Tarantula fact of the day

[Venom1080]

Hi all, was thinking of this thread for a while now, figured it might be fun. Maybe something for newer keepers to follow.

Want to try to give out at least one fact a day from myself, others are of course welcome to contribute. Maybe one for beginners, one for intermediate, and one for advanced keepers, if I remember. Alot might end up being interchangeable however..

1. Tarantulas basically can not drown. They can literally walk/swim over water. Some genera, like the baboon genus Hysterocrates, are known to actually dive under water and catch prey.

2. A tarantula is in no danger if it is bleeding from one of its legs. Or even if it completely loses a leg. If a leg is in the way, a tarantula will self amputate and move on with its life. The wound will close on its own from a sphincter, located on the "coxa", or beginning of the leg. The wounds on the carapace and abdomen are much more severe however. I have had a specimen with a small abdomen wound. The wound closed by itself within a day.

3. There is no evidence to support that Megaphobema and certain Poecilotheria need cooler temperatures to thrive. Many experienced keepers report no incidents with the normal temps range. (70+, usually even higher) I have raised Highland subfusca with no problems, and rufilata as well. My M. robustum has been doing fine for the last year as well.
*Note* I can only speak for robustum, I have not owned other Megaphobema. But I doubt it would be different.

 

[Ungoliant]

Want to try to give out at least one fact a day from myself, others are of course welcome to contribute. Maybe one for beginners, one for intermediate, and one for advanced keepers, if I remember. Alot might end up being interchangeable however..

Adding moisture and restricting ventilation in the cage of an Avicularia (or Caribena) in order to achieve an arbitrary humidity range is likely to kill your tarantula.

 

[Flexzone]

Ts don't "enjoy" or become tamed by being handled.

 

[PanzoN88]

There are several colorful species out there that are great for beginners

You can't train tarantulas, their brain capacity isn't capable

Measuring humidity is unecessary for tarantulas

The Theraphosa and Lasiadora, and other genus do not get as big as the national geographic channel wants us to think, and if their is a 13" tarantula out there, we haven't seen it yet.

 

[efmp1987]

1. A study conducted in Aphonopelma sp. showed that removal of most legs stimulated the arachnid to enter pre-molt 50% earlier than when the spider has all legs intact. (Invertebrate Medicine). It is not known if this applies to other genera..

2. Prosoma size (cephalothorax, or carapace if you will) following a molt is "partly" dependent on opisthosoma girth prior to molting. A bigger abdomen grants the spider access to more fluid reserves that can be used to pressure-pump and expand the prosoma. - cant remember the book. I think it was Arachnid Physiology.

- Probably you can hypothesize as well that feeding increases the size morphologically, but the spider's longevity, from a physiologic perspective is not affected.

 

[JoshDM020]

They can most definitely climb glass. Trust me. Some people dont know. I didnt until i was about 13.

 

[miss moxie]

Their setae is hydrophobic, meaning they can float atop water. They also can swim, and the way they move their legs while swimming is different than the way they move their legs to walk.

Also they like sweet bass tunes and Reiki.

 

[JoshDM020]

Also, fun idea, little side note, when we get 365 different facts, we make one of those calendars you rip a page off of every day, and everyone who contributes gets a free spider with the proceeds (within reasonable cost) and leftover profits get donated to a tarantula research team or something spider related. Probably some marketing flaws in there, but thats not my major .

 

[efmp1987]

Also, fun idea, little side note, when we get 365 different facts, we make one of those calendars you rip a page off of every day, amd everyone who contributes gets a free spider with the proceeds (within reasonable cost) and leftover profits get donated to a tarantula research team or something spider related. Probably some marketing flaws in there, but thats not my major .

Pamphobeteus ultramarinus please. Molt-sexed female too.

 

[JoshDM020]

Pamphobeteus ultramarinus please. Molt-sexed female too.

Reasonable cost

 

[efmp1987]

Reasonable cost

Im joking haha.

 

[Crone Returns]

Their setae is hydrophobic, meaning they can float atop water. They also can swim, and the way they move their legs while swimming is different than the way they move their legs to walk.

Also they like sweet bass tunes and Reiki.

Mine love the Blue Mountain Tribe. Dig the blues.

 

[boina]

You can't train tarantulas, their brain capacity isn't capable

Tarantulas can be trained (up to an extend). Every invertebrate, even worms, can be trained.

The scientific literature about training invertebrates is plentiful since the 1970s and I don't understand why the myth about the purely instinct driven invertebrate, specifically the purely instinct driven tarantula, still persists today. There's whole scientific books about invertebrate learning and memory. Some science just gets ignored.

 

[KezyGLA]

They certainly remember what a water dish is

 

[The Grym Reaper]

You can't train tarantulas, their brain capacity isn't capable

You can to an extent, they have limited capability for problem-solving and memory but, yeah, they're not a dog or cat, they're not going to come when called or poop in a litter tray or anything like that.

 

[DadsGlasses]

Some genera, like the baboon genus Hysterocrates, are known to actually dive under water and catch prey.

Venom, do you know of or have a link to video footage of this behavior? I'm not asking because I am questioning your fact, I would just be fascinated to see it. I can do a google search, of course, but just thought you might be able to recommend a link? That blows my mind!

Nice idea with this thread. I am definitely subscribing. Thank you.

 

[Venom1080]

Venom, do you know of or have a link to video footage of this behavior? I'm not asking because I am questioning your fact, I would just be fascinated to see it. I can do a google search, of course, but just thought you might be able to recommend a link? That blows my mind!

Nice idea with this thread. I am definitely subscribing. Thank you.

Thank you.
Nothing I can recommend. Just googling it yields some results. Tarantula guy 1976 has some cool stuff on it.
I have seen my Hysterocrates dive into its dish and completely submerge itself.

 

[Grace Cannell]

I admit I had no idea about them not being able to drown themselves. This may be a silly question but do you know if this applies to slings also?

 

[Venom1080]

I admit I had no idea about them not being able to drown themselves. This may be a silly question but do you know if this applies to slings also?

Yes. Slings do a Jesus walk over water.

 

[Grace Cannell]

Yes. Slings do a Jesus walk over water.

Wonderful way of putting it! Made me chuckle. Thank you Venom. This thread is a great idea too! Should be interesting to watch it develop.