Usambara insights

Scorpiove

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Although Usambara tarantulas are classified as terrestrial. It seems that each of its legs has 2 pads adapted for arboreal walking. Don't all arboreals have these pads? For example my Usambara walks much better on a solid surface than the soil/dirt/substrate at the bottom of its cage.

So although it may show terrestrial, and or burrowing abilities shoudln't it truely be classified as an arboreal spider? What defines a true arboreal spider. It seems to have the pads that would be one of the defining features that tarantulas like Rose Hairs lack.

Also does anybody else have an usambara or any other tarantula that hangs its consumed prey from little noose netty things? Mine has two finished off crickets hanging from the ceiling/sides of its enclosure. Thanks for all replies in advance!
 

FryLock

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Some other members of there subfamily are deep burrowing species and there tarsi are the same but Pter's will take to all kinds of habit (like houses in shanty town in EA)
 

Kali

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my usambara has walled off a little half coconut as a burrow. the entire floor and walls of the thing are webbed together, as well as a significant "porch" area. when she is hungry, she sits on her porch, and i feed her. i have seen no hanging prey. she is a gluttonous piggy, however.

kristin
 

Scorpiove

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Well I went to go change its water today and it was on the side of the plastic of the kritter keeper and it usually ignores me but when I get my hand out it is in attack stance on the side of the tank. I snap the lid shut and it strikes the plastic you can hear the noise!

So loud, it was being so defensive that it lost grip off the side of the plastic fell to the ground and kept its stance. There was a cricket in there at the time so I took the liberty of blowing on the cricket in such a way that it would go to the Usambara. It did not hesitate to strike, and is now happily eating the cricket. :p
 
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Pixie

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My "O.J." will occassionally take a walk upwards but never for more than a couple minutes. She spends most of her time on the ground in either her burrow or a space she has webbed up.

Like most, she has webbed up her enclosure creating a few "pockets". Each seem to have it's own purpose as well!

- Her burrow is her main resting area, this is where I almost always find her.
- Her webbed up flower pot is only used for molting. I now know this to be the time she is getting ready to molt as she completely webs herself inside. She has never used that "hide" for anything else.
- Her web "pockets" are used for a quick hiding place or where she goes to eat her meals.

What I find extremely peculiar is that she really uses each area for a particular purpose. I've had her a year now and she is very consistent in her patterned behavior and the use of the dedicated "rooms" in her "house".

Anyone else experience this with their usumbara?

As for them being terrestrial or arborial I think that they are terrestrial, at least in my experience. It's weird because they DO look like an arboreal species and move like one!

I say it's "looks like an arboreal but is a terrestrial"

Pixie
 

Scorpiove

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Yeah I was just reffering to arboreal as arboreal abilites. Like the genus' Grammostola and Brachypelma do not have these "arboreal" pads. Like if an adult Rose Hair climbs the glass you worry because you know it does not have these arboreal pads and can fall much easier than an Usambara or a pinktoe that do have these arboreal pads. I guess I was differentiating between habit and abilities. My usambara for example is almost afraid of the ground. I would not worry about an Usambara falling off of the side of some glass. :p Or any other spider with arboreal pads:p Hmmm does anybody know which other spiders may not behave like an arboreal but have the pads?
 

MizM

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Mine does the same thing in her "condo"! {D

Please though, be very careful of this species. I use v-e-r-y l-o-n-g tongs when cleaning out THIS enclosure. Read the bite reports if in doubt. My friend recently got bit by one and she said she'd rather give birth than go though that kind of pain again. The individual that bit her was small, too!

I just did an internet search and found them classified as arboreal, terrestrial AND burrowing! I just classify mine as... a WEBBER!
 

Scorpiove

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Good one Mizm, I think Webber is a good classifaction for many other t's too :p Thanks for the advice I am cautious around it, my hand was nowhere near it but being as fast as they are that can change in less than a second. So guess it didn't really matter... If it wanted to try to bite me in that time frame it could well have if it wasn't busy trying to keep its grip on the side of the keeper and keeping the stance up lol.
 

Malhavoc's

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Okay time for my imput.

They are niether aboreal or terrestials but 'opertunisitics' Webbing up anything and everything to create a comfy home.. In the wild (I believe correct me if I'm wrong) they would live in shrubs making massive webs out of them interticatly linning through the twigs and leaves [at least that comes to mind when I think of them in the wild] I have one that sits on the ground another that sits on the lid and I've decided their inbetween.
 

Malhavoc's

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MizM said:
Please though, be very careful of this species. I use v-e-r-y l-o-n-g tongs when cleaning out THIS enclosure.

I learned this the hard way when the escapee tried to escape a second time but I guess my finger got in the way so he left a dent in the nail.. [luckily for me it did not puncture] And he is only about a 2" leg span..
 

Scorpiove

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Malhavoc's said:
Okay time for my imput.

They are niether aboreal or terrestials but 'opertunisitics' Webbing up anything and everything to create a comfy home.. In the wild (I believe correct me if I'm wrong) they would live in shrubs making massive webs out of them interticatly linning through the twigs and leaves [at least that comes to mind when I think of them in the wild] I have one that sits on the ground another that sits on the lid and I've decided their inbetween.

Yes but you cannot deny their Arboreal pads hence their arboreal abilities. Which other true terrestrials do not have. :p Weird I got the impression that the Usambaras used the crevices of giant boulders. Like a hill with a lot of crevices, thats probably though because we have some rocky hilly areas around here that are like that.
 

Malhavoc's

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I attributed those pads to helping them move quicker through their webs CM save us lol.. when in doubt turn to the nad kicker..
 

Scorpiove

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those pads serve the same evolutionary purpose that the pink toes pads have. They look the same too. Each leg has two pads while the pedipalps each have one. If an Usambara was on glass you could flip it completely upside down and it would not fall. My Usambara has even dwelled on its ceiling many times. But when it touches the substrate it flails while running. Unless it has webbed that area. So I would contribute the pads as arboreal pads and not web pads. If that was so most spiders would have these evolutionary pads for web climbing.
 

FryLock

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Hard to say but most of the asians also have pads that look as if there meant to be arboreal, tip not piss off a Selenocosmia or Chilobrachys near glass if will have no problem following you let you know how it feels ;P (come to think deep burrowing Haplopelma can do that to) it may be better to look at the new worlds Theraphosinae as being the only subfamily not to have good tarsal pads even tho not all of them are obligate burrowers.
 

Scorpiove

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Ah yes I was just about to comment on how Poecilotheria have pads too but I kind of thought they were all arboreal anyways.
 

Mendi

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MizM said:
<snip>

I just did an internet search and found them classified as arboreal, terrestrial AND burrowing! I just classify mine as... a WEBBER!

That's what I would classify them as well, a Webber
 

Malhavoc's

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FryLock said:
Hard to say but most of the asians also have pads that look as if there meant to be arboreal, tip not piss off a Selenocosmia or Chilobrachys near glass if will have no problem following you let you know how it feels ;P (come to think deep burrowing Haplopelma can do that to) it may be better to look at the new worlds Theraphosinae as being the only subfamily not to have good tarsal pads even tho not all of them are obligate burrowers.

Now that I think of it Terri [mizm's] black death h Longipedium [spelling and are they still called that? lol] flaied its legs like a marching A avic when it was out of its burrow..
 

Scorpiove

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Ahhh I see we are on the same level Malhavoc's. :p. I found that the sub-family of "Poecilotheriinae" are called "tree dwellings spiders" by this website. So they are arboreal. Are they at all ever classified as terrestrial or burrowing?
 

FryLock

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Some of the pokes will make dirt tube's and at least one species burrows as slings to juvs (anyone :? ) arboreal's like taps and psams make dirt tubes too at least as slings, heres a P.pulcher's tube/burrow type thing.
 

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Scorpiove

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Maybe in the wild these spiders that burrow are high off the ground? Maybe there are trees that are filled with a soil like substance and they burrow into that?
 
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