My nephew got spooked and dropped my Chilean rose tarantula, will she bite me if I pick her up now

lovelylady24

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 23, 2017
Messages
15
I recently inherited a Chilean Rose Haired Tarantula. I have been trying to make it happy and broaden it's diet, my dad only ever gave her crickets, and i would like to feed her like she would receive in the wild. I have put a few bugs in her habitat as well as some small frogs... She seems to keep them as room mates instead of food... I don't know if this stresses her she walks on them and they sit still.. Well here recently when I try to hold her she scoots in a different direction or crawls up the wall I might just be inexperienced in handling but to not push my luck I just give up and leave her alone. Well I was able to pick her up and my nephew wanted to hold her, he was doing really good and wasn't scared but she began to walk around and tried to crawl to the underside of my nephew's hand he mistakes her sticky fingers for a bite and flung her onto the table. Now I'm scared she will bite me if I try to hold her again.
 

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BishopiMaster

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
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Jul 12, 2007
Messages
356
I recently inherited a Chilean Rose Haired Tarantula. I have been trying to make it happy and broaden it's diet, my dad only ever gave her crickets, and i would like to feed her like she would receive in the wild. I have put a few bugs in her habitat as well as some small frogs... She seems to keep them as room mates instead of food... I don't know if this stresses her she walks on them and they sit still.. Well here recently when I try to hold her she scoots in a different direction or crawls up the wall I might just be inexperienced in handling but to not push my luck I just give up and leave her alone. Well I was able to pick her up and my nephew wanted to hold her, he was doing really good and wasn't scared but she began to walk around and tried to crawl to the underside of my nephew's hand he mistakes her sticky fingers for a bite and flung her onto the table. Now I'm scared she will bite me if I try to hold her again.
Just going to make an assumption, please do not feed anything wild caught, as they may contain parasites or have been affected with pesticides. If the T is not eating the food, and is "associating" with that food, then it's best you remove the food because what can happen is if your t is molting, they can disrupt the process, and it is not uncommon for disruptions in the t's molting process to kill the t.

I would highly suggest, you not allow the t to be held, these creatures are a watch but don't touch pet, I hope your t is okay from the fall.
 

user 666

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jan 27, 2017
Messages
355
We generally advise against handling Ts. You were lucky in that you got to ee why it's a bad idea and not have the T die in the process.
 

vespers

Arachnodemon
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Aug 18, 2012
Messages
712
Crickets are fine as an only food source. Take those toads out, they secrete skin toxins that could be harmful. The tarantula you have is from the Atacama desert, I doubt they encounter amphibians regularly.
That said, handling it and flinging it probably stress it out as much if not more than the toads. You are fortunate that your tarantula wasn't killed when it was flung, its abdomen could've easily ruptured.
Take the wood chips out of there, and use a safer substrate. Peat, coco fiber, and top soil are good choices.
Increase the depth of the substrate to prevent a fall.
Take that thing (sponge/) out of the water dish, it just harbors bacteria.
 

Walker253

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jun 12, 2016
Messages
554
Your tarantula doesn't have a brain, just a nerve bundle. It reacts and doesn't have a memory.
That being said, G porteri (your rose hair) can be pretty bipolar. You never know what you'll get. They never look forward to handling and are quite content just to be looked at.
Don't feed it outside food, crickets are fine. They don't even eat much anyway. It will never be a big expense.
Be thankful she survived being dropped. If you do hold, do it sitting on your bed or something soft.
 

lovelylady24

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 23, 2017
Messages
15
Thank you. I removed the frogs immediately. I inherited her 2 weeks ago when my dad died. He has had her since she was a baby. I was told the sponge was necessary, that she rubs against it to get water. I microwave it for 1 min every 2 or 3 days. I will remove it if it's harmful. I don't know what to use for the floor. This is what came with her. What kind of flooring would she like. And I usually get about a dozen small crickets and add them to her habitat. I saw on a thread where others take their Ts out to feed them?? I have never seen her eat. She is only active late at night. And she keeps going to 1 corner and sitting there all day and night. Is that normal?
 

Caseyface

Arachnosquire
Joined
Feb 23, 2017
Messages
57
Hey there, @lovelylady24!

While I agree that tarantulas are not pets to be handled, if you are going to handle, there are ways to do so safely. I would always recommend doing the handling on the floor, as falls can be deadly(not to mention being thrown). I always keep catch cups, large container lids(to make big walls), and tong/paintbrushes(to guide). I do not know how old your nephew is, but if you aren't comfortable handling the tarantula, then you shouldn't be the one facilitating, especially with a child. I'm sorry, I don't want to sound mean, but I think that would avoid a lot of potential accidents.

Now, for that enclosure... @vespers already mentioned changing the substrate. I like using Coco Fiber mixed with peat moss. It almost looks like you have those water gels in the water bowl. If so, they aren't necessary. Plain ol' water is good. The toads and tarantula would be happier in their own enclosures. Is that branch in there heavy? I would be worried about it coming loose, and rolling on the tarantula.

I like to provide a variety of food as well. Some other good options would be: dubia roaches, hornworms and red runners. I'm sure others will list some other good options, as well.

The boards will be a fantastic resource to take advantage of. I learned so much when I first started, and continue to learn more daily!
Here's a good first stop: http://arachnoboards.com/threads/ro...how-to-really-take-care-of-your-g-rosea.5292/
 

lovelylady24

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 23, 2017
Messages
15
Your tarantula doesn't have a brain, just a nerve bundle. It reacts and doesn't have a memory.
That being said, G porteri (your rose hair) can be pretty bipolar. You never know what you'll get. They never look forward to handling and are quite content just to be looked at.
Don't feed it outside food, crickets are fine. They don't even eat much anyway. It will never be a big expense.
Be thankful she survived being dropped. If you do hold, do it sitting on your bed or something soft.
Thank you. That is very helpful.. I didn't know she couldn't think or remember. I was scared she was plotting her revenge lmao
 

Walker253

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jun 12, 2016
Messages
554
Thank you. I removed the frogs immediately. I inherited her 2 weeks ago when my dad died. He has had her since she was a baby. I was told the sponge was necessary, that she rubs against it to get water. I microwave it for 1 min every 2 or 3 days. I will remove it if it's harmful. I don't know what to use for the floor. This is what came with her. What kind of flooring would she like. And I usually get about a dozen small crickets and add them to her habitat. I saw on a thread where others take their Ts out to feed them?? I have never seen her eat. She is only active late at night. And she keeps going to 1 corner and sitting there all day and night. Is that normal?
Yeah no sponge, just a little water dish. You can get coco fiber for the substrate. Keep it dry. This T comes from one of the driest places on the planet. You'll never need to buy a dozen crickets. Really one or two a week, double it if you feed every two weeks. G porteri are known for long fasts. Slow and steady feeding will help you from freaking out that your T won't eat for the 6th month in a row. You feed 12 and she eats that many, you can bet, she'll take a year off at some point soon.
Here's a method I read about and do with my two, I feed a cricket a week. As long as they eat, it's a cricket a week. When they stop, I pull the cricket the next day. I wait a month and put in a cricket. If it eats, it's a cricket the next week and that cycle continues, if not, I wait a month and try again.
 

Walker253

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jun 12, 2016
Messages
554
I had a rose hair go 2 years without eating. She was fine. Just remember to always have water available in the dish.
 

boina

Lady of the mites
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Messages
2,217
Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely sure you mean well and really want to do the best for your spider but... I better appologize in advance but this enclosure is among the worst I've seen in a while :bag:.

1. Wood chips/ are among the worst substrate choices you can come up with. Tarantulas want something firm under their feet and hate walking on the shifting chips - if given a choice they will avoid them. They also may like to burrow or at least dig (mine digs A LOT actually) which is completely impossible. Wood chips can also impale a molting spider or a still soft spider doing after molt yoga --> dead spider. Coco fiber or plain soil make much better substrate.

2. Spiders can actually climb glass, but unfortunately they don't do it well. If your spider decides to climb the walls and falls on the rock or the chips you may very well come back to a dead (ruptured) spider. The substrate should be a lot higher to prevent a dangerous fall.

3. Those toads have already been mentioned: An arid spider and a moisture dependent toad are not good companions. The toad needs a much more humid environment than provided here. You may have heard about those small frogs living together with tarantulas, but those are different tarantulas (Pamphobeteus sp., loves high humidity) and different, much smaller frogs. Those two you have do not go together, they have completely differnt requirements. In this setup it will be the toad who dies first - too dry.

4. The sponge in the water bowl is a breeding ground for bacteria and it makes it more difficult for the tarantula to drink. Tarantulas do have an immuno system, but they are succeptible to bacterial diseases and then they die. There's no tarantula vet who can hand out antibiotics.

5. Handling a tarantula is dangerous - for the tarantula. It may bolt and fall and die, or may bite and you shake it off in reflex and the tarantula dies or... the list goes on. Usually it's not you that gets harmed but the tarantula.

6. Crickets are actually a good, safe food. You tarantula actually needs very few of them to thrive, maybe a couple a month. Everything else that's running around the enclosure just stresses your tarantula and may become dangerous in case your tarantula decides to molt. What other foods do you want to feed? Some of them can be dangerous.

Well, that was a quick run down on the essentials... I hope it helps.

Edit: the others posted while I was typing, so you have some advice twice or more - sorry about that.
 

mconnachan

Arachnoprince
Joined
Aug 5, 2012
Messages
1,240
@lovelylady24 There is a safe way to get your T back into its enclosure - use your catch cup, once she's climbed into it put the lid on gently and put her back into her enclosure. As for a varied diet - that's always a good thing as they like us get different amounts of nutrition from different feeders I personally use B. Dubia roaches, but some t's are very fussy eaters - experiment with super worms, redrunners, and of course crickets (black and brown), a varied diet for any animal is good for its metabolism, hope she/he's OK.......EDIT - Please get that sponge out of the enclosure, it's a bacterial breeding ground !
 

lovelylady24

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 23, 2017
Messages
15
Hey there, @lovelylady24! .

While I agree that tarantulas are not pets to be handled, if you are going to handle, there are ways to do so safely. I would always recommend doing the handling on the floor, as falls can be deadly(not to mention being thrown). I always keep catch cups, large container lids(to make big walls), and tong/paintbrushes(to guide). I do not know how old your nephew is, but if you aren't comfortable handling the tarantula, then you shouldn't be the one facilitating, especially with a child. I'm sorry, I don't want to sound mean, but I think that would avoid a lot of potential accidents.

Now, for that enclosure... @vespers already mentioned changing the substrate. I like using Coco Fiber mixed with peat moss. It almost looks like you have those water gels in the water bowl. If so, they aren't necessary. Plain ol' water is good. The toads and tarantula would be happier in their own enclosures. Is that branch in there heavy? I would be worried about it coming loose, and rolling on the tarantula.

I like to provide a variety of food as well. Some other good options would be: dubia roaches, hornworms and red runners. I'm sure others will list some other good options, as well.

The boards will be a fantastic resource to take advantage of. I learned so much when I first started, and continue to learn more daily!
Here's a good first stop: http://arachnoboards.com/threads/ro...how-to-really-take-care-of-your-g-rosea.5292/
Thank you so much that was awesome advice. And she just has plain water no gel. I just want her to be happy. I plan on getting her a bigger tank.. I feel bad hers is so small. And this log won't move. It's from our woodstove supply it's solid and had good texture for her to grip. I sawed the ends with a circular saw so they are flat like feet. And my nephew is 11. I learned my lesson. I think fling was a wrong description, he pulled his hand away so fast the floor fell out from under her.. I'm thankful she is OK.
 

boina

Lady of the mites
Active Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2015
Messages
2,217
Your tarantula doesn't have a brain, just a nerve bundle. It reacts and doesn't have a memory.
That being said, G porteri (your rose hair) can be pretty bipolar. You never know what you'll get. They never look forward to handling and are quite content just to be looked at.
Don't feed it outside food, crickets are fine. They don't even eat much anyway. It will never be a big expense.
Be thankful she survived being dropped. If you do hold, do it sitting on your bed or something soft.
That's often repeated but untrue. Tarantulas have memory and some very, very basic learning is possible. Memory and habituation has been proven in about every invertebrate ever tested, so I doubt Tarantulas are an exception.
This is about jumping spiders, but pretty impressive http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1636/JOA-ST06-61.1

Learning behaviour in tarantulas is not well investigated but considering all the other invertebrate learning research out there I'm sure they are not the one exception of an invertebrate that cannot learn.
 

lovelylady24

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 23, 2017
Messages
15
Yeah no sponge, just a little water dish. You can get coco fiber for the substrate. Keep it dry. This T comes from one of the driest places on the planet. You'll never need to buy a dozen crickets. Really one or two a week, double it if you feed every two weeks. G porteri are known for long fasts. Slow and steady feeding will help you from freaking out that your T won't eat for the 6th month in a row. You feed 12 and she eats that many, you can bet, she'll take a year off at some point soon.
Here's a method I read about and do with my two, I feed a cricket a week. As long as they eat, it's a cricket a week. When they stop, I pull the cricket the next day. I wait a month and put in a cricket. If it eats, it's a cricket the next week and that cycle continues, if not, I wait a month and try again.
Wow. I didn't realize they ate so little. The first week I got her I put in 2 doz mini crickets. I thought she was starving because my dad was there for a week before anyone realized what happened and she fasted the whole week. I only added the frogs because I read they eat small creatures like that... I feel like Tom green from the movie road trip trying to feed the snake..... Lmao. I have never seen her eat.. She must be doing it at night. I'm terrified of spiders and have a phobia of them.. But I love her. Her name is Itsy. Itsy bitsy spider :)
 
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