hold a tarantula

ah… I want to do this just because. A friend of mine keeps these as pets.

I got the chance to hold a tarantula this summer.. and it was a big deal because I used to be terrified of spiders! Needless to say, I’ve overcome my fear and I’m embracing it! The tarantula kept climbing up my arm, towards my body. It was so light and furry! What a rush!

We had a tarantula for a pet in our class in fourth grade. I loved her – she would walk up my arm and stand on my head. She was soft and fuzzy. When our teacher left, she had to adopt out the tarantula, and I lobbied really hard to be the one, but mom wouldn’t do it. Even though we’d taken care of her over several weekends.

I’m not scarred for life, but it was a near thing. :-D

I did this when I was in grade school, and my class went on a field trip to some nature exhibition. The teachers thought it would be so fun for the kids to hold a big tarantula. Wrong! I swear, it probably made my fear of spiders worse!

...they are furry little creatures. Cuter than you’d think.

i should probably get over spiders already.

who has a tarantula i can hold?

I would try my very best not to faint nor freak out and chuck it across the room…

It was a big red-legged tarantula. She had it in one of those terrariums that looked like a big glass ball. The thing would burrow down into the soil about five or six inches and would spin webs all over the surface of the ground in there. We tried to keep the terrarium as clear as possible of the little cricket corpses which she’d sucked dry, not to mention her own waste, but about every three months or so, the whole thing had to be cleaned out and filled with new, clean soil. During that time, someone had to hold on to the little beastie, and I was usually the one to do it.

As long as she didn’t get onto rough clothing, there wasn’t really all that much to it. She’d try to wander around and explore everything, and I had to keep moving my hands around to keep her from getting onto my back or somewhere that I couldn’t reach her. That was more for her protection than mine. Even though a big spider like that might be able to jump a fair distance, if they fall even from a pretty short height, they’ll likely rupture their carapace and die.

The feel is a little weird, but not bad. They’re dry and there’s not any kind of residue or anything from them being on you. It almost feels as if you were to take eight little paper clips and have the tips of them tapping up and down your hand or arm. Kind of unusual, a little tickly, but generally pretty easy to deal with.

I want to hold a tarantula. Maybe for only 30 to 60 seconds, but I want to hold one. I did this once when I was a kid and wasn’t scared, but since then I’ve developed this phobia. So I want to do it.

and in the meantime i got a job at a science museum and became one of the main animal caretakers. i just held a tarantula there for the first time about a month or so ago and it’s just insane that this is in here. i totally forgot!

btw, i’m now like, in love with that baby.