How often can I handle my chilean rose hair?

[G. pulchra]

Most keepers here discourage handling for a few reasons:

-Tarantulas are fragile. Even a short drop can rupture their abdomens.
-Tarantulas are unpredictable in general. Even the most docile species can decide to zoom and fall faster than you can react if it gets spooked by something.
-If you do get bitten, it ranges in unpleasantness from 'like a bee sting' to 'two large nails going into my hand' to 'emergency room visit.' Also, your natural reaction is to fling the tarantula away, resulting in a huge fall and probably a dead tarantula.
-Tarantulas cannot get tamer the way something with a more advanced brain can, so there is no benefit to handling for the tarantula...only risk.

In my opinion, tarantulas are a lot like tropical fish. You enjoy feeding them, watching them do stuff, and seeing their colors and patterns, but you don't touch. Lots of other pets are better candidates for handling.

You forgot to add that tarantula's are not dogs.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

he was just messing around.

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

Well, THAT escalated quickly.

Take a deep-breath, purpleskydiver. No harm was intended. You just happened to stumble onto a touchy topic (no pun intended). Generally speaking, a pretty dim view is taken on the matter of tarantula handling. With rather good reason. As was probably explained (I didn't really follow this latest kerfluffle that thoroughly), the spider gets nothing out of being handled. They sometimes tolerate it. And there is the rub. "Sometimes" and when they don't, it usually the spider gets the short end of the deal. It is nearly a sure thing that if a rose-hair of any decent size decides to tag you, you will flinch. Instant airbourne spider. I've launched one a couple times myself after it unexpectedly decided to grab tongs during routine maintenance. You get to expect that after a while though. I was lucky. In both incidents, the spider, an E. campestratus, a species generally known for being docile, had a soft landing from not too great a distance. But it could have ended in tragedy. Maintenance is a necessity, however, where handling is not, except for unusual circumstances.

Anyway, a fall from any appreciable height can be fatal for a tarantula. As a sky-diver, think of the splat you might make if a chute did not open. For a spider with the mass of a tarantula, a fall from 4 feet could be equivalent to a human plunging to the earth.
So, handling here is fairly universally discouraged. And keep in mind that it is something that is so often warned against that people can't help but feel a bit exasperated after explaining it time after time. I'll admit it could be handled a bit more gracefully, sometimes. I think the only more controversial topic would be considering keeping more advanced, "hotter" defensive tarantulas. Avoid that at ALL costs.

I will point out that profanity is verboten so you will likely have your post edited. (If you do not choose to do so yourself) It would be nothing personal, it is just a board rule. Not an uncommon one at boards where people of all ages may participate.

Welcome to the boards, and don't let this bother you. Before I even opened the thread up, I thought "Uh-oh! here we go again!"

 

[The Minataur]

I did not read every comment on this thread, so please excuse me if I am posting anything that has already been said.
It's true that lifting your T out of the tank for any length of time can pose some risks.
Maybe, if you want to interact with the spider but feel unsure of how much is too much, you can open the lid and just set your (recently washed and dried) hand inside. I do this with my G. rosea as lifting her up clearly stresses her. I turn off all the lights except a heat lap, sit very still with my hand in her tank and let her investigate my hand. It's fun to see how "curious" she is about it. She's completely calm and I get to touch her without freaking her out.
Just a thought.

 

[cold blood]

My question was answered,

Lmao, yeah, like 7 years before you asked the question.

 

[Kendricks]

G. rosea

She's completely calm

Inb4 "She never did that before!"

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Lmao, yeah, like 7 years before you asked the question.

A lollipop: you deserve a lollipop

 

[The Minataur]

Inb4 "She never did that before!"

I am sorry. I don't understand.

 

[Kendricks]

I am sorry. I don't understand.

G. rosea are suspected to be "psycho".
Of course the term is inaccurate, but it sure seems like it when you research the species and read reports about them suddenly being not calm at all, unexpected.
I just predict that sooner or later, you're in for a rather painful surprise, that's all.

 

[The Minataur]

No worries. This is one I've had for a while. She's a kitten/lump.
I'm sure individuals very, but it seems the OP has one that doesn't seem very defensive.

 

[Rittdk01]

Don't handle tarantulas. Also, no need to be so mean with newbies that are just learning. I have admitted to handling my rosehairs countless times before I knew better. If anyone is going to handle a tarantula I would suggest sitting on the floor and make it a more easily handled sp like a rosehair or b albo. Rosehairs are very docile, no need to dispute that claim to prove a point about the dangers of handling. Rose hairs are sold at every pet store and because of their easy availability, have no doubt been handled 1000000x more than any other sp. If they were anything but rocks, you would probably see a lot of bite reports and loads of splatted t's. Thats not to say they don't bite, but its gotta be extremely rare considering how often they are handled. Once again---I don't condone handling or being mean to newbies.