Do tarantules make webs?

[Barons]

Hello,

I'm wondering how they eat. I know they like to live in different places but the ones that live up high or on the surface do they make webs to catch food?

If they just sneak up on stuff or run it down. Do the rap up their prey in a web?

Thanks

 

[jhalla16]

Run down to your local pet shop, grab a 10 gallon tank and some coconut fiber bedding and a small loggish-type hiding spot and a water dish and grab a Chilean Rose Hair for like 30 bucks and see for yourself .

They do spin webs, but they hunt down their prey. They don't catch their prey in webs.

 

[Barons]

I've been thinking about getting one.

I don't want one that flicks hair. I'd like a really active one so I can watch it doing stuff. I still don't know about the habitat. Does it really make a difference how they build their nest? I was worried if I got one of the Fossorial ones i'd never see it.

I've had spiders but never a tarantula and I'm wanting something with a longer life span.

Can you think of any off the top of your head that I should research?

 

[Hobo]

If you want something that does a lot of stuff, tarantulas aren't really for you. As for research, I think your best bet would be just tarantulas in general, as it sounds you know nothing at all about them yet

While you're doing that, keep an eye out for C. Cyaneopubescens (Green bottle blue). They flick hair, don't move a whole lot, but they do web lots, hardy and are beautiful.

 

[smuey]

Seriously, I think you'd be better of with one that DOES flick hairs. If they don't, they're more prone to biting, plus, most of the ones that don't flick tend to have nastier bites (more potent venom). I would not reccomend a G. rosea as a first spider either, although most people would. They can be quite nasty as well, and they can refuse to eat for extended periods as well, for no particular reason. B. albopilosum might be a better one to start with. But seriously, don't go buying a tarantula without knowing at least the basic care an husbandry of the species, so read a lot of information on the boards here or on the internet.

 

[rabidchipmunk91]

You might like avicularias. They don't throw hairs and are fun to watch, but they are fast and they can jump.

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=20103

 

[NikiP]

To answer your questions, the ones up high either wait for prey to happen into their web, or they will generally ambush prey outside of their webbing.

They will web, but the webbing for arboreal is usually more like tubes or dirt curtains. Terrestrial species will usually web around on the ground some after they eat or lay down a thicker mat for molting laying eggs, or collecting sperm. Burrowers may use a little webbing to hold together the top of their burrow & along the insides although some species use more. And then their are some species like C. Cyaneopubescens (GBB) & P. murinus (OBT) that don't follow the rules & web an insane amount

Most species of New world tarantulas have urticating hairs on the top of their rumps (a few of the faster species lack them, but are not recommended for starter Ts & some have the hairs in oddball areas.) Many species won't even bother the flick for the most part. G. pulchripes (chaco golden knee), G. pulchra (brazilian black), B. albopilosum (curly hair), Avic avic (pinktoe), & Avic. versicolor (pinktoe) are some good ones to look into.

Old world tarantulas don't have the hairs, but the most part they are very fast, easily agitated, & the venom is more potent.

 

[AudreyElizabeth]

Someone said to go with Brachypelma albopilosum for the first tarantula. I have to agree. Mine is active (for a tarantula), docile, and not really prone to flicking. I think I've seen her kick hairs once or twice during the eight years that I've had her. Pretty good track record if you ask me.

 

[arachnofreak95]

If you get a B. albopilosum you might want to avoid s'lings though. After my 1 inch s'ling molted for the first time in my care it became extremely nervous and willing to strike. it is now 3.5 inches and its attitude has not changed at all. I heard that they mellow out once they get large but they can be VERY moody when they are young

 

[smallara98]

Someone said to go with Brachypelma albopilosum for the first tarantula. I have to agree. Mine is active (for a tarantula), docile, and not really prone to flicking. I think I've seen her kick hairs once or twice during the eight years that I've had her. Pretty good track record if you ask me.

Totally. They are like the most docile, slow moving, beautiful tarantula I know :worship: Most people say rosea's, but they can be deffensive and pissy sometimes.

 

[Barons]

With the hairless tarantulas that are fast movers and more prone to biting with worse venom. When does that become and issue?

I've only had small spiders in the past and I've never let them out of their habitat. Seems like if you don't let it out it wouldn't matter how badly it wanted to bit you. I guess since these guys live so long you would need to get them out every now and then to thoroughly clean.

What I'm getting at is why do I not want one that has all these traits if its in a cage?

In my experience all spiders will bit you if you give them a chance. I've always thought the more potent venom they had the safe it was for them to eat. One time I was feeding a grasshopper to a spider and the spider bit it and a few seconds latter the grasshopper kicked it so hard it died =(

I guess that's not really an issue with spiders this big.

I have a few questions about feeding. I've watched some youtube videos and it seems like most people are using tongs to pretty much put the food in the tarantulas face. Do any of you just drop the cricket or worms or whatever you are feeding your T into the tank?

About clean up. Do you just have to use tongs to pull the leftover goo off the web or ground or where ever they leave it ever so often or is there more too it that would make me need to let the cage open for more than a few seconds?

Thanks

 

[Hobo]

With the hairless tarantulas that are fast movers and more prone to biting with worse venom. When does that become and issue?

I've only had small spiders in the past and I've never let them out of their habitat. Seems like if you don't let it out it wouldn't matter how badly it wanted to bit you. I guess since these guys live so long you would need to get them out every now and then to thoroughly clean.

What I'm getting at is why do I not want one that has all these traits if its in a cage?

In my experience all spiders will bit you if you give them a chance. I've always thought the more potent venom they had the safe it was for them to eat. One time I was feeding a grasshopper to a spider and the spider bit it and a few seconds latter the grasshopper kicked it so hard it died =(

I guess that's not really an issue with spiders this big.

I have a few questions about feeding. I've watched some youtube videos and it seems like most people are using tongs to pretty much put the food in the tarantulas face. Do any of you just drop the cricket or worms or whatever you are feeding your T into the tank?

About clean up. Do you just have to use tongs to pull the leftover goo off the web or ground or where ever they leave it ever so often or is there more too it that would make me need to let the cage open for more than a few seconds?

Thanks

It become an issue if you are afraid or spiders, aren't careful, are doing rehousings/maintenance, or handling them. That said, it's not that big an issue if you are careful.

Spiders and tarantlas don't want to bite you. They're not out to get you. They will defend themselves if they feel the need to though, but will almost always try and get away as a first response. Yes, you will have to remove them, or move them out of the enclosures sometimes to clean them or to rehouse them. Fortunately there are ways you can do this with minimal risk and tarantulas are somewhat predictable once you get a feel for 'em.

The reason you "don't want" such a spider, is for the time when you have to interact with it, as stated above.

Yeah, spiders will bite you if given the chance, and the provocation to warrant it. They don't go out and bite you at every chance they get. They're not "agressive" in that sense. Note that simple things like disturbing them, nudging them, even making noise/vibrations towards them can count as a "provocation" as far as they're concerned.

Yes, I frequently just drop food in, and so do many others. The reason for the tongs is that some people want to make sure they eat, and don't want to/don't have time to wait around to see that they do. They also may not want a feeder running loose in there for an extended period of time if the spider refuses to eat as it may pose a danger to the spider if it molts.

Cleaning and maintenance usually consists of picking up the bolus after it eats, clumps of poop, and other debris regularly as well as cleaning/filling the waterdish. Yes, you obviously need the enclosure open while you do those things.

From your questions, I'd definitely suggest getting a docile new worlder first (those that typically "flick hair") as it seems you are apprehensive about getting bitten. Like I said, since you like webbers, go for the GBB (Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens), but do your homework first.
Read the stickies in the "tarantula questions" board, especially this thread. Lots of info there.

Good luck.

 

[Barons]

Thanks for all the info!

I'm going to look over it right now.

This may be answered in your link but its really huge so I thought I was just ask. I'm having trouble using the search function. I found a post where someone was looking for a T that was large, didn't flick hair, was terrestrial, and good to view.

He was told to use the search function but i'm not seeing any way to search by traits. Is that an option?

Thanks

 

[NikiP]

It also comes into play when people newer to tarantulas under estimate how quickly they can move You may simple pop the top, toss in a cricket, then realize your sling is on the other side of the room.

 

[bootdsc]

a good webber

If you want one thats easy to care for and spends all of its time building complex webs buy a Cyriocosmus Elegans. There vary small and easy to house, mine is up during the day and is vary entertaining to watch.

 

[newspidermom]

Some advice....READ READ READ! There's ALOT of info out there that you should probably know before you buy anything. You need to get to a point where you don't feel a great need to ask questions AFTER you buy one. You should feel confident you are making the right decision. As stated above most of the more docile species (which is definitely what you should start with) are mostly all hair flickers. One common species to start researching would be Grammostolas and Brachyphelmas. Grammostolas are known to be pretty boring, but they are gentle. Brachyphelmas are a good beginner species, but some are more flicky than others. I have a "Brachyphelma Emilia" that is real gentle and not a big flicker and is quite active...as far as tarantulas go. A common pet store T is "Brachyphelma Smithi" also known as Mexican Red-Knee. But like I said before take a little time and do some homework. It took me a year of reading and learning before I got one.

 

[ZergFront]

They do spin webs but not like the intricate ones you see with a lot of the Araneomorphae. Terristrials and burrowers lay their webbing on the ground and low-hanging things to detect what's coming - prey, predator or a mate. They will also use it to bundle up dirt and debri when escavating a home. Arboreals make a shelter in the trees and cliffs on anything that will support one to detect the same things.

During feeding, they'll sometimes lay a mat of webbing to put the food items in and keep them together. You'll more often see this if the tarantula is given more than one small morsel.

If you want really heavy-webbing tarantulas, check out info on the green bottle blue (Chromatopelma) or the OBT (Pterinochilus murinus).

 

[Barons]

I'm not really into the hair flicking thing. I've had small spiders before so I'm not worried about being bit. I'm more concerned about speed than aggression.

I want to do more research on T's that are visible during the evenings and large. But I want to avoid ones that have urticating hair, are very fast, and have medically relevant venom.

I don't have a fetish for letting poisons critters crawl on me so I'm not worried about the venom so much but I would like to stick to annoying bee sting like bites and avoid the nasty ones that cause tissue death. Just to be on the safe side.

Any ideas why i'm having such a hard time finding a list of the Old World T's? I've searched the forums and google and can't seem to find one. I'd really like to find something with maybe the top 10 largest non urticating hair T's.

Thanks


EDIT: @ Zerg
Yea I figured that out shortly after I started this thread. I was expecting the arboreal ones to be like the spiders i've kept and make really huge "classic" spider webs. I think i'm more interested in the terristrials now that i've learned abit. The burrowers don't sound like you would see them very often and I've found some funny stories about people trying to clean out stuff from their tunnel.

 

[Arachnethegreek]

A good beginner is G. Pulchripes, gets decently sized when full grown, doesn't seem to have a flicking fetish, non medically significant venom, but can be a little skittish when young.

As several others have recommended, read up, grab yourself a copy of the TKG. (tarantula keepers guide) it's basically the bible of tarantula keeping, and an invaluable reference tool.

 

[NikiP]

Barons, check out Avicularia, the most commonly suggested species being Avic. avicularia or Avic. versicolor.

Although arboreal; they aren't terribly fast, they have urticating hairs that they must (although rarely do) rub off rather then flick, & aren't known to be medically significant. They are best known for shoot poo Plus they are very colorful & usually make nice tube webs.

Really though with tarantulas, it's pick your poison. Most are either slow & hairy (although many *can* fling hairs, there are species that are less likely to) or fast & bitey.