Haplopelma longipes (Vietnamese Tiger) is way fast

Bengal21

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 4, 2010
Messages
42
Ok, so this guy is my 4th T. I have read they're fast and aggressive and he's gone into his threat pose a couple of times in the 48 hours I've had him, but tonight...MY GOD!!! I opened the top of his cage and had some 10" foreceps with a super worm. I put it down in front of his face and apparently he had other ideas...up the forceps onto my hand and while I did take a quick step back, he had come up on my arm up to my elbow and was in his threat pose again. All this in what I swear was less than a quarter of a second. I walked to the kitchen to get the deli cup out of the cabinet and got him in there without further incident. I had respect for my T's before and now this one has gained a new level.

P.S. After all that, he refused the food!!! Jerk.
 

Enomegra

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 14, 2010
Messages
35
Hahaha I was literally laughing out loud. {D

You describe the entire event so well I can picture not only the T and its part in the festivities, but also your face. I know the face because I have had it myself rehousing a few of my more ornery friends. The Haplopelmas are certainly an intense genus. Yours was just testing you. Making sure you understand the pecking order around there. I take it from this post that you have {D
 

2oCHEVYo0

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 29, 2010
Messages
67
Ha, that's pretty funny! Know the face too :D just experienced something similar. Got my first P. Murinus the other day and learned just how quick they are. I pulled the lid off to check on her since the ride home was quite cold. Touched her with my paintbrush and OFF she went! I mean, it was so quick I just sat there and was like huh, where'd you go spidey :? Before I could gather my thoughts it was up the side of the cage and down to the ground, but didn't stop there. I figured she'd get tired withing a couple feet of running but boy was I wrong!!! It was like the freakin' energizer bunny, heading straight for the crack under a dresser in our basement nearly 12' away. Barely cupped it before it made its way under which woulda been bad. Mom woulda freaked if she knew there was a little Orange Bitey Thing runnin round her house, snatchin her people up ;P hehehe

Anyways, yeah I know that Oh $%!* face for sure!
 

curiousme

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 11, 2008
Messages
1,661
Ok, so this guy is my 4th T. I have read they're fast and aggressive and he's gone into his threat pose a couple of times in the 48 hours I've had him, but tonight...MY GOD!!! I opened the top of his cage and had some 10" foreceps with a super worm. I put it down in front of his face and apparently he had other ideas...up the forceps onto my hand and while I did take a quick step back, he had come up on my arm up to my elbow and was in his threat pose again. All this in what I swear was less than a quarter of a second. I walked to the kitchen to get the deli cup out of the cabinet and got him in there without further incident. I had respect for my T's before and now this one has gained a new level.

P.S. After all that, he refused the food!!! Jerk.
Aaaw shucks, it didn't stridulate for you too? We have one of these and when we brought it home, it gave us the first threat display we had the pleasure of seeing and then it started stridulating; which is a crazy sounding noise.(kind of like velcro being pulled apart) We have never seen her speed other than her blinking back down her burrow, but we don't try and tong feed her either. ;) Glad you were able to remain cool under that pressure and thanks for sharing, I enjoyed the giggle!:D
 

spiderslight

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 15, 2008
Messages
42
all the hoplos i have had are like little stored balls of energy they use little energy till they need to but when they do it leaves you sitting still while they tag you 3 or 4 times before you know what is going on.
 

AudreyElizabeth

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 10, 2003
Messages
741
Thanks for sharing. I actually laughed out loud too! Wow, that sounds intense. I'm glad you were able to keep your head on your shoulders and get him cupped safely.
I know the last time I rehoused my haplo, (which may be in fact the last time I rehouse her) my heart was pounding at the sheer size and speed of the beast.

Nah, I've been making plans to get her into a different set-up. Your story is truly thought provoking though. :D A threat pose is usually sort of amusing, but I don't know about a threat pose being performed on my elbow LOL.

Reminds me of thread way back.
"Feeding tongs are a highway to the hand". Can't for the life of me remember who said it, but it has always stuck with me. {D
 

BigJ999

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 1, 2010
Messages
188
This Genus has a really nasty rep lol from what ive heard and read it takes little to make them defensive. And ive heard some are just nasty and want to attack anything lol like the thai black
 

Pociemon

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 25, 2007
Messages
911
Nice story, and i can relate to your story. I have a lot of the chinese haplopelma, and i was rehousing 6 h hainanum, the last one to a run. I could not find it on the floor, and there were no place it could hide. It was not on my back, so i decided i wanted a smoke, and after 5min i looked at my shoulder, and there was my nice female;)

 

Bengal21

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 4, 2010
Messages
42
UPDATE: Now this thing has dug a burrow in the back of the cage and vanished. I am the proud owner of an agressive, 20 dollar, pet hole. I'll sound really tough when I explain to anyone, "see that hole? Well one time, it tried to kill me!".
 

Chris_Skeleton

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Messages
1,309
UPDATE: Now this thing has dug a burrow in the back of the cage and vanished. I am the proud owner of an agressive, 20 dollar, pet hole. I'll sound really tough when I explain to anyone, "see that hole? Well one time, it tried to kill me!".
Just label it "Vietnamese Death Trap"
 
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