P. Irminia vs H. Maculata

[bscheidt1020]

Yeah they act much more like my Pokies, IMO. I need a new Psalmopoeus cambridgei.:biggrin:

When you say that they act more like your Pokies, what do you mean? I do not have any Poecilotheria currently and am curious how they compare!!

 

[Poec54]

When you say that they act more like your Pokies, what do you mean? I do not have any Poecilotheria currently and am curious how they compare!!

Psalmos look and behave more like Poecs than Avics. The Avic group is the oddballs of the arboreal world.

 

[problemchildx]

Psalmos look and behave more like Poecs than Avics. The Avic group is the oddballs of the arboreal world.

I agree, that's why it is so rewarding to have a few Avicularia species. Old world arboreals have many of the same characteristics, including Psalmopoeus. Avics are just so unique!

 

[bscheidt1020]

I guess what I am wondering is...are Pokies equally as reclusive/defensive/skittish as P. Irminia and H. Maculata? How else do Poecilotheria generally differ than these in your(all of you) experience?

 

[BobGrill]

I guess what I am wondering is...are Pokies equally as reclusive/defensive/skittish as P. Irminia and H. Maculata? How else do Poecilotheria generally differ than these in your(all of you) experience?

No irminia are often downright defensive where as pokies are normally super skittish but not defensive like psalmos can be.

 

[awiec]

I guess what I am wondering is...are Pokies equally as reclusive/defensive/skittish as P. Irminia and H. Maculata? How else do Poecilotheria generally differ than these in your(all of you) experience?

From what I've read and seen from my own pokies is that they are generally more visible even if they are skittish. Though I have a pokie that is as close to aggressive I've ever seen a spider, it knows you're there and will come out and give poses like crazy. Very inspiring to see a little 1.75 inch spider stand up to you.

 

[Storm76]

These two species(Hmac and P Irminia) are what brought me to this hobby...I looked, I said wow, I caught the bug....completely contradicts the image most have of tarantulas as big brown spiders...though I do like the big brown ones too!!!

Alright Storm, maybe I will keep trying with the Irminias and try to pay attention to cage designs to increase my chance of viewing...I love everything about Psalmopoeus Irminia except the visibility factor....I have many OW species that I see more often than the Suntiger. Hmac was my favorite species for awhile but it just was not out enough for me to develop a further interest and species like the OBT took over as my must have baboon since they are bold enough to venture out on a regular basis...though mine just sealed off her hide..I think she has a full tummy.

Psalmopoeus irminia was what eventually convinced me that I -had- to get into the hobby, too. IMHO they're one of the most beautiful arboreals to keep. I don't care that P. metallica or L. violaceopes are extremely beautiful too - the contrast on P. irminia is hard to beat. Not saying I don't like the mentioned T's less, but the Suntigers just have something about them...don't know.

Did you consider another Psalmo? I think P cambridgei is out way more often than irminia. Rather than having to deal with an H maculata, if you already like the Psalmopoeus genus why not collect them all?

I can confirm that, my Psalmopoeus cambridgei is generally way more often out, less secretive for the most part. However, that said, she went through long phases during which she hardly ever showed up. It really, really depends on the specimen. I'd say you have "bigger chances for a more bold cambridgei sitting often in visibility", but I wouldn't go as far as describing them generally as less secretive. No Psalm I have / had was ever really "outgoing", all of them are / were secretive and it simply is something people need to accept before getting them. It's an awesome genus, nevertheless!

When you say that they act more like your Pokies, what do you mean? I do not have any Poecilotheria currently and am curious how they compare!!

I'm not saying I have tons of experience with Poecies like Poec54 has, but from what I've seen of those of friends and those I kept / keep now, they're very similiar in terms of behavior. I still stand by my observation that P. subfusca "lowland" seemingly is one of the calmest species in their genus, though. Reason being that I raised one myself from sling to adult and have seen plenty at friends that all fall into the same behavioral pattern. Obviously, temperaments vary, but with these chances are they have a high tolerance for disturbance once juvenile/adult. My P. fasciata is so far the most defensive I've kept myself and befriended keepers here regards them generally as pretty high strung and easy to annoy. P. miranda is skittish, but not much of a fighter unless cornered or in a really bad mood apparently (again, based on the couple I keep as well as those I saw over here) while the rest of them are seemingly hit and miss. Noteworthy is that P. metallica, despite their beautiful looks, is certainly one of the most skittish and prone to bolt along with ornata - from what I've witnessed. Not sure how much you'd agree to that observation Poec, but this is just my personal opinion.

 

[problemchildx]

I've only had a few pokies but based on my experiences with them they aren't very defensive. My buddy had a HUGE MF P. regalis that was pretty defensive, but I've heard they are supposed to be calm. But in general, they are often out on display when they think they are safe. P metallica are supposed to be more photo sensitive than other species, which I can agree with because my metallica will sometimes run into the hide when I walk by the enclosure. But she is just skittish, nothing more. Never a threat display and rehousing has always been a piece of cake. I had a P miranda once that was also this way. So I would treat them with respect due to the "potent" venom, they are OW but are beautiful and fascinating and I feel like every experienced keeper should have a few.

The P irminia I had was one of the only spiders that truly scared me.

But I totally agree with Storm, it all boils down to the specimen's personality. Have any of you seen some of the handling videos on YT? Some of them actually gave me nightmares...

 

[Storm76]

The P irminia I had was one of the only spiders that truly scared me. But I totally agree with Storm, it all boils down to the specimen's personality.

Scared? Why? I'm surprised about that statement while posting you keep Poecies tbh

 

[problemchildx]

Scared? Why? I'm surprised about that statement while posting you keep Poecies tbh

Because it was my first T, and she was actually aggressive. Usually I use the term defensive. But no, recalling her behavior, she would run around the tank in circles striking and spewing venom everywhere. Totally freaked me out as a new T keeper.
I have owned several OWs including OBTs but never saw one as crazy as her!

 

[Storm76]

Because it was my first T, and she was actually aggressive. Usually I use the term defensive. But no, recalling her behavior, she would run around the tank in circles striking and spewing venom everywhere. Totally freaked me out as a new T keeper.
I have owned several OWs including OBTs but never saw one as crazy as her!

Oddball? Never ever seen a T "run around the tank in circles striking and spewing venom everywhere"...that coming from someone that started with a 3" female into the hobby.

 

[problemchildx]

Oddball? Never ever seen a T "run around the tank in circles striking and spewing venom everywhere"...that coming from someone that started with a 3" female into the hobby.

I'm not saying that this is normal for this species or most Ts. She didn't do this often, but at least a few times while I had her.

Either way, that's exactly what she did. Wouldn't lie about that.

 

[Poec54]

Oddball? Never ever seen a T "run around the tank in circles striking and spewing venom everywhere"...that coming from someone that started with a 3" female into the hobby.

I've had a few juvenile Lampropelma violaceopes do laps on the sides of their cages at 90 miles an hour (or so it seemed).

 

[cold blood]

I've had a few juvenile Lampropelma violaceopes do laps on the sides of their cages at 90 miles an hour (or so it seemed).

They were just testing their lateral grip....like a ferrarri on the skidpad....wonder how many g's a t can pull?

 

[bscheidt1020]

I've only had a few pokies but based on my experiences with them they aren't very defensive. My buddy had a HUGE MF P. regalis that was pretty defensive, but I've heard they are supposed to be calm. But in general, they are often out on display when they think they are safe. P metallica are supposed to be more photo sensitive than other species, which I can agree with because my metallica will sometimes run into the hide when I walk by the enclosure. But she is just skittish, nothing more. Never a threat display and rehousing has always been a piece of cake. I had a P miranda once that was also this way. So I would treat them with respect due to the "potent" venom, they are OW but are beautiful and fascinating and I feel like every experienced keeper should have a few.

The P irminia I had was one of the only spiders that truly scared me.

But I totally agree with Storm, it all boils down to the specimen's personality. Have any of you seen some of the handling videos on YT? Some of them actually gave me nightmares...

I have seen some videos of people handling Pokies, Hmac, S. Calceatum, and a picture of a person with a Pokie in his mouth...idiot. I saw a picture of a person with a Sicarius sp. in their hand too...double idiot.

---------- Post added 12-24-2014 at 01:41 AM ----------

I think I will have to stick with my Psalmos and see what kind of behavior I get...goes for Hmac too. I figure if I was so drawn to them to start up this hobby, I should at least raise and care for an adult female or two of each and let that experience decide whether their habit of hiding most of them time turns me off from getting more down the road....thanks everybody for your input and entertaining another one of my "VS." posts!!

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

I've only had a few pokies but based on my experiences with them they aren't very defensive. My buddy had a HUGE MF P. regalis that was pretty defensive, but I've heard they are supposed to be calm. But in general, they are often out on display when they think they are safe. P metallica are supposed to be more photo sensitive than other species, which I can agree with because my metallica will sometimes run into the hide when I walk by the enclosure. But she is just skittish, nothing more. Never a threat display and rehousing has always been a piece of cake. I had a P miranda once that was also this way. So I would treat them with respect due to the "potent" venom, they are OW but are beautiful and fascinating and I feel like every experienced keeper should have a few.

The P irminia I had was one of the only spiders that truly scared me.

But I totally agree with Storm, it all boils down to the specimen's personality. Have any of you seen some of the handling videos on YT? Some of them actually gave me nightmares...

+1 it all boils down to the specimen's personality as you said. I got 1 Aphonopelma & Other new worlds who are more defensive than most if not all my pokies, That does not mean lots of pokies will not defend there home. Aphonopelma anax Loved to bite, not docile but way smaller than a big pokie. My P ornata is way bigger 7.5" and occasionally shows threat displays but given its home is big it would rather run laps than attack me.

Id get both H mac & irminia again if I didn't already keep them.

 

[BobGrill]

I have seen some videos of people handling Pokies, Hmac, S. Calceatum, and a picture of a person with a Pokie in his mouth...idiot. I saw a picture of a person with a Sicarius sp. in their hand too...double idiot.

---------- Post added 12-24-2014 at 01:41 AM ----------

I think I will have to stick with my Psalmos and see what kind of behavior I get...goes for Hmac too. I figure if I was so drawn to them to start up this hobby, I should at least raise and care for an adult female or two of each and let that experience decide whether their habit of hiding most of them time turns me off from getting more down the road....thanks everybody for your input and entertaining another one of my "VS." posts!!

Some guy on YouTube left a comment on a video by Jon3800 saying that every time he tries to handle his H.maculata, it bolts up his arm and he ends up having to chase it around the room. There was another person who said you should never own a poec, because their regalis bit them when they attempted to pick it up. Not only that, but he continued to handle it after suffering the symptoms, and it bit him again. I don't get it.

 

[Poec54]

Some guy on YouTube left a comment on a video by Jon3800 saying that every time he tries to handle his H.maculata, it bolts up his arm and he ends up having to chase it around the room. There was another person who said you should never own a poec, because their regalis bit them when they attempted to pick it up. Not only that, but he continued to handle it after suffering the symptoms, and it bit him again. I don't get it.

The world will never run out of idiots.

 

[bscheidt1020]

Some guy on YouTube left a comment on a video by Jon3800 saying that every time he tries to handle his H.maculata, it bolts up his arm and he ends up having to chase it around the room. There was another person who said you should never own a poec, because their regalis bit them when they attempted to pick it up. Not only that, but he continued to handle it after suffering the symptoms, and it bit him again. I don't get it.

Woooooooooooow. Wow. I would think if you had enough interest in tarantulas to get a species like a pokie or Hmac, you would also go ahead and do enough research to know not to handle it, much less put it in your mouth. I personally am not into this hobby for an adrenaline rush. I have plenty of hobbies and activities that get my energy out, the last thing I want to do is chase spiders around or get wailed on by one....I do like playing catch with my Genic though.

---------- Post added 12-24-2014 at 04:43 PM ----------

The world will never run out of idiots.

Certainly not. Part of what makes humans different than animals is that we take care of our idiots.:sarcasm:

 

[Poec54]

Part of what makes humans different than animals is that we take care of our idiots.

'Take care of'? The track record on that is nothing to brag about: brutal insane asylums and now they're on the streets homeless. I don't know that we're much better than the other primates.

The biggest threat to the hobby is thrill seekers. They'll move on to the next adrenaline rush after spiders get banned. Doesn't make nay difference to them. We lose out.