Absolutely! I told my adult kids that they are all capable of seriously hurting them either with venom or the fact that they have large fangs that can cause injury. Always better to be safe then sorry. I'm more about viewing then handling so I'm zero worried about that aspect and may have to think about these guys. I have to admit I like the spiders with a bit of attitude. (other then rehousing 0.o)
I treat everyone but my avic like they were able to kill me,
her I have no choice about, shes a nosy PITA and crawls up my arm the moment I open her enclosure,
she is the ONLY one I'm relaxed that way with however, its totally normal to see her following me around while I'm 'window washing' climbing all over her enclosure and my arms making sure I do a good job.
she was so thin and skittish when i got her (lps buy) that I rather like how bold and nosy she is now.
I treat everyone but my avic like they were able to kill me,
her I have no choice about, shes a nosy PITA and crawls up my arm the moment I open her enclosure,
she is the ONLY one I'm relaxed that way with however, its totally normal to see her following me around while I'm 'window washing' climbing all over her enclosure and my arms making sure I do a good job.
she was so thin and skittish when i got her (lps buy) that I rather like how bold and nosy she is now.
OBT's are usually at least courteous enough to go into a threat pose before they bite, S.cals don't even do that a lot of times it seems. Best advice I can give is that the terrarium both species are kept in should be built around these traits. You'll want an enclosure that is designed in a way that you don't have to remove the lid completely every time you feed or give them water, and you can simply open and close it without much trouble. I prefer to give fast-moving species like this slightly more space inside of the terrarium in case they decide to bolt (less furnishings/decor or just a slightly larger terrarium). When rehousing, always do so in a room with lots of open space, and always keep a catch cup nearby should you need it. Try researching certain "hands-off" methods for rehousing OW's, such as the bag method or the bottle method. I almost always use methods like this when rehousing these types of tarantulas. It's just too risky using a pair of tongs or a paintbrush and attempting to guide the spider into the new enclosure. Slings of both species are a breeze for the most part and very rarely react defensively, so with younger ones it's mostly just the speed to worry about. I prefer to house them as I would a typical arboreal species, with plenty of good cross-ventilation, and with a slab of cork bark to web against. Much like Psalmopoeus and Lampropelma species they often create hides on or close to ground-level, but they still like to climb sometimes, so they'll appreciate the extra height. S.calceatum tends to be a pretty heavy-webber throughout its life. H.maculata will sometimes web a decent bit when younger (although ime they often seem to prefer burrowing), but much like a pokie, will spin less extensively as they get larger. I give them about 2-3 inches of substrate, but you can definitely give them more. These (especially H.maculata) are definitely semi-arboreal species. They should be kept a bit more moist than some baboons ( unlike arid species including Ceratogyrus, Pterinochilus, or Augacephalus to name a few), but you definitely don't wanna overdo it either. Both are really fun species to keep (albeit very shy and reclusive at times), and are always a treat to see out and about at night. As far as I know, both of these baboons are the only two African arboreals that are regularly available in the pet trade.
