Chilean Rose Hair "Warnings"

[Tcollector]

I was looking through the posts and I could not find what I was looking for.

On a Rose hair tarantula when holding it in your hands how can you tell when they are ready to bite you if you frighten them? I have seen old worlds "rear up" first then enject their fangs. Is that the same for the Chilean Rose?

 

[Mushroom Spore]

All tarantulas are capable of the classic threat pose. Not all individuals will bother warning you first.

 

[Stan Schultz]

... On a Rose hair tarantula when holding it in your hands how can you tell when they are ready to bite you if you frighten them? ...

Marguerite and I have been bitten more than 50 times (combined). I can tell you with some small authority that if you can pick it up in the first place without it trying to bite there's a 99% that it just plain isn't going to bite. Either they let you know up front, or they're very complicit.

The next question you should be asking is "Over 50 times! Why on Earth for?" And the answer is that Marguerite and I are a little braver than most arachnophiles. We often pick up tarantulas that are guaranteed to be vicious little demons from Hell, just to see if they really are. There're just too many unsubstantiated rumors about how vicious they are for us to believe just about anybody without seeing for ourselves. We didn't gain the nickname "Tarantula Whisperers" for nothing!

 

[Tcollector]

Marguerite and I have been bitten more than 50 times (combined). I can tell you with some small authority that if you can pick it up in the first place without it trying to bite there's a 99% that it just plain isn't going to bite. Either they let you know up front, or they're very complicit.

The next question you should be asking is "Over 50 times! Why on Earth for?" And the answer is that Marguerite and I are a little braver than most arachnophiles. We often pick up tarantulas that are guaranteed to be vicious little demons from Hell, just to see if they really are. There're just too many unsubstantiated rumors about how vicious they are for us to believe just about anybody without seeing for ourselves. We didn't gain the nickname "Tarantula Whisperers" for nothing!

A guy named Botar told me of the "Hearding Method" He said you give the tarantula the choice if it wants to go on your hand or not. I have handled my chilean rose 6 or 7 times now with gloves. I really want to try it without the gloves. So if it decides to go on my hand I guess that it should not bite right?

 

[syndicate]

The next question you should be asking is "Over 50 times! Why on Earth for?" And the answer is that Marguerite and I are a little braver than most arachnophiles.

i wouldnt say braver.it makes no sense to me how u could put yourself in the position to get bit 50 times plus.i would imagine after the first couple bites u might have learned your lesson!

 

[GOMER113]

One time that I was handling my rosea, she stopped walking and I watched her as she sunk her body closer to my hand, moved her abdomen back without moving her legs like she was loading up for a huge pounce... then proceeded to drop the biggest T turd I've ever seen. It even made it cartoonish squishy noise as she let it out.

 

[Stan Schultz]

i wouldnt say braver.it makes no sense to me how u could put yourself in the position to get bit 50 times plus.i would imagine after the first couple bites u might have learned your lesson!

But each species is different. Knowing that roses seldom bite and that the bites for the most part are dry and/or nearly inconsequential does me no good when I encounter a Pamphobeteus antinous, for instance. (Which, contrary to some reports, are also just big pussy cats!)

What I failed to mention was that those bites are the result of handling literally thousands and thousands of tarantulas over a period of well over thirty years for the both of us, a total accumulation of well over 70 years.

Another way of looking at it is that we all go out on the highways and quite literally risk our lives daily for years and years, knowing that the odds are almost 100% that someday we're going to have an accident. Usually the accidents are just minor fender benders that only jack our insurance rates through the roof. But sometimes...

Does that prevent you from going on a Sunday drive? Probably not in this lifetime. Maybe not in the next either! The point is that there are risks with any endeavor. And we constantly make value judgments balancing them against the gains.

So Marguerite and I handle tarantulas just to see what their personalities are. What are the gains? We've developed a very well founded, broad base of personal experience with them. What are the risks? Maybe we'll be bitten by one out of 500. And, the bite is almost surely irrelevant except that it adds another data point to our accumulated data base. Risk vs gain!

You (In a generic sense, not specifically "syndicate." I'm not picking on anyone especially) think a bite is a big deal. We've found that for the most part they're really pretty inconsequential, ranking somewhere between a prick from a rose thorn and a minor bee sting. If you want to fret over something, do something significant. Fret about the drunks on the highway. (Parenthetical note: I just had a flu shot this afternoon. I had to sit down or I'd have dropped like a rock! I'm really a big sissy, trust me!)

Just to set your mind at ease, we no longer try to handle P. murinus (aka OBT) or any of the other Pterinochilids, any of the genus Poecilotheria (the Indian ornamentals) and a few others that are well known to have very potent bites. Why? We may be curious; we may be brave; but we're not crazy!

Enjoy your fearsome tarantulas!

 

[Stan Schultz]

One time that I was handling my rosea, she stopped walking and I watched her as she sunk her body closer to my hand, moved her abdomen back without moving her legs like she was loading up for a huge pounce... then proceeded to drop the biggest T turd I've ever seen. It even made it cartoonish squishy noise as she let it out.

Ahhhh. Risks and gains. She was vastly relieved, trust me!

 

[nspeissegger]

i wouldnt say braver.it makes no sense to me how u could put yourself in the position to get bit 50 times plus.i would imagine after the first couple bites u might have learned your lesson!

that makes no sense...

 

[PhilK]

The next question you should be asking is "Over 50 times! Why on Earth for?" And the answer is that Marguerite and I are a little braver than most arachnophiles. We often pick up tarantulas that are guaranteed to be vicious little demons from Hell, just to see if they really are. There're just too many unsubstantiated rumors about how vicious they are for us to believe just about anybody without seeing for ourselves. We didn't gain the nickname "Tarantula Whisperers" for nothing!

Sounds like you enjoy harrassing T's to see if they'll bite, when they clearly want nothing to do with you... But that's just what it sounds like to me.

 

[DMTWI]

Pikaia, you and Marguerite rock! I can't believe any T would bite you guys, don't them silly spiders know who you are! Serious though, great advice as always, IMO anyway.

 

[unclechewy]

I am glad to see that someone other than me likes to handle their T's. I know the debate will go on forever and there will be arguements on both sides. I personally really enjoy interacting with all my pets, but like you, there will be some that I will choose not to handle out of fear of being laid up in bed for a week with severe muscle cramps. We all have T's because they give us some sort of enjoyment of satisfaction, for some this comes from having a collection that contains rare species, for others it comes from successfully breeding, and others gain enjoyment from close interaction.

 

[Stan Schultz]

Sounds like you enjoy harrassing T's to see if they'll bite, ...

You're very close to being correct. But, we're not really "harassing" them. We ARE interacting with them in a very personal way. The term "harassing" is loaded with a lot of connotations that may not be true in all circumstances or with all species.

... when they clearly want nothing to do with you...

Not "clearly" either. We've handled a lot of tarantulas that apparently were, at the very least, neutral on the matter. And there are a very few that almost enjoyed the attention, to the point of actually coming to the front of their cages when we entered the room. Very little is really clear where tarantulas are concerned.

And, similarly, there are species and individuals that "clearly" wanted nothing to do with us, like virtually every P. murinus (OBT) that we've ever encountered. But the vast majority of New World tarantulas seemed not to care once they learned that the big, warm, dark hand wasn't going to harm them. I will agree, however, that the Old World species (including those from Australia) have a conflicting opinion.

Enjoy your cuddly tarantula.

 

[Truff135]

I personally see nothing wrong with what Pikaia does or has done. I think I'd rather be bitten by a tarantula than get a shot at the doctor. I handle my tarantulas just to learn their body signals. I'll never know what a threat pose is unless I see it for myself. I'll never know what getting haired is like unless I get haired. The only way any information about anything ever gets around is from experience. So, how can we judge an animal's behavior without actually having personal encounters? Just by assumption? I think I'd rather see and learn for myself just what my tarantulas are trying to tell me. For instance, initially I was afraid of changing out my a.seemani's water dish because she is a defiant, bold little freak. However, as time progresses, I too become bolder and will test the waters until I actually receive a bite. Instead of trying to coax her away from her dish and then jumping when she runs back, I'll just stick my hand in there and get it. If I get bitten, I know what she's capable of. If she ends up being all bark and no bite, then I know there was really nothing to be afraid of. IMO, you can only learn by experience. It's not harming the spider in any way, unless the Mr. and Mrs. are tossing them into walls (which I highly doubt), so I don't see any reason of getting upset about it. Of course that is just my opinion, and you have your opinion as well (speaking in a general sense) and as such are entitled to it. But to me, the only way to learn is to just experience things for yourself. I suppose that all depends on how much you are willing to experience a bite or hair in order to gain said knowledge.

 

[Pestilence]

i got haired last night.. it was pretty awful.. soaps and alcohol does nothing but hot water ... ahh refreshing and hydrocortisone did the trick. so i learned something new last night. next time ill wear gloves. i'd like to experience it first hand not from some stories that ive read that sometimes exaggerate. i'd let fear come by me first if ever i'd believe all that ive read and miss out all the fun. sometimes its not that bad as it sounds..

 

[PhilK]

I will agree, however, that the Old World species (including those from Australia) have a conflicting opinion.

Enjoy your cuddly tarantula.

Hahahaha you couldn't be more right!

 

[syndicate]

But each species is different. Knowing that roses seldom bite and that the bites for the most part are dry and/or nearly inconsequential does me no good when I encounter a Pamphobeteus antinous, for instance. (Which, contrary to some reports, are also just big pussy cats!)

What I failed to mention was that those bites are the result of handling literally thousands and thousands of tarantulas over a period of well over thirty years for the both of us, a total accumulation of well over 70 years.

Another way of looking at it is that we all go out on the highways and quite literally risk our lives daily for years and years, knowing that the odds are almost 100% that someday we're going to have an accident. Usually the accidents are just minor fender benders that only jack our insurance rates through the roof. But sometimes...

Does that prevent you from going on a Sunday drive? Probably not in this lifetime. Maybe not in the next either! The point is that there are risks with any endeavor. And we constantly make value judgments balancing them against the gains.

So Marguerite and I handle tarantulas just to see what their personalities are. What are the gains? We've developed a very well founded, broad base of personal experience with them. What are the risks? Maybe we'll be bitten by one out of 500. And, the bite is almost surely irrelevant except that it adds another data point to our accumulated data base. Risk vs gain!

You (In a generic sense, not specifically "syndicate." I'm not picking on anyone especially) think a bite is a big deal. We've found that for the most part they're really pretty inconsequential, ranking somewhere between a prick from a rose thorn and a minor bee sting. If you want to fret over something, do something significant. Fret about the drunks on the highway. (Parenthetical note: I just had a flu shot this afternoon. I had to sit down or I'd have dropped like a rock! I'm really a big sissy, trust me!)

Just to set your mind at ease, we no longer try to handle P. murinus (aka OBT) or any of the other Pterinochilids, any of the genus Poecilotheria (the Indian ornamentals) and a few others that are well known to have very potent bites. Why? We may be curious; we may be brave; but we're not crazy!

Enjoy your fearsome tarantulas!

hello again.
personly i have no urge to really handle thousands of spiders.i dont think people should be encouraged to eithor.especially if your keeping more venomous species such as Poecilotheria,Haplopelma or Cyriogapopus ect..
bites from these spiders are far worse than a bee sting as u should know and can be a big deal!id rather not get into the whole debate of handling tho its been done way to many times.i just think its important that people know what there doing and that not all spiders should be played with.
-chris

 

[Nich]

I was looking through the posts and I could not find what I was looking for.

On a Rose hair tarantula when holding it in your hands how can you tell when they are ready to bite you if you frighten them? I have seen old worlds "rear up" first then enject their fangs. Is that the same for the Chilean Rose?

Theres no established method for predicting a bite, best bet is to keep handleing down to a minimum. Gloves, they will do no good in the event of a real bite attempt, a 6" T can prees its fangs into the skull of a mouse, leather is not much of a barrier for anything but urticating hairs and Rose's dont give off an itch (to me at least).

 

[Andrew273]

My rose hair is generally very very sweet however there are times she will not be held. Only once though did she flare up in the threat posture and that was right after a move into a new tank. Other than that when she doesn't want to be held she has nice ways to let me know. Usually I just scoot her into my hand so when she's cranky she takes her peldipalps, slaps my hand and runs for her hide. Basically if it doesn't want to be held it will generally flee or refuse to move. If it will let you hold it it will just waltz right onto your hand.

 

[kaptinhormone]

My rose hair is generally very very sweet however there are times she will not be held. Only once though did she flare up in the threat posture and that was right after a move into a new tank. Other than that when she doesn't want to be held she has nice ways to let me know. Usually I just scoot her into my hand so when she's cranky she takes her peldipalps, slaps my hand and runs for her hide. Basically if it doesn't want to be held it will generally flee or refuse to move. If it will let you hold it it will just waltz right onto your hand.

definitely. i have 10 T's and have handled them all (though the p. regalis wasn't my choice, he bolted out of his cage, down the side, and right up my arm steadying the base... scary as hell is all i can say ). anyway point being is you just have to read their body language, if they seem particularly reclusive when you first open the cage that's probably a bad sign, and then if they continue acting agitated if you try to go further then just back off and let them calm down a bit. i haven't been bitten or haired yet (and i have a b. smithi and 2 m. robustums which are fairly notorious for hair attacks). and most importantly if you're not comfortable they won't be comfortable.

a personal preference note, i feel more comfortable holding the T on the back of my hand not the palm, and i try to keep them away from the underside of my wrists just in case. doesn't seem like a fun place to be bitten...