new G. rosea goes psycho!!

[kosh]

there seems to be a trend going on here with G. rosea lately....i keep reading about how peoples new/old rose hairs turn psycho on them......well the 4 - 4 1/2 inch G. rosea i bought from Petco a couple of weeks ago went psycho on me last night....it actually kinda scared me!!!
i was getting ready to feed it some mealworms and the spider was in the corner of the kritter keeper up against the glass......well...i didnt want the spider to miss out on the meal before the worm dug in....so i used a spoon handle to try and gently nudge the T back onto the substrate....as soon as i touched the T it whipped around and attacked the handle!!! scared the beejezus outta me.....then the T sat there in threat position for about 10 minutes and even ignored a worm i threw in there right next to it..(worm disapppeared so i figure it burrowed)....now when i first got this spider, i handled it and it seemed as docile as a baby......
im glad i didnt stick my hand in there to nudge it like i USUALLY do....then i would be posting to the bite report forums!!......i have been feeding the T almost every day and it is very enthusiastic about attacking and eating prey items (mealworms and crickets so far).....could all this feeding i have been doing make the T more aggressive???

 

[looseyfur]

conditioned responce

I am not sure where but I recollect reading a post about conditioned feeding responces in T's. When it comes to feeding I never move or "nudge" my T's I let them do their own thing. T's arent really "more aggressive" when they are used to a feeding proceedure they just know its time to eat and go into eat mode. Shrugs I hope that sheds alittle light on what would seem to be feeding aggression.

happy hunting
looseyfur

 

[Mojo Jojo]

What kind of worm did you give him? Was it a superworm or meal worm? You might want to try to find it, Because the superworm can f your tarantula up during a molt, and the other one can change into a beetle that might be able to f him up too, during a molt.

Big Dragonfly

 

[Immortal_sin]

Kosh,
I'd have to agree with Looseyfur on this one. I have several 'docile' and handleable Ts, but I never gently nudge them with anything, especially when I'm going to feed them. She probably thought it was a food item...but who knows?
Last night, I did the same thing to my A geniculata...with my bare hands! oops...he/she whipped around and 'pounced' on my finger, realized it was not a food item, and backed off. This was all in the space of about one millisecond. I put a cricket in and BAMM! it was scooped right up....
I think alot of times, it's a feeding response, and not necessarily defensivness.
The spoon you used may have frightened her, thus making her think she needed to defend herself.
Just some thoughts from the peanut gallery!

 

[looseyfur]

glad

hell I am just glad someone agreed with me
lol

loosey ;P

 

[kosh]

it was a mealworm.....i really hate to dig around in there to try and find it....how long will a mealworm live in vermiculite?
the spider is showing no signs of impending moult so maybe the worm will die long before a moult??