Aphonopelma moderatum

[Spydra]

Can I get some opinions of the temperament? I have a 1" sling so far, it seems pretty skittish. Are they aggressive? The care sheet doenst have that info. Need some opinions please.

Thanks

Renee

 

[rosehaired1979]

Mine is not defensive but more skittish to.

 

[MrBaronIsBack]

My oldest daughter was allowed to pick out a T at the Michigan Reptile show here in the Detroit Area and she got a Moderatum. Hers seems to be pretty docile, which is surprising since it is 1 1/2" tops. She's handled it with no problems. Alas, there are always individuals, I have a big female G. Pulchra that won't let anyone touch her.

 

[Variable]

I haven't heard too many people having problems, however, I was checking something out in The Tarantula Keeper's Guide last night, and it said "a pretty Tarantula from western Texas, but these bite readily." I don't own one myself, so I really can't say anything personally.

Variable

 

[Buspirone]

I believe Stan Shultz has been quoted as saying he has been bitten more times by this species than all the others he has worked with in the past.

 

[MrBaronIsBack]

Stan does say that they bite readily in The Guide, but the caresheets that I've seen list them as nervous rather than aggressive.

 

[Spydra]

Im sure its just like with any T, you can never really be sure. Im using peat moss/vermiculite mix for substrate, should that be moist at all for burrowing?

 

[noboyscout]

It's from Texas, I keep mine on the dryer side. Mine by the way is nervous and runs away at will.

 

[Phillip]

I have kept a few moderatum over the years and haven't had one show any aggression yet. All mine have been skittish at worst.

Phil

 

[Mendi]

I've got a juv. female that is close to 2½" and is quite a nice little lady... I also have an adult female and she's an absolute devil about the threat postures. I've not tried her to see if she really will bite... I mean if she's going through so much trouble warning me of her intentions, I don't feel the need to test and see if she's bluffing. I'm betting I'd get 2 puncture wounds. She looks kinda cute though in her threat posture, she even get's her butt into it by pointing it skywards.

 

[sunnymarcie]

I have a 2 inch female A. moderatum and she is very skittesh.
I have never tried to hold her. She is kept on dry verm/peat mix
with a hide and a water dish. She has webbed up the substrate
and molded it to suit her needs and spends most of her time in the hide. I only see her when she comes out to eat or drink.

 

[vulpina]

I have noticed this species is very skittish. I believe they are handleable, just flighty.

Andy

 

[Bry]

Perhaps Stan Schultz has just had bad luck with A. moderatums. I've heard nothing more than skittish behavior from most people. It's kind of like how some people have all the luck when they get nothing but calm, handleable Cobalts and Usumbaras.

Bry

 

[MrBaronIsBack]

It is official. My 16 year old has one of the sweetest T's I've ever seen for a baby that's only an inch and a half. She picks it up and it doesn't flick hairs, try to bite, or run. It almost seems as though it WANTS her to hold it because when she tries to put it down, its feet touch the substrate and it goes back into her palm. All this from an A. moderatum!

 

[Spydra]

I had her substrate to wet..she was on the glass walls all the time, so I took out half and mixed in more dry and now she is burrowing away!

Makes me feel good when I figure stuff like this out hahaha!!!
:}

Renee

 

[Leonardo the Mage]

While almost every other Aphonopelma is extremely docile, the moderatums seem to have decided they want to be old worlds. While their temperaments are not as bad as most old worlds, they really don't like to be touched. The moderatum in my profile likes to run at my fingers every time I picked up the collection jar I put him in temporarily.

 

[jiacovazzi]

My moderatum female beats a hasty retreat whenever she sees me, my A.belinidae/belinda will threat pose immediately, she's quite fierce.

 

[Exoskeleton Invertebrates]

This species has the tendency of bitting without warning just like any other. There are also two color forms of this species and they do get up to 6" inches in size not 4" inches.
Here is a photo of the two color forms of the wild caught Aphonopelma moderatum. You can either call them "Dark Form" and "Golden Form" or whatever you feel like. As you can see from the photo both are equal in size with different color forms.

 

[jiacovazzi]

Fantastic picture Jose! It's truly easy to see why this species is sought after!

 

[jiacovazzi]

Say Jose..are you sure that's an Aphonopelma?