Handling tarantulas

[DomGom TheFather]

Accidents can happen. They do.
Just don't elevate the risk.
I think that's all anyone is saying.
I hope you have some spidery fun. They are amazing creatures and they hate you. Lol
Please don't handle.

 

[HeartBum]

well it wasn't an intentional handle. Customer had bought a T and also a complete enclosure and asked if we'd rehouse, which we do / did. The T, instead of going from sales-container to enclosure in a normal fashion did a 180 and did a jail break up my daughter's arm.
Yes, it could have jumped or fell, but I was spotting and unless it did a pokie style 'transporter' I had a high % chance of catching it (as I was spotting with a tub). My daughter was 16, and is 5'8" so 'little girl' wouldn't fit but she's been keeping Ts for a decade

Sigh. Taller than me... 23 and 4'11.

 

[Matt Man]

this is purely anecdotal but Scorpions do seem to enjoy the warmth of your hand. The biggest struggle is getting them to leave.

 

[HeartBum]

this is purely anecdotal but Scorpions do seem to enjoy the warmth of your hand. The biggest struggle is getting them to leave.

All those pots... I've died and gone to Heaven

 

[hestoncv]

this is purely anecdotal but Scorpions do seem to enjoy the warmth of your hand. The biggest struggle is getting them to leave.

Lmao they want to cuddle

 

[Matt Man]

All those pots... I've died and gone to Heaven

Enclosure and Substrate Racks on the corners. To the left of the front rack is Centipedes and true spiders, trapdoors, fishing, etc....Tubs just to the right of front rack Adult and Sub Adult Ts
Big Case Dead center is the sling box, each sling type has a photo. To the right of the slings is Scorpions, To the left of the far rack is a black box with death feigning beetles,
millipedes, etc.... Far Side is Millipedes, Assassin Bugs, Manti, etc.... and that's my girl.

 

[HeartBum]

Enclosure and Substrate Racks on the corners. To the left of the front rack is Centipedes and true spiders, trapdoors, fishing, etc....Tubs just to the right of front rack Adult and Sub Adult Ts
Big Case Dead center is the sling box, each sling type has a photo. To the right of the slings is Scorpions, To the left of the far rack is a black box with death feigning beetles,
millipedes, etc.... Far Side is Millipedes, Assassin Bugs, Manti, etc.... and that's my girl.
View attachment 369127

Amazing! You can keep your nasty pedes and trues however, the inner arachnophobe within still hasn't conquered that battle...

 

[hestoncv]

Amazing! You can keep your nasty pedes and trues however, the inner arachnophobe within still hasn't conquered that battle...

Agreed. Not a huge fan of the true yet. Although widows look badass

 

[HeartBum]

Agreed. Not a huge fan of the true yet. Although widows look badass

I'm still waiting for a house spider to show up somewhere to see if I can actually cup it... And tell my extremely arachnophobic mother, see, keeping T's IS a good thing, we all benefit Thankfully, being in the UK, that's about the most we have to deal with

 

[basin79]

I'm still waiting for a house spider to show up somewhere to see if I can actually cup it... And tell my extremely arachnophobic mother, see, keeping T's IS a good thing, we all benefit Thankfully, being in the UK, that's about the most we have to deal with

That is absolutely possible. My mum actually finds spiders beautiful now. She's still scared of them but can now see their beauty.

 

[Matt Man]

Amazing! You can keep your nasty pedes and trues however, the inner arachnophobe within still hasn't conquered that battle...

Well they all belong to the dealer we work for. I would someday like to set up a BioActive with water and a fishing spider(s) (plus small fish) though. That seems kind of fun, sort of a fish tank with a land based predator.

 

[HeartBum]

Well they all belong to the dealer we work for. I would someday like to set up a BioActive with water and a fishing spider(s) (plus small fish) though. That seems kind of fun, sort of a fish tank with a land based predator.

That actually sounds awesome not even going to lie!

 

[Matt Man]

FTR, and this is based on experience, Centipedes are the true thugs

 

[Rigor Mortis]

Hoo boy what a ride. My two cents: As long as you have your enclosure set up properly there's about a 0% chance your spider is in danger inside that enclosure. However careful you are with handling, the chance for danger will never be 0% if you're taking them outside of that safe zone. It might be low depending on the specimen but it is never 0. And I care about my Ts wellbeing too much to bring that chance up.

OP, I find it interesting that you say you wanted to hear both sides of this argument and vehemently protest that you will not handle the spider you plan on getting, yet you've been playing devil's advocate for it since about reply 7. Unsure how you can be anti-handling of your own spider yet pro "let everyone else do whatever they want because it's not that bad."

 

[The Grym Reaper]

And there are many who like me, @Arachnid Addicted ,@The Grym Reaper , @cold blood etcetera etcetera that choose to take pics of their tarantulas within their enclosures. So yes you don't always get the "perfect" shot due to the limitions but you put the tarantula first above likes.

I don't even open the enclosure for some of them

0.1 Psalmopoeus ecclesiasticus

• The Grym Reaper
• Sep 13, 2020
• 2
• adult adult female ecclesiasticus ecuadorian gold ecuadorian olive grey female psalmopoeus psalmopoeus ecclesiasticus

Mercury doing a lurk.

0.1 Heteroscodra maculata

• The Grym Reaper
• Jul 27, 2020
• 1
• female heteroscodra heteroscodra maculata maculata subadult subadult female togo starburst baboon

Rehoused Domino earlier in the month, caught her chilling on the front of her cork slab so...

View media item 71206

Experience doesn't mean squat. Instinct kicks in, both for the T and the handler. Knee-jerk reactions can and will happen to the most "experienced" of keepers.

^This, I've watched so-called "veteran keepers" fling tarantulas to the floor out of instinct when they've done something unexpected.

For example, Rob C (Tarantulaguy1976 on YT) basically yeeted a P. metallica across the room in its shipping container when it tried to bite him as he opened it up, luckily it was unharmed.

 

[Arachnophobphile]

No...just....no...

There's no need in show boating. Tarantulas stress out from being handled.

If you ever had urticating hair on you that should be a deterring factor in itself. I did just from doing maintenance with the enclosure. That itch didn't stop on my hand until the third day. Not too mention the welt as well. Gloves are my friend now.

That and what everyone else has stated.

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

this is purely anecdotal but Scorpions do seem to enjoy the warmth of your hand. The biggest struggle is getting them to leave.

I've had this problem with amblypygi too

 

[Asgiliath]

*sighs with such force that it blows over OP's house*

 

[Sterls]

There are many people online, like the tarantula collective, who get their Ts out for things as simple as photos, but the unpredictability still applies. With him taking the correct precautions and having experience i doubt one has leaped to its death for him.

I don't know how Richard chooses to take pictures, but plenty of people here take excellent pictures without handling. Photography is an incredibly poor excuse for handling when you can just take the top off. Even if you want to move them to a color neutral space for photos, we have these things called catch cups and straws.

 

[Hakuna]

Hey OP @hestoncv I personally do not handle and these are the reasons why.

Tarantula’s, especially heavy bodied terrestrials, are fragile and sometimes as sharp as a bowling ball.

If they want to choose to play frogger out of freaking nowhere one day then jump off your hand it could rupture it’s abdomen or break a leg if it’s any greater of a fall distance more than 1.5x the leg span especially on hard/uneven surfaces.

OR it could also get away from you and be lost in the house. They can be fast when they want to be no matter what species.

Their temperament can change after a molt. They can potentially just have a change in personality and become very defensive and bitey or worse, flighty and bolty.

At the end of the day it is your “investment” but please understand that many people view their tarantulas as equals to their dogs, cats or reptiles. Comparing them to feeders and roaches is a lil silly; that’s the circle of life.

Ts aren’t cooler, just higher on the food chain and both still demand a lil respect.

tl;dr Gravity induced death due to spontaneous potato-brain spider gymnastics is bad.