Light sensitivity?

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TerribleGrizz

Arachnopeon
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Aug 8, 2010
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I did some searching on the boards and found some threads referring to this topic, but I was hoping for some advice in the matter. From what I gathered some T's are more sensitive to light than others and may "freak out". I was going to take some pics of my G. pulchra sling, but I don't it to possilby go nuts and possibly injure itself. Should I be worried about this, and if so, are there any precautions I can take?
 
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Pocket Jotter

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Sep 25, 2010
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I have taken pictures of all of my T's with the flash on during the day and night none of them seemed bothered or even moved a cm.

I have quite few different species from a Rose hair to a Cobalt blue. No Arboreal species yet though, but soon.
 
Lorum

Lorum

Arachnosquire
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The only species I have seen being very "scared" of light is Heteroscodra maculata, and I can easily take photographs of it. You just have to take some cautions; in my experience, Grammostola lings tend to climb when the cap is removed or the terrarium is opened.
 
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TerribleGrizz

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S/He does indeed like to climb when I open the container, but s/he never actually gotten out. However, I did manage to take a few pictures with no problems.

Thanks again for the advice.:)
 
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AprilH

Petridish
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Most of my Poecilotheria are, but my most sensitive are both of my L. violaceopes. I still take photos of them. I think the flash is too quick to bother them much.
 
Stan Schultz

Stan Schultz

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TerribleGrizz said:
... From what I gathered some T's are more sensitive to light than others and may "freak out". ...
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Horse puckey! Tarantulas generally don't like bright light for two reasons:

1) You're much more edible when you're highlighted by a bright light. They tend to gravitate to dimly lit places as a survival strategy. It's much better to be the predator than the prey.

2) Very bright lights tend to be accompanied by lots of heat. Being poikilotherms (i.e., "cold blooded"), tarantulas rely on behavior to help regulate their body temperatures somewhere within a rather broad acceptable range. In those circumstances, one avoids overheating by staying out of the light.

Did any of these authorities bother to define what a "freaking out" tarantula looks like so the rest of us can recognize the condition? {D

Do you need to read Stan's Rant at http://people.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/stansrant.html?
 
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TerribleGrizz

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That makes much more sense. :D The other threads I read concerning the subject didn't give a clear answer, hence my asking for a more refined answer. Thanks for providing one. Much appreciated :D

As I said, I did take some photos with a flash and my T was just fine. No "freak out" to be spoken of lol
 
Stan Schultz

Stan Schultz

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TerribleGrizz said:
... I was going to take some pics of my G. pulchra sling, ...
Click to expand...
Are you referring to a camera flash? It looks like lightening. Spiders have been seeing lightening for 380 to 400 million years now. It doesn't bother them.

Spiders have also seen and experienced a lot of other things over that vast time. They're neither wimps nor delicate wraiths. They're survivors!
 
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TerribleGrizz

Arachnopeon
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Yes I was referring to the flash of a camera. :) I'm still learning, only the one T, and I appreciate you sharing your knowledge.
 
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Exo

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Jun 19, 2009
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My B.smithi doesn't seem to mind light much, but most of my other Ts do, especially my A.geniculata. In the winter when my room gets to about 65, I use an incandecent lamp set on low durring the day on my b.smithi and she actually basks under it...none of my other Ts will do this.
 
Stan Schultz

Stan Schultz

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Exo said:
My B.smithi doesn't seem to mind light much, but most of my other Ts do, especially my A.geniculata. In the winter when my room gets to about 65, I use an incandecent lamp set on low durring the day on my b.smithi and she actually basks under it...none of my other Ts will do this.
Click to expand...
Holy cow! A new revelation! Some tarantulas are smarter than others! And yes, I would have expected a Brachypelma to have a higher IQ than perhaps an OBT or even an Avicularia.

OBTs are too irritable and the Avicularia are generally too hypertensive. The Brachypelma, however, do a lot of meditating and at least give the impression that their intellect runs quite deep. :rolleyes:

And if you believe any of this horse pucky I have a bridge in the heart of tarantula country that you might also be interested in buying!

http://www.outwestnewspaper.com/london.html

http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/arizona/london-bridge

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Bridge_(Lake_Havasu_City)

{D

Enjoy your little, 8-legged, Mensa member!
 
B

Bill S

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Exo said:
My B.smithi doesn't seem to mind light much, but most of my other Ts do, especially my A.geniculata. In the winter when my room gets to about 65, I use an incandecent lamp set on low durring the day on my b.smithi and she actually basks under it...none of my other Ts will do this.
Click to expand...
Given the range and diversity of tarantulas, it's only natural to expect that there will be a lot of variability in their natural histories. Obviously this includes choice of "home strata" which can be anything from holes in the ground to life among the trees. Their tolerance/avoidance of sunlight will also vary. Although I don't know of any that spend their days lounging in the sun, I have seen wild specimens sitting in the opening of their holes in the daylight, mature males out wandering in the daylight, females feeding short distances away from their burrows in at least soft daylight. And there are plenty of reports of captive tarantulas of various sorts that seem comfortable in brighter light than we often are told to expect. (I had a Lasiodora dificilis escape from a cage - and it turned up on a window sill in the sunlight, despite the fact that there were many darker places much easier to get to.)
 
ZergFront

ZergFront

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Pokies and Lampropelma seem sensitive. I move the light I need slowly and that seems to help them not freak.

One of the L.violaceopes slings I have did a threat pose when a flash light was shone in front of him.
 
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