What is owning a theraphosa like?

[salsalover]

I know, it is probably a dumb question to most of you guys but i do not own a theraphosa however they look so adorable and seem so smart i am beginning to wonder what owning one is like. Anyone care to share?


like all my posts pics ARE welcome!

 

[Najakeeper]

Itchy......

 

[Sleazoid]

I know, it is probably a dumb question to most of you guys but i do not own a theraphosa however they look so adorable and seem so smart i am beginning to wonder what owning one is like. Anyone care to share?


like all my posts pics ARE welcome!

You can't really call any tarantula smart...

 

[salsalover]

You can't really call any tarantula smart...

lol well i HAVE seen some smart enough to sense who their owner is,poop in one spot and some are smart enough to move things around in their cage ....so...yeah thats pretty smart compared to some animals

 

[DemonAsh]

Itchy......

I second this...

 

[Jacobchinarian]

Its hard until you find a way to keep humidity way up. Also get a roach colony because my t stirmi eats 17/20 of all my crickets.

 

[Chris_Skeleton]

lol well i HAVE seen some smart enough to run straigh to their owner,poop in one spot and play games....so...yeah thats pretty smart compared to some animals

Seriously?? :wall:

You are sadly mistaken.

No tarantula can recognize their owner or "play games."

 

[salsalover]

No tarantula can recognize their owner or "play games."

that's a pretty broad statement i know a few owners who keep toys in their tarantulas cage and use them to interact with the tarantula and some tarantulas do go in the same spot every time i mean just because you haven't heard of them doing any of the things i described doesn't mean i haven't seen them and it doesn't mean it's never happened any time in history that's pretty bold to say "oh it's never ever happen before it won't ever happen and 100% of all tarantulas in the world don't know how to do it" granted they aren't dogs but some owners interact with their tarantulas so much that they DO run to the owners when let out of the cage and some do like crawling ontheir owners i never said that this would be the general behavior for all tarantulas i expected people to know that i meant SOME

 

[Spiderdan24]

I kinda understand what your saying my rose hair always dumps left over food in its water bowl. I changed the tank round and guess what she still dumped it in her water bowl cos she know it annoys me lmao

 

[Chris_Skeleton]

that's a pretty broad statement i know a few owners who keep toys in their tarantulas cage and use them to interact with the tarantula and some tarantulas do go in the same spot every time i mean just because you haven't heard of them doing any of the things i described doesn't mean i haven't seen them and it doesn't mean it's never happened any time in history that's pretty bold to say "oh it's never ever happen before it won't ever happen and 100% of all tarantulas in the world don't know how to do it" granted they aren't dogs but some owners interact with their tarantulas so much that they DO run to the owners when let out of the cage and some do like crawling ontheir owners i never said that this would be the general behavior for all tarantulas i expected people to know that i meant SOME

Some tarantulas do go in the same spot to keep poo from being all over the place. That's instincts.

What your perceiving as "playing games" and interacting with toys is not them "playing a game". My Ts will frequently roll water dishes around. They aren't playing with it, they just don't like where it's at.

As for tarantulas running to their owners... Give me a break. You can't be serious. Tarantulas are near blind, they don't "see" you. They can sense vibrations. And since they don't know what we are, they can't perceive you as their "owner" or even like you. And that's for ALL tarantulas not just some.

And please, use punctuation.

 

[Suidakkra]

I think that tarantulas may have a small perception of pattern recogination at best. Their brains are rather small and primitive, only large enough for survival instincts. Basically all tarantulas are biological robots with basic programming. Eat, mate,survive.

They may be able to recoginize a pattern but only in the simplest terms.

 

[Rob1985]

Personally, the Theraphosa genus to me is just another terrestrial NW, but really big! lol

 

[Mez]

Its awsome. I only own a little 10-12cm T. apophysis, shes made a huge hill/burrow at the back of the tank, all i need to to is drop a cricket at the front and she will run straight out at it almost hitting the front of the tank!

 

[DawgPoundSound]

Tarantulas aren't stupid. Therefore, they are smart. There is no in between. Now calculating the level of intelligence is another subject matter. Fact is, if you watch your Ts very closely as many claim to do there is no way to dispute this.


Now owning a Theraphosa which was the initial topic is very appealing. They are always out and about, (some of which try climbing as I've filmed mine climbing a tree once) and can be fairly entertaining Ts to say the least. They will also break your pockets on feeding if you don't have colonies of some sort. I use Goliath Horned worms, fuzzy rats, and Dubia roaches for my girl. And as another comment stated, yes they can be very itchy.

I wouldn't say it's a must have, but they are in my book, a great have when you do decide to purchase one. Or two. Or three.

 

[Suidakkra]

Tarantulas aren't stupid. Therefore, they are smart. There is no in between. Now calculating the level of intelligence is another subject matter.

You cancelled out your own statement. You state there is no in between, yet you state the possibility of calculating the level of intellegence. So therefor, you technically cannot calculate a level if there is no middle number, only stupid and smart.


I wanted to venture into owning a Theraphosa, but I have a really bad reaction to my Lasiodoras urticating hairs, so I can only assume what it would be like to have a reaction to the U-hairs of a Theraphosa. They are large and beautiful, however, but the more I research, the further I get from acquisition. To many molt issues, hair issues, and the upkeep is above normal when it comes to feed, humidity, enclosure size later on. Will have to continue my inquiry further until my mind is made.

 

[salsalover]

Some tarantulas do go in the same spot to keep poo from being all over the place. That's instincts.

What your perceiving as "playing games" and interacting with toys is not them "playing a game". My Ts will frequently roll water dishes around. They aren't playing with it, they just don't like where it's at.

As for tarantulas running to their owners... Give me a break. You can't be serious. Tarantulas are near blind, they don't "see" you. They can sense vibrations. And since they don't know what we are, they can't perceive you as their "owner" or even like you. And that's for ALL tarantulas not just some.

And please, use punctuation.

1. it can be argued that that's considered smart compared to a canine that poops all over your house and has to be trained to poop in one spot in the end it all comes down to criteria in this case it's apparent that we have different standards regarding what makes a pet intelligent and what doesn't even if it is just instinct my definition of intelligence in this case is :they know how to survive in the wild some have instinct that leads them to poop in the same place therefore they are smart i'm not asking you to agree with me but i'm asking you to respect what i define as intelligent in terms of the topic at hand

2. again it all comes down to perception i've seen a few owners on here admit they have toys in their T's cage for example i remember one chick on here basically said she keeps little toy skeleton parts in her T's enclosure she went on to say that her T moves the skeltons into the water bowl on a daily basis in MY OPINION this is considered smart mainly because it requires incorporating routine which even some humans have a hard time with as well as some pets of course not only that but if a T has the sense to move a waterbowl because it doesn't like where the water bowl is located it still reflects a form of common sense and some means of organization lkike i said before it's clear that we have different perceptions and we'll mos likely never agree on this claim


3. mreh i beg to differ they have to be able to differentiate vibrations so they can tell what's prey and what's not agreed they don't have good eye sight but i've seen youtube videos where some T's have recognized the difference between just some person and the owner and some pets do have that instinct as crazy of a comparison as it is im going to go out on a limb and make the comparison i know the animals are totally different but here goes: even birds have a natural instinct of who the owner is and whos not before the owner even walks through the door and yes i know it's true because i've had a bird before and i can whole heartedly say i did experiment to see if the bird could tell the difference but anyway back to the T if tarantulas didnt have a natural sense of who their owner was and who their owner wasn't some of them wouldn't act as fiesty when they just arrived in the package even rob mentioned that he saw an H.gigas act more docile at it's owners place than his so no you can't really tell me that ALL Ts are too stupid to differentiate an owners aspects for another individuals

 

[dannyboypede]

1. it can be argued that that's considered smart compared to a canine that poops all over your house and has to be trained to poop in one spot in the end it all comes down to criteria in this case it's apparent that we have different standards regarding what makes a pet intelligent and what doesn't even if it is just instinct my definition of intelligence in this case is :they know how to survive in the wild some have instinct that leads them to poop in the same place therefore they are smart i'm not asking you to agree with me but i'm asking you to respect what i define as intelligent in terms of the topic at hand

2. again it all comes down to perception i've seen a few owners on here admit they have toys in their T's cage for example i remember one chick on here basically said she keeps little toy skeleton parts in her T's enclosure she went on to say that her T moves the skeltons into the water bowl on a daily basis in MY OPINION this is considered smart mainly because it requires incorporating routine which even some humans have a hard time with as well as some pets of course not only that but if a T has the sense to move a waterbowl because it doesn't like where the water bowl is located it still reflects a form of common sense and some means of organization lkike i said before it's clear that we have different perceptions and we'll mos likely never agree on this claim


3. mreh i beg to differ they have to be able to differentiate vibrations so they can tell what's prey and what's not agreed they don't have good eye sight but i've seen youtube videos where some T's have recognized the difference between just some person and the owner and some pets do have that instinct as crazy of a comparison as it is im going to go out on a limb and make the comparison i know the animals are totally different but here goes: even birds have a natural instinct of who the owner is and whos not before the owner even walks through the door and yes i know it's true because i've had a bird before and i can whole heartedly say i did experiment to see if the bird could tell the difference but anyway back to the T if tarantulas didnt have a natural sense of who their owner was and who their owner wasn't some of them wouldn't act as fiesty when they just arrived in the package even rob mentioned that he saw an H.gigas act more docile at it's owners place than his so no you can't really tell me that ALL Ts are too stupid to differentiate an owners aspects for another individuals

First of all, all of the things you said that have any sliver of credibility can be explained by instinct.
Now to address the bold statements:
Your "standards" and definition of intelligence are irrelevant to fact. Tarantulas don't know anything, period. Next statement: Your perception is once again, irrelevant.
Moving on:
Tarantulas were around for millions of years before humans, and it hasn't been very long that they have been kept in captivity. They are wild animals that have no sense of being owned or loving/knowing their owner. Ownership is a purely human concept (with a few exceptions). That H. gigas that Rob got probably was pissed off at being shipped, not at being away from it's beloved owner.
Finally: Use punctuation!! We can't understand what you are trying to say in the first place, and when you totally butcher the English language, no one is going to take you seriously (not that they are anyways). Humans are capable of intelligence, or at least I thought so until I read your last post.

--Dan

 

[harmroelf]

I second this...

I third this

 

[salsalover]

First of all, all of the things you said that have any sliver of credibility can be explained by instinct.
Now to address the bold statements:
Your "standards" and definition of intelligence are irrelevant to fact. Tarantulas don't know anything, period. Next statement: Your perception is once again, irrelevant.
Moving on:
Tarantulas were around for millions of years before humans, and it hasn't been very long that they have been kept in captivity. They are wild animals that have no sense of being owned or loving/knowing their owner. Ownership is a purely human concept (with a few exceptions). That H. gigas that Rob got probably was pissed off at being shipped, not at being away from it's beloved owner.
Finally: Use punctuation!! We can't understand what you are trying to say in the first place, and when you totally butcher the English language, no one is going to take you seriously (not that they are anyways). Humans are capable of intelligence, or at least I thought so until I read your last post.

--Dan

1. like i said before it does have a lot to do with perception in the way that some people do relate instinct to how intelligent some animals are and they have every right to do so no one can tell another person that they can't see something differently than someone else if you choose to be against perception and other people's views that's fine but don't try to go as far as to be a social rapist when someone presents their own standards and criteria

2. wow....really?how does perception not define intelligence or standards?and news flash, it's virtually impossible to not know anything if they truly didn't know anything they wouldn't know how to do certain things thus not doing them in the first place

3. i never claimed that they LIKED their owner i just said that generally any animal has an innate sense that tells them who they interact with the most which is just general knowledge this conversation is over i'm not changing my mind you're clearly not going to change your mind and you've resorted to being rude just because you can't force your generalizations on me and like i said before i don't partake in conversations with social rapists anything else you have to say will be ignored the purpose of this thread was to get to know one another and be open and perceptive and you are clearly incapable of that

 

[Fran]

I did not want to get into into this, but I cant help it.

Salsalover:

One can have an opinion totally different than another. I like Red, you like blue. I think this woman is pretty and you think she is not. That is a personal perception of the world around us and theres no right or wrong there.Correct.
NOW, a tarantula can not identify anyone as its owner. PERIOD. That is here, in Mars, or in the Popular Republic of China.
What you are implying is an absurd scientificaly speaking. Theres no other way to look at it, and wheter you think they know who you are or they play with toys, that is is fantastic but is still an absurd.

Im free to say gravity doesnt apply to my tarantulas, and someone with a minimun knowledge of physics is also free to say im out of my mind.