hi, im a beginner and never held my t's as yet i have the b vagan, chilean rose and giant white knee. saturday i rehoused them as they gotten a lil bigger in jst a week since i received them. i managed to feed them the crickets without it jumping out lol. and i plucked up the courage to hold them. obviously one at a time. i tried to usher them out but they burrowed. from what i observed from the few times i opened the lid my vagan will stay up but the other two burrows. am i doing something wrong and how can i hold them in my hand without getting attacked?

hi shazia, how big is you T's?

hey thanks for the reply ppl here dont really help i was beginning to think i made a mistake joining the website. my t's are about 3-4cm. r you on bbm if you are invite me i seem to be needing help continuously. 27b1472f

Hi Shazia.

Holding or handling T's can be fun, but there is always the problem with urticating hair making you swell up and itch, getting bitten, accidentally dropping the T so that the T loses a leg or two or the abdomen goes 'splat' on the floor, the T escaping and so on. Plus there is absolutely nothing in it for the spider. Absolutely no benefit. Zilch.

Nothing wrong with not handling your spiders. Loads of keepers don't unless it is absolutely necessary.

But if you absolutely have to, accept the fact that you might be bitten as part of the process and keep in mind that slings will bolt. You're not doing anything wrong. They're skittish and they just have to. Larger spider are more chill so it is easier with them.
Do it on the floor, or on the bed. Some place where the T won't get hurt if it does fall. Make sure there is enough space for you to react and retrieve the T if it does decide to make a run for it. Coax the T out of its little hole and onto your hand by gently touching the rear legs. You'll probably destroy the little burrow but that's ok.
Don't rush, don't be pushy and remember to breathe, but not on the spider. That will make it bolt for sure. Let the T walk out on its own pace. Slow walking is good. Jerky jumpy running is not so good. The T stopping dead is worst, because it is weighing up options and in less placid species, most of those options don't involve slowly walking.

Be warned that A geniculata will probably attack whatever moves in its enclosure because it is single minded and thinks it is prey. Rosea and Vagans will flap around a bit but should settle.

And that's my R 0.02 Good luck!

Don't think you're doing anything wrong.
I too have a couple of those species and all but the G.rosea are in hiding 99% of the time.

What I have done is press a little dent in the substrate with my finger, just a little bigger than the T. Place a piece of cork bark on top of that with a small opening for it to go in.

Now they use that and basically just cover the entrance to the hide you built. Now if you want to inspect, just lift the bark with a tweezer :happy:

If they do burrow they do it under the bark too and that usually ends up right on the edge of the tank so you can see right in from the side anyway.

For the handling I think Marius covered it.

As for the mistake joining the site.... I think just a little patience will do the trick. I have had plenty great advise from the members here, sometimes it just takes a bit longer. For the most part these guys all have jobs etc. Speaking of which, I better get back to it. :dry:

Marius pretty much summed it all up, but I personally dont feel a need to hold my Ts
Things can happen, pain may be endured or Ts may be hurt or lost

I just admire them from where they stand