There are no "nice" tarantulas though. They're animals that react based on instinct. They don't have "bad moods," they don't get tamer, they don't learn to trust you, etc. They tolerate us humans, and that tolerance varies from individual to individual, day to day, even hour to hour. Touching them is going to evoke a response, usually some sort of defensive response, and like all animals, that response is going to be fight, flee, or freeze.They feel it with their hairs and their reaction time is a lot faster than ours. Usually they'll turn around because they think it's food but sometimes they'll turn around and bite whatever you touch them with. Sometimes they'll go into threat pose if they're in a bad mood/a defensive T. If they're really "docile" they won't move or they'll just walk away slowly. This either means they're in premolt and lack a feeding response or they're just a "nice" tarantula
Ts don't use vision as their primary sense to learn about their world as humans and other animals do. There is no scanning the horizon nor immediate vicinity for prey/predators. They use their sense of touch to learn about their world.
Extremely poor. There are a lot of things during husbandry I have done that doesn't get their attention that is merely an inch away from them. But the moment I touch their sub near them or far at times, they are clearly on alert for some. Others, like my G. pulchripes and GBB actively move toward the disturbance letting their front legs move in a manner that is clearly used in a sensory method, ie not a simple walking motion.
Makes sense. I'm probably looking at this with my human bias. I can see well, so I can see things coming, but if you were standing an inch behind me, I might not know it. Then again, I'm - thankfully! - not covered in setae!
Yep that's why I used the quotation marks haha
To be honest touching it somewhere it can see isn't a good idea either . The safest bet is to assume that they all bite since they all do . It's just that some of them will put up with more pestering from their owners then others will . If people wouldn't insist on playing with their Ts like furry little toys then there would be a whole lot fewer bites . I have said it before and I'll say it again , they are look at pets . I understand that basic maintenance does require going into their enclosures from time to time . A good pair of tongs or locking clamps will make the process much safer for the owner and his/her T .
Humans have this intrinsic desire to touch things, to care for things, etc. And for the most part, the pets we have, we can pet. We can love on them, we can hold them, and they respond to us. So we want to apply that desire to all our pets, but I don't think people truly understand the nature of some of the animals they keep, such as inverts and reptiles.
^^^^^ This is what I try to do. I don't have the large number of adult T's like most of us, but I try to never touch mine or make it move if possible. I also have no T's that are considered anything different from docile or skittish except for my H. Gigas which is still a sling. One of my Tapi. Gigas and Avic Diversipes tried to bite a paint brush during rehousing when I received them new and didn't know how to rehouse very well (and they are considered as skittish instead of aggressively defensive. I was touching the back leg in both cases.
I do the same thing. Though my P. sazimai will still attack her water dish if she's close to it while I'm refilling it and it is splashing even if she's in premolt and not eating. But that's just because she gets SUPER grumpy during premolt...more so than any of my other spiders.
