My Dad thinks my spiders are stupid

Driller64

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Because they don't catch food that's right in front of their faces. They only catch it when it touches them. And no matter how many times I tell him about their poor vision he just keeps saying it. Care to prove him wrong?
 

Akai

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show him videos on youtube. that would be the easiest way. lol what kind of t do you have?
 

Formerphobe

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The average captive spider is overfed and has no need to hunt, though they will eat if a snack jumps right in their face. A hungry spider, well acclimated to its enclosure, will be on the alert as soon as a prey item hits the substrate or webbing anywhere in its enclosure. There will occasionally be a failed grab for dinner. For the most part, I've been amazed at the accuracy most of my spiders display in nabbing their prey.
 

Monkeyock

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Because they don't catch food that's right in front of their faces. They only catch it when it touches them. And no matter how many times I tell him about their poor vision he just keeps saying it. Care to prove him wrong?
Well let's be honest, relatively speaking, spiders by and large are not intelligent creatures. I would suspect given their more primitive evolutionary position, tarantulas are on the lower end of the spider intelligence scale compared to, say, jumping spiders, which have been shown to problem solve when hunting in controlled experiments (I see'n't it on TV). And what formerphobe said has been discussed at great length in many places and is widely believed true, many tarantulas in captivity are overfed to the point of obesity, and may choose not to expend energy or (more likely) will not risk the exposure of actively hunting when they do not have the need, so it is highly likely that the T knows full well there is food nearby, and is choosing not to risk catching a predator's eye for food it does not need. This is pure speculation on my part and may not be the case. I am not a tarantula scientist, or any scientist at all tbh, but I like science, and have read and observed some stuff.

Is your dad against the tarantula thing or is he just pressing your buttons? I had to give up trying to prove anything to anyone but myself, because ppl be trippin, and haters gon hate no matter what you do most times. It's different with family, but still.
 

Driller64

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Is your dad against the tarantula thing or is he just pressing your buttons?
Nah, my dad just likes pushing my buttons. My dad actually says he would have bought a tarantula if they were available when he was a kid.
 

The Snark

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Your dad's right. I've never been able to get an orb weaver spider involved in a discussion of the pythagorean theorum though they apply it constantly.
 

scorpionchaos

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Tell him they don't believe in wasting energy and are as efficient as possible, Hence allowing the food to come to them instead of running around like a tarantula without a carapace.
 

Akai

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who needs the sunday funnies when i can get a guaranteed laugh reading AB every day. some of you guys are hilarious.
 

jigalojey

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Well they're not intelligent to human standards but they're smart in their own way, there is a reason they have survived for so long :) The strongest species are the ones that can adapt the fastest.
 

timisimaginary

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i think it's good that they're stupid. otherwise, one day i'd come home to find they'd all banded together to overthrow my dominion over them. that would be a very bad day.
 

The Snark

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At this particular time the spiders are stupid attitude, shared by many, is extremely poignant. Word comes in only this year the intelligent animals have wiped out over half the world animals in 45 years and even the nay sayers are now recognizing global warming is not only real but it appears the effects are far more devastating than expected, caused by the same intelligent humans.
Spiders may be stupid, but destroying the planet you are living on is supremely stupid. Now it is only a question of when these smart critters acknowledge the truth of the statement 'if you aren't part of the solution you are part of the problem.'
 

darkness975

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Your dad's right. I've never been able to get an orb weaver spider involved in a discussion of the pythagorean theorum though they apply it constantly.
Best statement I've read all week!
 

The Snark

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Not meaning to beat the horse into the ground but, aus relativ. Everything is relative. It isn't the applied intelligence of the animal but the intelligence relative to the given animals capability and capacity. Some spiders are in fact hyper intelligent, utilizing their capabilities and capacity to the utmost. By that light stupid is then having the capabilities and capacities and not using them.
 

awiec

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Spiders have very itty bitty brains, they are by no means brainiacs, they know enough to survive and that's about it. Now if I could show your father my T.gigas going after a moth after it has molted, he may be impressed as she can pinpoint exactly where it is, leap, grab it and do a little twirl back to the log. But by and large my spiders are fat and well fed and some of them just wait for the cricket to come waltz over. A freshly harden T is another story, they need to regain their lost nutrients ASAP and will be on high alert until they do.
 

ratluvr76

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Not meaning to beat the horse into the ground but, aus relativ. Everything is relative. It isn't the applied intelligence of the animal but the intelligence relative to the given animals capability and capacity. Some spiders are in fact hyper intelligent, utilizing their capabilities and capacity to the utmost. By that light stupid is then having the capabilities and capacities and not using them.
This+1......
 

The Snark

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I'll bow out of this with one last bidtit for thoughts.
There isn't a human on this planet that can compete physically with an equivalent animal. So instead, humans have those lobes up front. So what is the major pastime most humans in the enlightened first world engage in the most?

Homo sapien's great claim to fame: drinking beer and watching television.
 

awiec

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I'll bow out of this with one last bidtit for thoughts.
There isn't a human on this planet that can compete physically with an equivalent animal. So instead, humans have those lobes up front. So what is the major pastime most humans in the enlightened first world engage in the most?

Homo sapien's great claim to fame: drinking beer and watching television.
Very much so, all humans are just naked smart apes, though we hold the record for being the longest distance runners. Spiders, other animals and even plants can do all sorts of things that we can't even dream to do. Now as much as I wish my tarantulas could give me advice on buying cars, I appreciate them for what they are.
 

Driller64

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Oh yeah, I also forgot that my Dad has said that he thinks that the people who go to reptile shows are, and I'm quoting directly here, a bunch of "tattooed social deviants".
 

Storm76

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Oh yeah, I also forgot that my Dad has said that he thinks that the people who go to reptile shows are, and I'm quoting directly here, a bunch of "tattooed social deviants".
Educating the uneducated and fixing assumptions to actual facts is a hard task. Usually one that takes time and lots of patience. And then there are those that don't want to be educated about the subject...
 

awiec

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Educating the uneducated and fixing assumptions to actual facts is a hard task. Usually one that takes time and lots of patience. And then there are those that don't want to be educated about the subject...
This will be always true, people don't like to change their way of thinking because then they will ask "what else have I been wrong about" and that just brings up too many questions for them to handle. I suppose I'm not allowed to go to reptile shows anymore because I don't have any tattoos, don't even have a speeding ticket and I'm working on my PhD. Though I will attest that a lot of people at the shows I go to do have tattos but I'm not going to judge how they express themselves. When you're young you get upset about judgements like that but as you get older you just learn to not let it damper your enjoyment of things. My step-father thinks my spiders are stupid and says they die if he find them but I don't antagonize him about him yelling at the TV during a football game; you just learn to live with people for who they are.
 
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