T recommendations please

[Saviolo]

Ok, this is just hypothetical at the moment for reasons that will become clearer as I go on.
First off, is it possible to keep a tarantula without having to have any, or very minimal at most, physical contact with it?
I know feeding, watering and such like can be done with no contact, but how often would I have to clear out the entire substrate (which would mean transferring said spider to another container <shudder>)?
I know it may seem crazy to even consider getting one when I`m terrified of them, but I figure if I had one I may be able to overcome that fear. It seems to be working with the snake and I can handle him fine now, no problems. (BTW, it definitely is male now ... I had him probed last week!)
Also, which species would be considered good for a complete novice, i.e. slow moving, non-aggressive etc. Size doesn`t particularly bother me, in fact bigger would probably be better as there`s no way I could pick up something the size of a house spider. Husbandry issues aren`t really a problem either as I`m fairly familiar with their general care as my friend has owned them for years, so it`s more characteristics and behaviour I need to consider. I`m sure she said her Chilean Rose was the calmest out of the ones she has but I`m not 100% on that.
So who`s going to talk me out of (or into) this and any tips or advice would be great

[bluegirl46290]

brush. It has a nice long handle and you can just stroke their legs gently with it and they will move in the direction you want. Hypothetically you could own one forever and *never* touch it!
I rarely change my tarantula`s substrate. By rarely, I mean like twice a year. tarantulas, due to their relatively docile behavior and nice big size. I`ve owned several and never been bitten, although I`ve had urticating hairs kicked at me a few times...
That said, I bought a chilean rose s`ling and haven`t touched her AT ALL because she`s currently the size of a REALLY BIG house spider, too fast and too creepy!!! Once she`s GIGANTIC then I`ll be able to handle her.
I also firmly believe that exposure will help with your arachnophobia... my father didn`t want his 9 children to be arachnophobic so he would catch house spiders and keep them in a mason jar on the kitchen windowsill. Right at eye level when you did the dishes, and since it was rotating chores we all got our exposure! On that same note I am feeling more and more comfortable with the scorpion Jenn gave me... which was up there in my top 5 biggest fears just a few months ago! I can even pick him up all by myself now. fr0glet

[axp103]

go check! Okay, I`ve got 11 tarantulas. I have only ever touched two of them, plus the male Mexican red knee that passed away last month. I`ve had my oldest one, a Chilean rose, for about 10 years and never ONCE touched her. It`s actually safer and less stressful for them to avoid it. substrate only needs to be changed about once or twice yearly. I carefully herd the T into a second container (large cup, small kritter keeper, tupperware, etc) and put a loose lid on it while I clean. After, carefully herd the T back out into the tank. (Always keep the T close to a surface! If they spook and fall, the die very easily! I like to walk the T onto the rim of the tank and gently encourage it to walk down, if I can`t just put it straight on the bottom.)
Like fr0glet said, I prefer to use a paintbrush. I like the kind they give you in elementary school in the US - handle about 6-8" long, round fat tip with soft bristles. Ts are very sensitive to touch, so it doesn`t take much contact. If you poke them with a stick you can hurt them. Oh, another thing to remember is not to blow on the T. It overstimulates them (moves all the sensory hairs at once) and they will spaz. ones, and then I`ve got ones like my salmon pink birdeater. She gets mad VERY easily and I`ve seen her chew on her cage furniture when she gets upset. She`s got very pretty, very BIG fangs. :-) their feed, just like ball pythons. Some people have had theirs stop eating for more than 6 months, for no visible reason. There was a care sheet link posted in a different thread a couple days ago that was very good (actually written by the author of an excellent book). Mexican red knees (B. smithi) are good starters too, but on this side of the pond they`re expensive (but all CB, I think). One of my favorite Ts is the greenbottle blue. They may be a bit fast for you, but they like to be in the open, are VERY colorful, are fast growers and good eaters. Oh, I don`t own one, but I`ve heard that curly hairs are excellent beginner Ts, too. generally easy to care for, have fairly inexpensive set-ups, and come in HUNDREDS of species. Some have the most incredible colors and patterns! Like my Indian ornamental. She`s big and fast as greased lightning, so I wouldn`t recommend her to a beginner, but she`s got a gorgeous pattern of black, grey and white on her back, and if you see her underside, her toes alternate yellow bands with dark metallic blue. Fantastic!

[Saty]

hold stuff like Salmon pinks etc, only one i refuse to hold is a Startburst babbon i own, thats only cos it attacks and the first second non stop. TSS on Sats who deals in inverts, oh and some banana roaches

[JacoPastorius]

So far I have 9 T`s and am ordering 5 more as soon as I get my federal tax refund. I don`t handle many of my T`s, I don`t want to take the chance of them getting injured but I do handle 3 of them occasionally. As far as docility goes, the tried and true Chilean rose (Grammostola rosea) is usually very docile, although they do tend to fast. My two just broke their 4 month fast. Some more docile species: Grammostola pulchra (Brazilian black) Brachypelma smithi (Mexican red knee) Brachypelma albopilosum (Curly hair) Eupalaestrus campestratus (Pink zebra beauty) Avicularia avicularia (Pinktoe). This is an arboreal. Really docile, but can be speedy. They also don`t kick their urticating bristles, they have to actually press them into your skin. There`s a lot of great tarantula forums out there: spidertalk.net petbugs.com arachnopets.com/arachnoboards tarantulas.com Hope this help!

[testuser9982]

You can easily back her into a jar using a long, thin paint brush. 10 inches long, 1/2 inch at the tip. If ten inches isn`t long enough, and I think that they CAN jump over 20 inches, make the adjustments. But don`t worry, they ONLY escape at night.
I remember one night working the ER, and this girl came in screaming and holding the side of her head. Upon examination, we removed a Chilean rosehair egg sac from her ear canal THE SIZE OF A CHICKPEA! later, Pete Teach someone the Golden Rule. http://community.webtv.net/SnakeBusters/SnakeBusters

[Saviolo]

Thanks for all the advice and encouragement everyone
I think I`ll certainly be looking into getting a Chilean Rose. The kids think it`s a pretty cool idea even if my friends don`t LOL