Can Ts learn?

[#Angela#]

I know that tarantulas are primarily driven by instinct. I get that. But, do you think that they can learn? If a T was fed in the same area of their enclosure, every time, could they learn to go to that area to look for food? What do you think?
Angela

 

[Scoolman]

Yes. At a basic level. How could they have survived all this time if they were not capable of learning.
There is a video of a tarantula that "learned to open a sliding screen top to escape its enclosure. As proof of learning, it went back to the same spot and opened the lid in the same manner on several occasions. I will have to see if I can find it,
Also many keepers have reported that their tarantulas come out of their hides, rather than into, when the lids are removed. This behavior could be the tarantula anticipating a meal.

 

[harleyqueen]

I'm convinced some of mine know a lot more than they let on. You can pretty much train anything that eats. They probably won't become rocket scientists but food association works with most animals.

 

[Bones Wiggill]

Doing tricks like play dead and roll over, I doubt. If you make it used to feeding it a certain time etc, they grow accustomed to their new "habitat" so they wil remember where food and water is and where they feel threatened, and where not. Based on this I will have to say "yes a T can be learned"

 

[Tongue Flicker]

They do learn to poop in the exact same corner of the tank, learn where the air vents are for their potential escape and learn to rebuild their damaged webbings

 

[superpetguy1]

Lol

 

[marcfrick2112]

I think they can learn to some extent. My G. pulchra, now passed, seemed to learn. When I first got her at 1.50" or so, she seemed to have a hard time catching crickets. She actually missed a few times. Then she dug out a little burrow near where the crickets seemed to cross frequently, hid out there until a cricket passed, and did a side-tackle on them. She used that technique from then on, until she got bigger...