Tarantular keeper for over a decade here.
No.
this post was submitted on 30 Jun 2025
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Yeah, I had a friend who kept a tarantula. It was a dick.
It's really the other way around. You get to learn the personality of the spiders (and may become fond of them).
But yeah, some species are just like that. We had a bunch of Pterinochilus murinus or "OBTs" (orange bamboo tarantula ... but also orange bitey thing). They are nasty. Always on edge, no chill. Just feeding them was a pain because you had to open the enclosure and they would come at you.
I knew it was a mistake to come in this thread.
You people are insane.
I don't know what you mean :)
Yes you do and you like it
My orange biting teleporter escaped one night. She went back home quietly, but damn if I wasn't scared for the cat.
~~She wasn't too mean unless you opened her hut,~~ Ya she was a little shit.
Your what biting spider??
Spider: [Teleports behind your cat] Nothing personal, kitty.
I like how it says "defensive and will bite if provoked," and apparently, according to this thread, opening their cage is sufficient provocation.
Opening the terrarium was fine, lifting the little log hut thingy and messing up the web was a gamble.
Opening the terrarium was fine, lifting the little log hut thingy and messing up the web was a gamble.
Mine just loved to extend their web to include the door.
Why dont they give aggression displays? Normally it would make evolutionary sense to try and scare threats off before you attack them
50/50 from my experience. She would either ambush from her hiding spot, or stand on hind legs and show off fangs if enough room.
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You can tell they are spicy just from their looks.
I love how these fuckers have a Wikipedia article that's like: "Yup. Their nickname sums it up. These are fucking motherfuckers that do nothing but look pretty. Do not touch them, do not keep them, they are just mean fuckers." And they stress that 'fucker' part like 4 times.
and they would come at you
And they survived that encounter? As did your home? I assume the resulting fire would have taken both.
Feeding those took some real preperation. We first had to seal the room (closing an gaps at the doors/windows) as well as blocking all corners and cranies where they could potentially hide.
Then we stripped. Not kidding.
The first time feeding them one of them ran up my brothers arm and straight into his shirt. It was an absolute pain to get it out of there (and he totally got bitten in the process). From then on we'd take off all loose clothing when opening their enclosures. So yeah, just socks and tight fitting boxer briefs.
Sounds like the enclosure needed an airlock or something
I’m not an expert, so take my findings with a grain of salt, but the current scientific consensus seems to be:
We don’t know.
Recent studies suggest that the behavior of spiders is more complex than previously thought. They show behavior that can’t be explained by simple automatisms, such as the development of hunting strategies depending on their prey.
Keep in mind that these findings do not indicate any capability to love or to grow fond of someone. But there is an ongoing discussion about whether invertebrates should be considered sentient.
They show behavior that can’t be explained by simple automatisms
This has been long debunked and is also obvious to anyone that even dabbled in Entomology or adjacent fields. There are certainly very complex behaviors at work. But if it qualifies as sentient is a philosophical debate and not one of arachnology.
Only to people that think the mind is mystical and not biological in nature.
No, but they're objectively the best pet. Basically a walking plant who's bffs with a hole in the ground and hunts crickets by staying absolutely still until it's not.
...objectively...
An objectively peer-reviewed hyperbole.
Probably no more than a goldfish I suspect.
shit I'm not even sure if the cat who's been living with me forever gives a shit about me, I bet a spider can't either
Tarantulas are insects ferchrissake... They have the nervous system of a guitar amplifier.
🤓 aktually, they are arachnids.
The spiders are not insects, but in a war they would side with the insects.
But would the insects want to side with them?
Only as long as their goals align.
I'm pretty sure a spider's only goal is eating insects.
Would they though? In the war of "me vs annoying insects sneaking into my house", the indoor spiders I leave undisturbed seem pretty squarely on my side...
I think they'd try to sell both sides weapons tbh
Is this a Bill Bailey reference?
The locust squats upon the leaf, he's just bidin' his time...
I love Bill Bailey. I guess Insect Nation? I have to revisit the lyrics.
edit: not the guy you're replying to, but yes, that must be the reference!
Human slaves! In an insect nation!
Tarantulas are insects
You wanna fight?
They have the nervous system of a guitar amplifier.
I recommend this video. You can do amazing things with the nervous system of a guitar amplifier, it turns out.
That video first gave me the heebies and then shortly after gave me the jeebies.
Sorry about that. Jumping spiders are pretty much as cute as it gets with spiders. But Portia isn't a looker amongst them. Have this one:
Bumblebees can do simple math problems and like to play, which happens to be one of the current (as far as I am aware) scientific signs of intelligence.
Just because its a bug doesn't mean its stupid. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ghws6YFsPJA
same way that because someone has a brain, doesn't make them intelligent
More like the nervous system of a noise musician's pedalboard so complex it might be able to talk to aliens.
Insect claims aside, this…
They have the nervous system of a guitar amplifier.
is a great line.
The oldest common ancestor between arachnids and insects lived in the water.
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Long anecdote short; no.
Short anecdote long; nooooo. I had a Selenocosmia Crassipes (from north-east QLD, Australia) for a year or so, and she never seemed to .. 'warm' to me.
I had to get her out in a cup regularly to change her substrate, and/or attempt to give 'pats' after a few beers, but she'd always rear-up to strike :/ But I was her cricket and pinky-mouse dealer!
I didn't research it. I don't have studies to cite. I didn't approach it constructively.
I just hoped one day we'd click, before going on adventures together.
I miss Fluffy.
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