I’ve mentioned my crazy evil cat before, but here’s another of my little friends, my greenbottle blue tarantula, Blue.
They are just coming down off a massive threat posture, which is a change. For a long time, they’ve been skittish and timid. I turn on the lights in the lab, they run and hide. I rattle the door a little bit when I go to feed them, they run and hide. A shadow moves across their container, they run and hide. I figured I’d adopted a cowardly spider.
Lately, though, as they mature — I can tell by how their pigment is darkening to a deep blue from the prior orange — they’ve gotten aggressive. Now they boldly stand in the middle of their space and turn to face me when I walk up to them, but not in a friendly way. When I put a mealworm in their face, no more fleeing, but instead, they rear up on their 4 hindlegs and threaten with their forelimbs, and flash their fangs at me. I’m feeding them! Calm down!
It’s becoming a trend that any animal I take care of gets psycho hostile.
Whoa, wait…could it be me?
Sleep with one eye open, PZ.
Too busy? Not enough time being around the spider as a non-threat and general part of it’s environment? Especially earlier in development?
Maybe Blue would prefer crickets…
Whoa, handsome beast. But quite militant in attitude, it reminds me of Ghost in the Shell’s legged tanks.
On the other hand, the Steatoda triangulosa you posted before has a sleek elegance which is quite impressive, very nice picture too.
I have nothing similar at home, but I just found a teeny tiny wolf spider roaming behind the stove. Too cute for words, so stumpy and fearless…
It’s never too late to put down the spiders and talk with your family about your problems.
What problems?
What family?
Have you ever tried Chambraigne©?
Sing to calm them down.
“Spider-pig, spider-pig,
Doing whatever spider pigs do…”
“Simpsons – The full Spider Pig Song”
.https://youtube.com/watch?v=1R828rFd2aI
Why does this post make me think of George RR Martin’s “Sand Kings”.
And of course, atheism makes animals evil because they don’t fear god’s wrath. /s
Wow, that tarantula is very pretty. Now, to be honest, I prefer snakes, insularis and elapids in particular, but theraphosidae are so gorgeous. Makes you want to boop them.
Just how hostile the evil cat when she first moved in?
Are there any Marilyn Monroe posters on the wall?