Handling

[Goblin]

I just want to know if there is a way to get my Brachypelma Vagans used to being handled?

Every time I put my hand into her tank, she goes into the defensive pose

TIA

 

[Enn49]

Most of us don't handle our Ts. They are wild creatures and not like cats/dogs to be petted, handling stresses them out. When you put your hand in her space she is seeing you as a threat and preparing to defend herself. It's much better to leave them alone and enjoy their natural behaviour.

 

[Goblin]

I thought as much. Was just asking out of curiosity.

 

[Ghost]

You will never get a T used to being handled some may tolerate it but they won't get used to it,it's better for you and your T's if you don't handle them.

However if you plan on doing it I would recommend that you go read some bite reports first just so you know what could happen,there was a thread on here just a couple off weeks ago where a member posted some videos of the crazy things he was doing with his T's you should go have a look its a perfect example why you shouldn't handle T's ...

 

[Poec54]

These are 'hands off' pets. They have tiny brains and huge fangs. They're solitary and almost all are cannibals; they have no desire to be friendly with any other animal. In the wild when something picks them up, it's a predator about to eat them. Don't expect a warm welcome. You're pretty scary to them, regardless of your intentions.

Handling is a carry over from the early days of the hobby, when people showed off: 'Look at me holding a big hairy spider!' Many tarantula owners today aren't handling due to the risks of the spider being injured when falling or running. Most bites happen during handling too. There's no good reason to do it. Just as zoos are getting away from small cement cages and giving their animals open spaces, tarantula owners are giving their spiders more natural cages and not handling them.

 

[Thivo]

On my own opinion... Handling T's means like that you just let them walk into your hand and not cuddling them... Just don't provoke to surprise them and try to open their enclosure slowly with care for them to feel that they are not in danger or threaten, another thing is after opening their enclosure give them some more time and use a paint brush to let the T's walked into your hands...

But as they said, T's are not meant for handling and they are not like the other pets that you can cuddle... It's similar to a gold fish inside the aquarium that you cannot always take them out of their tanks... Just enjoy viewing them and be contented...