Species Aphonopelma seemanni

[Grimlock]

Great looking Seemanni there. I was wondering if you ever handle it? How's its behaviour? Aggresive - Mellow? Any particular mannerisms?

Anyone with input would be awesome.
I'm just curious, because I really want one of these guys. I really love them.

(yep, another T already... Shh, don't tell my fiance. She'll kill me.)

 

[cichlidsman]

I don't handle mine because it seems to be really nervous and skiddish, and i am afraid it will hurt itself.

 

[Cerbera]

Character building....

Hi Grimlock

Glad someone has given me an excuse to expound upon the personality of my wonderful seemanni, Ginny...

First off - although they might well tolerate handling, and the speed they generally mooch about at is comfortably slow, I've seen her in teleport mode on too many occasions to take the risk.

She is generally a very calm, gentle, content spider, yet equally curious, exploratory, and has an inbuilt need to test the defences of any enclosure she ends up in.

She can move like lightning, can be jumpy, but isn't usually, and mostly reserves the speed for cricket catching. I am quite comfortable moving things about by hand inside her tank, and she has never even raised a back leg at me, let alone gone into a defence posture and bared her fangs.

She burrows extensively - amazing multi-chambered caves under the substrate, and leading back from her burrow - I got her to tunnel to the tank edges by lining them on the outside with black card that can be removed for viewing at night.

She's a good display spider too. Sure - sometimes you don't see her for 3 days, but for 4 days after that, she'll be out and basking in the open, looking supremely beautiful and relaxed about everything...

She won't attack crickets at all unless she's hungry - even letting them rub round her back legs without harm when she's not interested. When she is interested she's still quite lazy, and they have to come very close before she'll pounce on them, and if they do get away, she never follows them.

She webs alot, and hangs ex-cricket remains neatly from the webbing around her burrow. I have never seen her drinking from the water bowl, but I assume she does.

but what is REALLy amazing about this spider is the persistance... its 3 days of r'n'r, chillin round the tank, looking the very epitomy of happyness, and then a day later, its a whole night, or 2 of pacing the cage, and systematically trying to get the sealant off the walls of her tank, and climbing a lot of glass...

And the thing is - seemanni arn't very good at it. they can generally speaking, only go up the corners of tanks, and even then, as they push on the tank lid, they slip, and eventually fall off. this is a very good reason why these spiders should be given loads of deep substrate, and not much vertical space at all. And just from an observational point of view - it doesn't matter how many times she falls, she gets up, and does it all again... bless her...

Humidity should not be 80% IMO, like all the caresheets say. Air humidity wants to be around 65%, and soil humididty around 75%. Any wetter - she goes all moody. She likes temps of between 72 and 81F and doesn't need a heat mat becasue in the UK it causes condensation on the inside walls of the tank. The way round this is to employ a little fan heater linked to a thermostat set to 77F - therefore you heat the air outside the tank as well, and woo-hoo no misting - no mould / mite problems...

The only other thing she does of interest is to improvise a burrow for the night, away from her usual one. I've got her tank set up so that most of the ground is potting soil / vermiculite, but the area above her proper burrow is cork bark, and pure, dryish vermiculite. Sometimes i find her wedged in what looks horrendously like it could be a death curl between some cork bark, and the edge of the tank, right in the open, and she'll stay motionaless there for anything up to 8 hours. then, slowly, her legs fan out, and off she goes, back to her burrow, and everything is normal again. I'm not sure whether this occasional behaviour is an indicator of a secure spider happy to crash for the night anywhere in her tank, or whether it means she's dropped where she fell from an exhausting night of foiled escape attampts, in which case, what am I doing wrong, and what is it she's trying to get away from ?

And yet, a day later, she looks all happy and chilled again... who knows

There you go - everything I've learnt from looking after an A. seemanni for 6 weeks - and people say they don't DO anything !!

If you are still in any doubt, I recommend them as a species whole-heartedly, but only if you have the time and inclination to spend an extra while sussing out what they like and don't, and are prepared to build them a VERY substantial cage

 

[Grimlock]

I couldn't of asked for a better description Cerbera! Awesome of you to take the time, bud.

Thanks for that. I will keep my eye open for a Seemanni. I can't wait to share the same experiences as yourself.

Thanks again.

 

[Cerbera]

its a pleasure...

No probs, Grim

Makes a change to be telling someone who's interested ! In my flat, it seems to be very much me alone who finds her fascinating

Anyway - glad you found it helpful...

Jay

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Very nice description! I loved reading it!

You could become a T salesman I bet But you won't get me to buy a seemanni, I have already an L. striatus on my way and funds are limited so I rule that one out for now...

 

[tarcan]

I do!...

 

[ChrisNCT]

What do you mean who cares?


Thats an awesome T!

 

[stonemantis]

That looks like a species found farther north.

 

[becca81]

Has anyone observed the blue phase coming from the same sac as the normal phase?

 

[stonemantis]

That looks like a species found farther north.

Same species just different area found :clap:

 

[Lorgakor]

Wow Tarcan, that's got to be the nicest A. seemani I've ever seen!

 

[Mattyb]

Wow Tarcan, that's got to be the nicest A. seemani I've ever seen!

I agree 100% awesome T




-Mattyb

 

[Spider-man 2]

Oh OH, check this one out!

 

[Joe1968]

When I read this thread this afternoon, I just knew your gonna post that pic Dwayne, LOL.

 

[Mattyb]

Awesome T Dwayne :clap: :clap:




-Mattyb

 

[Spider-man 2]

When I read this thread this afternoon, I just knew your gonna post that pic Dwayne, LOL.

HAHA, you know me too well then. Predicting my actions and intentions....

 

[manville]

Ive never seen a A seemani that nice before..

 

[Grimlock]

Awesome T.

P.S. I care.

 

[moricollins]

Awesome pictures martin, but please stop usingthe blue crayons on your tarantulas before you take their picture, j/k

Mori