Personal Opinions on Spiders

[the_rotten1]

We may not have a way of talking to snakes, but we can read their body language. After working with snakes for awhile you get a sense for how they feel. A snake that is comfortable will have a relaxed body posture, move at a steady pace, and flick it's tongue to sniff the air. When a snake is uncomfortable they will tense their muscles, pull away quickly, and maybe even strike or ball up if they feel threatened.

Often, I can tell that my snakes are uncomfortable before I notice signs that they're going into shed. I notice the differences in their behavior before I notice color changes. I'll open a cage and think "so-and-so isn't herself today" and then notice she has a pink belly. Or I'll realize that one of my snakes isn't moving much, and then I'll see that his pattern is darker than normal.

Spiders don't exhibit the defensive behaviors of a snake that is uncomfortable, unless there is something making them uncomfortable. A snake that is uncomfortable doesn't move around much. You can see this in snakes that are injured, in shed, or gravid. They like to stay put for the most part and when they move they do it slowly. If spiders were in constant pain, you'd expect them to act like that all the time, but they don't do it anymore often than any other snake. I've only seen them act defensive when in shed or gravid.

Even if you believe that the pain is only concurrent with the wobble, it would likely make them slow down and stop, which is not something I've observed with wobblers. Usually they just keep going. They're disoriented, not in pain.

Beyond that, I think it's absolutely asinine for people to assert that spiders shouldn't be bred just because they have one (or have seen one) that has a severe wobble. I am sorry that those snakes have problems, but I don't think it a few bad examples outweigh the multitudes of spiders out there that are healthy pets and breeders. I don't see how your wobbling fire spider means that I shouldn't breed my female spider who has thus far produced healthy offspring.

"We can't talk to them" is never going to be a valid argument to me, because all it proves is that you don't understand your own snake. Cats and dogs can't talk either, but people still seem to recognize when they're in pain.