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Enclosure design can improve captive husbandry of Pterinochilus murinus (Theraphosidae) by influencing defensive behaviour

Shahin Uddin, Kevin Arbuckle Orcid Logo

Arachnology, Volume: 20, Issue: 1, Pages: 25 - 30

Swansea University Author: Kevin Arbuckle Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.13156/arac.2024.20.1.25

Abstract

Tarantulas (Theraphosidae Thorell, 1869) are typically large-bodied spiders that are frequently kept in captivity as pets in private collections, exhibits in public collections (e.g. zoos), and study animals in research collections. Nevertheless, much of the information on captive maintenance of tar...

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Published in: Arachnology
ISSN: 2050-9928
Published: Arachology 2025
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa69148
first_indexed 2025-03-25T13:07:23Z
last_indexed 2025-04-10T06:17:21Z
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spelling 2025-04-09T14:52:54.1618728 v2 69148 2025-03-25 Enclosure design can improve captive husbandry of Pterinochilus murinus (Theraphosidae) by influencing defensive behaviour d1775d20b12e430869cc7be5d7d4a27e 0000-0002-9171-5874 Kevin Arbuckle Kevin Arbuckle true false 2025-03-25 BGPS Tarantulas (Theraphosidae Thorell, 1869) are typically large-bodied spiders that are frequently kept in captivity as pets in private collections, exhibits in public collections (e.g. zoos), and study animals in research collections. Nevertheless, much of the information on captive maintenance of tarantulas is based on trial-and-error approaches, such that folklore husbandry rather than evidence-based husbandry is typical. In addition to the spider's welfare, some species also impose safety considerations for keepers due to aggressive defensive behaviours that include biting, particularly many Old World tarantulas. The orange baboon tarantula (Pterinochilus murinus Pocock, 1897) is a very commonly kept African species of harpactirine tarantula which is successfully maintained in diverse enclosure designs including arboreal, terrestrial, and fossorial setups. Here, we investigated experimentally how different captive enclosure designs influence defensive behaviour in P. murinus, and whether it is possible to improve both tarantula welfare and keeper safety via husbandry methods. We show that spiders were quicker to flee when kept in arboreal enclosures, but more quickly resorted to aggressive defensive behaviours (rearing and biting) when kept in terrestrial enclosures. Keeping this species in fossorial enclosure designs resulted in a relatively low propensity to flee, rear, and bite, suggesting that this design might be optimal for captive P. murinus welfare and keeper safety. Journal Article Arachnology 20 1 25 30 Arachology 2050-9928 antipredator defence; captive maintenance; evidence-based husbandry; folklore husbandry 25 3 2025 2025-03-25 10.13156/arac.2024.20.1.25 COLLEGE NANME Biosciences Geography and Physics School COLLEGE CODE BGPS Swansea University Not Required 2025-04-09T14:52:54.1618728 2025-03-25T10:03:22.0849476 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences Shahin Uddin 1 Kevin Arbuckle 0000-0002-9171-5874 2
title Enclosure design can improve captive husbandry of Pterinochilus murinus (Theraphosidae) by influencing defensive behaviour
spellingShingle Enclosure design can improve captive husbandry of Pterinochilus murinus (Theraphosidae) by influencing defensive behaviour
Kevin Arbuckle
title_short Enclosure design can improve captive husbandry of Pterinochilus murinus (Theraphosidae) by influencing defensive behaviour
title_full Enclosure design can improve captive husbandry of Pterinochilus murinus (Theraphosidae) by influencing defensive behaviour
title_fullStr Enclosure design can improve captive husbandry of Pterinochilus murinus (Theraphosidae) by influencing defensive behaviour
title_full_unstemmed Enclosure design can improve captive husbandry of Pterinochilus murinus (Theraphosidae) by influencing defensive behaviour
title_sort Enclosure design can improve captive husbandry of Pterinochilus murinus (Theraphosidae) by influencing defensive behaviour
author_id_str_mv d1775d20b12e430869cc7be5d7d4a27e
author_id_fullname_str_mv d1775d20b12e430869cc7be5d7d4a27e_***_Kevin Arbuckle
author Kevin Arbuckle
author2 Shahin Uddin
Kevin Arbuckle
format Journal article
container_title Arachnology
container_volume 20
container_issue 1
container_start_page 25
publishDate 2025
institution Swansea University
issn 2050-9928
doi_str_mv 10.13156/arac.2024.20.1.25
publisher Arachology
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences
document_store_str 0
active_str 0
description Tarantulas (Theraphosidae Thorell, 1869) are typically large-bodied spiders that are frequently kept in captivity as pets in private collections, exhibits in public collections (e.g. zoos), and study animals in research collections. Nevertheless, much of the information on captive maintenance of tarantulas is based on trial-and-error approaches, such that folklore husbandry rather than evidence-based husbandry is typical. In addition to the spider's welfare, some species also impose safety considerations for keepers due to aggressive defensive behaviours that include biting, particularly many Old World tarantulas. The orange baboon tarantula (Pterinochilus murinus Pocock, 1897) is a very commonly kept African species of harpactirine tarantula which is successfully maintained in diverse enclosure designs including arboreal, terrestrial, and fossorial setups. Here, we investigated experimentally how different captive enclosure designs influence defensive behaviour in P. murinus, and whether it is possible to improve both tarantula welfare and keeper safety via husbandry methods. We show that spiders were quicker to flee when kept in arboreal enclosures, but more quickly resorted to aggressive defensive behaviours (rearing and biting) when kept in terrestrial enclosures. Keeping this species in fossorial enclosure designs resulted in a relatively low propensity to flee, rear, and bite, suggesting that this design might be optimal for captive P. murinus welfare and keeper safety.
published_date 2025-03-25T05:27:25Z
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score 11.444473

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