.

 

[Poec54]

1) There's something to be said for every tarantula keeper having some first hand knowledge of what it feels like to have your tarantula in your hand, feel how it moves, learn how to position your body for safety, etc. That way, if you ever have an escape or issue while cleaning, you won't be totally uncertain about how handling one will affect you. If you are skittish and freaked out because you've never had a docile tarantula in your palm or scooped gently into your hand, you may risk hurting it or losing it when you delay.

2) For education purposes. I am not sure how many others were romanced into the hobby -- even as a young child - by seeing a zookeeper or animal expert hold a large tarantula and hold it out for a closer look. When I have teenage-aged guests in the house that are very interested in seeing one up close, I may make an exception to carefully remove a B. smithi and have it out for five minutes. This helps to reduce some arachnophobia and educate people.

Do you ever see a reason where handling a tarantula - when not forced to do so - is acceptable?

1) So the same logic would apply to other animals, like venomous snakes or electric eels? To learn how it feels when it gets out of the cage during cleaning? Certainly important to know that! Groping isn't a necessary part of husbandry. Respecting the animal is.

2) 'Educational purposes' with tarantula handling are freak shows, and too many people leave with the impression that all tarantulas are amenable to being held; they won't remember any distinctions about species minutes afterwards. This is one reason we have idiots on YouTube doing all kinds stupid stunts with tarantulas. We can thank 'educational' handling for that. If you do it, they'll do it, and take it a step or two further.

My first exposure to tarantulas was also at a zoo, but the spider was in it's cage, where it belonged. These are not playthings.

I agree with your first statement of not seeing any reason to hold, cuddle, or bond with a tarantula. The rest of the post went downhill fast.

 

[Oroborus]

I swear people just throw out this topic just to watch heads explode. I personally don't handle my tarantulas, but to argue that one should not handle because it's no benefit to the tarantula is hardly valid. People handle for many reasons. In some cases, it may be to alleviate the fears and preconceptions of others. For others, they may be very tactile and enjoy physical contact with their pets; although, I'm not sure why one would choose a tarantula if that's the kind of thing they desire.

The point is we keep animals for our own benefit and purposes. A tarantula does not benefit from living in your home in a cage, regardless of how much to try to simulate its environmental requirements. Most animals are better off in their natural habitat, but that doesn't make us cruel or unethical because we enjoy being around them. We do our best to care for our animals, and we are enriched because of them.

 

[lalberts9310]

There's absolutely no reason to handle a T. They don't benefit anything from it, handling causes a lot of stress and poses a lot of risks for both handler and T. T gets dropped and ruptures it's abdomen which is usually fatal, you get bitten and the reaction to this will usually result in the T getting flung across the room into a wall, you risk an escape, you risk other people around you getting a bitten in the case of an escape.. for the T itself handling is uncomfortable and stressful, I've had situations where I did maintenance in, for example, my P. cambridgeis enclosure where the T got startled, bolted onto the tongs straight to my hands but as soon as it touched my flesh he tried to avoid it, they don't like the feel of human flesh. Handling is absolutely pointless. They can't bond with you, they can't get used to you or handling, they can't know or recognise you, all they think about you I that you are a predator about to eat them. I used to handle a P. Irminia every day, up into it's juvenile stages... today wouldn't dare put my finger near it, i get a threat pose from him at the slightest disturbance. Ts should be left alone, in their enclosures where they belong, where they feel comfortable, where they can just be a tarantula.

 

[Radium]

Yeah, while I do enjoy my tarantulas, I'm going to have to disagree that they're not better off in generously-sized enclosures with clean water dishes, a steady food supply, controlled temperature and humidity, and no predators than they would be in their natural habitats (which are largely in the process of being destroyed anyway).

 

[cold blood]

Yeah, while I do enjoy my tarantulas, I'm going to have to disagree that they're not better off in generously-sized enclosures with clean water dishes, a steady food supply, controlled temperature and humidity, and no predators than they would be in their natural habitats (which are largely in the process of being destroyed anyway).

Just take a species like P. metallica. Critically endangered and some day, possibly fairly soon, it will likely become extinct. Yet despite this grim outcome, they are becoming more and more common in the hobby...sure they still fetch a good price, but finding one is no harder than finding a B smithi as just about every dealer sells them.

 

[Radium]

Just take a species like P. metallica. Critically endangered and some day, possibly fairly soon, it will likely become extinct. Yet despite this grim outcome, they are becoming more and more common in the hobby...sure they still fetch a good price, but finding one is no harder than finding a B smithi as just about every dealer sells them.

That's precisely what pushed me over the edge from being interested in tarantulas to keeping them - wanting to support breeders so that someday, when humans finally learn the value of the wild places of the world and leave them alone to heal, we'll have a supply of predators to restock them with.

(Well, that and I met a really cute Avic Avic at LPS!)

 

[gypsy cola]

G.pulchripes. Gorgeous spiders, calm, good size.

Handling.... Just buy a tarantula book first and be informed, make your decisions from there

 

[ireleana]

My first time handling a tarantula was in 94'. My teacher got me into them. Handling on the floor and low to the ground was a common occurrence and almost daily practice. Not once did me or the tarantula or anyone else for that matter get hurt. It lived a very long life from what I know. Now I'm not saying one way or the other of what is right or wrong. Obviously there is a huge gap in people's opinions or preferences when it comes to handling. Obviously tarantulas/spiders don't need to be handled and more often then not show you they don't like it. However if it is kept to a minimum and done properly and safely, as well as being prepared for any "issues" should they arise, then do what you must. Yes they are fragile but they aren't like baby bunnies and gonna die if they get attention besides feeding. Of course it can get hurt if it falls etc.. But if you do it properly and low to the ground then the chances are slim if you know what you are doing.

I don't handle just to handle but anytime I need to get them out of the enclosure, for a few t's I have, I will take the opportunity to experience it. In fact one of my little euathlus sp. red frequently comes to see what I'm doing. I'm willing to deal with being bitten, haired (my curly hair tried hairing me ) or catching an escapee. I'm never standing, it's usually in my bathtub and I'm careful. Can something happen? Of course. I also almost had my finger taken off by my ferret a few years back and I managed not to fling it or hurt it while it was latched on for over a minute.. All animals have the capability of hurting you or you hurting them. I understand tarantulas are more on the level of fish as far as handling but the need for people to handle or bond with their pets is all to prevalent. I don't think making people feel stupid or guilty for that by shaming them because they choose to do so is the correct way. Most seem to be up on a pedestal when it comes to this topic. If you want to handle then handle. Just do it properly and keep it to a minimum.

I want to be able to have a few that I can handle if I choose to do so for teaching purposes and for curious arachnophobes. I like the more defensive or fast species so obviously I don't handle them but it's nice to know if you have a docile enough T to quench your thirst for "bonding" all though that's a one way emotion lol. Your T will most likely not bond to you. But seriously, obviously they react on instinct but we don't really know that much about consciousness to say that these animals are just mindless robots acting on instinct alone. I find that hard to believe. We aren't tarantulas so we can't say how tarantulas see their world. We can say we know through science but until you have perceived the consciousness as a tarantula, you can't say for sure.

Maybe just because they stay in their burrows in the wild doesn't mean they like to be caged. People get all uptight about handling I've noticed but why cage up an animal that normally wouldn't live with humans in the first place? The same thing can be said about snakes and lizards etc.. Sure they can get used to handling but that doesn't mean they like it. But their owners still do! Why? The same reasons people want to hold their tarantulas. Everyone talks crap about people that decide to handle all the while you are keeping an animal that is intended to be wild, in your bedroom etc.. Irony imo.

To answer the question, there are species known to be docile but that doesn't mean your specimen will follow those guidlines. Also the way you handle makes a big difference in the "docility" of the tarantula.. I'm not going to offer suggestions because the ones I know of are pretty common in the hobby for a good reason too. Sorry for this little rant and it is not intended at anyone specifically, but everytime i see a post about handling on this forum or others, people have to come out and say you are wrong or are stupid etc.. Its gonna happen. People are going to do it. Just some people need to get off their soapbox about it. If you want to handle then handle. That's your right and choice to do so. It's not like the T had a choice to be your pet though.

 

[Chris11]

Isnt this a copycat from a thread yesterday?!

 

[Quixtar]

Most of the best Ts for handling are slow growing terrestrials such as Brachypelma and Grammostola species. If you don't mind faster arboreal Ts and the occasional poop shoot, Avicularia species are good for handling too.

 

[viper69]

Most of the best Ts for handling are slow growing terrestrials such as Brachypelma and Grammostola species. If you don't mind faster arboreal Ts and the occasional poop shoot, Avicularia species are good for handling too.

True, but the OP has "special" criteria. S/he wants the next T they own to be rare. Neither genus is rare, so s/he is unlikely to be interested based on the previous posts from this person. A "handler spider"....

 

[Poec54]

if
- I don't handle just to handle but anytime I need to get them out of the enclosure, for a few t's I have

- If you want to handle then handle. That's your right and choice to do so. It's not like the T had a choice to be your pet though.

- With most of the species in the hobby today being tropicals (high-strung and fast), this really isn't workable with them. So why do it with the others? Good old Stan Schultz: decades with a large collection of 'calm' species, regular handler, two dozen bites. Sure seems like a good idea.

Handling 'For teaching purposes'? I don't buy it. It's a stunt and promoting bad habits. This isn't the innocent 1970's anymore. They see people handle and there are many species in today's hobby that should never be handled. The majority of the public don't make distinctions between the temperament and speed of species, they pick theirs by the pretty colors and markings. People are going to emergency rooms from bites. Way too many people are being bitten, because way too many people are handling, partially because of pseudo-educational handling. These are not touchy-feely pets. There are a number of groups that want to ban exotic pet ownership. Do we have to provide them with justification? Handling is all about 'Me, me, me!', with little thought for the future of the hobby.

- No, T's don't have a choice to be your pet. Nor do they have a choice to be regularly picked up by Godzilla.

 

[micheldied]

1) So the same logic would apply to other animals, like venomous snakes or electric eels? To learn how it feels when it gets out of the cage during cleaning? Certainly important to know that! Groping isn't a necessary part of husbandry. Respecting the animal is.

2) 'Educational purposes' with tarantula handling are freak shows, and too many people leave with the impression that all tarantulas are amenable to being held; they won't remember any distinctions about species minutes afterwards. This is one reason we have idiots on YouTube doing all kinds stupid stunts with tarantulas. We can thank 'educational' handling for that. If you do it, they'll do it, and take it a step or two further.

My first exposure to tarantulas was also at a zoo, but the spider was in it's cage, where it belonged. These are not playthings.

I agree with your first statement of not seeing any reason to hold, cuddle, or bond with a tarantula. The rest of the post went downhill fast.

I agree with most of the things Poec54 has said, although I do have one gripe about this post.

Tarantulas are nothing like snakes or electric eels, and shouldn't really be compared to them. You don't have to take as may precautions with Ts, but naturally that means there's a larger risk of them getting out during a rehouse or cleaning. I think that knowing how to deal with them (with your hands if it comes down to it) is very important. That said, you don't need to be handling a T with any regularity to achieve that kind of comfort.

 

[ireleana]

- With most of the species in the hobby today being tropicals (high-strung and fast), this really isn't workable with them. So why do it with the others? Good old Stan Schultz: decades with a large collection of 'calm' species, regular handler, two dozen bites. Sure seems like a good idea.

Handling 'For teaching purposes'? I don't buy it. It's a stunt and promoting bad habits. This isn't the innocent 1970's anymore. They see people handle and there are many species in today's hobby that should never be handled. The majority of the public don't make distinctions between the temperament and speed of species, they pick theirs by the pretty colors and markings. People are going to emergency rooms from bites. Way too many people are being bitten, because way too many people are handling, partially because of pseudo-educational handling. These are not touchy-feely pets. There are a number of groups that want to ban exotic pet ownership. Do we have to provide them with justification? Handling is all about 'Me, me, me!', with little thought for the future of the hobby.

- No, T's don't have a choice to be your pet. Nor do they have a choice to be regularly picked up by Godzilla.

I wasn't saying to handle or not. I personally don't but occasionally with just a few and only if I had to take them out anyways. I never have just to "handle" . Say all you want about you not buying the "teaching" thing. That's your perception. I see what your saying but I'm not talking about schools and other big public areas. I'm talking about my personal friends and family. People who I have ready helped with some fears and piqued some interest. The whole time I advocated they are not meant to be handled and compare them to fish. I do stress the importance that people are going to do what they are going to do regardless and they it in a respectful and proper way and can be comfortable with it (which comes with experience btw) then that is better then not knowing what or how. My point was people arguing over this is not going to really change anything. There will be people that handle regard less of what is best or what you and I think. Injuries and problems can be reduced with proper experience and knowledge no? I would never intentionally handle all tarantulas but there are species that are more apt to be handled then others and I think that's what the op wanted to know. I'm not saying handling is right or that what the more common practices back in the 80's and 90's were right at all lol but the fact that most people would not hesitate to kill a spider or think tarantulas are the devil and should be burned alive, the people that choose to handle them while being careful and taking care of them isn't the end of the world...

Distinctions of species and behaviors should be related by the "teacher" or they failed to do there job. Maybe there were a lot of bad teachers in the day then but mine wasnt! If it weren't for my experience with them in school and handling them on the floor, getting to teach other kids about them with my teacher and I distinctly remember going over various temperaments and that not all were "tolerant " (your words ). One tarantula my teacher had, I was never allowed to even open the cage. (I was her helper) So not all were bad. I do have some common sense and I think people get overly sensitive about this issue. They deserve respect and I agree are not meant to be handled or played with but people are going to do it regardless of shaming them. If instead of shaming, giving them proper guidance on a safer handling experience for both parties involved is a better solution then say "prohibition" because we all know how well that works....

I respect you @Poec54 and I'm not arguing with you and I do see what you are saying and I'm not saying I disagree. I just think people don't alway see both sides of the story and only see things one way. Like I said, there will always be handlers, if they can be smarter about it instead of being naive and stupid for shock value etc.. it could help in the long run. When people or newbs come here asking for advice on something they are most likely going to do in the first place, preaching abstinence might not be the right way, teaching safety and protection might be a better route... Sorry if my post came across wrong. Not directed at you, but people in general. Also since I'm in a novel mood... Freaking out over people asking questions that have been asked before is kind of weird. From my experience, most things I see on Google or other forums including posts here are outdated, contradicted and not always trustworthy. So instead of saying "use the search function" all the time, maybe take pride in knowing these people came here to ask a legit question because they trust your advice. Not all people have forum etiquette and it isn't always because they are lazy.. It's like facebook, you don't like it, don't respond and keep scrolling.. Sorry if my post came across like that but seriously, the amount of criticism I see from people instead of education is astonishing.