Best way to hold a spider

Status
Not open for further replies.

Bjorgly

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Messages
729
There may be many opinions on this, but i'm all ears. I am getting a 2-3 inch g.pulchra later this week and i want to start handling it. What is the best way for me to do so in that it is safest for both me and the spider? For the record i have a problem with just reaching in and grabbing it lol I cant see how they would enjoy that. ANy tips appreciated as ive never held a T before really, thanks!

Mark
 

Gail

Arachnopixie
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 16, 2002
Messages
556
With a docile species like g. pulchra I just place one hand in front of the T and give it a nudge from behind with the other. They will usually walk right onto your hand and you can slowly and carefully pick it up. Some words of caution though:
1) even with a docile spider it can have a "bad day" - always check to see what the temper is today by gently touching the bum with something like a soft artist brush first. EDIT: don't be too gentle or it may think you are a cricket brushing against it LOL
2) never walk around the house holding your spider - it could walk right off of your hand and fall to it's death - best to handle while sitting on the floor with hands close to the ground or over your bed.

Gail
 

bness2

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 21, 2002
Messages
150
Originally posted by Gail
2) never walk around the house holding your spider - it could walk right off of your hand and fall to it's death - best to handle while sitting on the floor with hands close to the ground or over your bed.
Big ditto on this one! I already lost a beatiful, sweet rosie when a student of mine got spooked when it moved a bit suddenly and he dropped it from about waist height. I actually euthenized it because I couldn't bear to watch it slowly die. It basically popped and was bleeding all over.

Now anyone who wants to hold my Ts must sit on the floor!

Bryan
 

Botar

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 27, 2002
Messages
1,441
Bness2

I remember that story. I did a demo in my daughters school last week and didn't let the kids handle any of the T's for that very reason. Instead, I had the teacher put her hands on her desk, palms up, and had my rosie walk across them. The kids got a real kick out of it and the teacher even surprised herself by doing it.

Botar
 

veronyka

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 20, 2002
Messages
221
Although I've been told it's not a great idea to handle your spider at all, I agree with the last two posts. Whenever I handle my g. rosea I always sit on the bed, with her being right over my pillow. Try not to breathe directly on your spider or you might cause her to want to jump in the other direction, be very gentle, and if you think she's going to be in a bad mood put her back in her terrarium.
 

Immortal_sin

Arachnotemptress
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 17, 2002
Messages
3,952
right, I only coax them out with a soft paintbrush, onto my hand, and Shelby and I only hold them while sitting on the floor. You can test their reaction and mood (sorry, bad word) by using the paintbrush like Gail suggested.
IME, slings have a habit of racing around, or sitting completely still, there's not alot of middle ground.
Adults are a bit more predictable. That being said, I know you know it depends on the species!
G pulchra is a good one, they sometimes flick a bit, but usually are quite calm.
If the T panics, the trick is...YOU don't panic too. Just sit calmly and STILL, or the spider may have an untimely end.
Good luck!
 

veronyka

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 20, 2002
Messages
221
I also agree with botar and bness.. I work with developmentally disabled adults and one of them really wants to handle my g. rosea, but I am very nervous about that, so I don't think I will be allowing him to do so. Instead I bought him one of those fake T's that kinda look like b. smithi :D
 

JacenBeers

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 1, 2002
Messages
1,264
I think Immortal_Sin made a really good point about not spiderlings. THey are very fast and quite unpredictable it seems. And although if you drop them they may not suffer as much damage as an adult, it is still not a good idea to hold them because if they do run away they are very hard to find.

Another point of caution is watch where youa re breathing. Once I was holding one of my spiders and I breathed towards it and it bolted quickly.
 

chaset

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 9, 2002
Messages
120
Holding over bed is okay...

Two things i don't like about over the bed is i don't wanna sleep on urticating bristles, and 2. if it bolts
it might get caught in the side of my water bed.
 

Code Monkey

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 22, 2002
Messages
3,783
People have covered most everything I could add: nudge onto an open hand, judge the mood, stay close to the floor or always be ready to catch the moving spider with a free hand.

One thing that wasn't mentioned is that whether its your body language or chemicals in your sweat, your mood seems to affect the nervousness level of the T. Keep control of yourself - if you're wound like a top and ready to freak, odds are your T will be more apt to feel threatened and bolt, hair you, or even bite in a worst case scenario. So, don't handle unless you're calm as well.
 

MrT

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 13, 2002
Messages
2,171
Bjorgly,

I'm glad your going to start handling you T's. Remember the molting thread? Although It was fun, it could have been a real bummer.

You've gotten good advise here as to holding T's. The only thing I'd add is maybe you should start with just letting the T crawl across your hand to get a feel for it. Then slowly progress from there. Slow and steady, thats the ticket, slow and steady.;) ;)

Ernie
 

The_Phantom

Scarlet O' Hairy
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 20, 2002
Messages
1,062
Originally posted by bness2
Big ditto on this one! I already lost a beatiful, sweet rosie when a student of mine got spooked when it moved a bit suddenly and he dropped it from about waist height. I actually euthenized it because I couldn't bear to watch it slowly die. It basically popped and was bleeding all over.

Now anyone who wants to hold my Ts must sit on the floor!

Bryan



Sorry about your Rosie. I have a rose, and my male friend wants to come over and hold her. Now I havent held her in ages and I am real nervous about doing it so I have to slowly get back into it before he comes over to hold it (I really like him !). Ive warned him that we can only hold her sitting down, that he might feel pricks from her claws, and DONT breathe on her. Im REALLY glad this thread was started, I need all the advise I can get !
 

Vys

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 22, 2002
Messages
1,560
I wish there was a good experiment conducted, where people's influence on a T when holding it could try and be measured. Like if it's tiny heart started thumping alot faster most of the time, or if they produced lots of some stress-related chemical.
And if some good such experiment has already been done, I wish I knew about it :p
 

Bjorgly

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Messages
729
Thanks for all the help everyone, I will try and implement all of the stragities when i choose to hold the spider. Perhaps first when i recieve her ill have her walk out of the deli cup she is shipped in across my hand into the cage to build some confidence. I get intimitated by the size of the spider regardless of its temperment so i figure if i start small, and with a g.pulchra, i wont be affected by it when it grows because i'll have handled it at all sizes. Also can you hold your spider too much? I would think its ok to take it out every 3 days to a week, is that reasonable or should it be done more to attempt to tame the spider? i realize it is almost impossible to tame a spider but you might be able to help it get used to you.

Mark
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top