# Do tarantulas sleep?



## iluvcreepystuff (Jun 20, 2010)

Most organisms must have a period of sleep but ive never heard of a t sleeping, or any other invert.


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## Chaika (Jun 20, 2010)

iluvcreepystuff said:


> Most organisms must have a period of sleep but ive never heard of a t sleeping, or any other invert.


Fruitflies sleep  . There's a lot of studies on the effect of sleep deprivation in flies. 
So, if flies can do it I'm sure T's can too.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15282997
http://www.northwestern.edu/cscb/jcpdfs/hendricks00.pdf
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/11/56


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## Scorpendra (Jun 20, 2010)

Their metabolisms work incredibly slowly, a book I read went as far as calling them the 'walking dead'. I think every single one of us can attest to the fact that they're usually inactive. So, I wouldn't say they have what we'd call "sleep".

Ts cannot fly and therefore don't need to rest from flight. I'd imagine that this would cause a bit of variation in metabolic rates.


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## Anastasia (Jun 20, 2010)

Scorpendra said:


> Ts cannot fly and therefore don't need to rest from flight.


but all of them can run and sum really fast


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## joes2828 (Jun 20, 2010)

Scorpendra said:


> Their metabolisms work very slowly and they are usually inactive (I think every single one of us can attest to that), so they do not have what we'd call "sleep".


I would assume all living organisms have some form of sleep. It might not be the same form of rest that we experience, but I believe they have something similar. It does not matter if they rest much of the time or have low metobolic rates. Even if you sat in a chair every day all day and had almost no physical activity, you would still require sleep.

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## Scorpendra (Jun 20, 2010)

That is simply anthropomorphizing them. Their physiology is completely alien to ours; you can't make any kind of comparison where a human is doing something.



Anastasia said:


> but all of them can run and sum really fast


...In short bursts. Certain Ts can move really fast, but they run out of steam inversely proportional to it. You might loose sight of that spider, but it's still nearby.


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## joes2828 (Jun 20, 2010)

True, but from what I've heard from family members in neuro research, all animals have a state where there is reduced brain fuction, which is what we call sleep.


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## Scorpendra (Jun 20, 2010)

Even the animals that lack brains? I don't know what your family members have told you, but "all animals" is a broad statement and nature doesn't pigeonhole so easily.

Wait, now I'm straying from my own point. What I am trying to say is that this state of "reduced brain function" is a tarantula's default mode where it's more than capable of springing back into action at any point.


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## joes2828 (Jun 20, 2010)

What animals don't have brains?


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## Chaika (Jun 20, 2010)

joes2828 said:


> What animals don't have brains?


Yeah lol I was going to say! As far as I'm aware, all multicellular animals have some kind of nervous system and at least a very basic nerve centre which would count as a simple brain .


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## Scorpendra (Jun 20, 2010)

Porifera lack nervous systems altogether. Others have only nerve clusters such as Cnidaria, Ctenophora and Echinodermata.

You can call a vague bunch of nerves a "brain" if you want to be unscientific, but you can't argue about Porifera.


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## AbraCadaver (Jun 20, 2010)

joes2828 said:


> What animals don't have brains?


I know several, but I wont name names

Reactions: Like 2 | Funny 2


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## joes2828 (Jun 20, 2010)

Scorpendra said:


> Wait, now I'm straying from my own point. What I am trying to say is that this state of "reduced brain function" is a tarantula's default mode where it's more than capable of springing back into action at any point.


I agree. I think a T has what we would call "sleep", however they do not take much time at all to become alert, unlike most humans.


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## joes2828 (Jun 20, 2010)

AbraCadaver said:


> I know several, but I wont name names


Haha, now that I think about it, I agree...


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## mschemmy (Jun 20, 2010)

I had a Grammostola Rosea  that slept 23 hours a day!!!


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## joes2828 (Jun 20, 2010)

Scorpendra said:


> Porifera lack nervous systems altogether. Others have only nerve clusters such as Cnidaria, Ctenophora and Echinodermata.
> 
> You can call a vague bunch of nerves a "brain" if you want to be unscientific, but you can't argue about Porifera.


Interesting...I hadn't thought of that.


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## Anubis77 (Jun 20, 2010)

They don't sleep... they wait.


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## Chaika (Jun 20, 2010)

Scorpendra said:


> Porifera lack nervous systems altogether. Others have only nerve clusters such as Cnidaria, Ctenophora and Echinodermata.
> 
> You can call a vague bunch of nerves a "brain" if you want to be unscientific, but you can't argue about Porifera.


Thanks for the info, very intersting. 

Going back to the topic at hand though, tarantulas definitely do have a simple kind of brain. In light of this I would argue that if simpler invertebrates have been found to sleep then more complex organisms like tarantulas probably do it too, and the reason we are having this debate is that they don't show any external sign of sleeping. For example, they don't curl up on top of their hide, close their eyes and visibly drift off like a cat would.

Completely BTW, I have a pair of geckos of a species that don't close their eyes, so they don't seem to show any signs of sleep either. Sleeping with your eyes open, I really wonder what that would be like .


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## rustym3talh3ad (Jun 20, 2010)

Anubis77 said:


> They don't sleep... they wait.


that would be a bit far fetched as well. i dont know if u guys have ever really experienced this, but even some of the more quick to bolt or not so friendly T's that ive encountered can be "Startled" if u catch them at the right moment, u move them with a pencil or pair of tongs and nothing happens, give them a slight nudge and they more or less sit there, do it again and its an explosion of panic...running every which way until they gain some sort of idea whats going on and then they react. perhaps its not sleep but i know im certain ive even caught my OBT off guard...got right on top of her, and even moved her around a bit and then BANG she came off like a bat outta hell but it wasnt her normal reaction, it was more like a "WTF is going on....im going to bite things" so...i would have to go with there IS a rest period for them, but at what level we can compare it to sleep im uncertain...i dont have the scientific background to know that.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## gumby (Jun 20, 2010)

Anubis77 said:


> They don't sleep... they wait.


I think this may be the most correct answer IMO. Here is a link show a bit of the TKG http://books.google.com/books?id=qN...&resnum=1&ved=0CBIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
I think the deal is that on some level they rest but it might not be the same as human sleep. if you read after the part about sleep it gos on to talk a little about some cycles that they go through and I found that really interesting too.


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## joes2828 (Jun 20, 2010)

rustym3talh3ad said:


> that would be a bit far fetched as well. i dont know if u guys have ever really experienced this, but even some of the more quick to bolt or not so friendly T's that ive encountered can be "Startled" if u catch them at the right moment, u move them with a pencil or pair of tongs and nothing happens, give them a slight nudge and they more or less sit there, do it again and its an explosion of panic...running every which way until they gain some sort of idea whats going on and then they react. perhaps its not sleep but i know im certain ive even caught my OBT off guard...got right on top of her, and even moved her around a bit and then BANG she came off like a bat outta hell but it wasnt her normal reaction, it was more like a "WTF is going on....im going to bite things" so...i would have to go with there IS a rest period for them, but at what level we can compare it to sleep im uncertain...i dont have the scientific background to know that.


I've had this experience several times, and I agree: I think they are "sleeping".


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## smallara98 (Jun 20, 2010)

rustym3talh3ad said:


> that would be a bit far fetched as well. i dont know if u guys have ever really experienced this, but even some of the more quick to bolt or not so friendly T's that ive encountered can be "Startled" if u catch them at the right moment, u move them with a pencil or pair of tongs and nothing happens, give them a slight nudge and they more or less sit there, do it again and its an explosion of panic...running every which way until they gain some sort of idea whats going on and then they react. perhaps its not sleep but i know im certain ive even caught my OBT off guard...got right on top of her, and even moved her around a bit and then BANG she came off like a bat outta hell but it wasnt her normal reaction, it was more like a "WTF is going on....im going to bite things" so...i would have to go with there IS a rest period for them, but at what level we can compare it to sleep im uncertain...i dont have the scientific background to know that.


You are so right . My seemani is "sleeping" and when I lightly touch her with my tongs , she doesnt do anything . Maybe a few more taps will get her going ? Yup . it sure does . She then turns around , bites the tongs , runs up the wall of her KK , and I have to catch her . Meanest t I have ever owned by far . So yes , im assuming they have a resting point , but dont "sleep" like us .


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## Durandal (Jun 20, 2010)

smallara98 said:


> she doesnt do anything . Maybe a few more taps will get her going ? Yup . it sure does . She then turns around


On the other hand, maybe she gave up on trying to "be still" and got defensive.


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## iluvcreepystuff (Jun 21, 2010)

YAY i started a controversy! lol
Alot of my t's will be in that "sleeping" stage when i first touch them, i will give a tap to a leg and the dont do much more then flinch, i give another tap to the leg and its like when you scream at a sleeping cat lol.


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## pwilson5 (Jun 21, 2010)

iluvcreepystuff said:


> YAY i started a controversy! lol
> Alot of my t's will be in that "sleeping" stage when i first touch them, i will give a tap to a leg and the dont do much more then flinch, i give another tap to the leg and *its like when you scream at a sleeping cat lol*.


this made me chuckle..

i just went in and checked on my spiders and my P. Audax was in its web.. when i came close he came out... looked at me for a bit... then turned around.. patted his web down.. spun in a circle (like a dog) and curled up in his lil tube web again.. lol


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## smallara98 (Jun 21, 2010)

Durandal said:


> On the other hand, maybe she gave up on trying to "be still" and got defensive.


That is what she does . I am just giving a example of how ts react .


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## AmbushArachnids (Jun 21, 2010)

*A scientific look this maybe?*

i would have to say that your T not being startled would prove in a way that it is not "sleeping". Maybe she is aware of you "passing" through. a second nudge tells her instinct ok this isnt a accidental brush i better run. of course this is a very crude unscientific theory. I think there may be times when there metabolism lays dormant. When we sleep our metabolism slows. A definition of "sleep" needs to be brought up here. when you say do they "sleep" do we mean rest. or do we mean unconsious or unresponsive to physical contact. do we mean sleep as in the recouperation and restoration of chemicals in their "brain" This is an excellent question to ask, yet very broad.


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## joes2828 (Jun 21, 2010)

–verb (used without object) 
1. to take the rest afforded by a suspension of voluntary bodily functions and the natural suspension, complete or partial, of consciousness; cease being awake. 
2. Botany . to assume, esp. at night, a state similar to the sleep of animals, marked by closing of petals, leaves, etc. 
3. to be dormant, quiescent, or inactive, as faculties. 
4. to be careless or unalert; allow one's alertness, vigilance, or attentiveness to lie dormant: While England slept, Germany prepared for war. 
5. to lie in death: They are sleeping in their tombs.

            -Webster's definition


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## Kathy (Jun 21, 2010)

All living things sleep, I like watching goldfish sleep.


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## curiousme (Jun 21, 2010)

I think most of you are falling into that easy to do habit of anthropomorphizing tarantulas.  When you are touching your tarantulas leg, why would you think it was asleep if it jumps on the second or third one?  The way I see it, it is pure instinct.....  Instinct :  Ooooh something touched me!  I'll be very still and see if it goes away..... Ooops!  It's still there, I'm getting the heck out of here!  I think it is safe to say that when they aren't moving, they are at rest.  That does not equate to sleep in the human/ mammal/ fly sense of the word.  Tarantulas are also more primitive species, which puts them even farther from what humans would call sleep.  DrAce stated is quite nicely here.

and fish do not 'sleep' they rest.

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## joes2828 (Jun 21, 2010)

curiousme said:


> and fish do not 'sleep' they rest.


That's not true. It has been shown that fish do actually sleep.


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## PhobeToPhile (Jun 21, 2010)

And just to give an example, I'd like to point out that nurse sharks are quite famous for it.


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## gumby (Jun 22, 2010)

I found this interesting bit of info on spiders in general. Im not sure if it crosses over to tarantulas but it is better then any other info ive found:
http://australianmuseum.net.au/Spider-facts
here is the part that I found helpful:

It really depends on how you define 'sleep'. All animals have some sort of 'circadian' rhythm - a daily activity/inactivity pattern. Some are active during the day - diurnal - others are active at night time - nocturnal/crepuscular. The periods of inactivity are characterised by withdrawal (to a shelter perhaps) and a drop in metabolic rate.

This applies to spiders as well, although no studies have been done to measure the period of time spent in such a state or at what times different species do it. It seems that spiders with good eyesight that rely on vision to capture prey may tend to be more active in daylight hours, whereas others that rely on snares/webs could be active at other times, but this is not necessarily the case for all species.

*In cold climates, spiders 'overwinter', which means that they have a kind of hibernation period. Overwintering involves a drop in metabolic rate, where the spiders bring their legs into their body and remain huddled in a shelter during the coldest months of the year.

This ability to shut down for a long period of time indicates that they might be able to do it for shorter periods in their everyday cycle, which could be seen as a form of sleep or rest.*

Information from: Foelix, R.F. 1996. Biology of Spiders. Oxford Thieme and the Arachnology section, Australian Museum

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## clam1991 (Jun 22, 2010)

If a tarantula was sleeping how would you know? they cant shut their eyes, and dont have to lay down to sleep cows and birds are some examples of this, so as far as i can tell when their not moving their sleeping and when they feel vibrations maybe they wake up. Just saying there isnt a way to tell if its asleep or not.


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## DemonAsh (Jun 22, 2010)

AbraCadaver said:


> I know several, but I wont name names


>>>>>:worship:<<<<<


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## Upjohn252 (May 11, 2011)

My G. pulchra does sleep, she has long periods where her legs curl under partially (not a death curl) this is where she is so relaxed that the extensor muscles in her legs are so relaxed they do not remain fully extended.  This is her sleep period IMO.


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## ZergFront (May 11, 2011)

If fruit flies can, perhaps tarantulas and other spiders do too. It would be impossible to tell if they're sleeping though without eye lids unless there's equipment we can use to detect it.

 I've watched my fish sleep before. Yes their eyes are open, but when they swim it's more lazy and they are even easier to spook in this state. It's like they aren't all there.

 Gobies and oscars are the few fish I've noticed in my tanks that actually find a place to hide. There were several times I thought my oscar had died or was ill in the middle of the night because he'd be leaning against a rock on his side. I felt bad for waking him.


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## malhomme (May 11, 2011)

*You guys are missing the point...*

Do Tarantulas Dream of Electric Crickets?

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## ZergFront (May 12, 2011)

malhomme said:


> Do Tarantulas Dream of Electric Crickets?


 Probably dream about being bigger than us, pinch grabbing us under our pits and showing us on camera asking "boy or girl?" and they are jealous that we get cupcakes so they probably dream about that, too. ;P

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## groovyspider (May 12, 2011)

Anubis77 said:


> They don't sleep... they wait.


like chuck norris

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## Anastasia (May 12, 2011)

ZergFront said:


> Probably dream about being bigger than us, pinch grabbing us under our pits and showing us on camera asking "boy or girl?" and they are jealous that we get cupcakes so they probably dream about that, too. ;P


hahahaha


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## AmbushArachnids (May 12, 2011)

My tarantula sleeps.. When it starts to smell.

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## paassatt (May 12, 2011)

AgentD006las said:


> My tarantula sleeps.. When it starts to smell.


The dreaded "deep sleep". Haven't experienced that yet, thankfully.


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## jondee84 (May 12, 2011)

Now that everyone has had the chance to show off with their big words etc, I'll go back to basics lol.....being a basic sorta person.

I find that all my Tarantulas (with the exception of slings) go into a daytime/energy saving mode. This is what I'd call sleep (to them), If I go to check or look at my T's then they usually do not budge, but I'm sure once they sense I'm there they go into their alert mode, obviously this varies with species etc etc, as when i mist the tank they will get out of the way pretty quickly.

So in a round-a-bout wayI think they have more of an energy saving sleep mode rather than literally having a state of being awake or a state of sleep.

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## braaandooon (May 12, 2011)

kinda off topic, but dolphins don't sleep, they are voluntary breathers, if one were to sleep it would drown, im sure other sea dwelling mammals share this same trait, anyways....


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## RyTheTGuy (May 12, 2011)

braaandooon said:


> kinda off topic, but dolphins don't sleep, they are voluntary breathers, if one were to sleep it would drown, im sure other sea dwelling mammals share this same trait, anyways....


Actually one half of the brain sleep at a time. In this way, the animal is never completely unconscious, but it still gets the rest it needs. Some sharks do this too. some people call it "Sleep Swimming" but not all sharks have to stay moving. Im sure Ts have something unique too, I just don't know what it is.


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## phoenixxavierre (May 12, 2011)

I've seen arboreals, P. fasciata male to be specific, hanging on the side of the tank, slowly drift off and start to the point where a few of his legs came unattached from the tank. 

He actually did seem to be drifting off into a sleep state. I believe that all living things have some form of sleep. I think rest is more of a conscious state, or semi-conscious state, trance-like even at times, while sleep is a purely subconscious state. I would think that tarantulas do sleep, however, what sets humans apart from most animals that we're aware of, is that we have self-consciousness, self-image, self-awareness, an ability to find solutions to problems, to use logic, communicate, etc.; whereas in general we don't see other animals as possessing these abilities, at least not like we do. 

My experiment I did in college (for an experimental psychology course) were regarding dreams and dream analysis, and the effect of conscious thought prior to sleep upon the subconscious mind. 

I came to a personal conclusion that sleep is a form of subconscious communication. Of course that conclusion was outside the goal of the experiment, and wasn't statistically analyzed. Was just something I felt was true. 

I personally believe that the majority of animals have no self-image or self-consciousness, but does that mean that they are always operating on a subconscious level (purely instinct) or do they have a conscious and a subconscious absent the self-image and logic capabilities? 

Eventually we may know. I've also experienced what ??? said about touching a tarantula and it appearing to not even notice the first couple times. 

Delayed reaction? 

Deep sleep? How can that be determined? Just because their brain is not like ours doesn't necessarily mean they aren't capable of a sleep state. 

Interesting topic though and something I have often wondered while enjoying looking at my ts!

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## Bill S (May 13, 2011)

malhomme said:


> Do Tarantulas Dream of Electric Crickets?


Well, I understood your reference, even if nobody else did.


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## malhomme (May 14, 2011)

Bill S said:


> Well, I understood your reference, even if nobody else did.


Thank you, Sir!  I was beginning to wonder...
:-D


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## Jrod (May 14, 2011)

*well*

tarantulas mostlikly have derms evry animal dos


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## malhomme (May 14, 2011)

Jrod said:


> tarantulas mostlikly have derms evry animal dos


It's more of an exoskeleton than a derm.


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## Bill S (May 14, 2011)

malhomme said:


> Thank you, Sir!  I was beginning to wonder...
> :-D


I get the impression that nobody reads anymore, and the movie had a different name.  But there's a few die hards out there who still have such books and stories on their shelves.


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## Zoltan (May 14, 2011)

Bill S said:


> I get the impression that nobody reads anymore, and the movie had a different name.  But there's a few die hards out there who still have such books and stories on their shelves.


I read, although I didn't read that book, but I understood the reference. I also haven't finished the movie, but someday I will.


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## Laarry (Jan 13, 2012)

I think they do sleep. I have a pinktoe and she was slouched up against the wall of her tank and I had never seen her do that before so I went to check on her and when I opened the top of the tank she jumped up. I believe I woke her up from a nap.


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## Shrike (Jan 13, 2012)

Zoltan said:


> I read, although I didn't read that book, but I understood the reference. I also haven't finished the movie, but someday I will.


Just make sure you watch the director's cut.  Great movie!


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## Ultum4Spiderz (Jan 13, 2012)

Ive seen my pokies like lay down & rest.. weird they look kinda dead =/ I poked P striata once thinking it was dead.. sleeping turned around almost bit me
I know my emporer scorpion lays (digs in) down in Eco earth to rest


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## OphidianDelight (Jan 13, 2012)

Ultum4Spiderz said:


> Ive seen my pokies like lay down & rest.. weird they look kinda dead =/ I poked P striata once thinking it was dead.. sleeping turned around almost bit me
> I know my emporer scorpion lays (digs in) down in Eco earth to rest


Your P. striata goes into a death curl when it sleeps?

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## Mot (Aug 3, 2017)

I know it's a very old thread but i would like to share some info. tarantulas do sleep their body's somewhat shut down but its unknown how and if they do it consequently but I've seen them do it before, they go into a curl position with position with their pedipalps and 2 long front legs and their other legs will be stretched out. At this stage your t should be on the ground and agensed something flat and not respond to minor movements on their enclosure but when you do completely awake them out of their so called sleep the will get startled and shoot into a hide or just go crazy. I've only seen my t do it once, P. Smithi. So I would imagine that they don't do it more then a few times a year if that. They don't sleep at day or night so they have no sleep patterns. They sleep when they feel they should.


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## Geocycle (Jan 24, 2018)

Scorpendra said:


> That is simply anthropomorphizing them. Their physiology is completely alien to ours; you can't make any kind of comparison where a human is doing something.
> 
> 
> ...In short bursts. Certain Ts can move really fast, but they run out of steam inversely proportional to it. You might loose sight of that spider, but it's still nearby.


I don't know why but I found this to sound adorable. I don't know I guess I thought of them playing hide and seek.


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## grimmjowls (Jan 24, 2018)

For the record, there are ways to tell if an animal is sleeping even if they don't have eyelids. My crested geckos don't have eyelids, but when they sleep, their "eyelashes" lower, almost as if they're sleepy. I'm sure if tarantulas sleep, there's some tell, just like other animals have.

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