Goliath bird eater; agression?

[lancej]

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.

I was thinking of doing that with one of my stirmi's molts, but that thing is completely covered in urticating hairs. It looks like she dusted her molt mat with every hair she had and then rolled in it a couple of times before she actually molted! I put the molt in a deli cup and closed it up - seriously thinking of encasing the entire cup in wax and marking it with a bio-hazard sticker, just in case!

 

[Ziolizard]

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

That had nothing to do with what I said, but ok.

Glad OP got his issue resolved and made a rational decision. =)

 

[Gamebred]

Just got my first LP and TS about a week ago. My TS looks like a 8" dinosaur with lots more growing to do. I wouldn't imagine holding that huge thing. She's so skittish. I tried to hold my LP 6". Too fast. Will never do that again. I'll never purchase a T with the intent of holding it. For the both of our good.

 

[Poec54]

I was thinking of doing that with one of my stirmi's molts, but that thing is completely covered in urticating hairs. It looks like she dusted her molt mat with every hair she had and then rolled in it a couple of times before she actually molted!

They intentionally do that, covering their molting beds with 'barbed wire' to keep other animals away. Works pretty good, huh?

 

[lancej]

They intentionally do that, covering their molting beds with 'barbed wire' to keep other animals away. Works pretty good, huh?

Yes it does! I am just glad that I don't have a bad reaction to Theraphosa hairs that some do. I would have been itching/burning for days after retrieving that molt (I didn't see that it was covered COMPLETELY with hairs until after I grabbed it out of the tweezers - I thought I was safe grabbing a front leg)!

 

[Poec54]

I thought I was safe grabbing a front leg!

With Theraphosa, I assume everything's 'contaminated' with hairs: the substrate, water bowl, bolus', sheds, and the spider itself. I pick up everything with 18" tongs. I don't want to go thru that again.

 

[Equinox]

+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.

I have a T stirmi and I'd listen to this advice if I was you!
Even when I open the cage to change his waterbowl I feel like I've run naked through stinging nettles!
And the reason I handle NONE of my T's is purely because if.... And even though its a small chance.. IF it decided to have a go, the pain of those fangs going into your hand would FAR out way the pleasure you got from handling it in the first place.
I don't know if you saw the pics I put of of my A geniculata fangs... But she was only 7 1/2 inches. Add another half a centimetre onto those fangs and you'll have the biting power of an adult Goliath.
I don't think anyone would be able to remain 100% calm if they had what is essentially two small nails driven into their hand.
The bigger the spider, the more of a shock the initial bite would be, the greater the chances of you 'flinging' it would be.... And larger spiders fare worse in falls than smaller ones.