Holy noodles Harpactira are FAST

[Deeser]

So obviously this is common sense for anyone who has kept baboons before, but daaaaaaaang... Not sure any NW terrestrial could have prepared me for that speed.

Ive rehoused a Tapi sling and even a juvie violaceopes, but this little Harpactira Pulchripes sling just blew me away with its speed last night. Very glad I opted for a larger than necessary enclosure.

All went well and now chillin in his new home, but yeah... Warning to the noobs, baboons are no joke.

 

[Graves6661]

I had a C. marshalli bolt out of her enclosure when I opened it to show my cousins. Needless to say they were running out of the room screaming before I even realized the spider was out on half way down the side of the dresser. That is why I always keep a over sized catch cup ready now lol

 

[Nightstalker47]

They are fast as hell man. Harpactira seem much speedier then your typical terrestrial baboons, they just take off. LUDICROUS SPEED!

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Out of NW terrestrial species, Ephebopus take the biscuit, I had an E. cyanognathus bolt out of its enclosure and part way up my arm before I'd even registered that it'd moved.

I rehoused my H. maculata sling the other day and it decided to teleport into the new enclosure and back out again, that was fun, good job I had a catch cup to hand.

 

[miss moxie]

You experienced precisely the reason why most people suggest a ladder system for speed. Sure, an NW's speed is usually laughable compared to what OWs can do-- but it's not about suddenly earning super sonic vision where you can track the OW's every movement.

It's about gaining reflexes and instincts. Remember the first tarantula that bolted on you? That moment of "crap-- catch cup-- need a-- now I need to-- crap!" would have been hella exasperated if you were doing it with an OW. You get experience, you learn how to handle less-than-ideal situations in a calm and collected way.

Ironically though, I just got my first Harpactira yesterday as well.

 

[Deeser]

For sure! I had read that Tapinauchenius were among the fastest NW genus, and had already jumped the gun with the violaceopes (back when I naively purchased it not having done enough research). So between those two I figured "yeah, I've experienced speed". But yeah... As @The Grym Reaper would say, it was just pants-crackingly fast.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

pants-crackingly fast

Pants-cackingly fast

 

[Nightstalker47]

an NW's speed is usually laughable compared to what OWs can do

There are many exceptions to that rule. Tapinauchenius is widely regarded for being the fastest genus of tarantula, and they are from the NW.

That's why I think the ladder system shouldn't be purely based on wether or not a spider is OW. Venom potency, speed, defensiveness and ease of care are all very important things to consider.

There are quite a few NW species that I would be very hesitant to recommend to beginners. Even some of the "slower" ones, take P.cancerides for example.

Absurdly defensive and unpredictable, my female will jump from a resting position to a full on threat posture in the blink of an eye. She won't hesitate to bite either. Definitely not a spider someone should start out with.

 

[Andrea82]

I had the same reaction when housing my H. pulchripes. But that experience was eclipsed by housing a Holothele sericea... a so-called 'slower NW terrestrial'. Yeah right. That thing can give my Tappie, my E. murinus AND the H. pulchripes a run for its money!
It was in and out of its enclosure two times before i even registered that it was moving.
Which is, by the way, ALL of it I have seen. Been burrowed ever since, food dissappears and the molt gets thrown out so i know it's alive, but that's all. Maybe because i housed it bigger because of its speed.
Rehoused the H.pulchripes as well for the same reason.
It gets better when it haves a burrow and webbing going though. But it still has the tendency to go UP when startled instead of down to its burrow.