Aggressive B. Smithi?!

[Tyrannosaur]

I've got a 3" one I've raised since it was 1/2" and he has always been a little strange and unpredictable, but never aggressive. That changed these past few days. I don't know what got into him, but when I prod him with a poker to get him out of his cage he straight up turned around and attacked it, and then hissed! He did this again today! I teased him a bit more today and instead of giving up and turning back into a good spider and tolerating the touching he stayed in his threat pose and continued to hiss before he ran back to his hole.

I thought these guys were supposed to be the nice species! He molted a few weeks ago and has been well fed since. Just a mood or just a little spider getting too big for his britches?

 

[Londoner]

I've got a 3" one I've raised since it was 1/2" and he has always been a little strange and unpredictable, but never aggressive. That changed these past few days. I don't know what got into him, but when I prod him with a poker to get him out of his cage he straight up turned around and attacked it, and then hissed! He did this again today! I teased him a bit more today and instead of giving up and turning back into a good spider and tolerating the touching he stayed in his threat pose and continued to hiss before he ran back to his hole.

I thought these guys were supposed to be the nice species! He molted a few weeks ago and has been well fed since. Just a mood or just a little spider getting too big for his britches?

When you say you prodded it with a poker, what exactly did you use? You should be using something soft like a clean paintbrush (and even then you should gently touch the T not prod it). Maybe it didn't like being prodded. Ts can sometimes go through drastic personality changes after a molt. A docile specimen can suddenly turn into a grumpy bugger lol.

Smithis ARE one of the more docile species but as with ALL species, you are going to get exceptions that prove the rule .

 

[peachypaderna]

When I prod him with a poker to get him out of his cage he straight up turned around and attacked it, and then hissed! He did this again today! I teased him a bit more today and instead of giving up and turning back into a good spider and tolerating the touching he stayed in his threat pose and continued to hiss before he ran back to his hole.

Well -- perhaps it didn't welcome the frequent handling anymore? I assume you wanted to take it out of its enclosure to handle it, and perhaps you had gone a little too far in trying to convince it (see: "teased him a bit more"). Maybe you should just leave it be for a good while instead of testing its temper every other day. Just my two cents.

Oh, and I don't think spiders are supposed to tolerate you -- in my experience (however limited), they'll do as they please, and I guess that includes going on an occasional mood swing.

 

[xhexdx]

And your spider was being defensive, not aggressive.

I agree with peachy.

 

[Neophyte]

B. Smithis can hiss?!

 

[blix]

I don't know what got into him, but when I prod him with a poker to get him out of his cage he straight up turned around and attacked it, and then hissed!

You prod a small animal with a poker - forces it out of its home, and then you act surprised when it gets defensive?

How would you feel, if I came into your home when you were eating, sleeping or resting, and started poking you with a large object? Would you happily oblige and leave, or would you stand your ground and fight?

I'm not gonna sugarcoat my opinion on this: You are an idiot.

 

[gvfarns]

I've got a 3" one I've raised since it was 1/2" and he has always been a little strange and unpredictable, but never aggressive. That changed these past few days. I don't know what got into him, but when I prod him with a poker to get him out of his cage he straight up turned around and attacked it, and then hissed! He did this again today! I teased him a bit more today and instead of giving up and turning back into a good spider and tolerating the touching he stayed in his threat pose and continued to hiss before he ran back to his hole.

I thought these guys were supposed to be the nice species! He molted a few weeks ago and has been well fed since. Just a mood or just a little spider getting too big for his britches?

Yeah, spiders have bad days too. Also they can change personality over time. I tend to leave them alone around both sides of a molt (before and after) because they aren't quite themselves and oft times that means defensiveness.

 

[Neophyte]

You prod a small animal with a poker - forces it out of its home, and then you act surprised when it gets defensive?

How would you feel, if I came into your home when you were eating, sleeping or resting, and started poking you with a large object? Would you happily oblige and leave, or would you stand your ground and fight?

I'm not gonna sugarcoat my opinion on this: You are an idiot.

Cheer the <edit> up. There are a lot, a lot of people who prod at their spiders. Mostly to see their temperament before handling. You think they see a difference between a paintbrush and forceps? No! If they're pissed, they're pissed! End of story.

I don't think the OP is interested in your opinion of whether or not she's an idiot. Your comment was useless.

And seriously, don't tell me you've never poked at any of your T's, or I will e-slap you :3

 

[blix]

Cheer the <edit> up. There are a lot, a lot of people who prod at their spiders. Mostly to see their temperament before handling. You think they see a difference between a paintbrush and forceps? No! If they're pissed, they're pissed! End of story.

I don't think the OP is interested in your opinion of whether or not she's an idiot. Your comment was useless.

And seriously, don't tell me you've never poked at any of your T's, or I will e-slap you :3

I am entitled to post my opinion - regardless if you share it or not.

Furthermore, you are not reading his post correctly:

when I prod him with a poker ...

I teased him a bit more today

Since when has it become acceptable to continuously tease your spider by prodding it just to see its reaction?

I could understand that someone would test the temperament prior to handling it, but I don't see anything of that character mentioned in his post.

All I see is someone who desperately wants his B. smithi to be "aggressive", so he continues until he get the desired reaction.

You get that reaction from any tarantula if you continue long enough.

 

[joshuai]

Cheer the <edit> up. There are a lot, a lot of people who prod at their spiders. Mostly to see their temperament before handling. You think they see a difference between a paintbrush and forceps? No! If they're pissed, they're pissed! End of story.

I don't think the OP is interested in your opinion of whether or not she's an idiot. Your comment was useless.

And seriously, don't tell me you've never poked at any of your T's, or I will e-slap you :3

I agree. there is to many people that jump to bad talk over the stupidest things on here. Oh ny god you poked at your spider. so what, you think im gona use my finger to move my lividum out of the way for maintenance! I dont think so, i have a pair of smithis also and i use forcepts to move them around their tanks to do what ever i want in there tanks. there grumpy hissers also.

"When i prod them witha poker" Cmon that could be anything from a foam stick to a fork

 

[joshuai]

I'm not gonna sugarcoat my opinion on this: You are an idiot.[/QUOTE]

Im not going to sugar coat my openion on this coment. you are the worst kind of Rude.

 

[Tyrannosaur]

I used a long tweezers to check it's temperament, and I did it gently. 99% of the time he would just move a little in the direction I push or just stay still, not turn around and bite it so fast that if it were my finger I would be tagged! And yes, it stridulated a few times!

I think the T. Blondi next to him is starting to become a bad influence imo.

 

[xhexdx]

I used a long tweezers to check it's temperament, and I did it gently. 99% of the time he would just move a little in the direction I push or just stay still, not turn around and bite it so fast that if it were my finger I would be tagged! And yes, it stridulated a few times!

I think the T. Blondi next to him is starting to become a bad influence imo.

I think you may have wanted to say it this way the first time, instead of saying you're proding it with a poker and teasing it.

 

[Ms.X]

I used a long tweezers to check it's temperament, and I did it gently. 99% of the time he would just move a little in the direction I push or just stay still, not turn around and bite it so fast that if it were my finger I would be tagged! And yes, it stridulated a few times!

I think the T. Blondi next to him is starting to become a bad influence imo.

You mentioned nothing in your original post about checking temperament. You stated that you were trying to get him out of the enclosure. There is nothing wrong with checking for temperament prior to handling, but to prod repeatedly to observe further negative reactions is very stressful for your spider. Also, you should check your usage of the term aggressive. As for your T. blondi supposedly being any kind of influence at all is all in your imagination and this leads me to believe that you are wanting your spider to become more defensive. Please realize that you are harming your spider for your own amusement. If you care about his health, you will leave him alone.

 

[Tyrannosaur]

It was a joke.

 

[Ms.X]

So you were kidding when you said you poked the spider?

 

[xhexdx]

I think he was kidding with his "T. blondi bad influence" statement.

 

[Ms.X]

Thanks for clearing that up Joe almighty.

Tyrannosaur...you seem to have developed a habit of posting ridiculous stories about your T's:

I wouldn't put it past your jumping 2 feet. I never thought Ts could jump, and was told that all my life.

Well that all changed when one day I put my hand in my rose hair's cage and it jumped 1 foot at my hand and landed on the side of the glass. It's one of those aggressive ones though, but it did jump 1 foot! Full size one too. Couldn't believe it.


Maybe you should consider the consequences to the hobby before you post this nonsense.

 

[xhexdx]

Thanks for clearing that up Joe almighty.

Tyrannosaur...you seem to have developed a habit of posting ridiculous stories about your T's:

I wouldn't put it past your jumping 2 feet. I never thought Ts could jump, and was told that all my life.

Well that all changed when one day I put my hand in my rose hair's cage and it jumped 1 foot at my hand and landed on the side of the glass. It's one of those aggressive ones though, but it did jump 1 foot! Full size one too. Couldn't believe it.


Maybe you should consider the consequences to the hobby before you post this nonsense.

I'm not sure I understand this...was this part supposed to be quoted by Tyrannosaur?

I wouldn't put it past your jumping 2 feet. I never thought Ts could jump, and was told that all my life.

Well that all changed when one day I put my hand in my rose hair's cage and it jumped 1 foot at my hand and landed on the side of the glass. It's one of those aggressive ones though, but it did jump 1 foot! Full size one too. Couldn't believe it.

 

[Ms.X]

Yes smarty pants...I didn't quote it correctly, it came from another thread.