Tarantula toys!

[Cerbera]

I actually bought a small hamster ball for my big Rosehair, Twiggy.
She loves it, and rolls all around the house for hours.
Of course I kick the cat out when it's Twiggys time to play.

- Amber

She 'loves it' and rolls around the house for hours. I am intrigued as to what behaviour you are interpreting as 'loving it'. The fact that she rolls it around for hours ? Because to me, a T that walks, or runs for hours on end is desperately trying to escape, and is not in any way 'loving it'...

Happy T's want to sit still IME, not to be unnecessarily transferred into a bizarre, completely unnatural and unfamiliar plastic ball for little more than the amusement of its owner. I imagine that after hours of trying to get out of the sphere, the tarantula is, at very least, exhausted...

 

[phil jones]

its not the 1/4/2007 / a joke ? or madness !! :? :? %%% phil

 

[CrypticRealism]

Touche.
The hampster ball is an awful idea in my opinion
the ping pong ball on the other hand..can't be too bad because the T isn't forced to "play" with it so if there are no signs of agitation then I doubt it's harmful

She 'loves it' and rolls around the house for hours. I am intrigued as to what behaviour you are interpreting as 'loving it'. The fact that she rolls it around for hours ? Because to me, a T that walks, or runs for hours on end is desperately trying to escape, and is not in any way 'loving it'...

Happy T's want to sit still IME, not to be unnecessarily transferred into a bizarre, completely unnatural and unfamiliar plastic ball for little more than the amusement of its owner. I imagine that after hours of trying to get out of the sphere, the tarantula is, at very least, exhausted...

 

[mr_jacob7]

I'm sure the hamster ball would be fine, as long as the spidr is in it for no more than an hr max. also, as long as the t was in a good mood. if she lets you hold her, i'm sure this swould be fine. sounds fun!

 

[Cerbera]

I'm sure the hamster ball would be fine, as long as the spidr is in it for no more than an hr max. also, as long as the t was in a good mood. if she lets you hold her, i'm sure this swould be fine. sounds fun!

Then you might need to think about it a bit more. Fun for you, not the spider. 'Fun', if you like, at the spider's expense. And therefore most definitely NOT ON in my book.

Quite apart from the air holes in those things, which must have the capacity to trap their feet as they roll around, trying to get out.

 

[ballpython2]

I'm sure the hamster ball would be fine, as long as the spidr is in it for no more than an hr max. also, as long as the t was in a good mood. if she lets you hold her, i'm sure this swould be fine. sounds fun!

I also think the hamster ball is a bad idea because it takes a lot out of a tarantula to move and all that stuff so if the ball rolls that the means the tarantula is using all its energy to make the ball move and eventually will be very exhausted (sp) but wont be able to rest. if the tarantula isnt making the ball move at all but the ball is moving this sounds like the T will be bounced all around inside the ball causing burst abdomens , death, broken legs....I think this hamster ball idea is awfull....just my opinion

 

[JColt]

My StripKnee is always messing with his milk cap top. Flipping it and carrying it around. It used to be his water dish when he was small and I left it in after putting in a big waterbowl.

 

[Sevenrats]

I don't know about that. I think scorpions are smarter than T's

I was being facetious.

The word "smart" can't be used with this kind of animal. They have NO intelligence at all. They don't think, reason, understand. They don't get angry or happy or sad. All arthropods are emotionless robotic monsters that just do what they do. You could debate whether they actually feel pain. (I recently just watched a program on mantis and the male had continued to mate with the female for over an hour after she had chewed off his head) They definitely do not "play". Any interaction that they have with anything is a behavior that is instinctive, in this case, burrowing or clearing their territory of debris, perhaps.

Which is an interesting and really cool experiment.

The hamster ball, if that is serious, is totally ridiculous! The spider walks because it is uncomfortable. Not because it is having fun.

 

[mitchell123]

:worship:

 

[Mister Internet]

I actually bought a small hamster ball for my big Rosehair, Twiggy.
She loves it, and rolls all around the house for hours.

A "happy" tarantula, if you insist on using human terms to describe an arthropod, is forced to move as little as possible. You are likely shortening your spider's life by heaping hours of stress on it like that. Hamster balls are for hamsters...

 

[Stylopidae]

I hear fingers make good T toys.

 

[dangerprone69]

I wonder what my T. Blondis would do to the ping pong bals?

Probably try to eat it.

 

[Syngyne]

I hear fingers make good T food.

Fixed that for ya.

 

[Sevenrats]

Hamster balls are for hamsters...

Those things are torture for even hamsters. Cruel and stupid. :wall:

All I see is a little animal running for it's life.

 

[Zeus9699]

poll

I have never heard of any tarantula playing with a toy. If anyone has photos, please send them to me at iwantanimalmagic@aol.com

I would love to see some. I don't mean a tarantula moving something...I mean I want to see a tarantula actually play with a toy!!!


I'm guessing I won't be getting too many emails! lol

 

[ChainsawMonkey]

IMO, the tarantulas don't really care about the stuff we put in there, unless it's something they can use to hide, water to drink, or something wriggly that they can eat. The less crap for them to climb over the better. I've got T's to observe natural and very intresting behaviors that haven't changed for millions of years, not to watch an oversized spider frolicking with a ping-pong ball, although it would be a cute thing to see... Imo, toys are to T's as eyes are to naked mole rats, they don't need them.

 

[SNAFU]

I'm just amazed at the fact that this thread was started in '04~

 

[Drachenjager]

ROTFLOL
the song diggin up bones pops to mind lol


however, this is the first time I actually read this thread lol
at least in its entirity lol
anyway.
I got my T a toy too lol
She loved it.
She ate it ... and wanted more
IT was a B. dubia mature male lol

 

[bliss]

give a Pulchra a bouncy ball. cute as heck. Pulchra's have the best personalites of any T's imo. They act so crazy and odd

 

[Beth-Tex]

I wonder if some of the Ts that do "play" with it.....see it as some form of egg sack?? Just a thought.....which is void of course if a male T "plays" with the ping pong ball.

Beth