They learn?

[Buspirone]

My tarantula has been fed several times now since I got her. I'm trying to fatten her up a little before I start to space out the feedings. When I would open the small door in the lid she used to cringe and shrink away....now when I open the little door she knows it means crickets , runs over and stands right under the opening to wait for me to drop the cricket in!! Its too cool. I never thought of a spider being able to learn to associate the opening of the lid with food. I guess she starting to see me as a normal part of her home instead of a potential threat. Now she grabs the food and retreats into the coconut to eat but stays out in the open the rest of the time.

 

[Beth-Tex]

I have a few who also do that. My A.avic actually positions itself in the webbing & waits for me to drop the cricket onto the webbing. It can differentiate between my cleaning out & refilling the water, etc etc & when I feed.
Sooooo......yes......I do believe there is an association of being fed, specially if you do it the same way every time.

 

[Nixy]

Xenix, our versicolor just waits for the lid to open, spies cricket and snags it right from my fingers. Now I just open the lid and hold it out.
The twins think it's So cute.
So I give her one, then we wait a few minuts and then the twins give her one each spaced out to allow her to eat.

Spoiled brat versi....

 

[Grael]

cool but my sisters rosea did 1 better lol whenever i got the cricket box out from the side of her tank too try and catch up she would climb up right agisnt the tank so u could see all her underside including fangs would b scary...1 minute shes stone still u go down grab a cricket next thing shes up agisnt the glass fangs in sight! open the lid drop the cricket and theres dinner done ^_^

 

[Lycanthrope]

ts definately have an ability to learn, albeit a very limited ability. a few of the avics ive had would attach heavy amounts of their web retreats to the door of the kk. after i opened the door a few times, destroying their home, they would rebuild. without a thread of web touching that door.;P

 

[Code Monkey]

Yes, they're not brilliant by any stretch of the imagination, but they do have a memory and learn things that are important within their environment. If the sharp vibration and minor movement of you opening the cage lid is always associated with prey suddenly appearing, their spider minds make the association.

There was one article in the ATS forum magazine a couple of years ago where someone experimented with docile Brachypelma individuals and found that you could make them "aggressive" by always dropping their prey right in front of them - they learned that anytime something came in front of them it was food and struck at it. Conversely, because their memory doesn't last very long, to "pacify" them all you had to do was feed them for several weeks dropping the prey well away from the T.

If you look around on these forums, you'll also find that many people have observed their Ts learning to distinguish between the stimuli that represents one person over another. So when one person comes in the room they might all go into their hides, but when their care giver arrives they will come to the sides of the tank hoping it means food or fresh water is coming.