Do the T's "Know" You?

[rbpeake1]

My T's "seem" to get nervous when I show them to friends, or when I turn on the light and immediately pick up their cage and they have not seen me. But they are calm if they have seen me.

So I am thinking that perhaps they somehow have gotten used to me, but are nervous when there is something different in their environment than what they are used to (ie, not just me!).

And they sometimes seem to crawl around to the side of the cage closest to where I am if I am in my room for a period of time... so who knows, maybe they just know I am a source of food!

[jw73]

Some of my Ts do the same but you shouldn't delude yourself. They don't recognize you but I think that they can associate us with source of food.

[Ultimate Instar]

It's very hard to say what Ts think. Some people suspect that they have very little intelligence, others believe that they're smarter than the average invert due to a larger brain. I tend to believe that they're capable of learning and remembering that some things are either food related, possibly dangerous, or not dangerous. I try to be in the last category. Keepers have reported some very weird stories describing behavior that _seems_ to indicate that Ts have some brain power. I have accidentally trained my Ts to attack steel forceps. In any case, they can smell so always wash off the cricket smell from your fingers before picking up your T.

Karen N.

[chris73]

I don't think there is an actual intellegence to speak of here. Im my very humble opinion, what we are witnessing is instinctive behavior and because they are our pets or specimens or whatever, we then (unknowingly) pass on human characteristics to them in an attempt to understand them better.

But then again, I've been known to be wrong, from time to time.

[usumbaraboy]

well imo i think that they have enough brain power to remember what your hand feels like if u hold them but if somebody else holds them they arent use to it so they freak out but thats just what i think

[Crunchie]

well if fleas can be taught how to jump through hoops...

I'm trying to train my t's to wag their spinneretts when they see me!

[rbpeake1]

Some of my Ts do the same but you shouldn't delude yourself. They don't recognize you but I think that they can associate us with source of food.

My B. vagans definitely comes to the middle of the cage when I open it, ready to pounce on whatever morsel I toss in. And she is very quick and a good catch, too, I might say, one time even catching the cricket before it hit the ground!

[SpiderDork]

Like most creatures, I believe T's can "learn" in the limited capacity of association, much like pavlov's dogs. If the same stimulus is presented everytime they are fed then they will associate this stimulus with food, and respond appropriately when presented with said stimulus. If one were so inclined I'm sure some type of experiment could be developed to test whether or not T's are capable of such learning.
Just my two cents.












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[Sandra]

Like most creatures, I believe T's can "learn" in the limited capacity of association, much like pavlov's dogs. If the same stimulus is presented everytime they are fed then they will associate this stimulus with food, and respond appropriately when presented with said stimulus. If one were so inclined I'm sure some type of experiment could be developed to test whether or not T's are capable of such learning.
Just my two cents.

That concept I can totally agree with.

LOL@your avatar and name.

[becca81]

well imo i think that they have enough brain power to remember what your hand feels like if u hold them but if somebody else holds them they arent use to it so they freak out but thats just what i think

This could also be attributed to a person who is not used to holding them being a bit more nervous, not as steady, etc.

I just don't see a lot of potential for an invert to "learn" anything.

[jdcarrel]

here is my two cents. You said that if you imediately go into the room and pick mess with it, it seem skittish and if you are there a while and it see you it is fine. I think this is because if it sees you for a certain time it doesn't see you as a threat. This could be the same for anyone that stands there though. Also, having many people around it would make it more skittish because it would be more threatening if there were 3 people messing with it as opposed to one.

[BakuBak]

It's very hard to say what Ts think. Some people suspect that they have very little intelligence, others believe that they're smarter than the average invert due to a larger brain. I tend to believe that they're capable of learning and remembering that some things are either food related, possibly dangerous, or not dangerous. I try to be in the last category. Keepers have reported some very weird stories describing behavior that _seems_ to indicate that Ts have some brain power. I have accidentally trained my Ts to attack steel forceps. In any case, they can smell so always wash off the cricket smell from your fingers before picking up your T.

Karen N.

I agree in 100% :P

mygalomorpha are very old group of naimals ,, thay had many years to evolve

their anatomy is unusual so thay may be capable many things that we think thay arent

i cant say that i think that all my ts know me becouse ther is too many of them :] to gen know with everyone :] :] but my old albopilosum that i have sins the begining of my hobby knows me for sure :] :]

[Adam]

Well, I for one can pretty much say that my Ts are smarter than my dog. You don't see my Ts repeatedly running head first into various things in the house while chasing a cat toy around the floor

[Elson]

I think T's have the ability to recognize things.. Don't forget , they can't "see" but they can feel!!!

[Mattyb]

I think T's have the ability to recognize things.. Don't forget , they can't "see" but they can feel!!!

I disagree with the whole not seeing thing....if they couldn't see then God would not have given them eyes.I'm not saying that they can see good, but i'm sure they can see alittle. But my opionion about the thread is that i think it may be like with snakes, snakes can tell us by our scent, my snakes know that i am the one that feeds them by my scent, so if my girlfriend was holding my Carpet Python, and i got too close to him, then he would start comming towards me because he knows that i feed him, and if he comes to me he might get some food. I also agree with the coment about they can feel our hands and how nervous we are.


-Mattyb