Handling Tarantulas...Can it be justified...

[De_Bunk]

Whilst i know this is just a repost of the end of another post i made..

I'd like to see it as a seperate topic...

So, here goes...

Handling Tarantulas...Well...I wonder how many times in the wild, that a Tarantula suddenly flies upwards ( like it does when being handled)...

The sensitive hairs must sense that its suddenly moving through no action of its own...and that is totally unatural...and that can only mean two things to the spiders base, miniscule brain / nerve endings / instinct..

1. Its falling to its death
2. Its been picked up by a predator

Both , i guess, would cause extreme panic...whether or not it acts on it...

Handling a spider for 'fun' is not natural...not for a human...not for the spider...

Thats a base instinct in both species...

Handling spiders can be construed as being slightly cruel...(unless its absolutely neccessary)...

I will never see how anyone can possibly think a spider 'doesnt mind' being handled...Its just not natural....

And thats the whole idea of keeping Tarantulas...Isn't it..??...To try and keep it as natural as possible...???

Thats what keeping Tarantulas is all about isnt it...

How can anyone class a Tarantula as a 'pet'..

A dog is a pet...A cat is a pet...they have some understanding of being alive...They understand that they are alive...They recognise you...as YOU...

A spider doesnt recognise you...It doesnt care about you...It doesnt know that you feed it...It doesnt know or care where it is....I doesnt recognise or fear death as we know it...It doesnt recognise you as its owner...It just runs on the same instinct that it did millions of years ago...The instinct to survive and procreate...And even then, 9 times out of 10, it eats the other spider...

Now thats a 'real' base instinct to survive...

Keeping a tarantula is not 'fun'...Its a mission that we, as Tarantula owners, have undertook. We are testing our own human intelligence / skills, in keeping a totally wild creature alive. Lets be honest...you cant get much more base than a creature that has remained practically unchanged for millions of years...

Letting a large, bristley, 'quarter inch' fanged spider walk across your hand goes against human instinct...

You know it and i know it...

And i'm sure that it goes against the spiders base instinct...

The skill in keeping a Tarantula is in making it as natural as possible to its original, million year old instinct...

I have seen Tarantula tanks with Bells, fountains...table tennis balls..( for it to play with...apparently)

Yeh..'cos they always come across those things in their natural environment...dont they..!

Handling a Tarantula is more an act of bravado...than actually caring about the spiders welfare...

I have never, and will never, handle a Tarantula...There is zero point in handling one unless its totally neccessary...to save its life...to pick it up from the floor..etc...

Tarantulas are not 'playthings' or 'pets'...

The skill and satisfaction should come from the fact that you can keep a creature as base as a spider, alive

Thats the mission statement Tarantula owners should show everyone else...

Just my 2c worth..

Thank you for reading this and understanding where i am coming from..


DB

[Journey2Anywhere]

Just one thing...

How can anyone class a Tarantula as a 'pet'..

A dog is a pet...A cat is a pet...they have some understanding of being alive...They understand that they are alive...They recognise you...as YOU...

A tarantula is and can most definitely be classed as a pet...

My collins dicitionary defines a pet as:

'an animal or person kept or regarded with affection'

I definitely have much affection towards my T's as I'm sure everyone else does! So their definitely pets. Affection doesn't have to be a two way street...!

And that just my 2C's!!

Peace

[De_Bunk]

" Affection doesn't have to be a two way street...! "

That is a good point...!

I can see where you are coming from...

DB

[kewljules]

I would agree with this post if you use the pinning capture method, I would see this as being much like a bird attacking from above, however, IF I ever handle my t's (and in the case of my giant white knee and cobalt blue I avoid it as much as possible) I gently coax them onto my hand with a paint brush, they then proceed to find a comfortable spot while I get on with whatever needs doing...
would like to point out that the white knee's fookin huge now, not particularly jumpy or agressive, but doesn't fit on a hand, making handling rather tricky, not to mention the size of her fangs...
as for the cobalt, most ppl know what their like

Also, I'd like to dissagree that my T's dont recognise that I feed em... my red knee deffinatly knows that when the tank opens she's gettin fed

[De_Bunk]

KewlJules...

When you open the tank...are you sure the spider isnt just reacting to the sudden movement...As in something 'large and big' is approaching..and reacting defensively...????

My spider reacts to me opening the tank lid...it flinches...it suddenly places two legs, just outside it hidey hole...

Its feeling for whats coming...It could be a predator?...It could be food?

It cant asscociate opening the tank with feeding...It hasnt the brain or the instinct to recognise that...

Its reacting, in a 'lets see whats occuring outside' mode...predator or food..flood...cave-in...etc..

Lucky enough it appears that crickets seem to head straight for the spiders hidey hole...

Where the spider is just waiting...and my 'T' can wait...It can wait for hours...and then the cricket senses that something else is there...And then the cricket waits...

Once the cricket is inside the spiders 'den'....there is no way out..unless it passes the spiders legs..which now are spread out...covering most escape angles...

A sudden movement from the cricket...and the spider pounces...and its all over...

Am i a bit weird in feeling some kinda satisfaction that my spider has made the kill...???

I find it totally absorbing...fascinating...

I think that its because i've never seen my spider eat so much...

Dont forget...I've only ever seen one sucked out shell of a brown cricket in 10 months...and it never ate another one..in all that time..

Now its eating 3-4 crickets a week...

Nowadays...Keeping Tarantulas is fascinating...whereas for 10 months..it wasnt...Nothing ever seemed to happen...

Your input is totally appreciated...and read thoroughly...

Thank you for replying..

Through discussion and debate...we will ensure this species survival...and make people see that everyone who keeps a tarantula isnt 'some kinda weirdo'...

It takes a certain amount of understanding, patience, intelligence and instinct to keep an exotic animal 'alive and healthy'...

We aint weird...we just care...

Your friend..

DB

[Eleanor]

It cant asscociate opening the tank with feeding...It hasnt the brain or the instinct to recognise that...

You assume that tarantulas are incapable of learning at all? One of mine, which I never open the lid for unless I'm feeding her, has started coming out to her entrance when I open the lid. She used to run away, but now she comes further out. If that isn't learning then I don't know what is. As for their brains, well, a brain is defined by most dictionaries as being enclosed within the skull - so that is why tarantulas are said to have no brain. They don't have a skull. That applies to any invertebrate, intelligent or not, such as squid, and they are clever beasts. Now I'm not saying tarantulas are clever, we all know they're not, but I take issue with the assumption that they are incapable of learning even very simple things.

[John]

talking about caring for animals which im sure we all do. But to truly care for it wouldn't it be better of in its natural enviroment, with its right to freedom. Think about it I do.

[Marty_J]

talking about caring for animals which im sure we all do. But to truly care for it wouldn't it be better of in its natural enviroment, with its right to freedom. Think about it I do.

Of course they would, until Mankind destroys their "natural environment" and drives them to extinction.
As for their right to freedom do you really believe a tarantula knows the difference between captivity and the wild?

[John]

Of course it wouldnt know any better if it was cb but if wc yes i do believe it would notice somethings different. You hear of t's that are wc not adjusting to the captive lives. More so if not kept in ideal conditions. And as for becoming exstinct they have been around for apparently before the dinasour era's, dont quote me on that i wasn't there but they have survived where the dinasour hasn't.

I cant see man wiping them out completely, unless man blows up the planet which is feasible the way things are going. But then it wont matter anymore anyway. Dont take offense at me saying they would be better of in there natural enviroment im just stating facts, every living thing would be better of in its own natural enviroment in an ideal world, but this ian't an ideal world. It just makes me sad to see animals when kept not in ideal conditions especially when you see alot of t's in pet shops or wheere people buy on impulse and dont look after the creature to its requirements.

[Marty_J]

I cant see man wiping them out completely, unless man blows up the planet which is feasible the way things are going. But then it wont matter anymore anyway.

It wouldn't need us to destroy the whole planet, take Poecilotheria for example, 80% of the forested area of India has been cleared and its estimated that pokies could have vanished from the wild within ten years.

http://eight.technospider.com/general/enviro.html

[John]

I was talking about tarantulas as a whole not a particular species

[John]

but looking at your website i can see even tarantulas as a whole are at risk inthe wild from man, but getting to my point i did say in an ideal world. Which this is not