WANTED: Aggressive T

[BrettG]

Get the OBT.....I was told not to get one for my second T,blahblahblahblah,and I did not listen. Glad I didn't,either,since it has become the favorite in my collection.Use common sense,don't try to play with the damn thing,and you will be FINE.They are not NEARLY as hard to manage as some here make them out to be. But if you DO get tagged,it is really gonna blow.Be smart,be safe,and get whatever the heck kinda T you want!

 

[Moltar]

I think you'd do well to start with something "moderately defensive" rather than the nastiest thing you can find. Those suggesting a Ceratogyrus are onto something IMO. They are fairly defensive but not the quivering ball of unbridled fury some T's can be. Plus their tunneling behavior when young is awesome!

If you're new to T's and your only experience is with (what'd you say, an A. avic?) then the dramatic difference in behavior may be more than you're ready for. Keep in mind that with defensive nature comes an increased likelihood for escape, as they can/will run out of their container in the process of trying to fang you. Then you have a dangerous tarantula running around the room that you need to deal with; not always fun or easy, especially if you're lacking experience with such things. There is a whole skill set associated with keeping feistier T's that has to be learned via experience which you just don't have yet.

I suggest you start with a Ceratogyrus or an OBT (yikes) or maybe a feistier NW like A. geniculata, P. cancerides or N. coloratovillosus. From your wording in the original post I think you may be seeking a dangerously fiesty, venomous animal for the wrong reason or without thinking it through. At the risk of coming across as condescending; these aren't like keeping any other pet. An H mac, S. cal, Haplo, etc has the ability to basically kick your ass all over the room if you're unprepared for them and they're having a bad day. If they actually bite you or a friend the consequences are very real. A trip to the ER is often the result of envenomation from some of the more venomous species which also happen to be some of the more defensive.

Get whatever you want (not like anybody here can actually stop you) but please just do research on the species your looking at and be realistic about what you want out of this pet.

 

[curiousme]

I agree with Paul. I understand the reason to not label a tarantula as aggressive but that sort of nature by all reasoning would be considered aggressive. So what? And stop flaming this guy!!! Jeesh! We don't need thirty people relaying the same silly advice over and over again.

It is not silly to tell a person new to the hobby, who only has an A. avicularia sling; that maybe he might want to try something intermediary/ look at bite reports, before jumping head first into a species that will behave very differently than what he is used to. It was reiterated many times, because people don't wish him to get hurt. The fact that it has been mentioned so many times may make him think twice about it. i doubt that is the case here, but no one can make him do anything.

And why the heck did everyone decide to attack his apparant 'alpha male-ism'?

Because of these statements:

I want a badass ground T. I want the most vicious mofo I can get my hands on.

He sounded like a teenager trying to be 'cool'/ 'extreme' by having a tarantula. For me at least, that is seen as hurting the hobby and i feel an obligation to help the hobby not harm it. It would really suck if legislation was formed to ban them, because of sentiments and statements such as he has made.

Seems to me a lot of you guys are probably guilty of reading a little too far in to his post.

His own statements caused this. i think it was perfectly reasonable to assume what most people did.

There's also absolutely no need to wish him to get bit.

Agreed

I wonder how many of you "experts" have been bitten personally? I'd be willing to bet very few. Stop acting like just because we've all read the same bite reports posts that we're all a bunch of know it alls.

Luckily, i have never been bitten. However, the people who mentioned to read the bite reports were giving good advice. Since the OP hasn't done enough research to know what he wants as his next T, perhaps people telling him to read them isn't such a bad idea.

He doesn't sound like a fool and by all means probably would just appreciate the thrill of having a more defensive species to compliment his Avic.

i wouldn't say he sounds like fool, but i would say he doesn't seem to have done his own research. That can be a dangerous thing, which is why so many people have told him to try something intermediate first.

That's exactly what I did and I am happier for it.

Good for you, but did you do your own research, or did you ask people to tell you what the 'baddest mofo' out there is?

We got a P. murinus and a P. cambridgei in our first batch of slings. They are now favorites of mine, but the P. murinus was waaaay faster than we anticipated, even though we had done tons of research already. Until you have dealt with a fast spiderling, you won't really understand their speed.

We owned a MF G. rosea and an A. metallica(that later hooked out) first and i would hope if i were wanting to get something hotter/ more defensive and posting here for ideas; someone would advise me like the people in this thread have. He has received several great ideas for a second T, that is more defensive and i hope he heeds some of the advice given.

 

[jebbewocky]

To OP: I don't have a problem with you getting a defensive T, but we do get kids and/or muscleheads here from time to time looking to get a defensive T to prove something. Some of the phrases used in the opening post indicated you may have been one of those individuals. Since reading more of your posts, I personally do not think you fall into this category, I am merely providing some context for the reaction. We don't know you, and so we can only judge on what we know. Moving on.


I will second Moltar's advice. I encourage you, don't go from a teddybear like A.avic, which is one of the most docile T's in the hobby, to hate-on-eight-legs like an S.cal.

Now, that's presuming you don't have experience with other exotics like centipedes, scorpions, or snakes. If you have some experience with exotics that aren't T's you will find many of the same skills are needed.

Many of the more defensive T's are either arboreal or fossorial (aka "obligate burrower"), which is to say, they burrow and spend most of their time in a burrow. Terrestrials tend to be on a more even keel, generally.

Genera Haplopelma and Ephebopus are two of the more defensive fossorial species, and are also rather attractive spiders. I have yet to keep either (and won't be keeping Haplos), so I can't vouch for them more than that. I have no idea if they are intermediate or advanced.

 

[Mack&Cass]

I understand your points!
I wouldn't call keeping spiders, 'exotic pets', anymore than I'd call an ant farm 'exotic'. I don't consider anything that you can buy at a Petco to be 'exotic', but that's just me.
I'm not familiar with any places that tarantulas are banned.
Why is it illegal to ship them? Ignorant uneducated people make those rules I guess.
Let's hope it stays this way for your sake, because if this hobby becomes common and mainstream, you'll have to get rid of your T's, because that's how you are.

Okay for one, I don't see how what I said about why I like to keep tarantulas has ANYTHING to do with this thread, or anything else I've said in this thread. Even still, dogs are mainstream and I have one of them, I just said that part of the reason I love keeping T's is how different it is from what other people do. Maybe I should go dig up irrelevant posts of yours and post it on here. And if you would have quoted my ENTIRE post, you would see that I gave other reasons as to why I like T's.

I don't know about the states, but in Canada there are many cities where you can't keep any venemous animals. Sorry for stating what is said on here tons of times about people doing stuff that could possible put the hobby in jeopardy...you know like all those comments on the "should non-adults be allowed to keep OW T's"...I'm pretty sure that statement was made a million times in that thread.

I don't know what Petco sells because we don't have them in Canada, but are you going to tell me they don't sell reptiles? And that reptiles aren't exotic pets? Some birds are considered exotic pets, pretty much anything but a cat, dog, rodent, or fish is considered exotic by some people.

Anyways I'm not getting into it and just turn this thread into one of those 50 page fight threads that just gets locked. If the OP wants to get a defensive tarantula, then he can go right ahead and do it. I think a Ceratogyrus is a good idea, ours is pretty chill but she's not full grown yet, so we'll see.

Cass

 

[D-back]

Hello Shanebp!

I'm usually a cautious guy. I did get a defensive T (H. lividum-2x.......and later an OBT sling) but only as my 9. and 10. T after 1 and a half years in the hobby. I never advise a very defensive T for a novice on my own. But as you already said, you WILL get that spider, so I won't try to convince you.

At first, please let me to tell you, what is IMO the biggest diference between keeping a gentle T and a defensive one......if you make a mistake with a gentle T, it probably won't punish you for that mistake. The situation is different with a defensive T....you still might get away with it, but the chances of a bite are A LOT higher. The problem is, that most of the defensive Ts are not only defensive but also quick...I mean QUICK......when I got my lividum slings (1,2"), they were in a small deli cup.....one of them was so frightened, that he was running in circles on the wall of the deli cup for a couple of seconds. I did my research so I was expecting a quick spider, but that thing really surprised me....I was merely able to see the spider (maybe an exaggeration but you get my point). I realised, that if a spider like that wants to run onto my 10" tweezers and then tag my hand, I simply might not be able to let go the tweezers before he reaches my hand (this actually happened to my friend). All I want to say with this is, that if you make a mistake, (and novice sometimes make mistakes) those Ts have the perfect weapon to punish you....speed.

I suggest you not to buy an adult spider. If you buy a sling, you have the chance to get used to the speed and attitude. If you decide to buy a sling (or at least a small juvenile), it is important that there are huge differences in the growth rate of different species....if you decide not to buy an adult, it is useful to do a research on this topic.......for example a C. crawshay takes forever to grow, while OBTs grow quite quickly. If you want a terrestrial spider but don't want an obligate burrower, I think the best genus for you might be Pterinochilus or Ceratogyrus. Yes, OBTs are considered semi arboreal, but most of them act like terrestrials and most of the people who I know keep them as terrestrials without any problem. Ceratogyruses do make burrows, but from what I've heard (I have no personal experience with them to back this up) they are out on the open more often than a typical Haplopelma.

Best wishes!

 

[The Spider Faery]

considering you only have an Avic avic sling, I would highly suggest that you get something about middle-of-the-road until you get used to how a tarantula moves, and reacts to you. Otherwise, you are risking an escape, a bite, or both.

This is a very good point for the op to consider.

Seriously, if you only have an Avic avic, you don't know the true speed that other types of T's are capable of and how they differ. An A. avic moves very slow and predictable, imo. They are one of the best handling T's for this reason.

You need to experience what 'skittish' means before you progress to 'defensive' in my opinion.

Also the way that terrestrials and arboreals move is very noticably different. When I got my first arboreal, the first thing I noticed when I transferred it was the way it moves differently. I'm convinced they have better eyesight than terrestrials, because my A. laeta made transferring SO much easier than most of my other T's. It seemed to know where it was going, or better, where I wanted it to go, and literally jumped into it's new vial. Sure, Avics are capable of moving fast, but from what I've noticed, it's only in short bursts of speed, and you can watch which direction they move their legs in to get an idea of where they're going to go.

Skittish terrestrials, on the other hand, have a tendency to just move for the sake of 'getting out of danger' and blindly dart here or there (See any Cyriocosmus species) with no clear objective of where they are going and they'll just keeping going until they feel safe.

To the OP: I'm assuming you're asking which species is the most aggresive because you want a pet that's 'not boring'. My advice is to do research. Defensive may not be exactly what you're looking for, for your 'next fix' and you might find some 'step up' alternative that is a wiser choice to just jumping in with a pet who's behaviour is very unfamiliar to you and risky.

I can honestly say I'm glad I got an Avic before even considering a Poeci. I could have easily said that I've got a handful of T's already so why would I need the experience, but like I said, arboreals were new to me, and different groups of T's come with very different characteristics that you'd be wise to experience accordingly.

 

[Moltar]

There are consequences other than just being bitten with fast, defensive tarantulas.

Ever seen this classic vid?

[YOUTUBE]<object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HxXrHc9sflA&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HxXrHc9sflA&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object>[/YOUTUBE]

 

[paul fleming]

What the OP needs is a list of the more aggressive T's that are capable of putting you on your back for a few days / weeks should he get tagged because the above quality normally goes with the more aggressive T
H.lightfooti
S.calceatum
H.maculata
H.gigas....although not out and out nasty,these do get to a very nice size.
Any of the haplopelma's but especially consider anything with "earth tiger" in the name.....these are aggressive with potent venom.
Also consider Selenocosmia as well.
There are also some rather "tasty" true spiders too,if you wanted to go down that road......including Macrothele and Atrax or even the Hobo spider.
If you know where to look,there is absolutely no limit to what you can get.

 

[shanebp]

Hello Shanebp!

I'm usually a cautious guy. I did get a defensive T (H. lividum-2x.......and later an OBT sling) but only as my 9. and 10. T after 1 and a half years in the hobby. I never advise a very defensive T for a novice on my own. But as you already said, you WILL get that spider, so I won't try to convince you.

At first, please let me to tell you, what is IMO the biggest diference between keeping a gentle T and a defensive one......if you make a mistake with a gentle T, it probably won't punish you for that mistake. The situation is different with a defensive T....you still might get away with it, but the chances of a bite are A LOT higher. The problem is, that most of the defensive Ts are not only defensive but also quick...I mean QUICK......when I got my lividum slings (1,2"), they were in a small deli cup.....one of them was so frightened, that he was running in circles on the wall of the deli cup for a couple of seconds. I did my research so I was expecting a quick spider, but that thing really surprised me....I was merely able to see the spider (maybe an exaggeration but you get my point). I realised, that if a spider like that wants to run onto my 10" tweezers and then tag my hand, I simply might not be able to let go the tweezers before he reaches my hand (this actually happened to my friend). All I want to say with this is, that if you make a mistake, (and novice sometimes make mistakes) those Ts have the perfect weapon to punish you....speed.

I suggest you not to buy an adult spider. If you buy a sling, you have the chance to get used to the speed and attitude. If you decide to buy a sling (or at least a small juvenile), it is important that there are huge differences in the growth rate of different species....if you decide not to buy an adult, it is useful to do a research on this topic.......for example a C. crawshay takes forever to grow, while OBTs grow quite quickly. If you want a terrestrial spider but don't want an obligate burrower, I think the best genus for you might be Pterinochilus or Ceratogyrus. Yes, OBTs are considered semi arboreal, but most of them act like terrestrials and most of the people who I know keep them as terrestrials without any problem. Ceratogyruses do make burrows, but from what I've heard (I have no personal experience with them to back this up) they are out on the open more often than a typical Haplopelma.

Best wishes!

Probably the best info anybody has provided to me yet. Much respect for actually giving me the information I need and helping me out instead of bashing me or trying to convince me to do something else. I'll definitely keep these things in mind..

 

[shanebp]

There are consequences other than just being bitten with fast, defensive tarantulas.

Ever seen this classic vid?

That was the first time I have ever seen that. That spider was really movin!

 

[paul fleming]

To the OP........what are you getting
The suspense is killing me....lol

 

[BrettG]

....and that video is why I have a huge amount of respect for my P.Murinus.

 

[xhexdx]

Its none of anyone business but your own. If you want an aggressive T, then that means you think you are ready to deal with one and you will get one regardless of, or possibly, in spite of, what other people say.
To answer your question, the only truly aggressive, not defensive, T I have had was a wild caught adult female H. vonwirthi. A friend of mine dug her out of her burrow to look at her and she purposefully went after him with the intent to bite him. She was chasing his hand as he moved it away from her.
I wish you luck with your new interest.

Uh...

If someone broke into your home and started destroying everything in the house, you wouldn't try to hurt/kill/remove the person?

Sorry, but (in my opinion), your example is clearly defensiveness.

If you walked up to the spider and it lunged at you for NO REASON, then you're talking aggressive.

Like some snakes, as Paul suggests.

On another note, I don't even know why this thread has evolved to this point (meaning the aggressive/defensive debate). I mean, there are plenty of threads that have addressed this topic already, couldn't someone have just linked some of them?

--Joe

 

[sAdam]

wow this thread really set some folks off the edge.

when i asked if i should get an LP or an OBT as my second T i didn't get near the level of indignation. actually got the OBT on the advice/experiences of those on here and couldn't be happier.

I say OBT. tough as nails according to what i've read, and mine is thriving.

and if u already got somethin , then ya, whatdja get???

 

[shanebp]

To the OP........what are you getting
The suspense is killing me....lol

Hahaha, i'm kinda stuck between 3 species, the Cobalt Blue, OBT, and the S.cal

 

[jebbewocky]

Hahaha, i'm kinda stuck between 3 species, the Cobalt Blue, OBT, and the S.cal

I recommend the OBT. Lots of attitude, bright orange, hardy, and you can get slings for all of $3+shipping or so.

 

[Jilly1337]

Another vote for OBT. You just can't go wrong. If you get a wild hair, you can even house them communally down the road. You'll probably end up with all three or more eventually anyway, lol.

 

[TarantulaFanBoy]

OMG im so excited!!! Get the S cal dude DO IT!!!! you know you want to S cal is the best!!!!!

 

[curiousme]

i will add my vote for P. murinus. Get a small sling as they are fascinating to watch grow and you get to become accustomed to their speed gradually.

Here are a few pics of our P. murinus as it has grown.


Current size after a year and two months and some attitude(scroll down one pic)