Ping Pong Balls!

[CakeLore]

I'd heard T's will play with ping pong balls so I decided to give it a shot with mine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QXS3xIk0f4 Is it possible for her to hurt her fangs on it? I removed it after she lost interest but would like to experiment further.

 

[NGLepine]

I would assume, she maybe thought it was an abandoned egg sac and was attempting to eat it.

 

[Arachtion]

Interesting, looks like she is biting it,

 

[MarkmD]

I was thinking of giving one to my T's but wasn't sure if they would damage thair fangs?, I couldn't imagine that it would so might try it.

 

[CakeLore]

I don't think it'd be able to damage their fangs but I didn't want her to have it unsupervised. I put it in again tonight I'll report anything else that happens!

 

[pperrotta03]

I would say to make sure the ball isnt heavy. They make many different sizes of ping pong balls. I dont think the light ones would be able to do any damage. My rosie loves hers!

 

[Cavedweller]

I'm gonna try this with my Aphonopelma soon! Maybe it'll give her something to do besides bury her water bowl.

A thought on the "they think it's an eggsac" theory. While a ping pong ball appears similar to an eggsac to humans (due to its shape/color), the T probably can't see it that well. I would imagine to their senses (touch/smell/who knows what else) it wouldn't seem similar to an eggsac at all. What do you guys think?

 

[Hobo]

From all the videos I've seen, and personal experience, I believe that they are simply trying to "move" or remove the ball like they would any other foreign object in/around their burrow.

For those of you who have plastic/silk plants in with their Ts, no doubt you've seen them grab them with their fangs and pull/push them aside. Those who keep bits of leaves, bark, and even bottlecap dishes similarly see their Ts pick up and move around these light objects, sometimes incorporating them into their burrows/hides.

Now, what do you think happens when they attempt to move a foreign object that seems to be light enough to move, but can't be grabbed with their fangs and spins when they try to pull/push it? Watch the OPs video with that in mind.

The whole "they think it's an eggsac" thing doesn't make any sense.

 

[CakeLore]

The ball is super light; there's no way she'd be able to injure herself with it.

That being said I'm inclined to agree with Hobo and Cavedweller. This object shares no characteristics of an eggsac which would be important to the tarantula. I'm going to put it near the entrance of her burrow and see if she decides to take it in with her or remove it from that area.

 

[kacodemon]

T ball's

Tonight is the first night I've given my G rose a ping pong ball but I recommend that u wash it off first never know what might be on them

 

[ZergFront]

My B.boehmei is still too small for a ping pong ball but it has a pink, plastic BB in the deli cup. Most of the time ignores it but sometimes I'll find it in the water dish or buried under a mountain of dirt.

 

[Stan Schultz]

I'd heard T's will play with ping pong balls so I decided to give it a shot with mine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QXS3xIk0f4 Is it possible for her to hurt her fangs on it? ...

Literally dozens if not hundreds of us have given our tarantulas ping pong balls to play with. See Tarantula Ping Pong. Not once have I heard anyone complain that their tarantula hurt itself. It's beginning to look a lot like a non-issue.

... I removed it after she lost interest but would like to experiment further.

Aw, come on! Give it back to her. She wants to play with it after dark while you're trying to sleep!

:biggrin:

Everybody has their favorite opinion as to why they play, fight, attempt to mate, etc. with a ping pong ball. Nobody has any actual facts about it, however, except that whatever they think they're doing, they really are doing SOMETHING with it. And that's gotta be worth the trouble of offering a ping pong ball to your tarantula. Who knows? Maybe they need the intellectual stimulation as much as we? At the very least you could no longer accuse it of being a pet rock!

WE NEED TO LEARN TO VIEW THE WORLD FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A LARGE, FUZZY SPIDER!

[size=+1]WAIT![/size] Has anyone ever tried a ping pong ball with their tarantula while playing a Richard Simmons exercise video? We may be onto something here! Imagine, "LOSE WEIGHT WITH YOUR TARANTULA THE RICHARD SIMMONS WAY!" Richard, are you paying attention here? We could make a fortune on this one! And, it even might work!

:roflmao:

 

[CakeLore]

Last night around 4am I woke up to use the restroom and took a peek into her enclosure. She was clutching the ball like some sort of spidery treasure! She also appeared to be more active than usual and I watched her roam around for a couple minutes before going back to bed. She's pushed it into the middle of the enclosure now, I wonder if she has plans for it tomorrow!

 

[ZergFront]

Everybody has their favorite opinion as to why they play, fight, attempt to mate, etc. with a ping pong ball. Nobody has any actual facts about it, however, except that whatever they think they're doing, they really are doing SOMETHING with it. At the very least you could no longer accuse it of being a pet rock!

Who's spider tried that!? That sounds hilarious!

Somehow that Richard Simmons joke summoned an image of a large spider on it's back, turning a ball over and over. Any eight-legged leotards made? LOL!

 

[SuzukiSwift]

I gave one of my roseas a ping pong ball at the beginning of this year, she tried to eat it and she would climb on it then roll over, it was really hilarious lol I left it in there for maybe half the year and she just moved it around sometimes just like anything else in there.

Interestingly, i tried giving it to my A.genic, she came out of her cave, put one foot on it, then just turned around and walked back inside again lol! Roseas tend to be the ones that do the strangest things to them, it might be interesting to try a few other species... I think i’ll do that and post my results here

 

[Stan Schultz]

... Any eight-legged leotards made? LOL!

Ah, ha! Another money making niche market!

:roflmao:


Tarantulas and base jumping don't mix.
-- David Desoer

 

[CakeLore]

I put it next to her burrow and she pushed it in and has been keeping it there for a few days. Sometimes at night I'll check on her and she'll have her legs on it like she's trying to hold it or something.

 

[Stan Schultz]

I put it next to her burrow and she pushed it in and has been keeping it there for a few days. Sometimes at night I'll check on her and she'll have her legs on it like she's trying to hold it or something.

She desperately needs a boyfriend. She wants an eggsac to care for.

Well just don't sit there, staring at the screen, laughing your behind off! Go to the Classified section and start looking for a boyfriend for her!


WE NEED TO LEARN TO VIEW THE WORLD FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A LARGE, FUZZY SPIDER!

 

[Thistles]

There's an MM G. rosea at a store here in NJ. I feel bad for the guy. If you're interested I can pick him up and send him to you.

Edit: assuming that's what you have. I now realize you didn't state the species of your spider.

 

[CakeLore]

She desperately needs a boyfriend. She wants an eggsac to care for.

Well just don't sit there, staring at the screen, laughing your behind off! Go to the Classified section and start looking for a boyfriend for her!


WE NEED TO LEARN TO VIEW THE WORLD FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A LARGE, FUZZY SPIDER!

Awwww! Now I feel bad. She's a 3.5" G. pulchripes so I think she's a bit young to be breeding but maybe when she gets a little bigger.

---------- Post added 09-19-2013 at 10:32 PM ----------

There's an MM G. rosea at a store here in NJ. I feel bad for the guy. If you're interested I can pick him up and send him to you.

Edit: assuming that's what you have. I now realize you didn't state the species of your spider.

Nope, she's a G. pulchripes. Though I'm sure he'd make a tasty and nutritious meal for her.