Tarantula Poll - most defensive T

[jrh3]

My most defensive was a juvenile psalmopoeus victori. It would threat pose every time I picked up its container.

 

[Butterbean83]

Psalmopoeus cambridgei for me, an absolute maniac that slaps and tears up defensively weekly, they’re a jumper a well!

Been mine so far but only adult I've had, I've had Juvies and Subadults but my 10 cm Huahini female just used to run to her hide she was easy enough to do maintenance with. Psalmopeus seem to be the new worlds with attitude, I've heard pulcher and Irminia can be feisty, as can Phormictopus species.

 

[Butterbean83]

Psalmopoeus cambridgei for me, an absolute maniac that slaps and tears up defensively weekly, they’re a jumper a well!

Been mine so far but only adult I've had, I've had Juvies and Subadults but my 10 cm Huahini female just used to run to her hide she was easy enough to do maintenance with. Psalmopeus seem to be the new worlds with attitude, I've heard pulcher and Irminia can be feisty, as can Phormictopus species.

m balfouri flipping on its back threat poses from the day i got it as a sling. b boehmei hair kicker since day 1 over anything never threat poses just kicks hairs always. i count that as defensive since flicking hairs are a defense for nw when they lack the bite of an ow.

I wasn't counting hair kicking although it's defensive I meant threat posing and biting, I try to stay away from hair kickers, if we're talking hair kickers My A geniculata was my most defensive. Adult female cambridgei for nuts charging at my hand though haha.

 

[Butterbean83]

Cyriopagopus.

Are they classified Cyriopagopus now, taxonomically a lot of the Orthinoctinae subfamily seem to be a mess. A lot of vendors still label it Melopeus so I wasn't aware of the change in taxonomy and I stand corrected. A good looking species.

 

[kingshockey]

Been mine so far but only adult I've had, I've had Juvies and Subadults but my 10 cm Huahini female just used to run to her hide she was easy enough to do maintenance with. Psalmopeus seem to be the new worlds with attitude, I've heard pulcher and Irminia can be feisty, as can Phormictopus species.

I wasn't counting hair kicking although it's defensive I meant threat posing and biting, I try to stay away from hair kickers, if we're talking hair kickers My A geniculata was my most defensive. Adult female cambridgei for nuts charging at my hand though haha.

my a genic was never defensive for the simple reason"anything that moves must be food" so it was all bite first ask questions after . it did kick hairs to everytime it went after water when i would fill its water dish it would kick hairs in disappointment as it walked away once it realized its only water it had bit. that a genic though dont be surprised it does catch your tongs one day andruns up them to your hand mine spooked me alot of times like that mistakes of judging the distance it could lunge on my part though after it gained size

 

[Mike Withrow]

Are they classified Cyriopagopus now, taxonomically a lot of the Orthinoctinae subfamily seem to be a mess. A lot of vendors still label it Melopeus so I wasn't aware of the change in taxonomy and I stand corrected. A good looking species.

Yes. They were formally Haplophelma. No idea why any vendors would still be selling them under that name.

 

[gabrieldezzi]

In my experience, most defensive are P. murinus and C darlingi. Just out of what I've owned of course. My P. murinus rarely threw up a threat pose but when I had to fish him out for a breeding project, he was relentlessly slapping the ground and displaying all sorts of behavior that caught me off guard. C. darlingi first time I opened her transport cup she bolted around the enclosure twice before maniacally biting everything around her, definitely a nasty one lol

 

[ladyratri]

My experience is, so far, quite limited...but most defensive T in my collection is easily this guy:

P. irminia threat pose

• ladyratri
• Feb 16, 2024
• 5
• irminia psalmo psalmopoeus threat pose

"Breathed too close to the vent hole" -- October 2022 vs today. Ok, Spunk, stay mad about it.

He gets all bent out of shape at a light breeze.

 

[Butterbean83]

In my experience, most defensive are P. murinus and C darlingi. Just out of what I've owned of course. My P. murinus rarely threw up a threat pose but when I had to fish him out for a breeding project, he was relentlessly slapping the ground and displaying all sorts of behavior that caught me off guard. C. darlingi first time I opened her transport cup she bolted around the enclosure twice before maniacally biting everything around her, definitely a nasty one lol

I had a darlingi juvie. It hid most of the time. Never no threat poses. Ceratogyrus is a genus that can go either way though. I often see them advised as a first old world to get into old worlds. I prefer the old worlds. My S javanensis is ridiculously fast though it got out once and was hard to get a catch cup over hard to judge putting the cup over it without hitting it the speed it was moving. Definitely my fastest although I suspect my S crassipes may be similar speed but that's always burrows as its only 3cm.

 

[Butterbean83]

I'm surprised nobody has said Orphnaceus dichromatus

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

My huahini never used to stand it's ground it just used to run into its hide. Was a 10 cm female, I ended up moving it on It wasn't the brightest coloured Huahini was more a very drab brown colour. The Irminia I've had were only slings so can't say much about them, they were just FAST

P Irmina are very very fast although Tapinauchenius takes the crown …
I wouldn’t volunteer to catch either one…

I'm surprised nobody has said Orphnaceus dichromatus

my Aphonopelma anax was a nightmare it would actually act docile for a while then try and sneak a bite in … pinch grab gone wrong it’s actually my only bite . it was pretty defensive but even aggressive would come out and cause trouble when I was doing maintenance.
Besides s cal that didn’t peirce skin.

 

[Smotzer]

Been mine so far but only adult I've had, I've had Juvies and Subadults but my 10 cm Huahini female just used to run to her hide she was easy enough to do maintenance with. Psalmopeus seem to be the new worlds with attitude, I've heard pulcher and Irminia can be feisty, as can Phormictopus species

Yeah many people always regard Psalmopoeus irminia as the most defensive, but that hasn’t been my experience. My female P. cambridgei is far more high strung and reactive, I have to pay much more attention when doing anything in its enclosure; watering is the biggest risk; anytine I add water in she instantly bolts out to the dish and starts slapping.
And yea that’s why Psalmopoeus are recommended as ladder species to owning OW, for their speed, disposition, and possibility of more uncomfortable venom.

 

[Butterbean83]

Yeah many people always regard Psalmopoeus irminia as the most defensive, but that hasn’t been my experience. My female P. cambridgei is far more high strung and reactive, I have to pay much more attention when doing anything in its enclosure; watering is the biggest risk; anytine I add water in she instantly bolts out to the dish and starts slapping.
And yea that’s why Psalmopoeus are recommended as ladder species to owning OW, for their speed, disposition, and possibility of more uncomfortable venom.

I think they're more defensive than many old worlds, I hear Pulcher and Irminia also being talked about as defensive. Possibility I may get a Pokey at some point I've had a Hati Hati and plenty of old worlds but only a few have been Juvie to Sub-adult and just wanted to hide, the Hati Hati came rushing out when I went to do it's first rehouse and then moved away it seemed like a bluff charge it was a Juvie female but mainly stayed hidden after that.

A stunning species I do have a nice photo of it somewhere I didn't see it very often at all though, I suspect I'd have seen it slightly more but I overdid it with decor like leaf litter and twigs. Apart from what species I like the look of, What Pokey would you recommend to start off with those? I do like the look of P metallica but I hear it's never out on display which is a shame given it's beauty. None really with as vibrant colours, even Regalis is mostly white and grey. P rufilata colours seem to differ in pics that I've seen of them. Regardless what's one that would be the best to start with and what would be a bit too feisty because their fast and can jump and although bites are rare it sounds like one of the worst to get bit by ogvone decides to jump and make a run for it up your arm

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

I think they're more defensive than many old worlds, I hear Pulcher and Irminia also being talked about as defensive. Possibility I may get a Pokey at some point I've had a Hati Hati and plenty of old worlds but only a few have been Juvie to Sub-adult and just wanted to hide, the Hati Hati came rushing out when I went to do it's first rehouse and then moved away it seemed like a bluff charge it was a Juvie female but mainly stayed hidden after that.

A stunning species I do have a nice photo of it somewhere I didn't see it very often at all though, I suspect I'd have seen it slightly more but I overdid it with decor like leaf litter and twigs. Apart from what species I like the look of, What Pokey would you recommend to start off with those? I do like the look of P metallica but I hear it's never out on display which is a shame given it's beauty. None really with as vibrant colours, even Regalis is mostly white and grey. P rufilata colours seem to differ in pics that I've seen of them. Regardless what's one that would be the best to start with and what would be a bit too feisty because their fast and can jump and although bites are rare it sounds like one of the worst to get bit by ogvone decides to jump and make a run for it up your arm

P Striata and Miranda I started with. Although I ordered a Regalis. P Striata was what it ended up.

 

[FatBadBay]

I had a c. Vonworthi that hated everything in the world. It was more defensive than the 3 OBTs I had.

 

[l4nsky]

I'm surprised nobody has said Orphnaceus dichromatus

They're a rather uncommon species that is infrequently available, hence not a lot of people have experience with their temperment.

IME, they're not really defensive. They're extremely fast, nervous with explosive energy, and the young juvies can be a bit of a handful, but mostly they have preferred flight over fight when confronted outside of their burrows.

Here's an immature male after a rehouse. Probably the closest I've seen to a threat pose from him since he was waaaaaay smaller.

 

[Mike Withrow]

In a least a decade fully keeping ow spiders. I mean they all have a protective side. The list provided is imo mediocre.

Let's get real. Top is the list is H.mac and the most beautiful, the S.cal.
Lots of baboon spiders don't mess about.
This is exactly why obts and the lot have a bad reputation. Totally undeserving.

To be frank. If that type of keeping is what you might think you enjoy because of their behaviors. That will soon wear thin.

If you take a deeper dive into keeping ow spiders and being able to recognize their behaviors and difference between them, it's a lot more gratification and true respect for them than you'll ever know. These are not demons.

You want something to really keep the toes curled. M.gigas. true spider and will give you the full deal no problem. Fast, potent and full of don't like anything.

May you fine folks have a nice day, night.

 

[Butterbean83]

In a least a decade fully keeping ow spiders. I mean they all have a protective side. The list provided is imo mediocre.

Let's get real. Top is the list is H.mac and the most beautiful, the S.cal.
Lots of baboon spiders don't mess about.
This is exactly why obts and the lot have a bad reputation. Totally undeserving.

To be frank. If that type of keeping is what you might think you enjoy because of their behaviors. That will soon wear thin.

If you take a deeper dive into keeping ow spiders and being able to recognize their behaviors and difference between them, it's a lot more gratification and true respect for them than you'll ever know. These are not demons.

You want something to really keep the toes curled. M.gigas. true spider and will give you the full deal no problem. Fast, potent and full of don't like anything.

May you fine folks have a nice day, night.

I've thought about keeping them, theyre also a Mygalomorph so have so live a long time, what are they like for visibility are they reclusive?

 

[Mike Withrow]

You seem concerned about that. So to answer that question,my longest female was 3 years.
Very very heavy webbing and two simple choices. Down face first in a corner,or flat out will bite. It also can go from one to the other in a blink but usually once in defense mode it's that way for hours.

I hate to be the person with the bad news but the Chilobrachys your on about? Your never going to see them unless they are ready to eat.
The one you disliked the most you should have kept. My friend has oned named Angel and I have a couple pictures of her on here .

Unless you are the type person to be up at 3 am,your not going to see any of these spiders out fully on a regular basis. I'm weird so yeah I see more of my spiders than I do humans.

Take a second and think about this. More than a few times Psalmopous has been brought up. Why do you think that is? After all it's a nw right? So is it defensive? Well yeah because their hairs are fjdjvjtodifn compared to others so errrrrrr what are they also known for????
Blinding speed so when that's not an option guess what.

It's behavior.
Btw a couple of Cyriopagopus species you mentioned just be aware they have some stuff that packs a brutal punch.

I'm an idiot so bear that in mind but the expectations you seem to have with Asian tarantulas and them being out and about is going to be a disappointment.
As far as enjoying a spider being defensive?
I accept the consequences and show utmost respect for my animals but I seriously doubt any of us go up and are like heck yeah I hope you are extra extra spicy today during a rehousing with most ow tarantulas.

 

[spideyspinneret78]

Nhandu coloratovillosus. My female has been insanely defensive/ aggressive since she was a sling. Will rear up into a threat pose at the slightest disturbance. Lunges and bites at anything that moves.