Our favorite Tarantula here at the zoo is Charlotte.
Our very first Tarantula was a gift from our in-laws. She was a Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula. She was nice and could be handled without fear, but she passed away within two weeks (never found out why). After she passed we decided that Rose Hairs are so nice (and indeed do have a reputation as being docile and easy-going) that we would replace her with another.
Tarantulas are not tame pets. The "wild" is never purged from their systems. They can become tolerant of certain stimuli but basically, they are instinctual beasts. Charlotte, the "replacement" Tarantula is a good example of the unpredictability of such creatures.
Charlotte is a terror. To be fair she is also our most amusing and entertaining Tarantula, always out, frequently moving about doing interesting things. But she is NOT what the Tarantula hobbyists term "a pet rock." If she were in the wild I am certain her spiderlings (aka slings) would live on forever. I need to clarify what "terror" means to me. I guess I would categorize Tarantula personalities in three major groups: docile, defensive and aggressive.
Docile Tarantulas don't seem to care about anything. You can poke them, prod them, pick them up and they let you do it with seemingly little concern for their own well-being. Defensive Tarantulas rear their abdomens, kick urticating hairs and sometimes even rear up, ready to strike. Aggressive Tarantulas just don't seem to have fear. They are always on the offensive.
Charlotte is an aggressive Tarantula. Aggressive does not necessarily translate to mean, but more like fearless. Anything that enters her cage is fair game. She grabs the baster (I use it to give her water and as a blocker when I have to reach in there) or anything else you poke into her cage with, and doesn't let go. When I drop water in she attacks the water. It's as if she is always hungry, yet I know that isn't the case because I've seen her eat until she refused to eat anymore. One day, for fun, I reached in with a plastic strip (I did not poke her or prod her). She grabbed it with her palps and chelicerae and would NOT let go. I dragged her up the side of her cage and ended up proffering a cricket (via tweezers) which she grabbed, finally releasing the plastic strip. This is a Tarantula you don't mess with. I think my geniculata is more tame (genics have a reputation for aggression).
But, despite her aggressive attitude she is part of the family. She sits out in a prominent place in the house, in the middle of all the action and never seems frazzled or disturbed. She has molted twice for us, right out in the open in the middle of the day (not in her hide), she grooms out in the open for us and performs all kinds of other spidery actions as well.
Finally let me say that even tho' I define her as "aggressive" she is just a spider. Spiders know what they know and do what they do and even tho' most Chilean Rose Hairs are deemed as docile you NEVER CAN TELL when a docile Tarantula might be in a "bad mood" and decide to give you a good poke. I also don't want people to be afraid of Tarantulas. I have 10 Tarantulas and have handled half of them without any sign of aggression on their part. But, as with any "wild" animal you need to learn to read their signals and use caution. I would not recommend handling Tarantulas frequently (others may disagree) because the more often you handle them the more confident and less cautious you become. And, while Tarantulas are not particularly dangerous to humans, the bite of a juvenile or adult Tarantula most certainly hurts and if you are bitten, your first reaction will likely be to fling the Tarantula... which will likely end in its death (they are actually fragile creatures).
...More in the future...
