Which T has been least like you expected it to be and why ?

Dilbrain

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Apologies if this thread has been done before, I was just curious as to peoples experiences.For me it would be the P.irminia.
I realised they are secretive but after a brief 24 hours of the chap doing circuits of the enclosure, he retired to his cork bark hide and I have not seen him since. This was about 5 weeks ago. He is in his original enclosure.
I work strange hours and usually see my H.lividum, C.crawshayi a few times a weeks if I sneak up on them. This guy though is the master of discretion. He must be out and about sometimes as the crickets are gone within 12 hours.
It's a bloody shame because he is a gorgeous little T as well.
I am aware that if your T is hidden, it is usually a sign that you are doing the right thing, but if that's the case I must be a genius with reagrds to the Suntiger breed....
Let's hear your surprises please. :D

 

phil jones

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well i would not get a P - IRMINIA lol or any POECILOTHERIA SPECIES to fast and nasty bite:eek: :eek: and its a no to H - MINAX ? or P - CANCERIDES and A - SEEMANNI i like to play it safe lol :8o :8o :8o === ;) phil
 

thunderthief

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My A. Seemanni is nothing like I expected. I knew it would burrow, but the only time I see it is when I pull down the little paper door and peer through into the burrow. It may as well be a H. Lividum!! ;)
 

Stylopidae

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Nothing has really surprised me so far. It's all common sense. We're dealing with animals that spend most of their lives in holes or under debris.
 

138

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since most of my arboreals burrow under the driftwood/grapevine provided, i'm still waiting for that terrestrial T i'm gonna find at the top of the enclosure. upside down... {D


wait, my h. lividium likes the top of its KK. nevermind.
 

Dilbrain

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Nothing has really surprised me so far. It's all common sense. We're dealing with animals that spend most of their lives in holes or under debris.
I hear you , but on occasion it's nice to be surprised, pleasantly or otherwise. Between the time I order and receive a T , I have usually spent many hours reading about the potential characteristics of whatever sp. I have ordered.
In this period I usually assemble a mental image of the experience I expect to undergo, in most cases it's not too far off, but it's refreshing to be proved wrong sometimes.


:D
 
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Ando55

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I hear you , but on occasion it's nice to be surprised, pleasantly or otherwise. Between the time I order and receive a T , I have usually spent many hours reading about the potential characteristics of whatever sp. I have ordered.
In this period I usually assemble a mental image of the experience I expect to undergo, in most cases it's not too far off, but it's refreshing to be proved wrong sometimes.


:D
Such refreshment might include running out on yah or running out on the forceps for those more prone to defensive types...mmmm..tangy! :D
 

KJE

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My surprise was my P. regalis. I was warned by people that they are very aggressive/defensive, but mine hasn't shown any signs of that whatsoever. I do give it the respect it deserves, though. She's just pretty mellow and stays hidden a lot of the time. Transfers were also really easy while she was growing up.
 

Scorpendra

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my H. longipes has certainly surprised me. after i moved it into its new tank, complete with a pre-made burrow, it decided to hang out on the lid like an arboreal! although, she's stopped it by now and has continued the burrow into an "L" shape, so i can't see her anymore because the enclosure's vaguely cylindrical.
 

Urbanspider

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C. andersoni

This spider surprised me the most. She has been very calm, almost gentle in her behaviour. She had been kept in very poor conditions by the folks I got her from and she actually seemed happy when I got her out of the tiny tub she'd been kept in and put her in a large size KK. I've never gotten a threat display out of her and now she comes out to see me when I put water or food in her cage. Needless to say, I don't attempt to interact with her as she is quite large and probably wouldn't appreciate being handled. However, she appears very docile. Certainly something you would not expect from this species.
 

Thoth

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My C. fasciatum it is almost as big a pet hole as my H.lividum. I did not expected to wander much around the enclosure but never expected it to rarely ever come out.
 

Ando55

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This spider surprised me the most. She has been very calm, almost gentle in her behaviour. She had been kept in very poor conditions by the folks I got her from and she actually seemed happy when I got her out of the tiny tub she'd been kept in and put her in a large size KK. I've never gotten a threat display out of her and now she comes out to see me when I put water or food in her cage. Needless to say, I don't attempt to interact with her as she is quite large and probably wouldn't appreciate being handled. However, she appears very docile. Certainly something you would not expect from this species.

Talk about a rarity, nice to hear it's a smooth experience but be sure it stays like that by always keeping your guard up and never underestimate the T's individuality and actions despite showing signs of docility. Some bite stories and incidents I've read always seemed to send the message and the OP even states something in where they let their guard down and didn't observe and lost focus of what the T was doing and where it was. Still all in all, that's quite a rarity and best wishes on it! :D
 

arrowhd

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My B. smithi slings behavior has been suprising. Really expected it to be pretty laid back but it is more nervous acting than my GBB. I'm hoping it will chill out as it grows and gets older.
 

Alice

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well, for me it was my g. pulchra - she's an angel normally, VERY docile and the first choice for arachnophobia therapy on my friend and relatives.

she doesn't even move when i do things in her tank and lets herself be picked up without resistance (i only handle her for the therapy sessions mentioned above, about once a month).

well, i mated her last weekend, and good god, was she agressive.:eek: the male was nearly as big as her and got some good insertions, but as soon as he tried to move away she went for him and tried to munch him. she kept up her threat pose for nearly an hour and kept attacking shadows whenever someone came near her tank. i never seen such an impressive threat behaviour, not even on obts... wow, i never would have guessed.

hm, maybe she's gay and didn't really like the mating? ;)
 

WyvernsLair

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My C. fasciatum it is almost as big a pet hole as my H.lividum. I did not expected to wander much around the enclosure but never expected it to rarely ever come out.

My C. fasciatum only burrowed when it was a tiny spiderling and was still in the baby vial. Once it reached about an inch in size and was moved to a larger jar it stopped burrowing. Just sits out in the open waiting for food lol. It does have a couple of pit-like depressions in the jar but never uses them.
 
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LimaMikeSquared

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since most of my arboreals burrow under the driftwood/grapevine provided, i'm still waiting for that terrestrial T i'm gonna find at the top of the enclosure. upside down... {D
My Lasiodora difficilis spends alot of time at the top of the tank and hanging off the top in the eve, then in the day and when he gets spooked he becomes a pet hole again ;) lol.

LMS
 

Mina

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Our suprise is our P. cancerides. It was sold to us a an A. seemani sling, but it became apparent after not to much time that is wasn't one, then for a while we thought it might be a para, but we took it to the Watson's all pet show and all of the spiders dealers at the show agreed that it is a cancerides.
It is very gentle and shy. It is handleable, but skittish and very easily startled. I'm still in shock.
 

Cerbera

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2 surprises for me - pokies, and psalmopoeus. As for the latter, then yes - i have exactly the same as Dilbrain, where you don't see 'em for weeks and weeks on end, but dangle the food thing in front of them, and they are out like black lightning if hungry before disappearing for another month...

But most surprising is Poecilotheria fasciata. Either I own the least stressy, calmest, and most sweet natured Pokie in the world, or their aggressiveness is seriously overrated. Mine has only ever chosen to hide at signs of tank intrusion, never threatened me despite having to go in and clean her tank around her the other day, which involved some serious disruption to her normality. And she was fantastic, start to finish, staying quietly in her bamboo tube all the while, almost to the point where she made my basic but comprehensive precautions look hopelessly over-the-top.

The speed IS pretty legendary up close, but I have never once had it directed at me in any way that caused me the least bit of concern.

Of course this doesn't mean I now take it for granted. I am all too aware that moults change personalities, and bigger spiders get more confident, but where she is now, 8th instar, that is one chilled out little spider.

Oh, and I got an L parahybana who is very very slow to take exception to anything going on around it, against type. In fact the only generally moody spider I keep is Zebs the genic... but no surprises there, hey...
 

Dilbrain

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Excellent replies guys and gals !
I'm glad it's not just me that gets these interesting contradictions.

:D
 

Brian S

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My B. smithi slings behavior has been suprising. Really expected it to be pretty laid back but it is more nervous acting than my GBB. I'm hoping it will chill out as it grows and gets older.
They are generally alot more nervous acting until they get about 3-4 inches. They will then turn into pet rocks. All my Brachys were like that.
 
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