Stressed out?!? They say a spider that sits still is actually a HAPPY spider.Originally posted by Damnathius
My G. Rosea is the only one I will hold. I've held my A. avicularia, but now that she is spending most of her time in her web it is difficult.
My rosie will sit very calmly on my hand, and shows no signs of wanting to bolt, but when I put her back in her cage, she sits very still in one spot for a long time. I think it actually stresses her out, so I have decided to not handle her anymore.
Someday I might get a T that doesn't seem to be much affected by handling that is actually accessible for handling instead of being holed up in her web!
Dave
Most of my T's sit still for long periods of time even when they are not being bothered. I agree with you on the legs over the carapace observation, but he did not say anything about that in the post I replied to. All he said was that it sits still for a long time.Originally posted by arachnopunks
He's right. when a T sits still and/or pulls its legs over it's carapace it is a response to being stressed. They really don't recognize you as a care giver and aren't sure if you are a predator. Consider that a T's normal everyday life really would not consist of friendly contact. A T is truly "happy" when it is left to roam and dig and everything else that T's do to make their habitat nice for them, not so much with handling. Then again you still have the individual factor where some are more corfortable with handling than others.
I respect someone who responds to his spider's needs. At one point, I only had about 4 Ts....my big female rose and 3 slings. When my rosie let me know she no longer wished to be handled, I satisfied my urge to handle by purchasing another spider that would tolerate it. Eventually, that one chose not to be handled so I moved on to the next. I still enjoy watching most of them doing what they do (mostly sitting there doing nothing), but it's nice to have a couple that can be trusted for when I get the handling urge. Usually though, when I'm in the mood to be "cuddly" with my critters, I just pick on one of my furries (cats) or snuggle up with my honey!Originally posted by Damnathius
Wysi,
I think that any time a spider is not performing it's usual functions, such as wandering around the enclosure, grooming itself, eating and etc., then it is "stressed". But I'm still new to this so I'm not sure.
Although sitting in one spot for a period of time is one of my rosie's "activities", just the posture after I last handled her was not quite right, or not the norm.
My post was to suggest that there are some subtle hints to stress, at least from my observations, and I should have clarified initially that she was not behaving normally and she had an unusual posture.
I have a feeling you're just teasing, but here goes......Originally posted by BigSam
I'm confused WYSIWYG, how do you know if a T is happy or sad?? Can you please put all of dat in english:?
Sam,