S. calceatum aka Feather leg baboon

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Matabuey

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matypants said:
It's just as bad to downplay a potential threat as it is to over exaggerate one. lol
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No ones down playing the fact they're defensive. Just there are other fast, and very defensive OW's.

There are countless videos of rehousing on YouTube and people handling their S.calceatum, none are going mad and biting everything in sight at every opportunity, like some would have you believe.
 
matypants

matypants

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Matabuey said:
No ones down playing the fact they're defensive. Just there are other fast, and very defensive OW's.

There are countless videos of rehousing on YouTube and people handling their S.calceatum, none are going mad and biting everything in sight at every opportunity, like some would have you believe.
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True, there are. OBT's come to mind. But regardless, that sheesh is gonna hurt if they bite. And they can and do lol.
 
mistertim

mistertim

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Matabuey said:
No ones down playing the fact they're defensive. Just there are other fast, and very defensive OW's.

There are countless videos of rehousing on YouTube and people handling their S.calceatum, none are going mad and biting everything in sight at every opportunity, like some would have you believe.
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I think the point is that they can go from what you see in those videos to incredibly defensive/aggressive and initiate multiple bites with little to no warning if they're disturbed in a way that suddenly agitates them. Watching a video of people handling an S. calceatum, OBT, or whatever is like watching a highlight reel of a famous athlete. OF COURSE its only going to show the good side of it...that's the whole point of the video. "Look at me, I'm a brave Billy Badass...this tarantula isn't so bad!" They aren't very likely to upload a video of them trying to handle an aggressive/defensive OW tarantula and having it go nuts and start biting them, along with their subsequent hospital visit and hours of agonizing pain.
 
shining

shining

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Toxoderidae said:
Actually one time I dressed a cat up as a tarantula and she climbed a tree and clawed at people. Far more dangerous than a calceatum, as she severely injured me as she clawed and kicked at my face when I tried to bring her down.
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Don't forget about that bacteria in their saliva that can do worse damage than S. calcaetum venom.
 
Chris LXXIX

Chris LXXIX

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Toxoderidae said:
Actually one time I dressed a cat up as a tarantula and she climbed a tree and clawed at people. Far more dangerous than a calceatum, as she severely injured me as she clawed and kicked at my face when I tried to bring her down.
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And I totally agree with that poor cat. He/she did the right thing scratching you and others, for that you abused that poor animal u_u
 
Poec54

Poec54

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Venom1080 said:
what if it bolts during rehouse?
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Are you going to grab an OW arboreal with your bare hands? And the follow up to a 'Yes' answer is: 'Who's driving you to the emergency room?'

I've had OW's for decades, had many bolt. Very simple, use a catch cup. I'd had Poecs run inside my clothes during rehouses, and had to carefully remove my clothes to find them. The stupidest thing you could do is grab it with your bare hands. When they feel trapped, they're going to full defensive mode, they have nothing to lose.
 
Poec54

Poec54

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Matabuey said:
I personally think it's somewhat exaggerated. I have quite a few friends that keep them (I have two juvies), and they don't think they're any worse than other very defensive OW's.
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Lulled into a false sense of security. It's not what they normally do, it's what they're capable of. And if a calceatum flips out you don't want to be on the receiving end.
 
Poec54

Poec54

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matypants said:
It's just as bad to downplay a potential threat as it is to over exaggerate one. lol
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Actually, it's worse to downplay a potential risk, as that encourages complacency and that's how you get hurt. Best to be a little too cautious than a little too cocky. I have some NW terrestrials including Brachypelma & Aphonopelma, and treat them like OW's: keep my hands out of their cages, catch cups, etc. It's much better to develop good habits with all your spiders and have that be your instinctive actions, than to alternate between good habits and sloppy habits and mix the two up.
 
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Matabuey

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Poec54 said:
Lulled into a false sense of security. It's not what they normally do, it's what they're capable of. And if a calceatum flips out you don't want to be on the receiving end.
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No ones is talking about being lulled into a false sense of security.

Other very fast and defensive tarantulas are capable of similar. This isn't exclusive to S.calceatum. Thus they all should be treated with the same caution, and practices.

I'm just rejecting the notion that is often portrayed, that they're always on the defensive - obviously depends on the individual spider too.

I treat copperheads the same way, I treat PNG taipans I've had. If you treat them all the same way, then you're less likely to make mistakes, from being complacent.
 
Venom1080

Venom1080

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Poec54 said:
Are you going to grab an OW arboreal with your bare hands? And the follow up to a 'Yes' answer is: 'Who's driving you to the emergency room?'

I've had OW's for decades, had many bolt. Very simple, use a catch cup. I'd had Poecs run inside my clothes during rehouses, and had to carefully remove my clothes to find them. The stupidest thing you could do is grab it with your bare hands. When they feel trapped, they're going to full defensive mode, they have nothing to lose.
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i meant up the tongs/paintbrush or whatever and on your hands, or if it jumps onto you. if it goes up a wall, screw that, im going after it with a 32oz deli and my paintbrush. my 1" P met jumped on me when i rehoused it last, i maneuvered it into the cage from there, didnt have any choice there.
 
cold blood

cold blood

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Matabuey said:
I personally think it's somewhat exaggerated. I have quite a few friends that keep them (I have two juvies), and they don't think they're any worse than other very defensive OW's.

I honestly think a lot of people enjoy exaggerating. So it makes it seem as if they were in a tighter spot than they actually were.

No different to how black mambas have a terrible reputation that they'll chase you round a room. When in reality, they aren't too bad, and something like that is a rarity not the norm.

Watch any S.cal video on YouTube, nothing remarkable in their behaviour compared to other very defensive OW's.
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Matabuey said:
No ones down playing the fact they're defensive. Just there are other fast, and very defensive OW's.

There are countless videos of rehousing on YouTube and people handling their S.calceatum, none are going mad and biting everything in sight at every opportunity, like some would have you believe.
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The first quote here is exactly that, you down playing their potential.

Matabuey said:
No ones is talking about being lulled into a false sense of security.

Other very fast and defensive tarantulas are capable of similar. This isn't exclusive to S.calceatum. Thus they all should be treated with the same caution, and practices.

I'm just rejecting the notion that is often portrayed, that they're always on the defensive - obviously depends on the individual spider too.

I treat copperheads the same way, I treat PNG taipans I've had. If you treat them all the same way, then you're less likely to make mistakes, from being complacent.
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He didn't say anyone was talking about a false sense of security, he said that himself and I agree 100%...downplaying their potential, does exactly that, it lulls people into a false sense of security. And mind you, its not an attack on you (please don't take this as personal, its not at all), its something that occurs often and we see it all the time from people asking about an OBT or pokie as their first....someone somewhere convinced them that they're something they're not generally because of a lack of real experience themselves or because their specimen hasn't personally been a problem yet....but the beginner is blissfully unaware of this.

I'm scratching my head a little by a person I know to be quite intelligent, using you tube videos as their S. cal evidence...there literally is no greater wealth of bad t practices on tape anywhere on earth than you tube...You tube is a classic place for newbies to be lulled into that false sense of security and start believing that they're not going to have issues with advanced species despite their minimal real world experience.

This is a time/species where nothing is better than to listen to long time keepers on the subject, almost none of these people are on youtube making videos. Youtube is the bane of the hobby's existence IMO, providing light years more bad info than good (unfortunately). It is a constant source of what not to do, being presented as what to do. It should ONLY be viewed educationally when directed to the vid by someone with actual experience and knowledge...otherwise just sit and laugh at it, because its only worth is as entertainment...like watching Jackass.

I could make a series of vids that make my dog look like an insane killer, likewise I could post a series about a dog that is an insane killer, and make him look like a sweet dog you want to adopt....its all in the editing, and when things go wrong, people aren't so excited to share it with the world, so their oopsies get edited out and not shown. Only the ones where they come out looking good get posted most often. I mean who wants to watch the 12 hours of searching a room for a missing t that they let out and prodded until it bolted....or worse, them crying like a little baby after being tagged and realizing how stupid they were.

Educated, experienced t keepers just don't make vids of them holding their OWs....they just don't....anyone who does, will lose the respect of much, if not most of the tarantula community....which is why most of those OW handling vids aren't made by people in the community, but rather fringe owners who own big spiders for all the wrong reasons....the "look at me" factor as I call it.
 
Venom1080

Venom1080

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cold blood said:
I mean who wants to watch the 12 hours of searching a room for a missing t that they let out and prodded until it bolted....or worse, them crying like a little baby after being tagged and realizing how stupid they were.
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agree with everything, but i would totally watch that.
 
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