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

Venom1080

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wow, this is one i havent seen before. A for creativity.

@Walker253 a new low. keeping toads with a spider, wow. im actually surprised they havent made a meal out of the spider.
 

Anoplogaster

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You don't actually need a bigger enclosure. Just set it up differently, like others have said. Spiders don't need a ton of room to roam.

One piece of advice I think I can contribute is to take everything you know about animal husbandry, throw it out the window, and start over:D. Spiders are so different from almost any other "normal" pet. Weeks and months without food is common and normal. And they actually do better in smaller enclosures.

Sorry about your father! Terrible situation:(. I hope the spider gives you many years of happiness in his spirit! They're really neat animals to keep.
 

darkness975

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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.
I am sorry to hear about your father. Follow the advice of the others in this thread and you will have a much better environment for your spider. And the toads as well.

@boina how do you know they can think? First I heard of that. Any article links?
 

Xafron

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Just curious, any idea how many years your father had her? I hope you are enjoying her. I just recently bought my first, and I find myself watching her even when she is doing nothing. They're so interesting. Welcome to the forums, and so sorry to hear about your loss.
 

boina

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I am sorry to hear about your father. Follow the advice of the others in this thread and you will have a much better environment for your spider. And the toads as well.

@boina how do you know they can think? First I heard of that. Any article links?
I never said they can "think". I said they have a memory and basic learning abilities - like every other invertebrate ever tested. Invertebrate learning is actually textbook knowledge since the 1980s and before. I really don't know why people around here are so vehemently opposed to accepting a very, very well proven fact. Unfortunately, tarantulas have never been included in learning tests and nearly all of arachnid learning has been investigated in jumping spiders, which are highly intelligent by invertebrate standards. So, it's basically inference: since every other invertebrate ever tested, from worms to flies to snails to jumping spiders, can learn, so can tarantulas. If you google invertebrate learning behaviour you get nearly 1.5 million results, and a lot of them are old textbook articles - most of the research has been done 20 or 30 years ago. Newer research focusses on molecular mechanisms of memory.

I provided the link to jumping spider learning tests, btw.
 

Ghost56

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I never said they can "think". I said they have a memory and basic learning abilities - like every other invertebrate ever tested. Invertebrate learning is actually textbook knowledge since the 1980s and before. I really don't know why people around here are so vehemently opposed to accepting a very, very well proven fact. Unfortunately, tarantulas have never been included in learning tests and nearly all of arachnid learning has been investigated in jumping spiders, which are highly intelligent by invertebrate standards. So, it's basically inference: since every other invertebrate ever tested, from worms to flies to snails to jumping spiders, can learn, so can tarantulas. If you google invertebrate learning behaviour you get nearly 1.5 million results, and a lot of them are old textbook articles - most of the research has been done 20 or 30 years ago. Newer research focusses on molecular mechanisms of memory.

I provided the link to jumping spider learning tests, btw.
I agree, it's quite clear they're more intelligent than people give them credit for.
 

lovelylady24

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wow, this is one i havent seen before. A for creativity.

@Walker253 a new low. keeping toads with a spider, wow. im actually surprised they havent made a meal out of the spider.
if you would have read my full post you would have seen that I inherited her from my dad when he died a few weeks ago.. Not my choice of a pet but I'm trying. And the toads were because of a link I saw online about what tarantulas eat.. I thought she would like something besides crickets. That's all my dad has fed her for 8 years. They were in her habitat for 3 days.
 

lovelylady24

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You don't actually need a bigger enclosure. Just set it up differently, like others have said. Spiders don't need a ton of room to roam.

One piece of advice I think I can contribute is to take everything you know about animal husbandry, throw it out the window, and start over:D. Spiders are so different from almost any other "normal" pet. Weeks and months without food is common and normal. And they actually do better in smaller enclosures.

Sorry about your father! Terrible situation:(. I hope the spider gives you many years of happiness in his spirit! They're really neat animals to keep.
Thank you and yes I'm excited to have her. I was told females can live to around 20 years.. I think he got her around 2004-2008
 

lovelylady24

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Just curious, any idea how many years your father had her? I hope you are enjoying her. I just recently bought my first, and I find myself watching her even when she is doing nothing. They're so interesting. Welcome to the forums, and so sorry to hear about your loss.
I think he mentioned something like 2004-2008 he has had her since she was a tiny thing.
 

boina

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if you would have read my full post you would have seen that I inherited her from my dad when he died a few weeks ago.. Not my choice of a pet but I'm trying. And the toads were because of a link I saw online about what tarantulas eat.. I thought she would like something besides crickets. That's all my dad has fed her for 8 years. They were in her habitat for 3 days.
Oh you thought the tarantula would eat the toads - I didn't get that. Actually I'm against feeding things other than insects to tarantulas - those toads or mice die a slow and very painful death. Some people still do it and I don't say it's morally wrong, I'm just saying I don't like it. But Tarantulas don't need anything else but insects to live very long and healthy lives, so there's no need to feed them animals with advanced pain receptors and make those animals suffer.

Oh, and there's some rumours that a tarantula like yours can get 30 to 40 years old - so you may have her a very long time :).
 

lovelylady24

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Sorry to hear that. I'm sure your tarantula has extra sentimental meaning for you.
She does... He loved her and I want to too. But I want her to be extra happy with me.... She lost him too. Probably feels abandoned. He held her alot. She was always chilling on his shoulder when he watched TV or was reading.
 

lovelylady24

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Oh you thought the tarantula would eat the toads - I didn't get that. Actually I'm against feeding things other than insects to tarantulas - those toads or mice die a slow and very painful death. Some people still do it and I don't say it's morally wrong, I'm just saying I don't like it. But Tarantulas don't need anything else but insects to live very long and healthy lives, so there's no need to feed them animals with advanced pain receptors and make those animals suffer.

Oh, and there's some rumours that a tarantula like yours can get 30 to 40 years old - so you may have her a very long time :).
I didn't think of that.. that's actually a very good point. I want her to be happy. I thought a broader diet would help her be happy. I feel bad she is caged up. Is it OK to take her outside and let her walk around in the grass?
 

KezyGLA

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Just a warning that most people will only read the original post before sharing their thoughts(myself included). Try not be dishesrtened. There will be incoming comments that just see the husbandry.

I too am am sorry to hear of your loss. I hope the comments that have been mentioned will help you understand keeping these as pets. I wish you the best of luck
 

Anoplogaster

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Thank you and yes I'm excited to have her. I was told females can live to around 20 years.. I think he got her around 2004-2008
Yup! And they can go longer with proper care:)

You're doing exactly the right thing by researching. Don't feel bad about mistakes.... it's all about learning. And we've all been there, trust me:)

Next step is to figure out which resources are the most credible for information. You've come across this forum from google searching, no doubt! Treat this forum like gold! No where else will you find such a collection of experienced people who keep and breed every species you can possibly find:) With that said, avoid online caresheets like the plague! They seem credible to a novice, but are often written by people with very little experience with tarantulas. Come here for all your questions! And be sure to keep a camera handy to share all the awesome pictures with us;)
 

Ghost56

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She does... He loved her and I want to too. But I want her to be extra happy with me.... She lost him too. Probably feels abandoned. He held her alot. She was always chilling on his shoulder when he watched TV or was reading.
Thankfully, although I do think they are smarter than people give them credit for, they aren't capable of emotions, taming, or anything of that such. In other words, she knows no difference. Simply give her the correct housing, food, and water. She'll be content for many many years. Please avoid handling her though, there's really no benefit to it. If you do decide to do it occasionally, keep her no more than a foot off the ground and in a big open area.
 

Ghost56

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I didn't think of that.. that's actually a very good point. I want her to be happy. I thought a broader diet would help her be happy. I feel bad she is caged up. Is it OK to take her outside and let her walk around in the grass?
She's perfectly content in a tank for the next 30 years of her life, so I wouldn't recommend getting her out at all. And definitely do not take her outside, they are a lot quicker than you think. You can give them a varied diet, but it doesn't necessarily matter to them. I would recommend superworms or dubia over crickets, but crickets will do just fine too.

If you can, get us some pics of the current enclosure too so we can walk you through setting a new one up correctly. EDIT: Nevermind, pics weren't loading for me earlier.
 

boina

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I didn't think of that.. that's actually a very good point. I want her to be happy. I thought a broader diet would help her be happy. I feel bad she is caged up. Is it OK to take her outside and let her walk around in the grass?
The thing is terrestrial tarantuals like yours don't walk around in the wild, either. They are very much homebodies: they create their burrow and then they stay there forever - really forever. Everything they don't know is dangerous for them and can be extremely stressful. What we humans think of as exitement is pure naked panic inducing for a tarantula (or whatever a tarantula feels when it's really scared). I don't think your tarantula would like a walk in the grass. They seem to mostly just want some peace and quiet.
 

Anoplogaster

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Lots of people use this stuff, btw:

https://zoomed.com/eco-earth-coconut-fiber-substrate/

It's made of ground up coconut fibers. Very clean and safe. You can get it almost anywhere, and it's cheap. Make it nice and deep, and she'll move it around and make herself comfortable in it. But make sure it's pretty dry before you use it. Your spider will hate damp substrate. So after you get it exanded out in water, squeeze as much water out as you can, dump it into a box, and leave it under the sun for a while to dry it out.

Many people also prefer cork bark for hiding spots. It's very light, looks awesome, and is very resistant to mold (a very good quality to have for tarantulas). Have that, along with a water dish. And you're done:)
 
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