This may be a dumb question but are there any OWT that are docile?

[JuliaGulia87]

Or at least not that aggressive/defensive? I'm new to the hobby and I'm trying to soak up as much information as I can haha...

 

[BrettG]

E.pachypus.

 

[LV-426]

E.pachypus.

Mine is more defensive than an OBT I once had

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

my P Miranda was docile . very skittish .... DOnt mess with Pokies though... VEry Potent venom
Yes, its possible but they have no Urticating hair to kick... so they BITE First'''
OW Ts are notorious for Biting

Sorry Shell,,, I guess your right.. never tell new people Poecilotheria are docile they will end up getting bit.. I had to edit thread

 

[Shell]

P Miranda can be considered docile..

Did you just randomly pick an OW to call "docile?"

Poecilotheria is not a genus that I would use the word docile with... sure some species will be more defensive than others and individuals can all be different, but still I wouldn't call them docile...telling this to people new to the hobby...not a very good idea.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

my old P miranda never once through up a threat pose....but it was a odd individual"
In short NO OLd wolders are truly docile.... My Advice... Expect old worlders to be MEan & defensive .. very fast

 

[022]

My OBT. But I think she just came with some malfunction LOL

 

[Shell]

my old P miranda never once through up a threat pose....but it was a odd individual"

Ok, so what would have been better to say then, is that you had ONE P. miranda that did not act defensively. Not that P. miranda as a species can be considered docile...that is just spreading misinformation.

I had an OBT that was a wimp, but I certainly wouldn't go around saying "get an OBT they are docile."

 

[synyster]

P Miranda can be considered docile.. but not hold able cuz Speed./.. some INdividuals can BE Agressive also....
Yes, its possible but they have no Urticating hair to kick... so they BITE First'''
OW Ts are notorious for Biting

P.miranda are skittish and somewhat defensive as all Poecilotheria
None are agressive. It's all down to the individual on how it will react.
True they have no urticating setae, but that dosen't mean they bite first.
OW arboreals are notorious for bolting, and will bite if cornered.

And well, whatever you want to think about it, handling Poecilotheria sp. is not recommended.

 

[JuliaGulia87]

Haha thanks for the replies! I figured it would be hard to find some that didn't come with a side of fast and angry lol and I hear there's always a rare "calm" one in any OWT species.....I was just curious.

 

[xhexdx]

I'd rather handle a random pokie than a random OBT...

The OP asked if there are any old worlds that are docile, so perhaps the comments regarding pokies should have been directed there instead...

I rarely see any Poecilotheria throw threats. Maybe I wouldn't consider them docile, but they are one of the more mild genera of old worlders, in my opinion.

 

[BrettG]

Out of the 20+ we have only 2 actively throw threats. They are about as calm as you can get for an OW IMHO........

 

[Shell]

Not likely to throw threats doesn't mean docile or handleable etc. That's all I was trying to get at. A spider doesn't need to throw threat displays to bite, and pokies are fast and skittish with a nasty bite, that's really just the point I was trying to make. I just felt that calling them "docile" was not a good way to refer to them, especially to someone new to the hobby.

 

[syndicate]

My answer is if your looking for something docile you can handle and have fun with go buy a lizard or a hamster
Tarantulas are ambush predators and all of them have the ability to bite and be defensive.I've even seen Grammostola rosea act like Haplopelma before hehe!
-Chris

---------- Post added 11-20-2011 at 01:17 PM ----------

I will add one thing tho..Some of the old world spiders that get the biggest reputation for being aggressive/defensive are seriously big babies when they have a proper tank with a deep burrow or a cork tube hide.
In almost all cases they will run and hide instead of trying to attack.Now the same cannot be said when keeping your spiders in a tiny tank with half a flower pot as a hide and little to no room to move around!Wouldn't you be angry to? ;]
When these spiders are cornered and feel threatened yes they will in fact become very aggressive and do have very potent venom so working with OW tarantulas is not always recommended for amateur keepers!
A lot of the larger NW terrestrials are often to large or refuse to burrow in captivity so in some cases I've found that NW tarantulas can sometimes be more of a handful then all the African and Asian species!Not to mention they kick itchy hairs to!
-Chris

 

[jebbewocky]

Pokies IMO are docile--relative to other OW species. My few don't throw up threats,and aren't overly nervous. I would hardly call them " docile" by any objective measure however. And I agree with Joe--despite the more potent venom, I'd rather handle a random pokie than a random OBT (or any non-pokie OW) for that matter, if for some reason I was held at gunpoint to handle an OW T. Objectively--I don't think handling an ow t is ever a good idea, but handling a pokie is imo a less terrible idea than handling other ow ts.

 

[syndicate]

Handling any old world spiders is not a good idea..Also a completely different topic to tho!
Poecilotheria is not docile.What they are is very nervous/fast/skittish spiders with very toxic venom.
-Chris

 

[JimM]

I've seen several mentions of 'threat poses' here in this thread.
Let's keep in mind that many bites occur without the formality of a threat pose, and with pokeys that's more often
than not how it happens.

 

[jayefbe]

I just rehoused 3 young adult P. regalis. One was calm, one was incredibly jumpy and skittish, and one was threat poses and slapping all the way. I've seen all three behaviors from every Poecilotheria species I've kept. Even more important, I've seen all three behaviors from a the same individual before. Yes, sometimes pokies can be docile, but that doesn't mean they will always be that way, or that other individuals of the same species will be that way. They can be unpredictable, and for people that want to hold these spiders, that can be even worse than just flat out defensive.

I, personally, will always be alert and respectful when working with any OW tarantula.

 

[Bill S]

Heterothele villosella, a dwarf communal tarantula from Africa, seems very non-defensive. I've got a couple colonies of these set up and I periodically have to capture escapees or capture individuals to decrease the crowd in the cages. I've never had one put on a threat display or bite. I try to captue them with plastic vials, but often have them running over my hand or up my arm.

 

[xhexdx]

I, personally, will always be alert and respectful when working with any OW tarantula.

I couldn't agree more.