Are Cobalt Blues really the devil incarnate?

[Godzilla2000]

Well I did get my H. lividum today. I have dubbed it Lucifer. The petshop lady gave me massive discounts on everything I bought as well. She told me she admires the fact I'm raising spiders because she's terrified of them. I have noticed that my Cobalt is a very good leaper in that it only took him/her .5 seconds flat to jump off the lid to the floor of its tank below it. Also it nabbed 3 crickets in less that a second. But I think it really needs those crickets since its rump is a little too small for my taste. But after being in my care for awhile it sould fatten right up.

 

[Godzilla2000]

Well so far so good concerning the Cobalt Blue. I was able to give it some water without it going hyper spaz and nailing my hand. From all that I've heard about this tarantula it kind of surprised me that it trusted me enough to do that. But then again it did have three crickets in its madibles. I think that might be my best course of action, to water it after a feeding.

 

[Godzilla2000]

I know. It's 2 A.M. Eastern Stabdard time and I'm still up. But I've found it that my Cobalt Blue is a very narcistic creature. Of all my Tarantulas, she/he has mugged for my camera presenting really good poses for me to snap his/her picture with using my black light to give him/her the perfect lighting. She/He even went so far as to switch to her/his more photogenic side as well. I assure you all I will post a few pics when I get the chance.

 

[gizmo420]

killer cobalts

yeah cobalts can be a little on the aggresive side mine trys to kill me every time i feed her she charges the glass and posts all up like she gonna bite me ive had her for 4 yrs but they dont like to be messed with to much she mainly spends all her time in her burrow comes out at night to eat but i would use caution trying to handle her

 

[Tarangela]

I have 2 female lividums and they never really bother me unless I bother them.
I *know* how fast they are, so I don't usually mess w/ them. I have seen some crazy threat displays from them, but it was usually my fault. They like to stay IN their burrow, and will only come out around night to do any kind of maintenance.

Get ya one You won't regret it!

 

[The Juice]

Well so far so good concerning the Cobalt Blue. I was able to give it some water without it going hyper spaz and nailing my hand. From all that I've heard about this tarantula it kind of surprised me that it trusted me enough to do that. But then again it did have three crickets in its madibles. I think that might be my best course of action, to water it after a feeding.

I wouldn't let your guard down with that Cobalt. I have noticed with my H.Albostriatum (Thai Zebra) it can be calm one second than BOOM it's on My Chopstick,Pencil,or Pen digging it's Fangs into them. It happens so Fast I think it's about a 10 second delay between when it Pounces on the Object your Holding & when you realize what Just happened. as for H.Lividum (Cobalt) My 1.5"er hasn't shown me any aggression yet and is always out :razz: The 3" Cobalt I had never Came out of it's Burrow, so I never had a Problem with it trying to kill me Good luck with your Cobalt but don't get to comfortable around it, or you will being posting a bite report

 

[surena]

Cobalt Blue are very much burrowers, and you almost never see them, and if you do see them I hope you have a long pair of twisters, and mine is not afraid to show her fangs and keep the same defense position for a few minutes !

 

[CedrikG]

nothing to add really ... if you are carefull no problem... just be smarter then they are , wich is not very hard but a cobalt is very, veeeeeryyy nice looking spida but not a good display one, as many ppl said too, I would choose a P murinus before a cobalt, depend on how much T you have... a collectionner must have a cobalt, someone who just got a few I dont suggest to have a cobalt

 

[Greg Wolfe]

Lucifer Lividums...

Any T can be defensive and nasty if it feels threatened. But yes, H. lividums are high strung and "mean" if accosted outside of their burrow. Once they establish themselves in their burrow home they tend to "chill out".
My Cobalt will offer her most wicked threat display if I open the lid of her cage while she is "out". Other than that I have not experienced any problems with her.

 

[Pheonixx]

here is mine the day i got him. no burrow. but he still does this when i open the tank. i open, he comes out and says " YOU!" looks like this almost every time.

 

[MilkmanWes]

Holy resurected threads batman.

 

[Nerri1029]

I've found that they are not as bad as their reputation suggests. They can be quiet deffensive but as long as you're careful when doing cage matenence you shouldn't have a problem. They can be surprisingly fast though. Still I've never had my cobalt through a tantrum like my usumbara does. It probably also depends alot on the induviduals temperment.

I'd have to agree, MY OBT is really touchy about HIS digs..
I drop a cricket and WAM into a threat posture..

my cobalt only did that when I was moving her hide.. so I guess I can't blame her huh?

 

[Rob1985]

My buddy has a H.Lividium and got bit bye her a year or so ago. He made a plexi glass seperator for his tank so he could change her water dish and stuff. He also uses a 100 CD-R top with a popsicle stick glued to it and uses it to trap here to put her in a pet transporter to change her substrate. He hasn't had very good luck with her though. He used to beable to handle her when she was a baby and sometimes as a sub adult, but now all she does when you get even near the glass is rear up in the defensive position. I would have to say at least my buddies is El Diablo!!! LOL

 

[Windchaser]

My buddy has a H.Lividium and got bit bye her a year or so ago. He made a plexi glass seperator for his tank so he could change her water dish and stuff. He also uses a 100 CD-R top with a popsicle stick glued to it and uses it to trap here to put her in a pet transporter to change her substrate. He hasn't had very good luck with her though. He used to beable to handle her when she was a baby and sometimes as a sub adult, but now all she does when you get even near the glass is rear up in the defensive position. I would have to say at least my buddies is El Diablo!!! LOL

It sounds like your friend's setup doesn't allow for the H. lividum to burrow. If this is the case, that could explain why it is so defensive. It really should be allowed to burrow. Once they establish a burrow, you never see it and there is no problem working in the enclosure. Even if it is near the burrow entrance, as soon as you get near it, it will retreat. You may run into problems if you need to get it out of its burrow, but that is a different case.

 

[Mattyb]

I walked into my fave Petshop today and I was chatting with the lady behind the counter asking her if the Tarantula shipment has come in yet. I told her I was looking to purchase a Cobalt Blue from them. She looked at me, her eyes wide with fear and astonishment, and asked me point blank if I was nuts. I told her that I was. Now I'm a very hands off kind of person when it comes to my Tarantulas. Would a Cobalt Blue be all the bad since I rarely out my hands in the enclosures anyway? I've devised a little partition to separate my hands from the tarantula by blocking them on the other side of where the water dish is. I was thinking of using this for the Cobalt Blue as well when it comes time to give her water. But really. Is a Cobalt Blue really that evil?

Same thing happened to me, i got my lividum about 2 weeks ago, when i told the lady i wanted it she started telling me how mean it was, me and my girlfriend started laughing. The lady asked why we were laughing, and once i explained to her what species i had at home, she didn't say another word. But my lividum was climbing up the side of the tank the other day, so i decided i was gonna hold her, so i put my hand at the top of the cage, and she walked right on my hand, it was very cool. i was by myself or i would have some pics of it. but i held her for a good 10min. and then gently placed her back in the cage. Very fun experience, but i prolly won't try it again...



-Mattyb

 

[taorchard1987]

i brought a cobalt about 3 weeks ago after as my second pet T, after doing all the reaserch on them, they sounded REALLY aggressive but i dont think it is as aggressive as they are made out to be, unless of course you invide their private space, they keep themselves to themselves but if you annoy it, thats it - ur bitten!

 

[Rob1985]

It sounds like your friend's setup doesn't allow for the H. lividum to burrow. If this is the case, that could explain why it is so defensive. It really should be allowed to burrow. Once they establish a burrow, you never see it and there is no problem working in the enclosure. Even if it is near the burrow entrance, as soon as you get near it, it will retreat. You may run into problems if you need to get it out of its burrow, but that is a different case.

She has a burrow, but for some strange reason doesn't hang out there as much. I guess she is a unique T. She will rear up for no reason somtimes. I think she just hates being her tank. BTW she is a WC female, sooo.... that could explain some things.