WANTED: Aggressive T

[billopelma]

Question to the OP.
What behavior is it you expect from an aggressive/defensive T that makes you want one?
Most of them don't just run around all the time slapping their legs and gnashing their fangs with venom dripping out. Unless maybe there is external stimuli. Are you planning to regularly tease it to get a rise? Doesn't sound like that's your intent.
Many, including some of the popular suggestions here like H. lividium and S. calceatum, are very secretive and rarely ever seen at all ('pet hole'). While OBT's are a good option they eventually web up the whole enclosure and usually run and hide in it at the slightest disturbance.

The most aggressive behavior I see from any of mine is in their feeding response and some of the most interesting and crazy ones are not defensive at all. The biggest problem I think you face is finding an individual T that fits this image as the most badass mofo. Going by species alone is a crap shoot at best as various individuals have various personalities, some here will tell you their rosea makes their Haplo's look tame.
I typically keep 80 or so T's with a pretty even mix of OW/NW and have yet to encounter one that would be what you seem to be looking for.
I have or have had most of the genus/sp. mentioned here and none exhibit this extreme 'defensiveness' on anything but the rarest of occasions. Even if you manage to find a really evil one that charges the glass every time you walk in the room, they often don't remain that way for long. They change as they grow and are rarely consistent over long periods of time.

In my opinion you'd be best off getting something along the lines of the already suggested A. geniculata, P. cancerides, Pampho's or even G. actaeon.
Not because they're 'safer' but simply because they're super aggressive eaters and even more importantly are consistent eaters.
That and they stay out where you see them most of the time and grow quickly, to large sizes. Believe me, while it has it's points, watching an H. minax hold a threat pose for two hours gets old after a while, as does watching crickets disappear down a hole in the dirt.
I'd way rather watch an LP run around trying to stuff 14 crickets in it's face. Though I guess it mostly depends on what your answer to the first question is...


Bill

 

[shanebp]

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)

Great pics, he looks awesome!

 

[Arachnoholic420]

wow this thread really set some folks off the edge.

Very touchy subject..... cause most of the People on the boards own a T not for self esteem issues... they actually own them because they love arachnids... regardless if it is docile or defensive/aggressive.... the post just put a bad taste on some member's mouth... thas all IMO...

 

[that70sshow]

to the op..

my first t was a mature rosie. 3 weeks later i got myself an obt and versicolor. as long as your smart and precausious with your stuff than im sure you will be fine

 

[PaMBiX]

Myfirst was an a avic, second a rosea, third a lividum, fourth p murinus and fifth a regalis all within a few months. Year later I have 20 something. Don't worry about it, common sense is all it takes. I'd go with the obt by the way

 

[Arachnobrian]

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

H. lividium - pet hole if proper housing is provided.

OBT - webbed up pet hole if proper housing is provided.

S. cal. - never had one.

The first two are very interesting species to own, but IMO not the best display spiders if housed properly.

IMO best bang for the buck, that is a little more forgiving if things go wrong (bite) would have to be the N. chromatus. Grows big (7+), great colours, huge appetite, nasty attitude, adults always visible.

Others to consider, A. geniculata, C. cyan., L. para. all very visible interesting, large growing, "aggressive appetite" spiders.

On the nastier side (venom) consider, P. ornata, P. regalis. Both just as nasty as your three choices, but far more visible and entertaining IMO.

The others can all be aquired in time, when you have a few visible interesting ones to keep you entertained first. Honestly, they are really boring spiders unless you irritate them, I only saw mine the rare occasion when I woke up at 3 am in the morning, and rehousing which is always fun.

 

[brian abrams]

As a novice, my opinion/advice doesn't carry the same weight as the good advice you've already received from the experienced keepers, who have had all sorts of spiders. On top of that, I actually prefer the NW terrestrials, as opposed to the OW. That being said, if I wanted to add some excitement to my life by geting an aggressive T, I would get the OBT, which seems to be the top choice of others. The cobalt requires much more demanding husbandry (humidity, etc), requiring you to change containers much more often.... Lots of fun with a pet hole you'll have to dig out of its burrow to accomplish this. Also, You'll never see the damn thing! The Stromatapelma or Selenocosmia seem to be for experienced keepers who have had all sorts of OW T's, & want to go beyond the thrill of an OBT in terms of speed, aggession, potent venom, etc (DANGER). between th 3 choices, I say get the OBT first (poster-child for aggresive T's), then only later get an S Cal, H Mac, etc later. Sorry for the long post....

 

[xhexdx]

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease stop calling them aggressive...

Sheesh.

 

[paul fleming]

The only one I said was aggressive happenes to be Selenocosmia dichromata.
This is from experience and not something I have read on the internet.

 

[Zoltan]

Paul, I read your last post, it's something I've read on the internet. Let me ask, how much personal experience do you have with this "Satan of tarantulas", the dreadful Selenocosmia dichromata? What if somebody has similar experiences with another random species? What if another somebody has similar experiences with another random species? Eventually, we could come to the conclusion that all tarantulas are aggressive and have it in for you (oh, my goodness!). I think there are two possibilities:

a.) You don't understand the definition of the term "aggression", or misinterpret it;

b.) You use a definition of aggression that permits calling all tarantulas "aggressive" that normally would be considered "defensive".

 

[xhexdx]

To attempt to figure out which it is, could you please describe why this spider is aggressive, Paul?

 

[pouchedrat]

I don't think anyone's really lived until they've had a tarantula teleport up their tweezers/tongs right at them, striking the entire time.

My fourt T was my pretty female blue fang, and she did just that. She's new world, pretty much a pet hole (their "holes" though, seem to be a construction of a tube using leaves and dirt and everything else they can find, extending straight up or out), but she can move FAST!

I'm still debating on whether or not I want my first OW, as well... so I'm still learning about these species as well. My reasons for wanting one are a bit different though, although I do love their attitude.

It seems everyone and their mother has an OBT. Plus I hear they're hard to kill ("thrive on neglect" I'm told). I'd say go with one of those just to see if you like it, they're cheap and plentiful, and like I said everyone seems to have one (but me, lol). Even my ex got one as his first tarantula.

 

[paul fleming]

To attempt to figure out which it is, could you please describe why this spider is aggressive, Paul?

How about when I get close to the glass.....it attacks the glass with a threat pose...........I have pics of it.
Unless any of you actually own one of these,this conversation is pointless and all you are doing is quoting stuff off the net that anybody can.....in fact quite a lot do it here to be honest.
Over here we call them the internet T experts....no experience just what they saw on the net or somebody told them down the pub.

 

[DMBizeau]

I still dont see how that can be considered aggressive, it sees a huge dark object approaching where it lives and it gets defensive. Granted that is very defensive but doesnt convince me it is aggressive.

 

[Muze]

Hiya, im new here, but not new to spider keeping. I have around 18yrs experience with T's and true spiders.

Paul asked me to pop on here and document some of my experience with Selenocosmia's.

I have found these to be probably the most aggressive tarantula you will get. I say aggressive rather than defensive as that is what in my experience they are. They attack without provocation. I have seen these spiders attacking random objects in the tank even.

We currently have several AF dichromata's and an AF javensis who will actively catapult herself at you when you open her exo...she then continues this action until she is satisfied that you have left her tank, but will remain in a threat posture for a good hour afterwards.

This is definitley not a starter spider.

 

[Sadistic Haplo]

for anyone telling him not to get one..How else will he learn? Experience is the best teacher. The first T I bought was on November 17, 2009 and it was a 2" CB A. Avicularia. Two weeks later I bought an 6" WC/F H. Lividum. One week after that I purchased a 5" CB/F P. Irminia, and One week ago, I purchased a 6" CB G. pulchripes, Did I mention, I tong feed them all? What I'm trying to say is I rushed head first into the hobby and have no regrets but ofcourse I did my research on the exact sp. I was purchasing so I was ready for pretty much everything and so far, I've had no problems in keeping T's. A. Avics currently premolt(should molt in the next couple of days), G. pulchripes is in premolt (hasn't molted since march 2009 and has refused food for well over a month) P irminia has webbed up her den, so i'll attempt to feed her today but I assume she's in premolt.

if anyones got some MM p irminias, h lividums or g pulchripes let me know!

 

[curiousme]

I have found these to be probably the most aggressive tarantula you will get. I say aggressive rather than defensive as that is what in my experience they are. They attack without provocation. I have seen these spiders attacking random objects in the tank even.

Since you are NOT a tarantula, you have no idea what you could have done to inspire defensiveness. The vibrations from walking on the floor can alert your T to your presence. We have Ts that will attack air currents and react to soundwaves, so declaring that it is aggressive because it reacts in a defensive manner for reasons you as a human don't understand; does not an aggressive spider make. It does make a very defensive spider, that is not for the faint at heart or a beginner.

We currently have several AF dichromata's and an AF javensis who will actively catapult herself at you when you open her exo...she then continues this action until she is satisfied that you have left her tank, but will remain in a threat posture for a good hour afterwards.

That sure sounds like a defensive reaction to me...............

 

[TarantulaFanBoy]

Hiya, im new here, but not new to spider keeping. I have around 18yrs experience with T's and true spiders.

Paul asked me to pop on here and document some of my experience with Selenocosmia's.

I have found these to be probably the most aggressive tarantula you will get. I say aggressive rather than defensive as that is what in my experience they are. They attack without provocation. I have seen these spiders attacking random objects in the tank even.

We currently have several AF dichromata's and an AF javensis who will actively catapult herself at you when you open her exo...she then continues this action until she is satisfied that you have left her tank, but will remain in a threat posture for a good hour afterwards.

This is definitley not a starter spider.

Lol nice try Paul.

 

[Moltar]

Who the flock cares????? Geez, If I were the OP i'd never come back here after this ridiculous sheetstorm. Can you guys even recall what the actual question here was without going back and reading it?

Aggressive/defensive, who gives a crap? You guys just want to be right...

I think defensive is always the appropriate term but i'm not arguing about it. Call it whatever you want. Better yet, start (yet another) thread about it instead of ruining this one. Misguided though the original question may have been, he sure as heck never asked what the proper terminology for an angry spider was.

Some of you need to stop trolling and others need to stop feeding them.

 

[AprilH]

If you want a more defensive species because you want something a little more interesting to watch, a lot of those species (OBT, Cobalt Blue, etc) have a lot of webbing and stay in hiding. I'd have to go with one of the big NW terrestrials as a good step up.

Some people mentioned P. cancerides and I agree with this one. Mine is an extremely aggressive feeder and will go as far as flipping itself backward sometimes because it grabs the food with so much force. I do see a lot of threat poses when cleaning and upsizing the container, also. They get big, they stay out a lot and seem pretty active even when you're not doing anything with them. My L. parahybanas, A. geniculatas, and N. chromatus are out a lot also, but tend to be hair kickers more than anything.