Observation and some questions

Okay so i rarely ask questions and when i do they tend to be a lot and sometimes odd. Here it goes:


1. Old world Ts don't flick hairs right? If so, why does my S.samarae have a what could only be explained as a small 'bald patch'. Noticeable to a lot of S.samarae photos on google as well. Not that it concerns me, just wanna know why or how it happens.

2. Has anyone who un/intentionally handled a mature OBT or let one crawl up your arm ever made you itchy?

3. My MF C.darlingi has decided to become a pet rock. Always spread out at the center. She stays at the bottom stack and my pet room is always pitch black unless i turn the lights on. She used to hide a lot in her webbings and her enclosure is virtually a web case now. She attained maturity last December and i was just wondering why an obligate burrowing T would decide to be out in the open now. She's been like this for 3 months now.

4. Can you get urticating hairs by just opening or putting your hand inside the enclosure w/o the T kicking or even moving one inch? I just feel itchy everytime i open my brachys enclo lol

5. Some of my MF brachys have decided to have a bald spot on the bottom side of their abdomen (nomally on top of the abdomen, right?) by i guess kicking hairs without me noticing or even doing anything to them. By doing so i can clearly see they are not anywhere near a premolt. Is this a just a normal behavior? I do notice they seem to do this a few months before an actual premolt


Thanks in advance!

Tongue Flicker said:

Okay so i rarely ask questions and when i do they tend to be a lot and sometimes odd. Here it goes:


1. Old world Ts don't flick hairs right? If so, why does my S.samarae have a what could only be explained as a small 'bald patch'. Noticeable to a lot of S.samarae photos on google as well. Not that it concerns me, just wanna know why or how it happens.

2. Has anyone who un/intentionally handled a mature OBT or let one crawl up your arm ever made you itchy?

3. My MF C.darlingi has decided to become a pet rock. Always spread out at the center. She stays at the bottom stack and my pet room is always pitch black unless i turn the lights on. She used to hide a lot in her webbings and her enclosure is virtually a web case now. She attained maturity last December and i was just wondering why an obligate burrowing T would decide to be out in the open now. She's been like this for 3 months now.

4. Can you get urticating hairs by just opening or putting your hand inside the enclosure w/o the T kicking or even moving one inch? I just feel itchy everytime i open my brachys enclo lol

5. Some of my MF brachys have decided to have a bald spot on the bottom side of their abdomen (nomally on top of the abdomen, right?) by i guess kicking hairs without me noticing or even doing anything to them. By doing so i can clearly see they are not anywhere near a premolt. Is this a just a normal behavior? I do notice they seem to do this a few months before an actual premolt


Thanks in advance!

Click to expand...

1. OW can't, they don't have setae to fling, nor do quite a few different species from different NW genera

3. Perhaps because you keep it pitch black mostly. A normal day/night cycle is natural to most animals

4. Yes

5. A ventral bald spot?

I like the day night / cycle for my t's it is natural and when it starts getting dark my critters get ready for the nights hunt #5 I have had terrestrial t's get bald spots on bottom of abdomen from dragging that big ole belly around

There is a weird but very small bald spot less than 3mm in length and 2mm in width. Hopefully that goes off in the next molt this year.

I see. She finally adapted and just accepted the fact that its dark,

Oh holy crap!! So that's probably the reason why i'm itchy every month after feeding haha.

Ventral is under right? Nope, just the abdominal sides. There is absolutely no reason for them to flick as i've said, my room is pitch black w/o lights, just curious why they would do that or why its bald that way. Ts are just weird haha

Tongue Flicker said:

Some of my MF brachys have decided to have a bald spot on the bottom side of their abdomen (nomally on top of the abdomen, right?) by i guess kicking hairs without me noticing or even doing anything to them.

Click to expand...

All of their abdominal hairs aren't able to be kicked off, only a patch on the upper rear portion of their abdomen. Any other bald spots are from rubbing against things.

Yes, you can get urticating hairs on you from opening the lid, because the hairs from last time she kicked are mostly still in there, and you stir them up with any air movement. Adds to the defensive potential.

DO NOT handle an OBT, for any reason. Escapes and bites are likely. You do not want to get bit by one, or anyone you live with bitten by an escapee. Please, use more common sense with this hobby.

If you don't have Stan Schultz's book (latest revision) you need to get it. It'll answer almost all of the questions you can think of.

Tongue Flicker said:

1. Old world Ts don't flick hairs right? If so, why does my S.samarae have a what could only be explained as a small 'bald patch'. Noticeable to a lot of S.samarae photos on google as well. Not that it concerns me, just wanna know why or how it happens.

Click to expand...

That's right. Most tarantula species new or old world will rub off their setae from digging, climbing, or just by moving about the cage.

2. Has anyone who un/intentionally handled a mature OBT or let one crawl up your arm ever made you itchy?

Click to expand...

I've never handled a Pterinochilus murinus before but it stands to reason if your hands or arms are itchy from a species lacking urticating bristles it would be due to the claws located on the distal end of the tarsus (end of it's feet) scratching your skin. One would probably have to have very sensitive skin for those to be irritating though.

3. She attained maturity last December and i was just wondering why an obligate burrowing T would decide to be out in the open now. She's been like this for 3 months now.

Click to expand...

It's using the entire cage/ enclosure as a burrow in a sense. This happens with most species of tarantulas that are considered burrowers but never burrow in captivity. Even species commonly thought to be non-burrowers are actually burrowers in their native habitat because of what I can only assume is from a sense of security from being in a box in captivity.

4. Can you get urticating hairs by just opening or putting your hand inside the enclosure w/o the T kicking or even moving one inch?

Click to expand...

Yes. Urticating bristles/ setae are everywhere in your tarantula's enclosure. They are lightly attached to the exocuticle and are very easily dislodged and light enough to float in the air.

5. Some of my MF brachys have decided to have a bald spot on the bottom side of their abdomen (nomally on top of the abdomen, right?) by i guess kicking hairs without me noticing or even doing anything to them. By doing so i can clearly see they are not anywhere near a premolt. Is this a just a normal behavior? I do notice they seem to do this a few months before an actual premolt

Click to expand...

An accurate answer here depends on what you mean by "bottom side." Urticating bristles cover the majority of the top and side of Brachypelma species. Type 1 urticating setae cover the majority while Type 3 is only located on a small circular area on the top center. See the following article for more information on the placement and types of urticating setae.

Bertani, R. & J.P.L. Guadanucci. 2013. Morphology, evolution and usage of urticating setae by tarantulas (Araneae: Theraphosidae). ZOOLOGIA 30 (4): 403–418.
http://www.scielo.br/pdf/zool/v30n4/v30n4a06.pdf

While it looks like all of your other questions have been answered, my 3.5-4 inch C.darlingi is out all of the time even with my lights on (but I do keep them on a night/day cycle). This is probably due to the fact that the entire enclosure is webbed and has a low ceiling so is probably feels like a giant burrow. She (pretty sure its a she) does have a hide but prefers to just go sit in the corner while I give her water or food. I'm still waiting for the attitude but when I move her into something bigger she may have a more defined "burrow space" and thus more attitude.

True. Definitely brightened up some things for me. As for the obt, it was a few years back. It run up my arm while i was rehousing it after buying it so it probably got spooked since it stressed out from the 2-hour drive. Most of my concerns is primarily focused on the hairs and the itching. Worse case scenario is i need to put my Ts somewhere far from me in the house where the hairs won't make me itch.

Thanks guys! Mwah! LOL

Tongue Flicker said:

True. Definitely brightened up some things for me. As for the obt, it was a few years back. It run up my arm while i was rehousing it after buying it so it probably got spooked since it stressed out from the 2-hour drive. Most of my concerns is primarily focused on the hairs and the itching. Worse case scenario is i need to put my Ts somewhere far from me in the house where the hairs won't make me itch.

Thanks guys! Mwah! LOL

Click to expand...

Sometimes just sitting 3 feet away, and typing on my keyboard, I get a small heat bump because some little setae has wafted out of the container. It's rare, but it does happen.

But these are nothing compared to saddleback caterpillars.

I'm taking antihistamines daily. Think i'm immume to the med effects now lol.

I got my forearm blasted by urticating hairs from my T stirmi because of a cricket. I dropped the cricket down into its enclosure, and being the little bastards that crickets are it immediately sprang out of the enclosure (after all the substrate, it's very shallow) and in the process kicked up a waft of setae that Lunchbox had laid down in his/her burrow entrance. It's very easy for urticating hairs to get to you without being directly flicked if the situation is right. Hazard of the trade.

LordWaffle said:

I got my forearm blasted by urticating hairs from my T stirmi because of a cricket. I dropped the cricket down into its enclosure, and being the little bastards that crickets are it immediately sprang out of the enclosure (after all the substrate, it's very shallow) and in the process kicked up a waft of setae that Lunchbox had laid down in his/her burrow entrance. It's very easy for urticating hairs to get to you without being directly flicked if the situation is right. Hazard of the trade.

Click to expand...

Learning that now the hard way lol.. Took me years to acually develop an allergy towards Ts. Weird @_@