The Most Defensive Tarantulas I Have Kept

It's so sad we can't snuggle them.

My old worlds give me so much less stress! Even the h mac ;). We just adopted a GBB and gave him a good amount of height and he's been so chill. I would say my most defensive is my pamphobeteus vespertinus. He's got plenty of room but won't make himself a burrow. Our ockerti has been good so far, knock on wood. (:

Im about to be up to 150 Ts after my (truly) last hauls, six months in. Ive learned an immense amount and just want to help the hobby that I'm head over heels for so:
I will say that so far in my experience the new worlds I keep are more neurotic than the old worlds by quite a bit, not even by average.
I haven't seen that word used in the hobby before but its what Id use to describe many of my new worlds.
You give an old world the proper setup, leave em alone and feed them...they seem to adore you. All i heard was baboons, ornithoctoninae, Selenocosmiinae are so nasty etc etc but my baboons and Selenocosmiinae especially are such characters and seem to dare-I-say have some intelligence to them even. The interactions I have with them time to time never cease to amaze me man...
Pokies have got to be among, if not the shyest genus out there. They have such a grace to them and everything they do seems so deliberate.
The new worlds though, they bolt around, kick kick kick, go caveman mode and try to climb the walls and eat you instead of the roach... cough*xenesthisandtheraphosa*cough
They often take ages to settle into enclosures (at first i thought this was my inexperience but nope, they prefer to cower in a corner over the starter hide/burrow😂)
It just makes me reluctant to label a tarantula as a "beginner" T cuz if you put a gun to my head and made me declare whats the easiest T to keep with my exp so far id say a baboon.

Nhandu tripepii. Bat shit crazy. 😂 I watched her brush up against a plastic plant, I guess it startled her, so she proceeded to rip it out of the ground pin it down with her legs as she ripped the leaves off one by one with her fangs and left it for dead. It was in her way. 😂 Not only that but anytime I caught her out of her burrow during feeding time she would bolt circles. She absolutely would not eat if I caught her out. If she was in her burrow she would come running out and snatch it but yeah she was one of those ya just crack the lid and drop the food in. Full blown panic if you take the lid clean off. Even if she's in the burrow. If she knows the lid is open she will be coming out to investigate. All that being said, she was one of my favorite tarantulas to keep. She was quite active. It was always enjoyable to watch her move around and interact with her enclosure. Definitely not one I'd consider handling ever as she was really unpredictable. Quite the erratic spider. It was never an issue of being defensive though as much as "what's she gonna do". As long as you expect spider behavior from your spiders you won't get caught off guard. It doesn't matter old world vs new world. I've seen sweet hearts and buttheads on both sides. Even my sweetheart spiders have their moments

My most defensive for hair kicking is my B. boehmei, for threat posing my L. sazimai and H. pulchripes, and for running around like a headless chicken and being completely unpredictable is my T. apophysis. That thing is completely insane!! 😂 Edited to add that my T. ockerti is also a crazy hair kicker, but I love the way she sticks her bum right up in the air to do it. So funny!

your video is so cool 😉
since I put my Thrixopelma ockerti in a large enclosure, she no longer stresses and walks calmly throughout the enclosure and even when I open her enclosure, she no longer hides

Woo spider so cute I love it so much ❤,Did you know what is the spider is dangerous?🎉

Nice video man

How many Ts do you got now btw and any update on the Aphonopelmas I have a mooreae which is a confirmed female now. She is around 1.5-2 inches DLS

I had a adult GBB female in an 40×30×35 cm tank with a small dry bush inside. The spider spun silktubes and lived among the branches

My T. ockerti went crazy with the kicking when I went to take a molt out recently. Lifted up its butt so high I couldn’t believe it was physically possible. I’m hoping the rehouse I just did makes it feel a bit more secure. My P. cancerides is a very reactive spider but I think it’s all feeding response

I was given an "agressive" spider by friends. They did not want it anymore and gave it to me for free. it was a T. vagans. They said it was the meanest spider they've ever met.
When she came to me she calmed down. She is more lika stone here and I can handle her without a problem. She has NEVER kicked hair at me or made a threat display haha.

Absolutely fantastic video Tom. I bought my first tarantula in the spring of 86’ she was a P. Cancerides and she was a feisty old girl! But throughout the decades I came to realize they all have different behaviors! I too have a Sazimai and she by far has a lot of “bravado” that came with her, I also have a very large S. calceatum and she has always been somewhat easy to work with, not one defensive pose! Just goes to show how different and wonderful they all are!! Great topic Tom thanks so much for covering it!!🕷

I'll be the dissenting opinion on the B. auratum. I have a subadult presumed male I got late 2021, and while they were a hair skittish as a sling/borderline juvenile (went from no red on the knees to hint of red after the first molt with me), in general they've been fairly tame. They basically never bolt around the enclosure, have never escaped on me, and have in general been easy rehouses. The only time mine has ever kicked hairs was during rehouses or when getting ready to molt. Since they were my first spider, I'm glad I got one who has been chill so far!

Hey Tom! I just wanted to let you know your videos, website, and podcasts have been extremely useful to me as a new keeper. You give a lot of detailed husbandry tips that you've spent years learning.

Mostly because of you, my first three T's are healthy.

My Xenesthis immanis calmed down as she grew.

I have an A. geniculata sling or spiderling who is ready to THROW anytime I make my existence known. The wee lil threat pose is fiercely adorable but I try to leave it alone as much as possible so as not to stress it too much.

The most high strung and defensive thing in my collection right now is my adult female arizona blonde lol. If I had to chose between her and one of my big, asian arborals to handle... well frankly my p. regalis is way calmer

My most definsive one is L. Sazimai sling :D the most crazy thing ever :D

Another T I got was my H. gigas. I noticed she was in this small aboreal like enclosure seeming to hate life and not be able to sprawl out. She’s now in one of the largest enclosures I have so she can dig and burrow to her heart’s desire. It’s amazing to see how demeanor changes when they have the right setup and get to enjoy what they are naturally supposed to do.

I would also get defensive if someone ripped the roof off my house and stuck a big hairy hand in and started moving my stuff about 😂😂😂😂😂😂always enjoy watching your videos keep them coming 😉👍

I’ve kept a few species since the summer of 2020 and my top contender is definitely my MM p.irmenia. I’m glad you mentioned mature males being out and a little more high strung and I think it makes perfect sense. I got him as a juvenile with one of my snakes and he hid behind his dirt curtain until he matured. Now he’s always out and has threat posed, tong charged and escaped in his efforts to find a female. I use a soft sprayer so the water doesn’t startle him and that helped. I was nervous to get a c.lividus in 2022 but I’ve never received a threat pose in two years and the now juvenile is out (well above burrow) quite often at night. Thank you for posting this; I love your problem solving approach to defensive behavior. I have a b.hamorii who is pretty quick to kick hairs and I’d like to try an enclosure with some more depth/ burrowing potential and see if it makes her feel more secure.

Thank you very much for the video .... I enjoyed it.

I kept praying mantis for a few years and they would definitely change attitude with each molt.

Had the similar experiences with the three Brachypelma auratum slings that I have - absolute road runners. Also a great reminder why we shouldn't handle spiders. They are wild animals and will act like that, if they feel threatened. One of my most defensive Ts is a Tliltocatl albopilosus, the species that was considered the best possible beginner spider back when I started with this beautiful hobby.

Great video as always and best wishes from Poland.
Skål!

Hello Tom, I only keep OW so seeing majority NW spiders makes my heart melt with joy, I have 22 C. Bach Ma plus about 10 to 12 assorted Ornithoctoninae in a variety of sizes no they only give me grief is when I AM rehousing I never see them otherwise and even in rehouses they rather run away and only when the catch cup is on their heads and being prodded do they put their hands up.

I have a calm and lovely tiny B. auratum sling at the moment--I'm fully expecting her to be a crazy teenager in a couple years!

What’s your current mix for substrate these days? (Sorry I dunno if you’ve recently talked about it)

My most defensive tarantula is my phormingochilus sp Rufus, and my sweetest tarantula by far is my pterinochilus murinus tcf, she is incredible.

Booties - entomologist term. 🕷

My Phormictopus Atrichomatus, the queen of mean. Runs at any air movement at top speed. And she’s big. So I quickly learned to keep it to a minimum!

AAAAAAAAA ! Feisty Spicy GORL

I have a cameroon red baboon and a Kenyan OBT and they are a handful.
The cameroon Red baboon tarantula likes to run towards the water sprayer and also will taunt me but sometimes if I'm lucky will retreat into its massive burrow.
The OBT is half the size of my cameroon tarantula measuring up to a whopping 1.75 inches body length but will threat posture on sight. The obt is fast and I am not looking forward to a rehouse.
These were my first two spiders ever in the hobby. I guess go big or go home right ? 😂

My boehmei is a handful as well, she LOVES to kick hair any time I touch the enclosure although she has calmed down a touch but out of all my T's she is THE most defensive I have and I own old worlds as well as new worlds of many kinds.

I have over 35 spiders, old and New World and my old world are puppy dogs. My New World are problem.

A tale of two curly's. One Hondouran and one Nicaraguan I believe, one blonde and another bronze. The blonde, an absolute sweetheart gentle, calm. Hardly notice her. The bronze, absolute maniac! Gives me more anxiety than any of my old worlds.. 😮‍💨
Absolutely something to be said about changing setups tho. Gave my OBT an absurdly large enclosure (im talking one of those jumbo tupperwares you put several dozen sweaters in for storage) and alot of dirt for burrowing, never had any problems after that. Loved to sit out at the edge of her burrows, didnt freak out during maintenance, became quite peaceful.

Hey Tom, awesome video as always! My T. ockerti is a nutcase but after changing his enclosure he has calmed down a lot, even as a MM. He just needed some cork tubes and more coverage. My L. sazimai have all been whackos but one really takes the cake. I have kept three; two of which were fairly defensive and skittish- if caught out they'd throw up a little threat posture but bolt back to their dens pretty quickly. My third one was a certifiable psycho. He would charge out of his burrow and throw up a threat posture if you even walked by- yes, this spider left the SAFE confines of his DEEP burrow just to threat pose at me and fall over onto his back. FYI this was not a MM. He frequently attempted to strike at the enclosure for no reason. He would stay threat posed for hours, slapping at everything. I have no idea what was wrong with him. I've really never seen anything like it. I hope I have proven myself over the years to be someone with a level head who does not exaggerate. I also hope I have proven that I can correctly keep these animals, so I do not believe it was an enclosure issue, especially because the other two were manageable. I did try changing the enclosure numerous times and none of it made a difference. Easily the most defensive specimen and species I've ever kept.
My boehmei is a potato lol. PetSmart gave her to me cause she was "too aggressive" to sell. She is a quintessential pet rock. I've had her since she was around 3", she is now pushing 4". She's been a total potato from day 1 and I hope she continues to be. She doesn't burrow or use her hide and she actually seems to appreciate a bit of moisture which is unusual but she's a happy spider!
I agree with you on the old world thing. Mine are totally fine if kept correctly. They really do not want to fight you. Keep up the awesome work!
- Charlotte

My Phormictopus sp. purple is crazy, flipping over with giant threat poses. My L. sazimai is also a bolter, and went through a pretty long phase if giving threat poses. Currently my most defensive is my O. schioedtei. She comes out of her burrow and slaps at anything that moves, including food or me doing routine maintenance. I suppose that could mean I should get her a larger enclosure, but it’s the same large size that works well for my other asian arboreals. I think she’s just a sociopath.

I have to comment again cuz' Im an Aviculariinae nut (about to be up to my 22nd from the subfamily) and recently picked up a pair of Ybyrapora sooretama. I already havs diversipes who is a relatively cool customer, but these guys are NUTS! I, like you, take pride in the minimal defensive behavior I get. While these guys arent defensive in the classic sense, they are more than willing to bolt out of enclosures. And their speed is IMPRESSIVE. It has to be up there with my psalmopoeus. Yesterday I fed one and the disabled cricket spooked it, making it teleport all the way down its lengthy tube, across the substrate and up the far wall in the blink of an eye. Luckily this isnt my first rodeo at this point and while Ive had very very few attempted bolt-outs Im always mentally prepared. All I could do in time though was blow hard at it which luckily caused it to do an even more inpressive instant 360 teleport back down. Definitely unique behavior for a member of the subfamily. I picked up Iridopelma c.f oliveira not too long ago, so its still a tiny 2/3" sling. Cant wait to see how it compares to the sooretama as Ive heard Iridopelma are a handful as well.
Oddly enough my only other bolter-outer is my first Caribena versicolor sling. It was the one who taught me to have that aforementioned mental preparation when it bolted out onto my computer desk which has a maze of books/figurines etc. Was quite the experience lol. It seemed to calm down the next few instars but the time finally came for a rehouse and it immediately reverted back to basket case mode. Their leaping ability is nuts. I ended up having to catch it midair, after which it seemed to admit defeat and adorably huddled up in my palm. Aye aye aye all those years of video games ended up paying off via ny reflexes lol.

I would say my female Psalmopoeus pulcher Panama blonde who'll show her fangs and threat pose me when rehousing but other than that she just runs when I take the lid off her enclosure

I would say my female Psalmopoeus pulcher Panama blonde who'll show her fangs and threat pose me when rehousing but other than that she just runs when I take the lid off her enclosure

Overall, do you find that they are more calm when you can go in via a front door unit over an overhead door? I’m assuming it’s instinct that something is coming down to eat them

My Xenesthis Megascopula is a f’n monster 👹

Thank you for the video 😊. I agree completely re: old worlds (though I have only kept two types so just a newbie to these), all of them have been no issue calm, even when rehoused. One's I've had some temperament issues with are #1 Bob my B.Hamorii I got him as my first spider as a sexed male at 4.8cm because of "pet rock" comments but he was a terrible beginner spider, every time I go near enclosure he flicks hairs. Even if he's in his burrow he flicks. I'm glad I have him but I wish I'd seen more comments about variety of expected behaviour before he arrived (so glad I wore eye protection when starting out). He was 13cm last molt and never has changed his temperament. #2 p.pulcher again surprised by behaviour so far (just a 3cm at moment) I did have a p.irminia and she was the best spider I've ever kept, she was visible, calm, 0 issues. One time she left her enclosure as I was mid changing water, she calmly walked around the edge and calmly walked back to her web den without any coaxing at all. I read a comment that the pulcher are "sweeter" than irminia but when I unboxed it it spun around fangs bared and not happy. It has been slightly better in enclosure now it's got a web/moss nest it's made for itself. Occasional threat pose so I'm always looking to see where it is before feeding. Our GBB had moments before rehousing from 2nd juvenile enclosure to final adult enclosure but after better setup (larger/massive piece of round bark) no issues with her. My (I believe male) p.sp dominican purple is quite feisty no threat poses so far but plenty of hair kicking, running around, escape attempts and this at 5.6cm. I got a second as a free one, it's so far been calm but I've only had it for 1 month so early days. My l.sazimai (huggy wuggy) is at the other end of the spectrum to yours she's always been calm, visable and a sweetheart since slinghood, hugs was 10.3cm last molt so not fully grown. I feel very lucky with her temperament so far. My male b.boehmei has never had any issues, I got him at 1.1cm and last molt 7.8cm but he's still small so maybe that could change. But whatever their temperament I wouldn't change them even if they are more on the feisty side - I just need to be respectful, alert and prepared.😊

I have a b. Smithi, b. Boehmi, GBB, a. Geniculata, and others but the only one who has ever threat postured at me is a g. Pulchra. 😂 It was feeding day and I'm 99% sure he was just anticipating getting a cricket.

Wasn't suprised to see no old world tarantula here 😅! Their supposed aggressiveness is often overrated and exaggerated. I've been doing this hobby for over 25 years and have never had any problems with old world T's. Yes, depending on the species, they are a little more venomous and sometimes faster and more nervous. If they are kept correctly and have enough places to retreat, they are usually more anxious or shy. Rehousing can be a bit challenging, as many old world's live more secluded lives and react defensively when digging up them or uncovering their webs.

New world's on the other hand can be surprisingly defensive and confident. Even the so called "beginner species". Often braver and less fearful. As if they are aware of their size and their effective hair weapon. One of my most defensive tarantulas was a male Lasiocynano sazimai.

Imo, it's important that you always treat the animals with the necessary respect and that you are always able to assess the animals correctly. No matter which continent the species comes from.
Greez from Germany 👋🏻.