What is the scariest spider you currently own and why?

[Lefisher93]

I only have what are considered beginner species but I am actually scared of my MM g.pulchripes. He has turned into a really mean and unpredictable t. His automatic response is to strike. He was my favorite baby and now I don't DARE stick any part of my body in the tank. I have had several close calls where he has almost bit me. He is much larger than the typical male for his species so I interact with this turd as minimal as I possibly can. I am a baby who is scared of my pet that is not even considered an aggressive species.

 

[Dennis Nedry]

It can take down a funnel web? That is so cool!

They can take out everything from a funnel web to a small lizard. The biggest Aussie species can catch, kill and eat animals as large small rats and young eastern brown snakes

 

[Teds ts and Inverts]

oh god, i had a von wirthi, it was completely insane. ended up trading it for a singapore blue and she's a total sweetheart. never owning a von wirthi again,they're my spider kryptonite.

I had a C. vonwirthi that I ended up returning to the reptile shop I bought it from (was mislabeled as C. minax). And when I first picked it up from the reptile shop, it was trying to bite me through the deli cup it was packed in. I will say that she wasn’t packed all that well by their supplier, but my god, that T was PISSED.

But besides that, he/she was pretty well-behaved during the 4 days I had it, and he/she didn’t give me much trouble when it was time to get packed up (again).

Here’s a picture from when I had to pack him/her back up:

 

[Brachyfan]

I keep nw terrestrials and the 2 I have with "bad" reputations are a juvie Pterinopelma sazimai and a tiny Acanthoscurria geniculata. I'm not nervous right now of the genic because it is very gentlemanly for the moment. That P saz kinda makes me nervous though. It is much faster than any other t I have currently and is named P s(p)az for obvious reasons. My Brachypelma baumgarteni is kinda weird too. Always trying to escape!

 

[Kitara]

Scariest one I own is my X. immanis. It is scary because I feel like I dont know enough about it. He is so calm that I am just waiting for the crazy to come out. lol

 

[Moebius]

None particularly scary, nothing outright lethal but definitely some individuals that you don't expect to play nice.
Weirdly enough, if there's one I consider extra sneaky (rather than threat posing, toddler tantrum defensiveness) to keep an eye on, it's the big T. cf vagans gal I have.

I've had some extra touchy individuals of various species that would go ape on a water dish or even tag the edge of their enclosure (anything within reach) but they primarily stick to their enclosure. They're just spooked, even if they flip on their back kicking up substrate in their display (hence the toddler tantrum).

"The Beast" as I call her? She'll cooly walk over to the edge of her enclosure some days, start slowly clambering out, towards whoever is moving nearby and THEN getting defensive as she nears you. We're exposed talking fang action, not threat poses or hair flicking. I'd swear she's territorial, and she has a very broad definition of what's "hers". For an freebie she sure won me over with that personality.

Sure it's generally in slow motion compared to some Ts (like the Pseudoclamoris going full on NASCAR or teleporting Cyriopagopus sp. Sumatran tigers), and it isn't a daily thing, but seeing her sort of response isn't something I'd commonly expect. It doesn't give me the hee-bee-jee-bees or even twinge my nerves, but it did give me pause the first couple of times. I expect OWs to give me guff; you generally don't expect something like that from an ex-Brachy.

 

[Brachyfan]

None particularly scary, nothing outright lethal but definitely some individuals that you don't expect to play nice.
Weirdly enough, if there's one I consider extra sneaky (rather than threat posing, toddler tantrum defensiveness) to keep an eye on, it's the big T. cf vagans gal I have.

I've had some extra touchy individuals of various species that would go ape on a water dish or even tag the edge of their enclosure (anything within reach) but they primarily stick to their enclosure. They're just spooked, even if they flip on their back kicking up substrate in their display (hence the toddler tantrum).

"The Beast" as I call her? She'll cooly walk over to the edge of her enclosure some days, start slowly clambering out, towards whoever is moving nearby and THEN getting defensive as she nears you. We're exposed talking fang action, not threat poses or hair flicking. I'd swear she's territorial, and she has a very broad definition of what's "hers". For an freebie she sure won me over with that personality.

Sure it's generally in slow motion compared to some Ts (like the Pseudoclamoris going full on NASCAR or teleporting Cyriopagopus sp. Sumatran tigers), and it isn't a daily thing, but seeing her sort of response isn't something I'd commonly expect. It doesn't give me the hee-bee-jee-bees or even twinge my nerves, but it did give me pause the first couple of times. I expect OWs to give me guff; you generally don't expect something like that from an ex-Brachy.

That's crazy! Sounds just like my baumgarteni. Ive seen him get defensive towards his water dish and slap the water. When that didn't work he crawled into the dish and slapped the water 3 times! Got totally soaked and hid behind his hide! I didn't really include him in my previous post because he is slow enough that I see him coming a mile away.

My boehmei is probably my craziest t. Threat postures all the time! If i look at the enclosure it rears up! But again I didn't include it cause it is 1/4" and really adorable. Probably won't be so cute when it's 4+" lol

 

[RezonantVoid]

dont be fooled by the fact this unassuming girl is only 100mm DLS and a fuzzball, Kotzman's are downright terrifying with rehouses

 

[Cas S]

one of my gbbs is insane, whenever i feed him he jumps on the cricket instantly and flips out. recently hes started not even eating the cricket and just grabbing the tongs and trying to pull them into the cage, he ripped up his entire web one time because i was trying to pull the tweezers away from him and he wouldnt let go. he also likes to bolt and is very fast

 

[Vanisher]

My subadult male P atrichomatus for sure. I lined his enclosure with 8 inches of sub and a corkbark. For the first 4 month it lived in the burrow like a Haplopelma and retreated if outside and disturbed. After its last moult it changed behaviour and is always out on display. Great, cos i can always see it, but bonkers, cos it is defenssive and it gives me problems when filling its waterdish, it is very protective of its waterdish! I have to shield my hands when i have to take the dish out and have to use a long tweezer. I would not dare to put my hands in there.
I have many colorforms of P murinus, both juveniles and adults and those always retreats when i open their cages. So not much problems there. Same with my E murinus

 

[Rigor Mortis]

She's not "scary" but my A. chalcodes is feisty and I'm always expecting her to attack things randomly.

 

[Transrights]

My P. Formosa. I'm not scared of her but still very careful when rehousing since it's my first OW arboreal and I haven't had her for long, so I still can't fully judge her temper yet. Additionally, she's a subadult female so I am adamant on not going to be bitten by her. She's due for a rehouse today so I'm looking forward to that

 

[Asgiliath]

I’d say my four inch C. lividus or three inch P. irminia but my tiny OBT juvie is soooo fast. I’m “afraid” of them bolting out and getting lost forever.

 

[Brachyfan]

I’d say my four inch C. lividus or three inch P. irminia but my tiny OBT juvie is soooo fast. I’m “afraid” of them bolting out and getting lost forever.

I feel the same way about my P sazimai. Not worried about bites or hair kicking. Just about it bolting.

 

[Transrights]

Update: second rehousing of P. Formosa done. I think I confirmed my own suspicions. She's super chill! Didn't try to bolt or strike once. Was just like "urgh fine, I'll move so you'll stop poking my butt with your stupid brush"

Still had taken every precaution I could. Multiple catch cups ready, multiple cardboard cutouts to block openings when I prod her, decoy "hides" beside the enclosure, everything done in bathtub.​

 

[Asgiliath]

I feel the same way about my P sazimai. Not worried about bites or hair kicking. Just about it bolting.

Yeah! I’d totally rather have a spider stand their ground and slap and bite than run around everywhere. With the former, you just keep your hands away and you’re good.

 

[Sinned]

The one that I'm the most careful around with is my A.geniculata, this is mostly because of her feeding response. I don't tong feed, but if she senses anything (tong included) she will jump/go for it. She won't hesitate climbing up. Feeding is fun, but retrieving a water-dish can be an hilarious endeavor.

Previously, it was my juvenile Phormictopus atrichomatus that was really skittish and quickly went on the defensive, but since her last molt she runs to her hide when she even senses me entering the room.

The A. geniculata on the other hand, always had this behaviour, I love that T

 

[Shadow89]

I’d say my T. vagans. I get it’s a new world, but that thing is a little devil. It molted about a month and a half ago, and it outgrew it’s old enclosure and it was a nightmare rehousing it first it bit the catch cup and then it jumped onto the wall. Ever since that I’ve only ever opened its cage for feeding

 

[T Lurksalot]

I have a c Marshalli that’s normally perfectly manageable but I rehoused her to her adult enclosure the other day and wow was she angry about it! Stood her ground and postured/slapped and stridulated the whole time. I use long soda straws as prods when I rehouse and every time I brushed her she wheeled and bit the straw, clung to it and wouldn’t retreat an inch. I keep OBTs too and I’ve never seen a baboon stand and fight for this long and not budge so I was surprised at how stubborn this Marshalli was. I ended up just lifting her out by the straw and placing it in the new enclosure, I had to retrieve it later when she calmed down. I wouldn’t call her scary but I learned she will DEFEND her TERRITORY lol

 

[JC]

p. murinus.

i've owned black widows, but with p.murinus' speed and attitude it's such a pain to maintain properly in terms of cage cleaning.