*These tips are provided thanks to Awesome Arachnids Tumblr blog.

Remain calm when rehousing your T’s. Rehousing is very very stressful on the animal, and even though I was pretty calm, my spider was not. Being frightened can make bad things happen, always stay calm and assertive.

 

Always read your animal’s body language and make sure you do not startle it in any way. If your spider is moody, take the rehousing slowly or just leave it until the next day or a few hours later.

 

Do not rehouse alone just in case something like this happens to you where your spider darts to a part of your body that you cannot reach. Most of the time it is safer to not have body parts involved at all in T rehousing, but sometimes they can be unpredictable. If your spider ends up darting in a direction you did not plan for and ends up crawling onto you, it can be helpful to have a 2nd pair of hands as back up.

 

Rehouse the T on the floor, in a clean and dry bathtub, or on a bed, so they cannot fall and hurt themselves. Do not stand up beside a desk, do not put your spider at risk of anything that could hurt/damage it. If you are near a place your spider could dart behind, it is probably not a good place to rehouse your T. If your spider ran off and hid behind a bookshelf or under a bed, it may never be found again.

 

Use a soft brush to gently nudge them along. I used a brush to nudge mine and she just happened to be in a skittish mood, but the brush is a much more gentle way to move your tarantula around than with your fingers. Plus, fingers can get bitten if your tarantula is feeling territorial or hungry, so it is a very bad idea to put your hands into their enclosures. Using tweezers is also not recommended due to the fact your tarantula could potentially break their fangs off if they strike at the hard metal/plastic.

 

If you have a very aggressive spider, or a small spider, try other methods, such as using a plastic bag, cutting the top off a water bottle or soda bottle and placing it over the tarantula, etc. In hindsight, I probably should have used this method, but I am stupid and will probably try the water bottle one next time. Sometimes the bag method is better, sometimes not. Find what works for you and your tarantulas.

 

Word of caution! DON’T rehouse your tarantula if you’re very tired, sick, on-edge about something else, distracted, etc. You really need full calm and your full attention on the task at hand. (This tip was provided by lampropelma-violaceopes).

 

I hope you found that helpful! If you’d like to WAY more about tarantulas and how to care about them, be sure to purchase my full tarantula guide!

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