Goliath bird eater; agression?

[eschneider]

thinking of buying a Goliath, but I want one I can hold occasionally.

I hear the captive bred/raised are more docile?

Is this possible? I have seen people do it on you tube.

I have had T's for years and even bred the common ones.

Also what do people feed these things? Large roaches?

Thanks,
Eric

 

[Dark Nexus]

Everything is handable with caution. You will always run the risk of a bite

 

[spiderengineer]

um I would advise no to handle a theraphose. beside the obvious of hurting them selfs, their hairs are horrible to get on your skin, not to mention have you seen their fangs. as far as feeding I invested in a roach colony when I got mine.

 

[AzJohn]

Get a L p. They get big but are much easier to deal with.

 

[MarkmD]

I agree get an LP as they get almost as big with the same appetite., T,blondi need lots of humility and occasionaly have molting problems, I guess you can handle a blondi but as said be careful with the hairs.

 

[Stirmi]

Don't get a theraphosa if you want to handle it because for a big T they have a short temper, the worst urticating hairs of all Ts, and for a big T they are fast when they want to be. As previously stated LPs are much easier to deal with and ontop theraphosa are known to have molting problems and need to be kept really humid

 

[Ziolizard]

My Lp is a demon. Get whatever you want, dude. =)

 

[lancej]

Captive born/raised do tend to do better in captivity, but I haven't seen any difference in behavior. DO NOT HANDLE. Large roaches are great for them. Oh, also, DO NOT HANDLE! Lasiodora are definitely easier than a Theraphosa. These are my opinions.

 

[Poec54]

Don't get a theraphosa if you want to handle it because for a big T they have a short temper, the worst urticating hairs of all Ts, and for a big T they are fast when they want to be.

+1. Absolute insanity to handle any Theraphosa. The hairs are horrendous; they don't itch, they burn, and it lasts for hours. When I transfer cages or pair up my stirmi, I wear gloves, long sleeves, long pants, covered shoes, and a clear plastic face shield: my 'Theraphosa suit.' After laying awake all night with hairs burning, I decided I had to cover up. It's miserable. They intentionally put hairs all over their cage, which serve as protection. 'Barbed wire on silk.'

Hairs aside, these are large, powerful animals and can do significant mechanical damage to your fingers. Have you seen how quickly they kill mice? Like many tropical species, they're nervous and unpredictable. You don't know what they'll do or when they'll do it. They're not as agile as smaller species, and can easily fall and be seriusly injured. If one bites you, can you stay calm and gently pry it's fangs loose, or will you fling it?

Poeple do a lot of stupid things on YouTube. Please don't be one of them.

 

[paassatt]

Poeple do a lot of stupid things on YouTube. Please don't be one of them.

Words to live by.

 

[845BigRed]

All of this. I purchased a Stirmi a while back from Netbug the woman called and said she doesn't advise handling them at all (not that I had plans on). I can't say much about their hair because mine isn't much of a flinger, but shes tried to eat the tweezers when I was picking out leftovers from her cage the other day, so thats a thing.

As far as docile T's I think a lot of it has to do with how much they get fed. Any T on more of a once a month diet is going to be more likely to attack anything in its cage, my Stirmi is on the smaller side, but my most calm T is my Rose Hair who has a pretty big abdomen.
Any T that isn't used to getting a lot of food will easily mistake your hand for a bird, mouse, etc that it would eat naturally be it wild or not.

As far as feeding I mix it up with mine, at the moment they are all eating superworms, next time I buy stuff it will be roaches. Just adjust how much you feed them based on their size. My smaller adults get one super worm, my Stirmi gets 2 or I will give her one and then another in about 5-7 days depending on things (I like to alternate how much, what they eat, how often they eat to keep a more natural food cycle).

 

[Ziolizard]

All of this. I purchased a Stirmi a while back from Netbug the woman called and said she doesn't advise handling them at all (not that I had plans on). I can't say much about their hair because mine isn't much of a flinger, but shes tried to eat the tweezers when I was picking out leftovers from her cage the other day, so thats a thing.

As far as docile T's I think a lot of it has to do with how much they get fed. Any T on more of a once a month diet is going to be more likely to attack anything in its cage, my Stirmi is on the smaller side, but my most calm T is my Rose Hair who has a pretty big abdomen.
Any T that isn't used to getting a lot of food will easily mistake your hand for a bird, mouse, etc that it would eat naturally be it wild or not.

As far as feeding I mix it up with mine, at the moment they are all eating superworms, next time I buy stuff it will be roaches. Just adjust how much you feed them based on their size. My smaller adults get one super worm, my Stirmi gets 2 or I will give her one and then another in about 5-7 days depending on things (I like to alternate how much, what they eat, how often they eat to keep a more natural food cycle).

I think individuals within species vary in their temperaments. My Lp gets fed once a week, and she even attacks water. I think she's just mean. I look at people holding their Lp's and think, "Aw, I wish I could do that... mine is so cute." But I can't.

So, OP, it's possible that some people hold their Goliath's, but I don't think most people do. Again, it's your choice. You won't die holding it, but you may get bitten/haired.

 

[lancej]

So, OP, it's possible that some people hold their Goliath's, but I don't think most people do. Again, it's your choice. You won't die holding it, but you may get bitten/haired.

Some people jump off of roof tops without getting hurt, too. Doesn't make it any less stupid.

 

[Hersh77tess]

Captive born/raised do tend to do better in captivity, but I haven't seen any difference in behavior. DO NOT HANDLE. Large roaches are great for them. Oh, also, DO NOT HANDLE! Lasiodora are definitely easier than a Theraphosa. These are my opinions.

Deja vu much? Lol new imports has everyone a twitter.

Eschnider you should look into Pamphobeteus Antinous or others in that genus. According to some they are less agressive, cheaper, and easier to take care of. And about the same size.

 

[Scoolman]

+1. Absolute insanity to handle any Theraphosa. The hairs are horrendous; they don't itch, they burn, and it lasts for hours. They intentionally put hairs all over their cage, which serve as protection. 'Barbed wire on silk.'

If one bites you, can you stay calm and gently pry it's fangs loose, or will you fling it?

Poeple do a lot of stupid things on YouTube. Please don't be one of them.

I mounted an exo from my big female T stirmi, Precious. Spent about 4 hours working with it to get it just right; the mount turned out beautiful. The bad part? I did not wear gloves. I can assure you I will NEVER make that mistake again. My hands were on fire fire for well over 24 hours, and itched like mad for 3 days after the burning sibsided. There was no relief either. I tried many remedies, and nothing worked.
Just opening her vivarium to do maintenance and feed, and I walk away with itching hands.

As for the fangs. They are just over 1" in length and nearly 1/8" in diameter. These fangs would a rattle snake to shame. And, this tarantula is extremely powerful. I have tong fed her and tried to hang onto the roach, she easily rips it away from me.

As for behavior/temperament, Precious is wild caught, and tolerates little. I also have a captive born/raised T stirmi, about 5" now, and she is more nervous and edgy than my big wild girl; and speed you would not expect from such a large T.

Theraphosa are an awesome Genus, but definitely a "look, but don't touch" specimen. They also require much more attention to care, due to the wet environment they require.

If you want a large handleable tarantula get yourself a G pulchripes, or even an Acanthoscurria.

 

[Poec54]

Theraphosa are an awesome Genus, but definitely a "look, but don't touch" specimen. They also require much more attention to care, due to the wet environment they require.

+1. Theraphosa are really in the 'advanced' category, for experienced spider keepers. They require specific conditions, and losses are high in captivity. They're huge, prehistoric animals that overpower any small animal they encounter, vertebrates included, and have defenses to keep other animals away from them. They are not family pets.

 

[eschneider]

Thanks everyone, think I will avoid the Goliath; The hairs begin the main reason. I will look at the recommend alternative large Ts

 

[Stirmi]

Thanks everyone, think I will avoid the Goliath; The hairs begin the main reason. I will look at the recommend alternative large Ts

Lasiodora, pamphobeteus, and Acanthoscurria(Geniculata and Brocklehursti) make good first large Ts also

 

[845BigRed]

Lasiodora make good first large Ts also

I would highly recommend this. I started with an LP before I go my Stirmi

 

[MarkmD]

Well the way I see it is, T,blondi/stirmi are a unique genus (as all T's are), although most of the people that buy them have no idea wether its a blondi or stirmi, OK I've had a 11" female blondi in 2003, and I got haired (in my hands), hurt like Fu*k for real lol, Now That's just a little part of my story, End of the line LP's have all the attitude/individual personalitys (as all T's) we know, I would Take an LP over a blondi any day of the week, but.as said before they are all unique to its design and individual nature, sorry for blabbing on.