Luminary
Arachnopeon
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2012
- Messages
- 26
Does anyone out there own a L.Klugi? Do they have the same temperment as an L.P.? I have read articles with conflicting info.
That is because tarantulas are individuals, not copies of eachother.I have read articles with conflicting info.
We just watched that episode last night!!I have one of each, and the L. klugi is much like my LP. My LP is basically a homicidal rage machine - the other day she latched onto my tongs and wouldn't stop striking them. Attempts to enter her enclosure are met with strikes...there's no threat posturing, just attack! Sometimes I think they're from that alternate evil dimension on South Park where all the pets are evil killers.
I also have a P. irminia who is calm and gentle. So either I live in opposite land, or as mentioned above...personalities in spiders can vary considerably.
I am in agreement here. I know my two big T's have very unique characters.I am in agreement with the OP on the subject of tarantulas, and really anything living, having more of a consciousness than we give them credit for. I will always promote this idea because I think human beings often classify something as being incapable of cognition when their cognition is in a sense we cannot identify with.
Maybe I'm wrong, but if you compare two T's from the same sac, same age and reacting different to the same stimuli, personally I -do- call that personality. The instinct is the same, how they react however isn't which leads to "personality" as in "everyone's different" = T's, too! I wouldn't call them complicated, but since they do react different, you'll get to know your T's over the time. Predictable + T's is something I wouldn't sign outright - there's nothing to argue about the fact that a keeper gets used to his T's and probably vice versa up to a certain point - however that doesn't mean you can really predict them always - like you said: They're purely instinct-driven after all. It's probably just the fact that they get used to certain sounds, vibrations, smells whatnot over time and don't consider it a threat anymore? Purely an observation I made with mine...Tarantulas are purely instinct-driven animals and react to stimuli. The more you work with them, the more predictable they become and the more you realize that you basically "control" them when manipulating them.
"Personality" in tarantulas is a difficult topic. I, personally,find it to be either a case of minor biodiversity, or inconsistency in stimuli/environmental conditions in captivity. We don't actually know, though, but that is no reason to assume they're more complicated than they are, if you ask me.
This is my thoughts as well.I am in agreement with the OP on the subject of tarantulas, and really anything living, having more of a consciousness than we give them credit for. I will always promote this idea because I think human beings often classify something as being incapable of cognition when their cognition is in a sense we cannot identify with.
This can be said about most mammals though, if you are talking about things that extreme. You won't see a lion trying to fly or acting like a chimpanzee either. You won't see a dolphin trying to walk or act like a chimp, etc.I think “personality” is too strong a word to use when defining tarantula behavior. Each individual differs, the differences, however, are fenced in by certain, fairly strict parameters. Some individuals (within the same species) are more or less aggressive than others, more or less active, display differing feeding responses, etc – however, you will never come across a tarantula that behaves like a bird or a fish or a monkey. No one will ever say, “Look at that tarantula, it’s trying to fly” – why, because flight is not a behavior found within in its programming’s toolbox.
Most B. smithis are docile, but some are not – some burrow, some do not, but even if you were to study the behavior of millions upon millions of smithis, you will never come across an individual that attempts to behave like, say, a chimpanzee. If a tarantula has a personality, I would say it has the personality of a tarantula – an individual’s behavior may vary, but only a little more or less than the species’ norm - i.e. predefined parameters - i.e - instincts.