Why so shy?

[Aykut Altuntop]

Hi guys. Last times i was wondering " why some kind of T's are very shy??" For example sometimes i am looking my P.cambridgei for what is she or he doing but she is always hiding. Really everytime i come when she feels me she runs her tunnel and hides? Do anybody know why ?

 

[Enn49]

T's are a bit us humans, no 2 alike even in the same species, some are more shy than others. You may find that she will become less shy in time.

 

[Arachnoclown]

At night time almost all my tarantulas are out. As soon as its daylight they are almost all gone. They scurry fast at every vibration back into their burrows.

 

[ilovebrachys]

like @Arachnoclown says-at night they are most active mind you I think I would rather have a T run and hide from me than run and come after me!

 

[Arachnoclown]

Tarantulas are pretty much blind. They sit on strands of webbing in their enclosures. They use these strands of webbing to aid in hunting. While sitting on those strands they feel even the slightest vibrations. They know your footsteps are much bigger then a small cricket. Try walking much slower.

 

[Whitelightning777]

They differ by species and individuals. For example one of my B sabolsum slings is always out. The other 2 aren't.

One of my P vittata slings, the female is usually much easier to see and photograph them my male is.

Your best bet is to go for a species that is generally usually not do shy. My B hamorii usually just hangs out on top of it's hide. My L klugi is also always out in plain sight most of the time and others in the genus are also known to be like that as well.

 

[Aykut Altuntop]

Thank you all guys. She can sense almost every little voice so i am gonna try walking a bit slowly to see her

 

[Nunua]

Tarantulas are secretive animals and as @Arachnoclown said they're pretty much blind, so they rely on the vibrations they feel through the sensitive hair (setae) on their bodies. Strands of webbing are pretty much to amplify those vibrations and to give a better understanding of which direction the vibrations are coming from. Certain level of continuous vibrations are a good indication of a prey item, but us walking around cause a completely different vibrations that usually causes a T to retreat - You can think what would you do, if suddenly feeling huge stomps of a giant next to your house

Anyway, your thoughts and observations of a T being shy is one thing that disappoints some (especially newer, I guess) keepers. They see photos of the coolest tarantulas in the world, buy them and ta-daa! What they'll end having are glorious pet holes, pet volcanoes, or arboreal pet enclosures. Therefore it this is indeed a good topic to bring up every now and then

 

[Dave Jay]

In Mark Newtons book on keeping Australian scorpions he mentions vibrations making scorpions hide a lot and how they can mess up the feeding response. He suggests being mindful of vibrations in the house when placing an enclosure, avoiding areas effected by the vibrations of fridges and freezers, washing machines, aquariums, foot traffic and doors opening and closing. He also recommends placing enclosures on a piece of foam to dampen vibrations no matter where the enclosure is situated.
If this advice is given out regarding scorpions I think it's probably good advice regarding the more sensitive tarantulas.