Can tarantulas be conditioned?

[Venom1080]

cool little tidbit...
ive noticed my tarantulas seem to be out and about more often than what other members on the boards describe. i often see tarantulas that others describe as ghosts daily. my T room is fairly dark all day till 11pm, when i usually go to bed. my space heater goes off and on on a timer all day to keep temps 71+, its also positioned in the middle of the room. (if that has anything to do with it.)

spiders ive raised from slings are usually quite active. larger spiders ive purchased from people are ghosts for months before becoming more visible like the rest of my collection. my aurantiaca i bought about a month ago molted a couple weeks ago and ive seen it out once. same thing with my stirata i bought last July, was a ghost for a long time but after a few months became much more active.
so who really knows what kind of adaptations tarantulas are capable of.

 

[clive 82]

I have one! Yeah she doesn't care much about food! She does seem to like roaming around though.

Many people say that their Euathlus sp red will climb out of the enclosure when the lid is opened. Would it be fair to say that this is learned behaviour or is the T just reacting to a certain stimuli ( the lid being opened ).
How do they know that when that lid is opened that they are able to climb out? Is it just instinct or is it a form of learned behaviour over time?

 

[JD Sword]

One of my two C. Versicolors, Plato, at times hangs out near the bottom of his enclosure. Unusual behavior for an arboreal, and I couldn't think of any reason he might be stressed or otherwise "unhappy" or unhealthy. One night when I dropped a cricket in, I thought to myself "I wonder if he's come to associate being at the bottom of the enclosure with receiving food?" I tend not to drop crickets directly in their webbing because they usually free themselves anyway and my T's never go directly for them. So, it stands to reason that when they catch their prey it's going to be on the ground. I've also noticed Plato seeming to stir at the sound of me removing the lid to the cricket enclosure. He doesn't really "do" anything in particular, he just gets a little burst of movement, almost in anticipation.

 

[desTroy]

Actually, I don't think it's semantics. You are not giving enough credit to the neuronal capabilities of invertebrates here. From the introduction in the book I cited:
View attachment 235759
Little work has been done with tarantulas, but I think it is reasonable to infer that if insects and slugs can learn, so may tarantulas. So, what I'm saying is: yes, classical conditioning with tarantulas may very well be possible - if you can find the right stimuli. The idea that animals with less complex nervous systems are simply instinct driven "machines" has been discarded around 30 years ago - that's before the advent of the internet, so it's kind of difficult to find the proper citations online. And my old textbooks on animal behaviour are in a box in the attic...

I have a Suntiger and she is conditioned to go to different parts of her enclosure based on her needs. If she is hungry she will move to side of the enclosure and wait til I feed her. If she is thirsty she moves to the top of the enclosure and waits til I mist her. I am no expert by any means just a spider nerd but she did not exhibit any of this behavior when I first got her. She would just run and hide. I've had her for 3 years and she is docile and never bolts. This was achieved with consistent interaction with food and a spray bottle.

 

[Marcostaco]

I have a Suntiger and she is conditioned to go to different parts of her enclosure based on her needs. If she is hungry she will move to side of the enclosure and wait til I feed her. If she is thirsty she moves to the top of the enclosure and waits til I mist her. I am no expert by any means just a spider nerd but she did not exhibit any of this behavior when I first got her. She would just run and hide. I've had her for 3 years and she is docile and never bolts. This was achieved with consistent interaction with food and a spray bottle.

Or it just hangs out to whatever corner it wants and you just give it meaning.

 

[desTroy]

Yep like I said not an expert just into creepy crawlies

 

[Introvertebrate]

My genic alternates between cardio and strength training.

 

[Marcostaco]

My genic alternates between cardio and strength training.

That's peak alpha tarantula mentality

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Many people say that their Euathlus sp red will climb out of the enclosure when the lid is opened. Would it be fair to say that this is learned behaviour or is the T just reacting to a certain stimuli ( the lid being opened ).
How do they know that when that lid is opened that they are able to climb out? Is it just instinct or is it a form of learned behaviour over time?

I was rehousing l klugi it I took the lid off , it sat there for over a hour did not move at all. It easily could have walked into its new enclosure but refused to move .

That's peak alpha tarantula mentality

yeah mine are training to sit still long enough the prey thinks it’s a rock.

 

[desTroy]

My genic alternates between cardio and strength training.

Send it to Ukraine. Maybe it can help

 

[spideyspinneret78]

I was rehousing l klugi it I took the lid off , it sat there for over a hour did not move at all. It easily could have walked into its new enclosure but refused to move .

yeah mine are training to sit still long enough the prey thinks it’s a rock.

Sounds like a solid strategy. Must be a very gruelling training program though! Gives new meaning to rock hard, chiseled abs.