Your A. genic Experiences

[Spaceblues]

I'm curious to hear what your experience is with genics. I've done a ton of reading on them and I've read everything from people saying they're extremely gentle to that theirs are "hair kicking monsters". I've also read that their urticating hairs are some of the worst there are.

I will read one bit of information then move on to the next which will directly contradict everything I've read in the previous page.

I know T's have individual personalities, but it's like I'm not even reading about the same T each time. Please let me know what your experiences are if you have a moment. Thanks!

 

[Tomoran]

Although I can't speak to this specific species, I think it's always important to remember that temperament can very from animal to animal. Many species have reputations for being "docile" or "defensive" or more likely to bite or kick hair, but these are only generalizations and not rules. You will often hear keepers report on specimens that don't fit the expected "norm", so when acquiring a species, it's best to be prepared for anything.

For years, G. porteri/G. rosea has had a reputation for being docile and handleable. However, many folks report owning "psycho rosies" that seem to buck this image. Having been on the boards for a while, it almost seems 50/50 at times. I'm sure that people who are reporting the contradictory genic behavioral observations are reporting what they are seeing accurately, and this goes to show that the behavior of this species might not be able to summed up simply as "docile" or "skittish". A species' expected behavior is never set in stone and may also change throughout its life cycle. An animal that is skittish and defensive as a sling or juvenile might mature into a calm adult (or the opposite). This could also be why reports differ so.

 

[Spaceblues]

That's exactly what I was referring to when I said "I know T's have individual personalities".

 

[Tomoran]

That's exactly what I was referring to when I said "I know T's have individual personalities".

Awesome! Well, that's why the reports differ.

 

[Fuzzball79]

Only speaking for my A. Genic subadult female.
I'm so glad I let myself being talked into getting her. She's great and would make a fantastic beginner spider. Eats like a horse apart from when in premolt. You can feed her one day and the next day she's out again looking for food. When being fed, she usually hardly lets her prey touch the ground before tackling it with gusto. She's got her quirks like instead of weaving a thick feeding mat like my Rosea, she takes her food onto one of her rocks/stones and uses that as a table. She also jumps for the water droplets when I spray her enclosure which makes me laugh every time.
All that said, she is as docile as they come. She has never reared into a threat position or flicked hair at me and although I don't handle her I can do maintenance in her faunarium with her just sitting there.
Oh yeah, and she's nearly always out. She has made herself a burrow but she's only in it for a couple of hours during the day, other than that I'm sure she stays out so I don't forget to feed her, lol.

I love my "Stripes"!