Ok, so I am an idiot. I just bought an OBT.

[NixHexDude]

You'll be fine. Just be as calm as you can when doing feeding, maintenance etc. You will build your comfort level. I was terrified when I got mine 2 years back, and now I don't bat an eye around her. I personally use a screen top so i can dump water right in the dish. She runs and hides when I open the lid, which yours doesn't seem to want to do.

I would advise moving the cage to an open area when you have to crack the lid. Although they are fast, they can't go far. If it gets out, you can easily recapture it this way. They are much less scary when you have them out on the floor in an open room. Keep a cup handy to catch it and some cardboard to slide underneath. Worst case scenario you have to catch it, but this can only help you shed the fear. Also, long tweezers are a must for any T keeper, especially feisty ones.

 

[nexen]

Phew. Thanks for the encouragement! ( well, except from scar ) She's a beautiful little girl and I think I got her for a rock bottom price, so I'm really happy. I just hope I remain as lucky as I was today when I make my next inevitable stupid mistakes. You all might think they are underrated but I've only been keeping really easy Ts up to this point so it really feels like I've gone from an economy car to a Ferrari. So incredibly fast...I still cant believe how she moved today.

I've since braved filling replacing and filling her water dish. She's gone back to being invisible so it was a non-event. Actually she's also completely closed her burrow entrance off and is just buried. I read some do this occasionally so I shouldn't be alarmed....right? It's literally an inch of substrate with a larger lump where she's hiding so I dont expect that it would be much trouble for her to escape.

Tomorrow - the rehousing! This particular lps had her housed decently (surprise, surprise), but I think I'd like to give her some more depth to burrow into.

Never had a pet get my heart rate up like that before. I kind of liked it.

 

[nexen]

So tongs, double-ended hide (tube of some sort?), benedryl and grain alcohol. Ok, I go shopping after work tomorrow.

A few other Qs if you kind folk would oblige me:

1) Is the coloration set at this size? (~3 inches with legs when she was huddled in the plastic handle) Shes more of a beige than an orange right now. I do like her look but I see some people's OBT pictures/videos and they are a brilliant orange...

2) Can I influence her burrow/web behavior in any way? I'd be happy with her as a pet hole but I'd much rather her web and stay out in the open like I think I've read others do.

Thanks!

 

[IrishKnight]

i plan to get an OBT,Pmetallica and H.lividum as soon as i have enough experience and courage to get these faster and more defensive Ts lol

 

[codykrr]

1. yes she will get bright orange within the next 2 molts
2. you can just dont give as much substrate and more suff to climb on, but...and yeah here is the "but" if she wants to burrow she will just make elabrate tube webs under the surface of the dirt so either way they will be a pet hole....also if they go arboreal(climb) there webbing is so thick there hard to see anyway.

 

[codykrr]

i plan to get an OBT,Pmetallica and H.lividum as soon as i have enough experience and courage to get these faster and more defensive Ts lol

trust me...none of the species are cracked up to what there supposed to be...obts hide more than anything, h. lividium is the biggest pet hole ever!(also rarely seen except late at night) and p. mettalica well i dont have one but i here there fast but highly skittish. i personally wouldnt let a little speed and defensiveness keep you from owning some of the more regarded Ts, as long as you respect them, use caution, and some common sence, you will do fine..but, if you dont feel comfortable with doing so then your probly not ready

 

[nexen]

1. yes she will get bright orange within the next 2 molts

Thank you, I was hoping to hear that! The pics of the bright orange ones are so amazing - they're why I picked this species. Even so I'd have bought her anyways just because I wanted an OBT and the only place that carries Ts around here (that I will patronize) will not stock OBTs because of their rep. They had a h.lividum though so...go figure.

2. you can just dont give as much substrate and more suff to climb on, but...and yeah here is the "but" if she wants to burrow she will just make elabrate tube webs under the surface of the dirt so either way they will be a pet hole....also if they go arboreal(climb) there webbing is so thick there hard to see anyway.

Ok thanks. I'm going to try that when I rehouse her. Even if I dont see her I'd rather see a bunch of webbing than a bunch of dirt.
Of course she's literally buried herself under an inch of dirt right now so I don't hold much hope. She is a dirt bump.

 

[Kamikaze]

an excellent choice. OBTs are defensive T's but really interesting.
Also, they're not hard to breed when breeding time comes.
Good luck!

 

[ph0bia]

My first spider was a P.Chordatus, apparently very similar, but I do have a P.Murinus juve also. They have a real bad rep as "super mean and nasty", just don't poke them in their hole. Here's a few tips:

1. They can be fed in a really cute way. Once they've established a burrow, hold your hopper (or cricket) by its back legs with forceps and lower it in front of the burrow. More often than not, the spider darts forward and takes it from the tweezers. Very cute. Just don't do it too often, let it hunt too.

2. Be careful when removing the lid. Check where the spider is and open the lid slowly. If it's on the side and you yank the lid off, it will usually 'teleport' further up the side and down the other onto the floor. If this happens, just carefully pot it back in.

3. If you want to lure it out, don't poke the hide. If it's webbed against something outside the hide, stroke this item with the forceps or even stroke the dirt it's webbed on just outside. You should see it calmly coming to investigate. When it's about to touch the forceps, move them back a little and keep stroking. You can usually lure them out this way.

4. They're a brilliant species. You're not an idiot at all! Just treat the creature with respect, and don't expect it to be all cuddly and friendly. They're very territorial. Personally, I find my H.Albostriatum far fiercer... and she's half the size of my P.Murinus juve.

5. Once they've established their burrows, they tend to be much mellower when out of it. They're very fast and will either dart for the burrow or for higher ground when disturbed. See point 2 on this.

As I said, as long as you treat it with a little more respect than you would your rosie, they're a lovely species. And showing it feeding to friends (as described in point 1) is a really cute and quite exciting little experience. No other T I've ever seen will do this besides Pterinochilus species.

Enjoy your feisty little wonder!

EDIT: Just read your question about her throwing dirt up against the entrance and blocking herself in. Two things to say here:

1. They will do this whilst getting used to their burrow and setting it up and modifying it. They block the entrance so that food and other inquisitive things don't poke their nose in whilst she's doing the interior decor, so to speak. Usually means she's webbing the walls of the burrow for stability, or excavating further. It's a good sign.

2. Don't worry about it, even should part of the burrow collapse. Remember this: When she began digging, the hole was smaller than a collapse or blockage (ie, there was no hole). She burrowed in, so she can burrow back out no trouble. =)

Also, in regards to the webbing rather than burrowing... When I first got my P.Chordatus (a good 5" legspan) I only had enough substrate from the pet store to give her like 1" at max depth in her enclosure. She went under a plant (a fake one that can best be imagined as a rock with a disc of leaves just above it) and made a tunnel of web using the leaves as the roof, the side of the enclosure as one wall and then just made a tunnel with the rest. This was cool as I could clearly see her in it. About a week ago, she decided to take all this down so I moved her into a box last night and filled her enclosure with more substrate to see how she goes with that.

Sorry for the long post!!!

 

[NixHexDude]

Personally, I'd recommend waiting to rehouse until after a molt. OBT's are pretty tough, so it probably won't have averse effects. But with all the action of being bought and escaping etc, I'd let it molt and then fatten up before rehousing it. Rehousing puts a reasonable amount of stress on the spider. If it barricaded the entrance, it may be preparing to molt as it is.

 

[Rochelle]

Your story of the escape attempt at the store was hilarious...and you are not an idiot for buying an obt.
These kids tend to be much more tractable outside of their tanks...

However - be careful with tong feeding inside the enclosure. These kids will happily run right up the tongs so fast you will only see the vapor trail left behind them...
I have to agree with previous posters, though ~ pokies and Singapores are waaaay faster than obt's.

 

[Neophyte]

i plan to get an OBT,Pmetallica and H.lividum as soon as i have enough experience and courage to get these faster and more defensive Ts lol

Just get a OBT sling. It helps alot.

 

[nexen]

[...lots of awesome info...]
Sorry for the long post!!!

Don't be sorry! I'm going to make notes of all of that! Thanks so much!

 

[nexen]

Personally, I'd recommend waiting to rehouse until after a molt. OBT's are pretty tough, so it probably won't have averse effects. But with all the action of being bought and escaping etc, I'd let it molt and then fatten up before rehousing it. Rehousing puts a reasonable amount of stress on the spider. If it barricaded the entrance, it may be preparing to molt as it is.

Ok thanks. I'll follow that advice.

I pretty much annihilated her burrow in the panic that followed the escape so I imagine she's just constructing it fresh again instead of molting. But how can I tell if shes molting if she's buried anyways? She does have a couple of crickets in there left over from the pet store so I want to remove them if shes going to molt.

 

[nexen]

These kids tend to be much more tractable outside of their tanks...

Whoa. I've also seen some people hold these guys on youtube. One crazy guy had an OBT crawling over his face.
I'm not quite there yet, I think.

I'll pick up my other guys if I need a handling fix. This one is going to be a look-don't-touch pet for the short term

 

[ph0bia]

Don't be sorry! I'm going to make notes of all of that! Thanks so much!

Awesome! I'm glad you find it useful. My P.Chordata is possibly my favourite T (I love the looks and she's got so much spirit! - But if not, my B.Auratum for looks and cuteness) but close second(third) is my P.Murinus. Feeding her from the forceps is so cute, and whilst fast, the dash is like 3 foot max.

They're a good start for getting onto more aggressive species (No way in hell I'd have coped rehousing my H.Albostriatum without the training my Chordata gave me!) and to be honest, I prefer them!

Pterinochilus = fave genus

If you do happen to have any further questions, do feel free to PM me if you wish (or to just post here =P).

 

[nexen]

If you do happen to have any further questions, do feel free to PM me if you wish (or to just post here =P).

Thanks ph0bia, I just may take you up on that!

 

[Stan Schultz]

Ok, so I am an idiot. I just bought an OBT. ... Any words of wisdom for someone who just got in way over their head here? ...

Not so much an idiot. These are fascinating and beautiful tarantulas. While they seem to have a permanent chip on their shoulders, they also have a certain appeal because of their habit of webbing up their cages and their coloring. Don't sell them short. They're quite popular as pets.

Most important, OBTs have a "medically significant bite." Do not attempt to handle or manipulate it without wearing light, leather gloves. In over 40 years of handling literally thousands of tarantulas we've never been bitten through a pair of light leather work gloves. You can get a pair at nearly any hardware store or garden shop.

Use a light weight, plastic drinking glass (maybe left over from a recent party) to move the tarantula. Transparent is best so you can see what it's doing. Merely wait until it's in the correct position and carefully lower the glass over it. It'll have its usual hissy-fit, but inside the glass. Slide a small piece of light cardboard (from a cereal box, for instance) under the glass to hold it in, and transfer it to its new place with relative safety.

WARNING: INCOMING, UNABASHED COMMERCIAL PLUG!
If you are bitten, take both the tarantula and a copy of the Tarantula Keeper's Guide to your nearest medical emergency room and ask for a shot of Demerol for the pain. You need the show-and-tell materials to convince them that you're not just another druggie off the street trying to get a free fix. (The reason we mention the Guide is that of all tarantula care books, apparently it alone contains a section describing what to do in case you're bitten, including the use of Demerol.)
END - COMMERCIAL PLUG

After you've been around your OBT for a few days or weeks you'll learn how it behaves and be able to predict its reactions a little better. After it settles down and gets accustomed to its new cage it'll choose one area to reside in and the rest to merely hunt or prowl in. Once you notice this you can use the cage cover as a barrier between yourself and the tarantula to allow you to safely work in the cage, even quite close to the tarantula. This is a great help in servicing the water dish and removing dead crickets, for instance.

You can expedite its "accustomization" by supplying it with a small cave-like ornament to hide in. Many of these are sold by pet shops, but you can get creative as well with things you might find around the home. Be sure to avoid anything made of cedar!

Another trick is to acquire a medium sized plastic container (e.g., a 1 pint - 500 ml - transparent plastic deli cup, or for larger tarantulas a transparent plastic candy tub from a corner convenience store) and merely drop it over the tarantula when you need to work in the cage. The spider remains trapped under the clear plastic container while you work, and you can see what it's doing anytime you need to.

Many OBTs fill their cages with webbing to the point where you can hardly see the water dish, much less get to it to fill it. From a drugstore, your doctor, or a veterinarian get a 60 ml hypodermic syringe. Fit it with a 12" (30 cm) length of standard aquarium airline tubing instead of a needle and use that to fill the water dish by merely poking it through the webbing. The tarantula may have another hissy-fit because of the intrusion, but when it's thirsty it's more than capable of tearing through the excess webbing to get to the water.

Several other people have also mentioned using a pair of long forceps (tongs) for picking out dead crickets and dirty webbing. These can be had for relatively little money at tool stores and mechanic's supply houses. Many auto parts stores also stock them.

Whenever you need to work in the cage with the tarantula (e.g., cleaning) do it in the bathroom. Remove everything movable (e.g., scale, hamper, trash can, towels, extra toilet paper) out of the place to reduce the number of uncontrollable hiding places and scatter 2 or 3 rumpled towels in the corners. These will serve as hiding places for the tarantula if it gets loose. (Half the battle of getting it back into its cage is knowing where it is!)

Move all the paraphernalia, tools and supplies you'll need into the bathroom. Don't forget to move the tarantula in there too.

Let everyone in your home know that you're temporarily commandeering the bathroom for half an hour to an hour and they'd better do whatever they need to do now because they're not going to want to drop their drawers in there once you turn that spider loose.

Tape a "Do Not Disturb" sign to the outside of the door as a reminder. Do not lock the door. If you need help, someone will have to be able to easily get in to help you.

Roll a large bath towel into a long sausage shape and use it to block the space under the bathroom door to prevent the tarantula from getting out into the rest of your home.

Work in the bathtub. (Need we mention that you're kneeling outside the tub while the tarantula, cages, and tools are inside it?) Having to run up the bathtub walls will slow it down enough to give you a fighting chance if it tries to make a break for it. BE SURE TO PLUG ANY AND ALL DRAINS. You might want to throw one rumpled towel into one end of the tub as a controllable hiding place, too.

When cleaning its cage, it is best to have another clean cage ready for it, allowing you to do one quick move from the old, dirty cage to the new, clean one. Not only is this a lot safer for both you and the tarantula, but there will always be someone in your home who ignores all your best efforts at warning them about not using the bathroom. They will need to use the bathroom on an emergency basis smack in the middle of the operation. We guarantee it! A simple move from one cage to another takes a lot less time and therefore will make your house mates a lot happier, too.

Lastly, these tricks don't only work with OBTs. They're also handy with almost any obstreperous tarantula. Once you've had a little experience with OBTs, there's a pretty good chance you're going to want to keep some of the other not-so-handleable species. Many of them are drop dead gorgeous and easily worth the small added caution required when working around them.

Enjoy your little banshee from Hell!

 

[ph0bia]

Man alive, you demonize them SO much!

I've never had ANY issues with either of mine, either juve or adult. Moving was as straightforward as it is for any spider (just don't handle). I just move her carefully from her enclosure into a small travel enclosure that I got (an icecream tub in essence), do the work and then prop her back.

They're much more likely to run than to bite if they're not in their burrow, and they only dash a maximum of three feet at mature. My juve teleports, but only ever as far as twelve inches. Easy to control.

I understand what you're getting at with the above post, that it's better safe than sorry, but demonizing them breeds fear for these spiders and it's something I don't believe they deserve. Being scared of it is going to cause you issues because 1) You can't enjoy the spider, 2) Doing maintenance etc is going to be dangerous for you and the spider if you're shaking and jumping all over the place.

Just treat these guys with respect. It's all they need.


As anecdotal, I once took the top off a wee bit fast before my P.Murinus had settled in properly, before she'd taken to her burrow, and she shot up my arm to my elbow. I wasn't even in a T-shirt. I carefully put my hand in front of her, poked her back legs and placed her back in. I'd not recommend trying this, but I had little choice. THEY ARE NOT AS DEFENSIVE WHEN THEY ARE OUTSIDE THEIR BURROW.

When they're inside the burrow it's a different matter because that's their territory and there is nowhere to run.

Also, from what I hear of reports of the bite it's just a long ache for a fortnight and muscle cramps for a bit longer after. Yes, head to the hospital with it, but I doubt they'd assume you're a druggy if you show them the bite-marks, and trying to pen up the tarantula to take with you ain't gonna be easy (no way I'm taking her full enclosure with me) and could result in further bites if you've already pissed it off.


End of the day, what I'm getting at is that these guys SERIOUSLY aren't as bad as people make out. Breeding fear is only going to put people off them and cause accidents with those who do have them.
Respect them, treat them carefully, but there's no need to be afraid.

 

[jb7741]

Man alive, you demonize them SO much!

You don't want to make it out as though they are hell bent on your destruction, but they are nicknamed "orange bitey things" for a reason.

You don't hear of the dreaded BBT: brown bitey things, or ABT: avic bitey things.

I haven't had any problems out of mine either, but they are protectors of their own homes for sure.

Just be smart and they are really cool. Everyone needs at least one OBT in their collection.

Oh, and no matter how cool their feet look, don't go touching them as it only pisses them off.