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I'm not sure that makes total sense...
Tarantulas eat lizards, snakes, birds...but birds and lizards eat spiders. Sometimes it's simply the larger animal wins.
Lasiodora parahybana bites
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Tarantulas eat lizards, snakes, birds...but birds and lizards eat spiders. Sometimes it's simply the larger animal wins.
I disagree with the notion that any tarantula species is more "aggressive" towards humans than another. As I believe this thread very clearly indicates, the personality of your T is entirely unique to your T. Furthermore, I do believe that a T CAN grow accustomed to frequent handling (you essentially become part of its "environment"), and that bites usually happen due to "user error", or because the T, being a predatory creature of negligible intellect, suddenly forgot that you were "safe". I think many T owners mistakenly use aggression as a synonym for "dangerous to handle".
As for my experience:
My L. parahybana just molted, and she's about 6". I handle her probably once a week, and she never gives me any real trouble. She is skittish and defensive, yes, but certainly NOT aggressive. Like all tarantulas, she doesn't much like me poking around her home, but once I can coax her out and onto my hand, she stays pretty calm. Hell, I've had her fall asleep on me a few times, which is actually pretty nerve-wracking. Would you want to wake a sleeping tarantula?
I'm going to suggest three "C's" that will give anyone wanting to handle their T's a 99.99% guarantee of never being bitten:
1. Carefulness -- Be EXTREMELY gentle, and take your time! RESPECT.
2. Common sense -- If it looks pissed, it is. Don't go chasing waterfalls.
3. Confidence -- If you don't feel stable, your T won't either. Relax.
I also want to note that I personally believe it's possible to calm an angry tarantula. I've had a lot of instances where I've met a defensive T with very soft, slow, deliberate, even strokes with a brush or tongs, and once they realize that my presence and motions aren't harmful or threatening, they cool their jets a bit. It's not going to work every time, of course, but it is true in many situations that if you show a little love and respect, many times, that's what you'll get back.
Oh, and I don't mean to offend anyone, but the religious debate going on in this thread is absurd and WAY out of line. Just my $0.02.
As for my experience:
My L. parahybana just molted, and she's about 6". I handle her probably once a week, and she never gives me any real trouble. She is skittish and defensive, yes, but certainly NOT aggressive. Like all tarantulas, she doesn't much like me poking around her home, but once I can coax her out and onto my hand, she stays pretty calm. Hell, I've had her fall asleep on me a few times, which is actually pretty nerve-wracking. Would you want to wake a sleeping tarantula?
I'm going to suggest three "C's" that will give anyone wanting to handle their T's a 99.99% guarantee of never being bitten:
1. Carefulness -- Be EXTREMELY gentle, and take your time! RESPECT.
2. Common sense -- If it looks pissed, it is. Don't go chasing waterfalls.
3. Confidence -- If you don't feel stable, your T won't either. Relax.
I also want to note that I personally believe it's possible to calm an angry tarantula. I've had a lot of instances where I've met a defensive T with very soft, slow, deliberate, even strokes with a brush or tongs, and once they realize that my presence and motions aren't harmful or threatening, they cool their jets a bit. It's not going to work every time, of course, but it is true in many situations that if you show a little love and respect, many times, that's what you'll get back.
Oh, and I don't mean to offend anyone, but the religious debate going on in this thread is absurd and WAY out of line. Just my $0.02.
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Demon187 I have never heard a more silly statement than the one you posted. Are you stating animals are more intelligent than humans? Man has the ability to learn, reason, and make choices. I hope you can expand more on your comment if you are able. The fact that man cause destruction means man make bad choices not that animals are more intelligent. Read the Bible if you can it states that the animals came to Adam and he named them. Adam did not go to the animals and get named by them.
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I would not suggest handling anything that has even a slight aggression...you can't necessarily base aggression on one genus either because I have seen aggressive G. Rosea's before and docile Baboons, each individual is different. But if I were you I would steer clear from handling it. I used to have a A. Geniculata (spelling may be wrong) spiderling that was handleable up to about 3.5 inches then all the sudden it started to strike when I would try to herd it into its new environment...I stopped handling it then.
:clap:
Good convo. My 2 cents...
On the aggressive/defensive subject. Regardless of the term used it's pretty understood what's being described in this particular scenario: responsive in a violent way. For the T to be aggressive it needs a target. Therefore it's clearly responding to some stimuli in a violent way. If it's to be defensive, it again requires that stimuli only now the T has judged it as a threat. So it comes down to each individual Ts completely circumstantial judgment of whatever it's responding to.
With this in mind, the best we are doing is making generalizations based on genetic similarity. Each individual T and each individual situation goes FAR beyond our generalizations. The best one can do really is to study each individual T.
Now the matter of handling and the conditioning of the T accordingly. The keystone to this bridge of understanding is the T's ability to form habits in behavior based off exposure to a certain type of stimuli over time. This calls for the T to have some sort of "memory" or way of "storing" information. The T has to be able to experience the stimuli, associate it to past stimuli, and respond in a manner similar to the way it did previously.
We can't really, at this point in time imo, make a conclusion as to the degree of the T's ability in this field. My A. metallica was my first T, 4"+. Bought her from a petstore. Now, there have been 3 times I have slipped up. 3 times she would teleport to my hand/finger, legs raised, grab me, let go, and spin remaining in the same area just facing the opposite direction. First time I was relieved, second time I found it interesting, third time I started to wonder... 3 opportunities to bite me and seemed to have full intent on doing so but on contact would completely call off that "instinct". She will not walk on my skin, she touches it and just stops or walks around. She has no problem putting 3 or 4 legs on it, but won't go on it. Have to wear gloves to pick her up.
They're pretty incredible creatures. I found them fascinating before but now spending more time with them it just grows.
Good convo. My 2 cents...
On the aggressive/defensive subject. Regardless of the term used it's pretty understood what's being described in this particular scenario: responsive in a violent way. For the T to be aggressive it needs a target. Therefore it's clearly responding to some stimuli in a violent way. If it's to be defensive, it again requires that stimuli only now the T has judged it as a threat. So it comes down to each individual Ts completely circumstantial judgment of whatever it's responding to.
With this in mind, the best we are doing is making generalizations based on genetic similarity. Each individual T and each individual situation goes FAR beyond our generalizations. The best one can do really is to study each individual T.
Now the matter of handling and the conditioning of the T accordingly. The keystone to this bridge of understanding is the T's ability to form habits in behavior based off exposure to a certain type of stimuli over time. This calls for the T to have some sort of "memory" or way of "storing" information. The T has to be able to experience the stimuli, associate it to past stimuli, and respond in a manner similar to the way it did previously.
We can't really, at this point in time imo, make a conclusion as to the degree of the T's ability in this field. My A. metallica was my first T, 4"+. Bought her from a petstore. Now, there have been 3 times I have slipped up. 3 times she would teleport to my hand/finger, legs raised, grab me, let go, and spin remaining in the same area just facing the opposite direction. First time I was relieved, second time I found it interesting, third time I started to wonder... 3 opportunities to bite me and seemed to have full intent on doing so but on contact would completely call off that "instinct". She will not walk on my skin, she touches it and just stops or walks around. She has no problem putting 3 or 4 legs on it, but won't go on it. Have to wear gloves to pick her up.
They're pretty incredible creatures. I found them fascinating before but now spending more time with them it just grows.
its gotta be true if it was in the bible! :? my post did not state animals are more inteligent than us
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If you are implying that animals do not have the ability to learn, that's absolutely ignorant.
As well as make choices. Reason, debatable, but that entire comment was unfounded and can easily be diminished.
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Demon187 if you can read I was asking a question. That is why a question mark was at the end. You have your opinion regardless of how foolish I think it is and I have my opinion regardless how foolish you think it is. I don't know if you were being sincere or a fool BUT I agree if it's in the Bible IT's TRUE as far as I am concern!
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Nobody knows....we're all foolish for arguing via the internet....
i have a 7'' L. parahybana...it will no longer fit in my palm...but i always have the time to handle them atleast 1's a week...
always remember....never put your finger in front of them, or within their terretory...ill asure u...they will bite...hehehe...
heres what you will do...let ur T' move by touching its butt and crawl out its enclosure...het your T crawl in your palm...do not attemp to pick...ill assure you...it will be fine...
have the courage...if ure really determined, you can do it... heres take a look at my pic..
always remember....never put your finger in front of them, or within their terretory...ill asure u...they will bite...hehehe...
heres what you will do...let ur T' move by touching its butt and crawl out its enclosure...het your T crawl in your palm...do not attemp to pick...ill assure you...it will be fine...
have the courage...if ure really determined, you can do it... heres take a look at my pic..
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Hairmetalspider you need to look up the definition of ignorant before you use it towards me! Animals are trained. Can you teach animals math? Computers skills? They cannot retain knowledge like humans. So I believed that ignorant statement is reserved for YOU!
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I was gonna say about the same thing as dalitan.
Mine's not quite that big, but its basically the same thing. If you put something in front of it, it'll bite. If I throw a cricket in the cage the T will almost catch it out of the air. Its fast as hell. If I startle it its first response is to bite at the tongs or whatever I'm moving near it. Just move slowly and calmly and you'll have a much better chance.
As for the question of whether or not they calm down as they get older, mine has done the exact opposite. The older/bigger it gets, the faster and hungrier it gets.
Mine's not quite that big, but its basically the same thing. If you put something in front of it, it'll bite. If I throw a cricket in the cage the T will almost catch it out of the air. Its fast as hell. If I startle it its first response is to bite at the tongs or whatever I'm moving near it. Just move slowly and calmly and you'll have a much better chance.
As for the question of whether or not they calm down as they get older, mine has done the exact opposite. The older/bigger it gets, the faster and hungrier it gets.
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I remember when I had my G. pulchra and it was like 1" and I had it in its vial with the lid off because I was preparing its new setup and I had the crickets ready in hopes it would eat soon after not really thinkin to let it get used to its environment first...I opened the cricket cage to get a pinhead out and it jumped up into the air into the G. Pulchra vial and the T. caught it no joke in mid air....coolest thing I had ever seen hands down.
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Right. Alright disciple, training is still a form of learning. And yes, they can retain knowledge. Could they not, there would be no Sea World. (*GASP*)
They also make choices. (Hm. That rapid dog looks like it might bite me, I think I'm going to stay away.)
Oh, andI think you may have accidentally hit your caps lock towards the end there. Just letting you know ;-)
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The rabid dog that might bite you...tell him to go seek medical treatment. Let's see if he will follow your advice. In 2002 I talked to the walrus trainer at Sea World and he stated after a few years they have to get new walruses to do thoses tricks because they associate the tricks with food and after a while they don't work for treats. Open your tarantulas' cages in call them and see if they response. Release your tarantulas back in the wild and let's see if they return to show you some affection for caring for them. I now will put the caps back on THIS IS GETTING SILLY! STICK TO THE QUESTION ASK! How's that?
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Half of what you said was not even relevant to the conversation and didn't make any sense.
Maybe your definition of the ability to learn is different. Yes, animals can be taught to things by classical conditioning. So do people. In fact, pretty much a humans entire life is based upon classical conditioning.
And actually Sir, a tarantula will respond if interaction is put forth upon them. I suggest reading through some of these pages before shooting your mouth off. While their chemistry and 'brain' is physically different, they do have response mechanisms. I'd also like to point out you continue to use a tarantula as an example, and while what you're saying may slightly make sense when referencing a bug, there are other animals in our world that do not function the same way and have increased intellectual capacity.
If it even was possible, an animal returning or lackthereof wouldn't have ANYTHING to do with their ability to learn or decision making. So your statement is hereby nonsense.
I've said my piece and am done having a conversation that would be more intellectual with a brick. Take care, say Hi to the big guy for me.
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Hairmentalspider I glad you spoke your so called peace. The same thing you posted about me can be said about you. It's good to see you can get courage behind a computer screen. You started this nonsense by shooting off you mouth. Take care and if you do not have anything thing to say about the thread then you don't have to say a doggone thing to me, for me, or about me! Can you dig on that!