Handling your tarantula

[Sara Brown]

I am a fairly new tarantula owner. I'm wondering if people regularly hold their tarantula. I've never held ours. The simplest reason is she is FAST! I worry if she gets the urge she'd take off and I wouldn't be able to catch her. I also worry about dropping her and hurting her.

I want to own more tarantulas. But wanted to find out what the "community" standard is for handling.

 

[Chubbs]

I am a fairly new tarantula owner. I'm wondering if people regularly hold their tarantula. I've never held ours. The simplest reason is she is FAST! I worry if she gets the urge she'd take off and I wouldn't be able to catch her. I also worry about dropping her and hurting her.

I want to own more tarantulas. But wanted to find out what the "community" standard is for handling.

I don't handle any of mine. However people should be able to use common sense and know which species should definitely not be handled. Old World species should not be handled period. IMO, it is irresponsible and just plain dumb to be handling a Poecilotheria or baboon species. The same goes for species like Psalmos and other fast-moving/defensive species. You'll find that many people have differing opinions on this subject.

 

[Enn49]

I don't handle mine either, mainly because I'd rather watch them doing what Ts do naturally.

 

[Fuzzball79]

As I keep saying, people don't handle fish to be able to enjoy them. For "hands on" pet experience, I've got my 2 dogs, lol.

 

[spidey noob]

i dont handle either !!!

 

[sym]

I don't handle either... Best place for your T is in its enclosure... I love watching mine web build. Hunt/feed and moult of coarse...

 

[corij]

i really wanted to handle mine [ red rump] but it rears up i sense its ready to strike.

could be just my own lack of confidence to get on with it tho

 

[Chubbs]

i really wanted to handle mine [ red rump] but it rears up i sense its ready to strike.

could be just my own lack of confidence to get on with it tho

That's called a threat pose. B.vagans is not a good species for handling. No tarantula is though in my opinion.

 

[Entity]

I agree that most species are not good for handling. i dont suggest handling either, but i cannot tell a lie....when i open my enclosure for my avic avic, she regularly crawls out. so every once and a while i let her come out and sit on my hand. She sits there for a little while and i point her towards her enclosure and she goes back in. honestly though. i feel guilty when i do it cause i know its wrong.lol and from listening to everyone one here say its a big no no. lol

Also, sometimes i hold my goldfish......wth? we shouldnt do that? lol

 

[Entity]

@Sara Brown ,
I noticed in your avatar pic, u have a pink toe set up like a terrestrial. That one should have a setup to be arboreal. Do a search online and ull see what i mean. Give us a shout if u have any questions.

 

[Sara Brown]

I had asked about that. Now just waiting for payday. I've got some good ideas of how to fix her set up. Thanks! But now I'm trying to decide what to put in this setup when I move her.

 

[Entity]

If you look on youtube under arboreal setup for tarantulas u will get a lot of ideas.

 

[Fuzzball79]

I agree that most species are not good for handling. i dont suggest handling either, but i cannot tell a lie....when i open my enclosure for my avic avic, she regularly crawls out. so every once and a while i let her come out and sit on my hand. She sits there for a little while and i point her towards her enclosure and she goes back in. honestly though. i feel guilty when i do it cause i know its wrong.lol and from listening to everyone one here say its a big no no. lol

Also, sometimes i hold my goldfish......wth? we shouldnt do that? lol

TBF though, you don't exactly disturb her and/or force her to come out, so I think that is completely fine. I think the main concern is when a T is probably in the middle of doing spidey stuff and grabbed out of her enclosure. That's when it could potentially go south very quickly.

 

[Tarzan152]

Also, sometimes i hold my goldfish......wth? we shouldnt do that? lol

Yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and say no to the goldfish holding. I just checked my goldfish care sheet and it said no. Mkay? Lol..

 

[Entity]

TBF though, you don't exactly disturb her and/or force her to come out, so I think that is completely fine. I think the main concern is when a T is probably in the middle of doing spidey stuff and grabbed out of her enclosure. That's when it could potentially go south very quickly.

Yeah i dont make them come out. Thanks for making me feel better fuzz.

 

[Chubbs]

Yeah i dont make them come out. Thanks for making me feel better fuzz.

I think Avics slings have a tendency to do this. My A.diversipes and A.versicolor love to go for strolls around my hand when I go to feed them. I have a heck of a time getting them back into their enclosures.

 

[adc]

I handle my Desert Blonde regularly. She seems to like the warmth of my hand. Does not stress her for sure. She is always chill

 

[m0lsx]

The only time our get handled is when someone has a fear of spiders/tarantulas & we try to help. So once or twice a year at the very most. Or when one of our T's insists on leaving it's enclosure as we feed, transfer them between enclosures etc etc.

I almost never use tweezers etc to encourage a T back into it's enclosure, I use my hand, so some of my T's experience human contact regularly at feeding time. But to have a T on me is very rare & almost always, it's at the sling, or less commonly at juvi stages when they are more skittish & prone to running out of the enclosure, rather than for cover within the enclosure.

We have a few T's who we tend to care for through small windows in the enclosure lids, as they are our most prone to making a run for it. All of them are new worlds. We just do not want to put them at risk during feeding & other care.

My largest LP, whose last molt was just over 8.5 inches, regularly climbs up to the top of her enclosure at feeding time etc. And has no aversion to my hand & will often continue to climb when I put my hand in front of her. But usually chooses to stop & never chooses to climb onto my hand within the enclosure.

Think of your T as a water filled ballon. As that is what the body of your T is like. Now drop that T from a few inches & image what happens.

Handling T's is for the keeper's pleasure. Not the T's.

 

[Arachnoclown]

It's always funny when people comment about what their spider is feeling when they don't have anyway to feel emotions.