How to Pick Up a Tarantula

If you have a pet tarantula, you are going to need to handle it, especially if it needs to be removed from its tank in an emergency. Many tarantulas quickly get used to getting picked up and resting on the palm of their owners' hands. How to pick up a tarantula? As you might expect -- very carefully. You can use gloves or your bare hands.

Getting Ready

It is best to pick up a tarantula as quickly as possible. Tarantulas can get spooked by seeing human hands hover about them. You should always be ready for the possibility that the tarantula will try to dart away. If you have never picked up your pet tarantula before, pick it up while it is still inside of its cage. This way, if it tries to run it cannot run far.

Take a deep breath to calm down. Never pick up a tarantula if you are frightened of getting bitten. This will make your movements jerky and hesitant. Worse still, you may drop the tarantula and injure it. Check to see where the spider is and if it is moving in any direction. Picture the movement your hands will need in your mind to help mentally prepare.

Hand Positions

Use your dominant hand to pick up a tarantula. So if you are right handed, use your right hand to do the actual picking up. You will grip and lift with your dominant hand and support the bottom of your pet arachnid with your least dominant hand.

Place the cupped palm of your dominant hand over the body of the tarantula, with thumb on one side and the fingers on the other. Use as much pressure as you would for picking up a raw egg. Place your thumb and forefinger between the second and third pair of legs and lift.

Your least dominant hand will scoot underneath the tarantula so that it rests on your palm. Tarantulas are cold-blooded and do enjoy the body heat given off by human skin. A nice, warm, stable palm is a great place for a tarantula to sit and observe the world.

Tarantulas can be picked up by the dominant hand and gently turned over so that they are resting on their backs, according to The Tarantula Keeper's Guide: Comprehensive Information on Care, Housing and Feeding: Revised Edition (Barron's; 2009.) However, trying this should only be done when you and your spider are used to each other and you have a lot of experience in how to pick up a tarantula. You never want to risk pressing on their abdomens because they can easily burst and kill the tarantula.

If All Else Fails

If the tarantula is too small to pick up with thumb and forefinger or if the particular tarantula has a history of biting, then there is another method of moving the tarantula without touching it. This method is often used by pet store employees.

Get a short stick or net used for goldfish and drinking glass or bowl small enough so that your palm covers the top. Place the cup or bowl on its side and herd the tarantula into it with the stick or fish net. When the tarantula crawls in, place your hand over top of the opening and lift.

Sources

Schultz. Marguerite J and Stanley A. The Tarantula Keeper's Guide: Comprehensive Information on Care, Housing and Feeding: Revised Edition. Barron's; 2009.

Tarantula Guide. "Handling Pet Tarantulas." http://www.tarantulaguide.com/handling-pet-tarantulas/

Author's own experience