why do YOU keep hostile Ts?

skadiwolf

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now, i suspect the main answer will be beauty. still, i cannot help but be fascinated and curious about the brave souls that do it.

i look forward to all your replies.

oh, and please feel free people to say why you personally do not keep them as well.

me? i'm basically a weenie and want them as pets not displays. :D i would take attacks too personally. i know, i'm insane.
 

Lopez

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Because their behaviour is far more interesting (to me)

I'd be a liar if I said it was purely looks-related.
 

TheDon

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its a mix between their Attitude and Looks.

I love the look of all my aggressive T's.
H.Maculata, P.Irminia and the P.Murinus plus they are crazy when they attack crickets. And besides that for me it doesnt really matter if I can handle my T's. I like looking at them as much as I enjoy handling them. Then again I have only held my Pinktoe.

TheDon
 

Code Monkey

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I'm not big into the defensive beasties, but I've got a few to spice up my T collection. The reasons...

First: appearance/variety.
I'm pretty much a new world only fan, but the handfull of Africans I have are completely different looking (the togo is one of the most unique looking Ts of any variety).

Second: attitude. I never kept a non new world T until last fall. Curiosity about just how different their attitudes were was a motivating factor. I must admit I'm fascinated by the idea of a small spider that will get so mad it will fall over on its back as it challenges something that weighs thousands of times as much as it does.

Third: no urticating hairs. Bad attitudes or not, I cannot fault this aspect of them and find it very likeable. As I type this my fingers are still swollen from a big water dish scrubbing session I did last night - it's nice to know that you can handle stuff from the African's cages without such side effects.
 

Beth-Tex

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Hehehe.....my hostile Ts are PURE accidents. LOL

I like the New Worlders more than the Old Worlders......so have been getting what supposed to be "docile & good temperaments." Ha!! :rolleyes:

Maybe I have "spidey BO" or something......but it seems that some of my "docile" Ts have NOT read the book that they are supposed to be "nice."=D

Other than that.......guess I'm a wuss too in getting the "real" aggressive species.:}

Have noticed (& it seems to be true) that the more "feisty" ones have fascinating personalities. I have a female sub-adult chalcodes & she is very adamant in letting me know just how she feels!! I love her!! She is fantastic!! She has already struck at me (& got the paint brush - whew - she has HUGE fangs) & lifts her front legs & strikes with them also! Great!! :D :D

LOL.......named her Callisto after a wild character on a former TV series called XWP.=D
 

pategirl

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I keep a couple old worlders....mainly for their looks and personality. I may not see my new little cobalt much, but it is a pretty spider. The pokies and the H. maculata I have are also wonderful to look at. I like the new worlders too, though, especially the pinktoes.
 

skinheaddave

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Our collection is split about 50/50 ow/nw. Even if you look at my part and Tamara's part seperately, it is still a pretty good split. Usumbaras have still got to be one of my favourite species because of their web making and spastic agression. It actualy took me a while after getting my first ones to realize that they are actualy quite beatiful spiders.

As for the danger factor, I am pretty confident working around them, and the actual concequences of getting tagged are still less than with some of my scorpions.

And as for handling, I don't really handle many of my Ts/scorps. When I do it is very much the occasional event as opposed to something regular.

Cheers,
Dave
 

pelo

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I don't keep them for the sake of hostility...mind you I like the aggression some of them have.Gives them some character of their own...but I find the docile ones I keep just as fascinating as the aggressive ones.I like the variety of species...along with that comes a mix of aggressiveness and docility....but then again you put a mature T.blondi beside a mature A.avicularia...I'll take the T.blondi...lol....peace....
 

Doug H

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Hostile, no,just not afraid to defend themselfs.Of the 30+/- 5 T's that I have I have 5 Aphonopelma's ,1 -Brachypelma,and all the rest are Haplopelma's,Psalmopoeus,Cyriopagopus,Chilobrachys,Stromatopelma,Lampropelma,Coremiocnema,OrnithoctonusThrigmopoeus,Megaphobema. I love the sleek look.But its far more than that because almost all are obligate burrowers so I hardly ever even see them.So when I do, I appreciate them that much more.Thers just a mystery about them.Plus not to mention there are so many more Asian sp. out there that we dont know about.

My first reall experience was when I was moving a 1-1/2" sling Haplopelma.sp.aureopilosum. It was litterly (sp).hanging from its back legs from the lid of its new cage and had the rest all sprawldout at me with its little fangs out. And I just really dug it and appreciated the fact that this little guy actually beleaves he is gonna kick my ass. They have huge hearts

Doug
 

Jeff_C

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I have to say, for myself, the attraction to the more aggressive species is based on the beauty (most of them are serious lookers -- H. lividum comes to mind) and the feeding habits (I admit it -- we like to watch them attach the crix).

I would also say that I don't plan on handling any of my Ts (maybe the avics once in a while) so the aggressiveness is less of an issue.

Jeff
 

cweg

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Nov 5, 2002
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I never handle or plan on handling any T. That being said I bought a King Baboon for the "Old World Experience" I have had Rosies and T blondis. My current T's are just My King Baboon and an A. geniculata. I am looking to expand my collection.
 

RugbyDave

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short reply:

1) appearance.... looks/beauty (you're right there)
2) i love the character... nothing like breathing wrong and having a beautiful baboon freaking almost spray venom in your eyes :)
3) atttitude.. i like it.. they remind me of me when i was younger... no urticating hair, ready to strike anything with my 1/2"+ fangs, going through crickets like nothing..

waitta sec... the only thing we have in common is no urticating hair.

but still.
i like both ow and nw.
but i do like the ow for variety...
nw species are great, but a nice hostile ow species has a beauty all of its own..

i suppose its all relative, eh? And not that nw species aren't beautiful, because they are, but you know....

skaaaaaaaaaaaaaadi... be honest...what are you thinking of getting? =D
by the way, bill hicks is the man (was).... seriously


pce
dave
 

MizM

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HI skadiwolf!

I was just like you when this whole thing started. I only wanted the cuddly, cute wuvable ones. Then my rabbits started breeding, I took them to the local pet shop who would only give me store credit for them. The only thing he had in stock was an orange bitey thing. I didn't know ANYTHING about them but thought she was breathtakingly beautiful. I brought her home, got on this website and thought "What the HECK did I ge myself into?!" But, I've grown very attached to her little attitude and have since gotten a cobalt and a couple of mombassas. (I named my usambara "Persimmon" not just because of her color, but because she's a bitter b**ch!!)I no longer worry about temperament when shopping... if I like it, I buy it. And I kinda like em ALL now!!! Just wait, it will happen to you too!!:D
 

Sean

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I like attitude something that has personality over something like a pet rock, i like nw and ow the same i think i have favorite spiders from both
 

Vayu Son

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><

i would be hesitant to classify any genera specifically 'hostile' or 'docile'. I have held Poecilotheria with no problems, but have had recurring incidents with Grammostola rosea .

It is true that most Old worlders are faster, have more potent venom, and are known to be more defensive; But never in my experience have I encountered am aggressive tarantula.

On the other hand, theres no real point in debating semantics, since I think most of you have a firm grasp on the differences mentioned above.

I keep them because I have a preference for the sleek bodied arboreals and the large domineering Citharischius-like species. I also keep Nws, really anything of aesthetic value in color, form, or personality is on my wishlist.

That said, there are some generalized traits that seem to hold true for some of the more 'hot' species, and begginers should take caution instead of listening to me rant.

-V
 

vulpina

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You're right about the beauty part. Alot of the Old World's that I have, H. maculata, H. lividum, C. fimbriatus, H. albostriatum are definitely beautiful lto look at. My other old worlders, like, C. crawshayi and H. hercules are for their burrowing behavior. I personally don't handle my T's unless absolutely necessary, even my docile New Worlders. People enjoy their tropical fish without handling them that's how I feel about my T's. The T's don't interact with humans, to them, when handling them you are nothing more than an extension of the substrate or bark they usually reside on, alot of people give human qualities or attributes to their T's and all pets in general, which the animals don't have. As for being bitten, I could not hold the T responsible for a bite because I put myself in the position of being bitten. I have been bitten by numerous snakes I've had and alot of birds (when I worked in a pet store), but I didn't blame the animals.

Andy
 

RugbyDave

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you know i've said it before and i'll say it again to no avail :

I think that the more 'hot' or 'aggressive' or 'advanced-keeper-only' the T is, i think there are more generalities..

i think that the more 'docile' the T tends to be, the more room there is for differences.. but the more up the ladder you go, the more the T's tend to be generally the same..

in other words, i agree with vulpina. I used quotation marks in here for a reason.. we all know the deal with generalizing Ts :)
peace
dave
 

skadiwolf

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i have to admit, i am a complete and total one to assign anthropomorphic behavior to animals.

nothing will convince me otherwise. i have been around so many animals. i think that to believe animals do NOT have behaviors similar to ours is a bit skewed. i mean...why not?

i'm not saying they have emotions persay, but they are intelligent enough to react to their environments.

i've had a very aggressive snake calm down and tame completely after working with him a long time. it took longer to make him tame around others, but eventually he came to believe that he could 'trust' his environment. i don't think he'd had that experience before...but he obviously learned and changed his behavior.

i don't necessarily think that humans are the only ones that can do that.

eh, but i SOoooOO don't want to argue the definition of the word or whether or not it exists, i guess i just wanted to post my opinion. :)
 

vulpina

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Skadi,
I feel what you said is true that the snake reacts to it's environment, but that's all it is, a reaction, a conditioned response. But once a wild animal....always a wild animal. I've been bitten by very docile snakes. They react by instinct to a perceived threat or non-threat. The aggressive snake you mentioned will calm down with continued handling, but you are conditioning a response, leave that same snake alone for a month and see if it doesn't revert back to it's aggressive ways. So, I know alot of people anthropomorphisize their animals, but animals react to a stimulus they do not reason things through, maybe with the exception of primates.

Andy
 
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