Hey guys I recently picked up a new member of the crew. A really hyper 5inch T Stirmi. Now I know they can be defensive, and kind of a hassle when it comes to humidity. But for me it's alittle different. I brought the Stirmi home and rehoused it. This T went CRAZY bouncing off the sides of the enclosure and literally flipping amf flopping around it. Iv seen people rehouse these T's plenty of times and IV never seen any T act this way. I can't even mist the enclosure because as soon as I touch a latch this this thing goes nuts doing the same thing....I don't get it. Any thoughts?
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T. Stirmi trouble
- Thread starter Ole8eye
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- 6,382
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- The Oregon rain forest
Welcome to the group. First off dont mist a T. Stirmi...you need to soak the substrate like a good rain. Spraying evaporates way too fast. That's all I can tell you for now...I'll need to see your enclosure to see what else is up. Down load some photos and I'll help you out.
I keep two water dishes to keep up the humidity and maybe 12-15 holes on each side for cross ventilation. It's a latching container that's pretty shallow and only allows for a couple inches of substrate. But for the most part it seems to hold humidity decently. It's getting into the enclosure that's the problem lol. Stirmis are big and fast forsure, but this one acts like you smacked it with a stick anytime you even touch the enclosure. It runs around violently, even flipping on it's back with any movement made... It makes me wonder about how its life was before. Maybe WC? I have no clue.
Hello and welcome to the forum.
I have a Seemani that acts the same way, she even attacks my fingers through the tub when i pick it up and she’s WC. I’m going to bet this is the case for your Stirmi, as for misting I would just lift the lid off enough to get the sprayers nosel inside.
Unfortunately if your Stirmi is WC I highly doubt it’ll ever calm down, I’ve had my Seemani for quite some time now and she has days where she’s not as bad but that’s about as good as it gets.
I have a Seemani that acts the same way, she even attacks my fingers through the tub when i pick it up and she’s WC. I’m going to bet this is the case for your Stirmi, as for misting I would just lift the lid off enough to get the sprayers nosel inside.
Unfortunately if your Stirmi is WC I highly doubt it’ll ever calm down, I’ve had my Seemani for quite some time now and she has days where she’s not as bad but that’s about as good as it gets.
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- 5,547
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- Outside San Antonio, TX
Most of the Theraphosa in this hobby are wild caught. Wild caught spiders dont generally act that way, tbh..not crazy like that..
- Messages
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- Baltimore MD
Mine can be a real drama queen at times. She acts much more like an old world them the typical new world temperament. Hissy fits are not a metaphor with this species!!
A large hide can help. I mean one larger then your would normally use.
This will give the T a safe space. Mine did bolt from her cage.
See the bite report section for the gory details.
A large hide can help. I mean one larger then your would normally use.
This will give the T a safe space. Mine did bolt from her cage.
See the bite report section for the gory details.
- Messages
- 5,547
- Location
- Outside San Antonio, TX
Thats just so odd sounding..a 5" T stirmi racing around the cage, flopping around, all spastic? Can we get a pic of your setup? Yes, they get defensive. I've had one that stridulated loudly every time I opened the enclosure. But they just don't act like C lividus or obts..they generally don't "race" anywhere once that size. In my experience. Pics? Video of the behavior would be excellent..
There's some pics of the old temperary enclosure and the new one. It doesn't have cross ventilation but I can make it work. The T was calmer this time around but still SUPER skittish. I'm not gonna lie it was kind of a trippy experience. And sorry I couldn't put all of this together, my phone is about to give out.
- Messages
- 5,547
- Location
- Outside San Antonio, TX
Huh. Enclosure looks alright to me, I used false bottoms for mine, but as long as they get moisture they're alright. Ive given the large ones 6-8 inches of sub with a deep tunnel and they never used it. Ive just never seen one behave like you described, except slings. You say it calmed down? No more darting around? Defensiveness is not uncommon with these, maybe yours needs to settle in...hell I don't know, when they say every tarantula is an individual, they aren't lying. 
Maybe you got a psycho stirmi, in which case you're a lucky mofo
Maybe you got a psycho stirmi, in which case you're a lucky mofo It actually calmed down alot. I guess I just had to give it a while to settle in. It was still skittish but that's understandable during rehousing. I'm just happy it's not how it was when I first got it. And I don't understand the thistle comment lol I dunno maybe iv been in the holler too long lolHuh. Enclosure looks alright to me, I used false bottoms for mine, but as long as they get moisture they're alright. Ive given the large ones 6-8 inches of sub with a deep tunnel and they never used it. Ive just never seen one behave like you described, except slings. You say it calmed down? No more darting around? Defensiveness is not uncommon with these, maybe yours needs to settle in...hell I don't know, when they say every tarantula is an individual, they aren't lying.
- Messages
- 6,382
- Location
- The Oregon rain forest
I've got a few psycho stirmis. The males seam to be more skittish and psychotic. Females just want to be left alone. Stirmi's arent the type of spider to be messed with. They will freak out to extreme extremes when bothered. They are extremely territorial in their enclosures. The threat postures from the photos is just from filling their water dishes. I've been charged and haired 1000s of times over the years. When you get them out of their enclosures they mellow out a bit. Not a tarantula to mess with though...
No doubt. I haven't been haired by the Stirmi but I've heard it's not that great at all. And at the moment I believe mine would rather run then stand it's ground. It did when I first got it home but hen it got crazy skittish and now it's calmed down alot. And I'm not sure about this but could regenerating a leg cause weird behavior? It may be a stupid question but I couldn't find anything on it.
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I thought the T in T.stirmi stood for trouble
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- Baltimore MD
Well, mine usually isn't that bad.
