Temperament

Voyager

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 27, 2016
Messages
6
People often say Baboons (Kings in particular) are the most aggressive or bad-tempered tarantulas, but I've seen some Asian species, like Cobalt Blues & Earth Tigers, quite agile & defensive as well.
What do you guys think in general? What's the difference between such groups? I'm not an experienced keeper so really need your voices.
 

tnerd93

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 17, 2016
Messages
11
much of a muchness really, more on a indiviual basis in my experience

i can handle all my 3 s.calceatum with ease and everyone says they are mental

in my experience obts more often than not, are the worst for defensive behaviour
 

darkness975

Latrodectus
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Aug 31, 2012
Messages
5,610
People often say Baboons (Kings in particular) are the most aggressive or bad-tempered tarantulas, but I've seen some Asian species, like Cobalt Blues & Earth Tigers, quite agile & defensive as well.
What do you guys think in general? What's the difference between such groups? I'm not an experienced keeper so really need your voices.
They are not aggressive. They are highly defensive given their places of origin and what they must contend with in the wild.
 

EulersK

Arachnonomicon
Staff member
Joined
Feb 22, 2013
Messages
3,292
Be clear, all tarantulas have the capability to bite. I've gotten threat postures from even my most docile species. No tarantula wants to be held - they want to be left alone.

That being said, most OW species aren't very tolerable. Any Chilobrachys will almost certainly refuse to be handled; my C. fimbriatus slaps the forceps every time I go into her enclosure. In my top five most defensive specimens, an adult female G. porteri sits near the top. I invariably get a threat posture from her when I even open the lid.

To be honest, I'm not certain on what species you're referring to. I stopped bothering with learning the common names ages ago.
 

Tarantula20

Arachnosquire
Joined
Oct 19, 2014
Messages
93
To be honest, I'm not certain on what species you're referring to. I stopped bothering with learning the common names ages ago.
King baboon= The queen P.muticus, Cobalt blue= H.lividum now C.lividum and Earth tiger I beleive is Haploplema.ablostriatum now C.ablostriatum.
 

Voyager

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 27, 2016
Messages
6
Be clear, all tarantulas have the capability to bite. I've gotten threat postures from even my most docile species. No tarantula wants to be held - they want to be left alone.

That being said, most OW species aren't very tolerable. Any Chilobrachys will almost certainly refuse to be handled; my C. fimbriatus slaps the forceps every time I go into her enclosure. In my top five most defensive specimens, an adult female G. porteri sits near the top. I invariably get a threat posture from her when I even open the lid.

To be honest, I'm not certain on what species you're referring to. I stopped bothering with learning the common names ages ago.
Excuse me for that. I've just begun to learn about their classification and scientific names. I believe "earth tigers" are those in the subfamily Ornithoctoninae. Baboons are those in Harpactirinae.
I'm not trying to pick one for handling. Simply wanna know the general trend for interest.
 
Last edited:

antinous

Pamphopharaoh
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 28, 2013
Messages
1,668
I've never heard that Pelinobius muticus are the worst temperament wise. But as some people have kind of said, there are no 'aggressive' tarantulas. They're just overly defensive because many things are trying to eat them in the wild.

Out of my entire collection so far, I'd have to say my Aphonopelma seemani & Megaphobema robustum are the ones that are pretty defensive.
 

Moonohol

Two Legged Freak
Joined
Aug 8, 2016
Messages
115
much of a muchness really, more on a indiviual basis in my experience

i can handle all my 3 s.calceatum with ease and everyone says they are mental

in my experience obts more often than not, are the worst for defensive behaviour
Just because you can doesn't mean you should...
 

tnerd93

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 17, 2016
Messages
11
That's what the hobby needs, responsible behavior.
thanks dude, appreciate the kind words

Just because you can doesn't mean you should...
did i say anyone else should? its up to me what i do, they are my animals

not talking about a taipan here, t keepers are hilarious

i handle my t's on my bed every now and then during a rehouse, no danger to the animal zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
 

antinous

Pamphopharaoh
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 28, 2013
Messages
1,668
thanks dude, appreciate the kind words



did i say anyone else should? its up to me what i do, they are my animals

not talking about a taipan here, t keepers are hilarious

i handle my t's on my bed every now and then during a rehouse, no danger to the animal zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
No rudeness intended, but it's just a unneeded risk to take when handling OWs. Similar to the venomous reptile hobby and reptile hobby (which I'm a part of), this hobby doesn't need any bad rep that a bite might give (especially if the person goes to the hospital). Can't force you to stop, but to be a bit more safe, handle on the ground, a T can fall off a bed just like anyone else, then it's game over.
 

tnerd93

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 17, 2016
Messages
11
No rudeness intended, but it's just a unneeded risk to take when handling OWs. Similar to the venomous reptile hobby and reptile hobby (which I'm a part of), this hobby doesn't need any bad rep that a bite might give (especially if the person goes to the hospital). Can't force you to stop, but to be a bit more safe, handle on the ground, a T can fall off a bed just like anyone else, then it's game over.
you cant compare a tarantula to the venomous hobby for starters and people get bit by reptiles all the time and go to hospital, doesnt affect the hobby. you lot worry too much

you telling me everyone here feeds their ts etc on the floor? lol no they dont, ive seen countless you tube videos of people on here showing them feeding their ts on a table, the t could fall off there too if it decides to do a runner

dont see you lot crying about that
 

antinous

Pamphopharaoh
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 28, 2013
Messages
1,668
you cant compare a tarantula to the venomous hobby for starters and people get bit by reptiles all the time and go to hospital, doesnt affect the hobby. you lot worry too much

you telling me everyone here feeds their ts etc on the floor? lol no they dont, ive seen countless you tube videos of people on here showing them feeding their ts on a table, the t could fall off there too if it decides to do a runner

dont see you lot crying about that
They're both venomous, so why can't you? Just because a bite can't kill you doesn't mean it deserves any less respect. I go in with the same amount of caution and respect when working with a retic, copperhead or a Brachy.

I feed them on a table with a catch cup nearby, I was just talking about the handling as the T isn't in its enclosure when being handled. Wasn't trying to start an argument, so I apologize if I sounded rude at all.
 

bryverine

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 18, 2012
Messages
890
thanks dude, appreciate the kind words



did i say anyone else should? its up to me what i do, they are my animals

not talking about a taipan here, t keepers are hilarious

i handle my t's on my bed every now and then during a rehouse, no danger to the animal zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
No need to get upset, these people are concerned for you and worry about the impression you might be giving to less experienced keepers.

Although I think if you handle your Ts it's certainly nobody else's business, I personally would have added a footnote in the off chance someone searched for S. calceatum and assumed what you do is a normal experience for all keepers.

Can you see where they're coming from?
 

ratluvr76

Arachnodemon
Active Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2014
Messages
759
you cant compare a tarantula to the venomous hobby for starters and people get bit by reptiles all the time and go to hospital, doesnt affect the hobby. you lot worry too much

you telling me everyone here feeds their ts etc on the floor? lol no they dont, ive seen countless you tube videos of people on here showing them feeding their ts on a table, the t could fall off there too if it decides to do a runner

dont see you lot crying about that
People getting bit by reptiles and going to hospital doesn't effect the hobby? Are you serious or just trolling? Look up USARK. A group dedicated to educating about reptiles. Fighting the stigma and ignorance people in general have regarding the keeping of reptiles and fighting legislation aimed at eradicating the reptile hobby as a whole. Then look up all the legislation against keeping reptiles of all sorts and descriptions in various states of the US and then tell me that reptile bite reports in emergency rooms aren't impacting that hobby. I fear the T hobby is headed down that same path. In large part because of cavalier, dismissive attitudes like yours. :(
 

REEFSPIDER

Arachnobaron
Joined
May 6, 2016
Messages
412
OP I would think of "the most defensive spider" as any spider trying to protect its territory. That being said you can expect even more "attitude" from your OW fossorials like Cyriopagopas and Selenocosmia, chilobrachys, as far as Pelinobious muticus goes I've found mine to be a rather chilled docile OW. I have handled it once during initial rehousing upon getting it home and I do not recomend handling for fun. It just happened and luckily my king baboon was very relaxed and more docile than some of my other T's
My brachypelma vagans comes to mind. He will attack the slightest change in atmospheric pressure from a breath taken in his direct vicinity. Lol.
 

tnerd93

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 17, 2016
Messages
11
People getting bit by reptiles and going to hospital doesn't effect the hobby? Are you serious or just trolling? Look up USARK. A group dedicated to educating about reptiles. Fighting the stigma and ignorance people in general have regarding the keeping of reptiles and fighting legislation aimed at eradicating the reptile hobby as a whole. Then look up all the legislation against keeping reptiles of all sorts and descriptions in various states of the US and then tell me that reptile bite reports in emergency rooms aren't impacting that hobby. I fear the T hobby is headed down that same path. In large part because of cavalier, dismissive attitudes like yours. :(
you cant eradciate the reptile hobby its already too big

what they will try and control are the species that can be and are invasive which is fair enough, nothing to do with people getting bit

are people going to start lobbying to ban cars now because people crash in them? no if they were going to lobby against cars theyd do it because it hurts the environment
 

REEFSPIDER

Arachnobaron
Joined
May 6, 2016
Messages
412
are people going to start lobbying to ban cars now because people crash in them? no if they were going to lobby against cars theyd do it because it hurts the environment
Are you serious. They have so many regulations on new car manufacturers they may not be "outlawing" cars but there are many company's that have gone to the wind because of inability to comply with new regulations set fourth for the industry. Not to mention the ever increasing movement to stop the "car enthusiast" crowd from modifying vehicles for pleasure or sport. It is very real and there are legislative actions towards this aswell as the reptile hobby, I think what was being said is not whether or not it will be diminished by such legislation, but more so that these types of incident do 0 in helping us (the hobbyist, the little guy, the ones effected by the laws) from gaining any headway in these cases and provides nothing in terms of proof of responsibility among those keeping them. What you choose to do with your animals is up to you.
The same could be said for the automotive enthusiast, most of us are normal people who just like cars and mechanical things, but there's people out there street racing and other negative attributes strung along with this hobby, including at times the death of innocent people. That's not good for auto enthusiasts as much as poor tarantula practices and resulting injuries from them are bad for tarantula enthusiasts.
 

Moonohol

Two Legged Freak
Joined
Aug 8, 2016
Messages
115
you cant eradciate the reptile hobby its already too big

what they will try and control are the species that can be and are invasive which is fair enough, nothing to do with people getting bit

are people going to start lobbying to ban cars now because people crash in them? no if they were going to lobby against cars theyd do it because it hurts the environment
:troll::meh:
 
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