Poecilotheria behaviour

[Mark Pajak]

I have noticed a few things that are quite interesting with my P.fasciatas...

One seems to bask in a particular area of her tank that is just the right temperature (and completely out in the open), so she seems to know what she likes and can tell where the hot spots are..... has anyone else noticed this? I am sure I have read somewhere that spiders aren't able/(intelligent enough?) to thermoregulate in this way.

Also if startled she seems to know exactly where her hide is and how to get back there.... I wonder if she uses obvious environmental clues such as silk lines or if there is a certain amount of memory involved.

so basically..... how clever do we think pokies are??
I would like to know if people have opinions/ anecdotal evidence

[Tom Forman]

err, most of my T's do this.

No matter what species.

[wesley flower]

i have noticed that in terrestrial species when they are warm the borrow or seek refuge in a hide but if cold the look to go up (behaviour noticed in Megaphobema robustum)

[Peter Lacey]

Isn't that true of most animals, the warmer they are the more active they are.

[wesley flower]

not in mammals lol, in ectotherms(cold blooded species) it is.

[Kate Arbon]

In regards to finding its hide, I have noticed the exact opposite with my only Pokie. All my other Ts, if startled, will dart straight into their hide. My 1.5" Pokie on the other hand freaks out and runs all over, seemingly confused about where to go, before it figures out where the entrance to its hide is. And it does this every time, even though it is always running from the same place.

[jan soetaert]

In regards to finding its hide, I have noticed the exact opposite with my only Pokie. All my other Ts, if startled, will dart straight into their hide. My 1.5" Pokie on the other hand freaks out and runs all over, seemingly confused about where to go, before it figures out where the entrance to its hide is. And it does this every time, even though it is always running from the same place.

I Have 2 pokies and one (regalis) knows where to go but the other a formosa does this too. jumping around like a beheaded chicken. weird...

jan

[James Box]

i really wish people wouldn't make assumptions about animal intelligence and then write about it! tarantulas surprise us every day with their behaviour.
they are utterly different from us, yes, and their brain is of course simpler, but that doesn't make them too stupid to know and remember what's comfortable.
also, most of my tarantulas know where their hides are, and if they've gotten loose for a minute or more, they often know exactly where home is. i had a cambridgei that ran onto my hand, then like a flash darted back down over another hand and into its tub and into it's hide. it knew where it was going!
on the other hand, i've had spiders act very reluctant to go back in their pots, like they were wanting a bit of a walk...to put it in anthropomorphic terms. this is on an individual basis as well.
i know to use words like mood is probably a stretch, but i get the impression there is something there that goes just that little bit beyond blind, mechanical instinct.
conditioned behaviour has been observed to some degree
as well.
my thought on this is that we only use 10-15% of our brains...sometimes to great purpose. that isn't alot! imagine a creature using 100% of its brain, or even 50%. surely it could learn to some degree and have different inclinations at different times?
sorry not meaning to rant...but i keep seeing evidence for more complicated thought patterns than alot are willing to accept. your spider's behaviour, Mark, i think is a good example of that
also sorry if my tone seems abrupt, i'm just aboujt to leave work so rushing!

[Nicola Dolby]

I have a theory which might answer your question. If a tarantula (in this case Poecilotheria) is disturbed and perceives danger (real or apparent) it will sometimes make a mock lunge at the perceived danger or charge at it to scare it off. Please remember that spiders are virtually blind and run on touch to sense anything approaching. If they consider what is approaching as dangerous but cannot decide on the direction of approach they may charge in several directions to scare off the intruder before returning to the nest. I have observed this behaviour (although none of my tarantulas have ever been in any danger) on a few occasions and it has led me to believe that the spider is more than aware of where its nest is all along! Further when they charge (and this is far more noticable in larger sub-adults or adults) they seem to stamp rather than just run, though to prove this would require sensor pads, the kind of equipment which I sadly do not have. Hope this helps

[James Box]

that sounds about right, Nicola. i also believe tarantula's rely alot on touch and vibration, as well as pheromones.
it's possible they know the scent of their lair, but that would still require some "knowledge", i think...especially since one would presume the scent of another spider, even the same species, would differ on some small level...so the spider can probably reason at least to the point that "this scent is not mine, and it is female, and it is ready to mate." as an example. that can probably get fairly complex!
"scent-reasoning" lol
i'd assume their understanding of vibrations are equally complex, they appear to have deep conversations in "Morse code" when preparing to mate!
while clearly driven on a foundational level by instinct, i feel their behaviour does warrant some assumption of at least some capabilities that go beyond blind mechanical instinct.
i won't yet ask them to construct a rocket for me, though

[Rebecca Norris]

They must be able to thermoregulate to some degree because you see adult females with eggsacs holding the sacs in warmer/cooler spots, and at the lectures Mark.. the gravid female smithi holding her abdomen in the sun to warm her eggs?
Once i've sprayed my versi who's got an eggsac, she brings the eggsac out of hiding and holds it in the more humid areas under where the water is dripping, then moves it away again.
They're amazing creatures and i think too many assumptions are made to what they can and can't do/think/feel.

[James Box]

i agree Rebecca. i think the only thing we can be relatively sure of is that what they do/think/feel is wholly different from how we do/think/feel.

the care that mother tarantulas exhibit for their eggsacks is indicative of some fairly advanced and complex behavioural instincts for sure.