Tarantual suicide??

[Krz]

I've heard a rumour that if you catch a T in the wild it will bite itself in order to die rather than to be kept in captivity. :? Is it true, and if so does it apply to all species? Then again...if a venomous snake bit itself would it die?

 

[Daniel_h]

im guessing they would be immune to their own venom

 

[Lick496]

that seems like a ridiculose rumor to me. They dont even know what captivity is

 

[Alakdan]

How can a tarantula bite itself? On the leg? :?

This I doubt. I have caught and kept wild tarantulas, specifically Phlogiellus sp. I don't think they are capable of understanding the idea that they are in captivity.

Besides, all species of tarantulas available in the hobby started off as wild caught specimens.

 

[Buckshot]

A big load of bs.
But my Smithi could be the exception.
When i got her, she looked suicidal, climbing the glass 30cm over the substrate
Now, she has calmed down.

 

[Lennie Collins]

Only if it was stressed the heck out !

 

[Zoltan]

Only if it was stressed the heck out !

You seem to be pretty obsessed with this stress thing. ;P

Krz, where did you hear this rumor?

 

[Shagrath666]

It's like the japanese samuri, theres more honor living in the wild

 

[Moltar]

Wow... that may be the most rediculous rumor i've ever heard about tarantulas. No offense Krz, but where did you hear that one?

I don't think they would be immune to their own venom though. Just because they consume it in their food doesn't mean they could survive it being injected into their body. if that were the case you'd see far fewer cases of females eating males because their venom wold have no effect. I also recall reading accounts of scorpions suffering from nervous disorders or poisoning stinging themselves to death as their system breaks down. If scorps aren't immune I doubt T's would be either.

Shagrath I believe the Samurai ritual you refer to is called Seppuku. Some people call it hari-kari but that's something else...

 

[7mary3]

Seppuku is the ritualistic self disembowelment followed by an immediate beheading, and was origionally only carried out by those that followed Bushido, the Samurai. The Samurai could only commit seppuku if ordered by their master, or as an act to avoid capture and defeat.

Harakari is essentially the same act, though it was orgionally differentiated by the fact that commoners, non-samurai, could commit it.

They are in essence the same act, committed by different classes.

Both Seppuku and Harakari have been used as judicial punishments as well.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

I've heard a rumour that if you catch a T in the wild it will bite itself in order to die rather than to be kept in captivity. :?

This is the silliest thing I've ever heard. One, tarantulas do not have the capacity to feel, or to have their hearts broken because they aren't roaming wild and free like a beautiful butterfly. Two, they don't seem to have the capacity to understand what captivity even is--they set up a territory and wait for prey to come along, no matter where they are. Three...seriously, where did you hear this crap.

Scorpions don't commit suicide either, by the way. Nor do lemmings.

 

[Moltar]

Scorpions don't commit suicide either, by the way. Nor do lemmings.

I do recall a thread on a possible dyskinetic syndrome case where it was mentioned that scorpions had been observed to sting themselves while in the throes of reacting to some sort of poisoning. Obviously it wasn't a deliberate choice on their part, but rather a product of their nervous system breaking down and causing uncontrollable movements. The point however is that they did succumb to their own venom.

If it were an emperor scorp we could call it seppuke, any other species and it would apparently be only harakari.

I recently saw a blip on some nature show where they were talking about the lemming myth. The theory was that the entire myth was started from one observation back in the 19th century and it's possible that the behavior was triggered by the observers scaring the group.

 

[arachyd]

The only way I can think of that this rumor came about is that Ts in the wild often get injured when caught. Many times a T will remove its own leg if it is injured beyond healing. Someone probably witnessed a roughly caught T removing an injured limb and ascribed human emotions to the act (as people like to do).

 

[ReMoVeR]

The only way I can think of that this rumor came about is that Ts in the wild often get injured when caught. Many times a T will remove its own leg if it is injured beyond healing. Someone probably witnessed a roughly caught T removing an injured limb and ascribed human emotions to the act (as people like to do).

do Ts really do that ? thats amazing =)

 

[Talkenlate04]

do Ts really do that ? thats amazing =)

Yes they do! They can grow them back so why gimp around with a broken leg if you can grow back and new one?

 

[showlan]

Well of course they aren't immune to their own venom. How else does the female kill and eat the male during mating sometimes?

Although the rumor is really ridiculous. Then again- You hear some pretty crazy things out there that you seriously don't know where that kind of stuff comes from...

Someone on another site said that a pet store girl to him that tarantulas reproduce by molting and the molt turns into another spider. :wall: There are some things that you just need to laugh off.

 

[ReMoVeR]

Well of course they aren't immune to their own venom. How else does the female kill and eat the male during mating sometimes?

Although the rumor is really ridiculous. Then again- You hear some pretty crazy things out there that you seriously don't know where that kind of stuff comes from...

Someone on another site said that a pet store girl to him that tarantulas reproduce by molting and the molt turns into another spider. :wall: There are some things that you just need to laugh off.

and i think the most or every venomous animal has its venom on a specif place wich i dont know the name in english that produces the venom and is not in their blood. hope i could make me understand;O

 

[jb7741]

Although the rumor is really ridiculous. Then again- You hear some pretty crazy things out there that you seriously don't know where that kind of stuff comes from...

"Hey, I heard the earth was round"
"That's the dumbest thing I ever heard of, everyone knows its flat"

Just because we don't believe it doesn't mean it ain't true.

Also, I agree that T's are not immune to their own venom. Eating it is not the same as having it injected.

 

[Moltar]

Eating it is not the same as having it injected.

Exactly the difference between poison and venom...

"Aren't tarantula's poisonous?" :wall:

 

[Lennie Collins]

You seem to be pretty obsessed with this stress thing. ;P

Krz, where did you hear this rumor?

I think the saying is funny!