Tarantula reaction time, or why you should always use tongs

z32upgrader

Arachnobaron
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Mar 13, 2012
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With (relatively) high speed video and a bit of math, I calculated the reaction time of my GBB to be 25/1000 of a second.
Explanation:
Video shot at 120 fps is four times faster than normal 30 fps video which is what my iPod touch records at and it still makes the final video at 30fps. The spider reacted to the cricket falling in slow motion at 1/10th of a second according to the video which at 120 fps, equates to 1/4 of that in real-time. 1/4 of 1/10 is .025 or twenty-five thousandths of a second.
That's ten times faster than the average human reaction time of 1/4 second.
 

Paiige

Arachnobaron
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Oct 2, 2016
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I'll take your word for it on the math part :D Some Ts are alarmingly quick. The first time hubby fed his first Avic avic, he yelled so abruptly that I thought he'd gotten bitten but it was just a reaction to her speed. We don't have OW spp but some of our NW Ts are impressively fast.
 

nicodimus22

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A lot of people say that A. chalcodes is a slow-moving species. Not my Daisy...she seems to spook easily, and sometimes when I take the lid off to add water or feed, she zooms around the enclosure at near-teleportation speeds.
 

KezyGLA

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Yup. Even 'slow moving' tarantulas have ridiculous feeding responses.

I just dont get why anyone would use their fingers o_O
 

clive 82

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A lot of people say that A. chalcodes is a slow-moving species. Not my Daisy...she seems to spook easily, and sometimes when I take the lid off to add water or feed, she zooms around the enclosure at near-teleportation speeds.
My A chalcodes is exactly the same. She has a really quick feeding response, sometimes even more aggressive feeding than my GBB.
 

Deb60

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Jan 7, 2017
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I find my GBB really fast for me anyway ( my reaction times are really slow now ) I'm 56 . I always make sure if I'm putting food or water in the set up , that I do it whilst on the floor . Hence why I'd be useless keeping anything that is really fast !
 

Venom1080

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I find my GBB really fast for me anyway ( my reaction times are really slow now ) I'm 56 . I always make sure if I'm putting food or water in the set up , that I do it whilst on the floor . Hence why I'd be useless keeping anything that is really fast !
Poec54 manages it.
 

Deb60

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Ma
Poec54 manages it.
maybe it's just me then . As my son sayes your like a slouth mum , not sure if I've spelt that right ( that's another sign of being the wrong side of being the wrong side of fifty )
 

KezyGLA

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Ma

maybe it's just me then . As my son sayes your like a slouth mum , not sure if I've spelt that right ( that's another sign of being the wrong side of being the wrong side of fifty )
Its something that you learn when you start to keep faster species. If you don't try you will never know for sure ;)
 

edesign

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I find my GBB really fast for me anyway ( my reaction times are really slow now ) I'm 56 . I always make sure if I'm putting food or water in the set up , that I do it whilst on the floor . Hence why I'd be useless keeping anything that is really fast !
Pretty much any T is faster than any human's reaction time when they want to be. Just have to give yourself appropriate space to react and catch them if need be. Be creative in your rehousing tools and methods. As long as the spider doesn't get hurt anything goes imho. The key is not having to post, "So, my XXXXX escaped today and I can't find it" hahaha :)

On the floor is always best, it's how I do all of my feeding/watering/whatever, and I've got plenty of open space to catch any runners. Well, I hope it's plenty, some of these can cover some ground seriously fast lol. Tossing loose towels on the floor (and sometimes crumpled plastic bags) are great at stopping some runners as they hit them and take cover under/next to them. Also, if you're not familiar with chopping the bottom off of a plastic bottle and using that as a catch cup try it. You catch the spider in the bottle then you can unscrew the small end (assuming it's large enough for the T to fit through) and nudge it out of that in to the old/new home.
 

Deb60

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That's got me worried now , just hope my GBB doesn't decided to do a runner on me . Had him / her for a month now . Always very nervous when putting in water / food . So far so good , just have to make sure she's not hanging around the top of the set up ! Lol
 

edesign

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That's got me worried now , just hope my GBB doesn't decided to do a runner on me . Had him / her for a month now . Always very nervous when putting in water / food . So far so good , just have to make sure she's not hanging around the top of the set up ! Lol
Even if it does bolt from the enclosure (not likely imo) the chances of it going far are slim. Always keep a catch cup of appropriate size nearby when opening any tank. They run out of energy quickly, you won't be chasing it down a hallway or anything :)

This species can be twitchy/nervous but they're not prone to biting. The nervousness can make you think it's gonna take off running but it's highly unlikely. They just seem to run from one side to the other in short spurts, almost like it's dart first, think about where second.
 

Deb60

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Even if it does bolt from the enclosure (not likely imo) the chances of it going far are slim. Always keep a catch cup of appropriate size nearby when opening any tank. They run out of energy quickly, you won't be chasing it down a hallway or anything :)

This species can be twitchy/nervous but they're not prone to biting. The nervousness can make you think it's gonna take off running but it's highly unlikely. They just seem to run from one side to the other in short spurts, almost like it's dart first, think about where second.
 
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