A Question that Google Cannot Answer

[Leila]

We live in the age of endless information (thankfully!) where the click of a few keys and the 'send' tab will generally lend some clarification to questions that arise in our minds.

However, trusty ol' Google seems to know very little about the behavior of our beloved Theraphosidae.

So....

Have any of you ever observed arboreal Ts in the wild?
Might any of you be able to educate me or lend theories on why some arboreal species (in captivity) spend more time close to the bottom of their enclosures or on the substrate?

No need to sound any alarms.
I am simply curious. Common sense tells me one thing; but I would love to hear your experiences/ theories/ etc.

(And no aggressive mess like I saw on AB yesterday.)

 

[nicodimus22]

Maybe there is a higher chance of coming across bugs on or near the ground as opposed to up in the trees (at least, without a web to snare them in.) Just an educated guess why they might hang out near the base of a tree.

 

[Nightstalker47]

Hi Leila, although there is no definitive answer to your question, we can speculate.

I have observed that most of my arboreal species tend to set up shop on the cork bark that is nearest to the ground and not highest in elevation.

I think they may feel more secure in the darker areas where there is more cover, and seeing as the highest areas are more out in the open it could explain they're tendencies to avoid setting up their homes higher up. I also notice that as the spider grows it will become less weary of open spaces.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

I've rated your post 'optimistic' because to hear the "we live in the age of endless information" for me is like an hammer hit on the manly parts... never witnessed a so ignorant, really "Middle Ages" (I mean in the dislike sense of which such particular time period is always described) like this modern, empty 2.0 era of today.

Then you said Theraphosidae instead of 'Tarantulas' so I can't not love you sweety

 

[Venom1080]

I also notice that as the spider grows it will become less weary of open spaces.

i believe leery is the word youre looking for.

Leila, i have no idea. id guess that in the wild its for more food and for a better hiding spot in captivity. ive had Avics that practically lived on the ground like a Psalmo make a complete 180 to the top of the cage after a transfer, and vice versa. im pretty sure @cold blood had the same thing with his urticans..

 

[cold blood]

Yeah I have one big avic that pulled vines down and lives on the ground most of the time.

Leila, I would expect that its like just mentioned, there's a lot more cover, so its a safety thing...along with that, there's also an abundance of small prey...I would expect the predator to prey ratio to be more even up in the trees.

Its also easier to find damper areas...areas slings require as their waxy layer isn't quite there yet....so being more prone to dehydration would make the quick drying elevated areas less habitable or at least less inviting for a sling.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Might any of you be able to educate me or lend theories on why some arboreal species (in captivity) sometimes spend more time close to the bottom of their enclosures or on the substrate?

Try to enter into a P.cambridgei "leg IV" for a moment. From an amazing, old, huge, tall Trinidad Estate Tree where the Sun is gentle, the weather nice, the sea breeze your best friend, those pure leaves your house... to a crappy Midwest or European house full of psychos with a furnace 'on' 24/7 during Winter time, TV, kids screaming, noise etc

Well I tell you, praise God they stand at the bottom or in the substrate or whatnot instead of committing Seppuku :-s

Clearly only obligate burrowers (of best Theraphosidae) are the only ones that can into 'happy' at our homes

Praise the Goddess!

 

[Leila]

I've rated your post 'optimistic' because to hear the "we live in the age of endless information" for me is like an hammer hit on the manly parts... never witnessed a so ignorant, really "Middle Ages" (I mean in the dislike sense of which such particular time period is always described) like this modern, empty 2.0 era of today.

Then you said Theraphosidae instead of 'Tarantulas' so I can't not love you sweety

Ah, I know what ya mean, love.

However, my mind is a hungry one. When I was a child, it was like I lived in an endless loop of "unsolved mysteries."
Info is available today for those who care to inquire.

 

[Arachnophoric]

Predators could definitely also lend a hand to arboreal species living closer to the ground. I'm sure birds are up there on the "things that might eat me" list, and birds tend to hang out up high in the branches, rather than on the base or trunk of a tree.

That being said, my C. versicolor sling sets up shop at the very top corners. Thankfully I have a bottom opening spiderling enclosure, otherwise I'd be ruining his lovely tunnels every time I fed him!

 

[The Grym Reaper]

I believe "leery" is the word you're looking for.

I believe he meant "wary".

@Leila We can only really speculate but it will most probably be for the reasons mentioned above (better cover/more prey/easier to find damper areas). I'd speculate that it also gives them the option of going to higher ground if they need to make a quick exit (which would explain some species proclivity for bolting upwards when disturbed).

A lot of my arboreal species tend to set up shop in the middle to lower half of their enclosures (although, in the cases of top opening enclosures, this may be because I tend to set them up in such a way as to discourage webbing by the lids). On the other hand, I have a P. irminia that spends a lot of time in the top half of her enclosure.

 

[Nightstalker47]

i believe leery is the word youre looking for.

No not leery *Wary @The Grym Reaper that's right

 

[Moakmeister]

You know, something I've been wondering is whether or not arboreal Ts are better adapted to life than terrestrials in every way. They're better able to drop down, they're faster, they supposedly have better eyesight, and they can climb better. You might be thinking terrestrials can dig better, but since arboreals have wider feet, I would think the arboreals can dig better. Are terrestrials stronger? Because if not, arboreals make them look like wimps.

 

[patriotgator]

My avic avic stays near the bottom too.

 

[Nightstalker47]

You know, something I've been wondering is whether or not arboreal Ts are better adapted to life than terrestrials in every way. They're better able to drop down, they're faster, they supposedly have better eyesight, and they can climb better. You might be thinking terrestrials can dig better, but since arboreals have wider feet, I would think the arboreals can dig better. Are terrestrials stronger? Because if not, arboreals make them look like wimps.

Some big NW terrestrial Ts are pretty fast, they are also much heavier bodied then almost any arboreals. No need to generalize on things like speed/strength between arboreal/terrestrial. There are beasts in both groups and they are designed slender/bulky as a result of evolution.

Try comparing the mass difference in two 8 inch specimens one T.stirmi the other P.rufilata both female of course. You would have a much larger stirmi. This is why legspan and body structure allows for the differences in their abilities.

They have evolved over the course of generations for different lifestyles, some don't need the traits that the others possess. It doesn't surprise me that they are built differently. Oh and I guarantee you arboreals do not make all terrestrials look like wimps...

 

[Leila]

No not leery *Wary @The Grym Reaper that's right

'Wary' and 'leery' are pretty interchangeable, sillies..

 

[viper69]

You know, something I've been wondering is whether or not arboreal Ts are better adapted to life than terrestrials in every way. They're better able to drop down, they're faster, they supposedly have better eyesight, and they can climb better. You might be thinking terrestrials can dig better, but since arboreals have wider feet, I would think the arboreals can dig better. Are terrestrials stronger? Because if not, arboreals make them look like wimps.

I see where you are coming from. However you are looking at this through the wrong lens. You wrote "better" because of a variety of reasons. The reality is an animal succeeds, ie survives, if it can fill/adapt/evolve into the niche around it. That doesn't mean arboreals are better, they are only different.

Far too often humans use adjectives such as "better" or "advanced" when making comparative statements about nature, esp other "lower" animals.

Recent research has found that whales have a far more developed brain than humans in some ways. Well by the standards that man typically uses to describe himself as "better", than whales would be better, ie more advanced, than humans. This is a philosophical discussion mind you.

Who's "better", the bacterium that will survive a nuclear war, or the humans who built the weapons?

The truth, animals are just different from another, not necessarily better per se. It's not a straight line as your statement suggests.

 

[Moakmeister]

I see where you are coming from. However you are looking at this through the wrong lens. You wrote "better" because of a variety of reasons. The reality is an animal succeeds, ie survives, if it can fill/adapt/evolve into the niche around it. That doesn't mean arboreals are better, they are only different.

Far too often humans use adjectives such as "better" or "advanced" when making comparative statements about nature, esp other "lower" animals.

Recent research has found that whales have a far more developed brain than humans in some ways. Well by the standards that man typically uses to describe himself as "better", than whales would be better, ie more advanced, than humans. This is a philosophical discussion mind you.

Who's "better", the bacterium that will survive a nuclear war, or the humans who built the weapons?

The truth, animals are just different from another, not necessarily better per se. It's not a straight line as your statement suggests.

What I meant was that it seems as though any job a terrestrial could do, an arboreal could outperform them at that same job.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

'Wary' and 'leery' are pretty interchangeable, sillies..

I know they practically mean the same thing but it was a typo and I'm a pedant

 

[viper69]

What I meant was that it seems as though any job a terrestrial could do, an arboreal could outperform them at that same job.

I know that's what you meant. But I don't see any Avics walking on the ground as their ecological niche

Of course maybe there's an impending Avic Land Invasion happening in another million years?

 

[Moakmeister]

I know that's what you meant. But I don't see any Avics walking on the ground as their ecological niche

Of course maybe there's an impending Avic Land Invasion happening in another million years?

I think an arboreal could live on the ground perfectly well if it wanted to. If a terrestrial decided to climb up in a tree and stay there, then as long as it doesn't fall, it would probably be fine.