Teenagers and arachnophobia

AmysAnimals

AmysAnimals

Arachnobaron
Joined
Aug 19, 2010
Messages
392
My sisters friend wants to come over to I guess get over her fear of arachnophobia. She knows I have tarantulas and wants to see them. I don't know if she knows I don't handle my T's and I definitely will not let a skittish teenager handle my tarantulas. I don't know how many of my T's I am going to let her see. I am thinking maybe just one or two. I am thinking just my A. versicolor and my G. rosea. I can handle my versi if needed and my rosea I can catch in a cup if it happens to get out but it tends to stay put.

How can I teach the girl not to fear spiders? Should I handle my versi to show her it won't hurt me? I don't like handling but if it will help I will.
 
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captmarga

Arachnobaron
Joined
Mar 31, 2010
Messages
339
Personally, I don't find the age of the arachnophobe has anything to do with it. Start with just sitting down and looking at photos with them. Then let her look at the collection. Get out one and hold it, judging her reaction. If and when YOU are ready to let her hold a T (the rosea would be better) then have her sit down, on the floor or bed.

Take the T on your own hand. Then take her hand with yours and gently set the T in her hand (If you can cup the T up in your hand and put the T down on the hand it's easier). I do this at the expos (hold their hand, set the T on them) and most people are fine. You now control the hand so they cannot fling the T (most won't even try even though they say they might). You also have a free hand to lift or nudge the spider back to your own hand, which is right there.

The ones that still seem hesitant I hold the T, take hold of the person's pointer finger, and gently let them touch the T. I control the situation as most people tend to poke too hard and cause the T to jump. I have gotten dozens of peoples to hold HUGE tarantulas using this method.

Good luck - and keep the safety of the T in mind.

Marga
 
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Aviara

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jun 26, 2012
Messages
260
Getting over arachnophobia is essentially exposure therapy, which is used in treatment of many other phobias as well. You want to expose her to gradually increasing levels of whatever triggers her fear, in this case spiders. The important thing is to take it very slowly, and ensure her comfort before moving up to the next level. If you start with a very non-threatening approach (talking about non-threatening aspects of spider behavior, such as communal behavior or maternal behavior in some species, for example), then slowly move on to more extreme forms of exposure, she will eventually build up a level of confidence and security. The key is to go very slowly. Even pictures may evoke strong fear if she has a severe enough phobia, so be sure to communicate with her before the first experience. Find out what exactly sets her off, and avoid triggering that fear. If you have the ability, talking to a psychologist who regularly deals with treating phobias (not with medication, but with therapy) will give you an idea of how to handle this situation. It's extremely tough to help someone through a phobia, especially when you don't understand why they should be experiencing such severe anxiety and fear.
 
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meghanbe

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 13, 2012
Messages
49
I'm not sure I would let an arachnophobe handle my T's. People can panic and even if you're holding their hand, it puts the T in danger. Trying to wrangle a spider away from someone who is freaking out is a nerve-wracking prospect...to me, at least. If they don't cooperate and hold still enough to allow you to safely remove the T from them, you could have an accident.

I would recommend you start small. Explain to her some of the fascinating facts about tarantulas. Let her know why you don't really handle yours, that they are pets that don't require or appreciate handling, and that they are fragile and therefore we are more of a danger to them than they are to us. Learning about tarantulas and observing them within their enclosures will go a long way toward conquering her fears. I'm speaking as a former arachnophobe myself.

Last night I helped my friend rehouse her Avicularia sp. peru purple sling, which is about 0.75". She was afraid of arachnids before I gave her this particular spider, with a promise that I would help her care for it until she either felt comfortable or decided she didn't want to keep it. She's done some maintenance stuff with me before and has impressed me with her relative calm when dealing with something she was once pretty wary about. Anyway, the little sling didn't want to come out of its enclosure at first, and when it did, it happily ran around her sink, avoiding the new enclosure. lol. I was surprised and impressed when she put her hand into the sink to corral the spider, allowing it to touch her with its legs. We finally got it into its new enclosure, but when she went to close it up, it came running out again. And she had a definite moment of panic. She tried to flick the poor thing off the side of the top part of the enclosure with her finger, onto the substrate. She wasn't overly rough, but it was clearly an anxiety-based response (the squealing clued me in). It also wasn't the best way to deal with a sling so small and fragile. To me, it was a good reminder that even if an arachnophobe seems to be making good strides, a moment of unpredictability can trigger an instinctive fear response. So don't feel bad about being wary to let her handle your T's. It may be a great way to get someone over that final hurdle, but it's not without risk.
 
AmysAnimals

AmysAnimals

Arachnobaron
Joined
Aug 19, 2010
Messages
392
Well I wouldn't let her handle my G. rosea... *I* won't even handle it. It's shown that it can be pretty mean. I don't want to risk the bite. My versi is about 3" now, maybe a little smaller but it's good for handling IMO because it's super docile. I don't think I will let her handle my T's though. The rest of my T's are very small slings, and two of them are pretty fast.

I am not sure what she wants to know but she is doing a project on arachnophobia for school and so she is trying to get over her fear. I can offer her my tarantulas keeper guide book and offer her to take a look at this forum as well. =) I will try and tell her as much as I know.
 
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MikeInNC

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jul 9, 2012
Messages
38
My .02 cents......

1) Email her still pictures of the 1 or 2 T's you might someday show her in person.

2) Email links to various on-line sellers so she can see different varieties (this way she'll see more, but not know how many you have in the house).

IF, after reading about them and seeing pictures, she says she's "cool" and still interested, then....

3) Email her links to various T videos on YouTube. Either RobC vids or the soft-spoken young man in England who has many (probably a member here, but I'm too new myself to know who it'd be).

IF, after seeing Ts acting tarantula-ish :) and/or being handled, she says she's "cool", etc. etc., then....

4) Have her stop by and just look, but don't touch.

Have her stop by every now again and let her watch you feed, handle, care for the T's for 3-4 visits. Bring out an enclosure and leave it on a table while people are having general conversation, playing video games, etc. Let her see that nothing is going to "happen" just because a T is in the same room.

Then judge if she should consider handling one of your precious pets based upon her reactions.

Desensitization/familiarization is a very gradual process.

Like I said.... Just my .02 cents.

-Mike
 
AngryMothNoises

AngryMothNoises

Arachnosquire
Joined
May 11, 2012
Messages
113
being a teenager my self.... I got a Tarantula to get over my fear of spiders. (though it was pretty much gone by the time I got to thinking about owning one.)

But the way I help my family members (or friends) is talk about how to care for them before I even show them a picture or my spiders.

However. If still interested. After you talked and showen her pictures, take a T out. But don't let her hold it.

And you could all ways let her pet it. By keeping in the enclosure and letting her pet its back legs.
 
HoboAustin

HoboAustin

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 22, 2011
Messages
100
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SamuraiSid

Arachnodemon
Joined
Sep 30, 2010
Messages
758
I've had quite a few people over to see the collection. Most of them are scared initially, but really enjoy the show. A few of them are scared to the point they try to get a good view from the other side of the room. Others still walk out of the room before getting too far into the show.

Keep in mind that arachnophobia is irrational, and showing/educating may have limited success. I think it depends a lot on the individual.

That being said, I suggest letting the person into your T room just to look.
Let them look, offer advice/ answer questions,
only open an enclosure or handle a T if your guest is comfortable (for their sake, as well as the T's.)
Invite them over on feeding day :biggrin:

Of the couple people that were initially really scared, allowing them to come over "regularly" to see the kiddies works best, imo.
 
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