Hi I've had my Chilean Rose for about 2.5 years (I was petrified of spiders and tarantulas so that's why I decided to get one) and my interest has grown to the point of handling. Is it a good idea to handle him as he's getting on a bit and I'd be doing it from zero handling experience of tarantulas. Thanks
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New to forum and want to handle my tarantula
- Thread starter millyme11
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Welcome to the forum. Handling tarantulas benefits neither the tarantula or the owner. The tarantula gets a lot of unneeded stress at best, injured or killed at worst. The owner stresses the tarantula out at best, gets flicked with hairs or bitten at worst. Not worth it in my book.
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- 322
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- South Florida
Handling is an old school habit that is thankfully starting to go away, from back when they used to be a freak show novelty. People are learning to treat their spiders with respect and let them lead more natural lives. They're wild animals: solitary, cannibalistic and unpredictable, not play things.
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Fish with huge fangs.
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Hello
I will try and give you my view and explain why,since I could just say no but I believe one needs to say why. Looking at say bite reports,many of those happened in my opinion due to people not knowing their specimens and what they are capable of. Then what also contributes,people handle a T never an issue suddenly wham they are tagged.
Handling will always be a topic between people,since they feel any pet should be like say their dogs ? Sadly they are not,a spider study showed that tarantulas only have instinctive qualities they do not show any intelligence towards learning. Thus,how will you condition it to not bite you ? That will be impossible,thus you will one day end up being bitten etc.
Another reason why handling is debated, the human factor. Now many will say I will not flinch or drop the specimen,sadly it is a preprogrammed reaction. When we are in danger our bodies kick over from normal,to alert survival mode. So you handle it,now it turns around to bite ? If someone can see the future then that situation is no harm no foul but in reality cases the outcome has many paths injuring the T etc.
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Everyone will tell you not to handle your tarantula, just dont make any sudden moves and you should be ok especially with a rose hair. I have a 3" female and i love handling her.
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I have had my Rose foe about 3 years, she was my first T, who I now show at schools along with my other animals, she seems to come more alive and will actively walk onto my hand to be picked up if I place my hand in her tank, she dose have the occasional day where she will tell me to go away but it's all about reading her signals, an if she say no then leave her...here is a few people pics of her being handled
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- South Florida
The thing in doing that for the public is that they don't make the distinction between species, and think they can handle any tarantula (regardless of what you say at the time, they just remember that you held one). Maybe they decide to get a pet tarantula and pick out a fast/defensive one with pretty colors, even worse when it's for their child. Even roseas have widely different personalities, some are very defensive. Years later some docile ones have turned defensive (sometimes after a molt).
I know the message you're trying to send, and recognize your good intentions, but it's also a message that can work out badly for some people and the hobby.
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In any of the school visits I do I always supply them with a copy of the presentation I do, this has examples of different T's from Honduras curlys and Rose, to OBT's and the other defensive/aggressive types of T, I do this presentation along with many other animals Inc scorpions, bearded dragons, snakes and tortoise, I always make a point of explaining that even though my animals are tame that they are still animals and as such could change temperament and are always to be handled with caution, I also leave contact details for any parents that are interested in keeping anybody the animals I show so I can advise them directly if needed
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- Lower Hudson River Valley NY
I think letting the general public handle your T is a bad idea for many reasons. Some that come to mind:
- the T could bite leading to injury or death if it is suddenly dropped/thrown.
- the T could be "fumbled" for lack of a better word, same result as above.
- the handler could have any number of things on their hands that could harm the T, such as topical tick treatment from petting their cat or dog.
Handling your own T's is risky enough, but letting others handle them is looking for trouble.
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- South Florida
Few will contact you though. The majority walk away just remembering that you handled a big hairy spider and not the all the verbiage. Considering their unpredictability, small brains, and oversize fangs, these really aren't hands-on pets.
Letting others hold them opens you up for legal action in the event of a bad handling incident. You can't be certain what any wild animal will do (especially in a crowd situation), nor what a person may suddenly do that triggers it running or biting (like blowing on it, coughing, sneezing, poking it, squeezing it, etc). Some people have serious reactions to urticating hairs, and may rub their eyes before they wash their hands. I know you have good intentions and are trying to give spiders some positive exposure, but one bad incident will get more publicity than all your good work. It's a roll of the dice; everything can go fine 100 times, then one bad day can happen. For the hobby's continued survival in the face of regulations/bans and pressure from anti-exotic pet groups, it's not in our best interest for anyone to be holding tarantulas, especially encouraging it in public or on videos (the 'Do as I say, not as I do' thing never works). As with tropical fish (the world's most popular pets), understanding and empathy don't require touching.
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I must say I am surprised at the assumptions that I let others hold her and at the negative response you have all shown, I have been doing the school shows now for the last 2 and a half years and have had some great feedback and a lot of response from parents asking what they need to know before purchasing any spider, this has resulted in some people purchasing a spider and really enjoying it but also some people have also been about to purchase a spider but decided not to due to the info that I have provided,
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- South Florida
It's not negative. All it takes is one incident to go viral and a ban can go into effect in a matter of days. We have zero defense against that. Tarantulas are already banned in some countries (Italy and Australia) and cities (in Germany). Florida banned a couple species for years. Most bites involve handling, same for escapes and injuries to spiders. Handling is an old school approach that a number of people are refusing to be a part of today. In today's legal/political climate it's a risk. Nothing happens in a vacuum anymore.
Decades ago when I was in college, I used to do slide show talks on tarantulas for elementary schools in the Detroit suburbs. It's great for kids to see tarantulas in a positive light. By the same token, seeing someone handle one encourages them to do the same, and that's not a good development. Today there's far too many people handling species they shouldn't, and posting pictures and videos. The hobby's not about that. In spite of what you tell an audience, the fact that you handle them gives some of them the green light to hold any tarantula they want. They're not going to remember the details and warnings...you did it, so it's okay. What should be encouraged is treating them like the wild animals they are, giving them a cage to consider their own, respecting their space, and not periodically grabbing them to 'bond' with or show off with. They deserve to be treated with more respect.
I've had tarantulas for over 40 years; these are the golden years, there's so many species available. The good and bad is that most of them are tropical, which means nervous and/or defensive. This is the absolute worst time to be promoting handling. In the 1970's people were buying w/c adult B smithi for $10 and handling them. Back then, bans weren't a possibility. A lot has changed and the hobby's full of fast species that race out of cages and up walls; a number have much stronger venoms than the proverbial 'bee sting.' People go to emergency rooms today from some bites. The age of innocence is over. Now we're looking out for the future of the hobby and whether we'll be allowed to keep these animals. People need to understand that what they do could take down the hobby. Whether someone has good intentions or is reckless, the end result is the same.
