Beginner Species

[problemchildx]

I've never liked true spiders before in my life, but this hobby just sucks you all the way in.

What I wanted to ask was.. What is a good starter true spider? Maybe a huntsman? Thanks :D

[Thoth]

Whatever you can catch locally/around the house, perhaps. Thats how I started as a kid long before I got into ts, catching stuff in the yards and keeping it in jars with twigs.

Just my opinion

[Widowman10]

steatoda species? (if you are thinking of getting widows) they are pretty cool. also, maybe a young juvie widow, as their venom is nothing, and you can get some experience with it as it grows.

[problemchildx]

Widow's are pretty creepy, but very beautiful and interesting..

Must be like T's where you have one idea about them and realize they can be great. Why else would you be Widowman? lol Thanks for the advice. Ony spiders I see around here are wood spiders. Maybe I'll go on an excursion :D

[Widowman10]

Widow's are pretty creepy, but very beautiful and interesting..

Must be like T's where you have one idea about them and realize they can be great. Why else would you be Widowman? lol Thanks for the advice. Ony spiders I see around here are wood spiders. Maybe I'll go on an excursion :D

yeah, i was kinda apprehensive at first, but there's some things you've gotta learn about widows, they are not crazy berserker animals out to bite anything that comes close, they are pretty shy and would rather just get away from you (assuming she doesn't have an eggsac!!). they are a good starter species (IMO) b/c this was my VERY FIRST spider, at a young age too, never had any problems, just don't be stupid! they are awesome displays, perfect predators, and extremely simple to keep. a great "beginner" species:D :D

[problemchildx]

I could just imagine a young boy (not saying if you were a boy when you got it) bringing home a brandnew pet Black widow to show his mother. :wicked:

What do you feed yours? I'm also assuming they aren't communal.

[harveythefly]

I've never liked true spiders before in my life, but this hobby just sucks you all the way in.

What I wanted to ask was.. What is a good starter true spider? Maybe a huntsman? Thanks :D

have you considered some of the larger orb weavers? Nephila clavipes are really cool because they are very docile...i work at a swamp tour as a naturalist and i have a Nephila set up as a display animal...i take her down from her web about once a week and do a little talk about her for the tourists and she's never even made an attempt at biting...the only problem with them is the short life span...they generally live only a few months (may-oct or nov down here depending on our weather)...

but i reccomend them to anyone new to keeping true spiders because they're so low maintenance...they spin a big web and you just throw crickets in there and watch the fun:)

hope this helps
Harvey

[Widowman10]

have you considered some of the larger orb weavers? Nephila clavipes are really cool because they are very docile...i work at a swamp tour as a naturalist and i have a Nephila set up as a display animal...i take her down from her web about once a week and do a little talk about her for the tourists and she's never even made an attempt at biting...the only problem with them is the short life span...they generally live only a few months (may-oct or nov down here depending on our weather)...

but i reccomend them to anyone new to keeping true spiders because they're so low maintenance...they spin a big web and you just throw crickets in there and watch the fun:)

hope this helps
Harvey


yeah, that is a draw-back. they are really cool but don't live long. widows however can live for 3 years if kept right.

[Widowman10]

I could just imagine a young boy (not saying if you were a boy when you got it) bringing home a brandnew pet Black widow to show his mother. :wicked:

What do you feed yours? I'm also assuming they aren't communal.

yep, that was me, young boy:D i brought it in and mom said, oh, look at that (slowly backing away at the same time)... what are you going to do with it, stomp it? i've got hair spray... no mom, i'm going to get addicted to widows and eventually keep hundreds, even thousands in my room;P
she didn't like it...

what do i feed mine? anything that moves...:wicked:

communal? ha- for about 10 mins! hahaha! but that being said, i actually tried it in a 2 or 3 gal tank once with two huge well-fed females, and they were both happy for about 2 weeks! course that's only if they are well-fed and in a really big enclosure that they will last for more than 10 mins...

[problemchildx]

Thought so, thus the name Black Widows! :drool:

Also, I haven't read much about orb weavers, but are they the ones with the largest webs? That would be something! Maybe too complicated a setup though..

So you actually have thousands? Damn. And never been bit? double damn :clap:

[Widowman10]

Thought so, thus the name Black Widows! :drool:

myth. if you're talking male/female. more often than not, the male gets away after mating unharmed. i've never had a male get eaten, course my females are well fed and i pay close attention.

Also, I haven't read much about orb weavers, but are they the ones with the largest webs? That would be something! Maybe too complicated a setup though..

i've often thought about getting a big weaver, but the setups can be kinda big, and expensive.

So you actually have thousands? Damn. And never been bit? double damn :clap:

had thousands. traded some off, let some go outside (again, mom really like that), so now i only have hundreds:rolleyes: never been bit. like i said- if you have half a brain and pay the least bit attention, you won't get bit. i've been pretty sloppy in my work before and never got bit even. and i'll work within 2 inches of some pretty big females sometimes. you've just got to use common sense, that's all. i've never done it before- but some people let their widows walk around on their hands. i know buthus does a lot of hands-on work with his.

[problemchildx]

Alas, I've seen videos of people with widows crawling (fast!) on their arms and whatnot..

Actually my father was bit by a black widow once, I think while they were working one got on him and from his movement, she probably sensed harm and bit. (Maybe had a sac?) He has two holes in his neck from it still. He said the venom wasn't too serious though.

Anyway thanks widowman I will definately consider getting a steatoda.

[Widowman10]

Alas, I've seen videos of people with widows crawling (fast!) on their arms and whatnot..

Actually my father was bit by a black widow once, I think while they were working one got on him and from his movement, she probably sensed harm and bit. (Maybe had a sac?) He has two holes in his neck from it still. He said the venom wasn't too serious though.

Anyway thanks widowman I will definately consider getting a steatoda.

go for it! i really like the colors/patterns of S. triangulosa.:drool:

[problemchildx]

Oh wow those are spectacular!

Lots of CB slings available you think?

[Widowman10]

Oh wow those are spectacular!

Lots of CB slings available you think?

haha! check this out:
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=105114
notice "S. triangulosa"
i think he's overrun with em:o

[Pulk]

i've often thought about getting a big weaver, but the setups can be kinda big, and expensive.

Orb weaver setups are cheap... free, even. You just put them in an empty space and they'll stay there.

[cacoseraph]

Whatever you can catch locally/around the house, perhaps. Thats how I started as a kid long before I got into ts, catching stuff in the yards and keeping it in jars with twigs.

Just my opinion

i still like to observe local species. i am totally guilty of catching locals that catch my interest. it is also fun to try to identify what i see and/or catch. plus, depending where you live you can usually find some pretty darn interesting stuff. maybe not *huge* bugs... but really cool ones :)

i always wonder what people think about the big hairy guy that has his head jammed under their bush or whatever

[Widowman10]

Orb weaver setups are cheap... free, even. You just put them in an empty space and they'll stay there.

well, that works too i guess... i was thinking more along the lines of one you would set up in your room, for display, like a huge glass box i saw in one of the threads awhile ago... but yeah, if you just throw them in a window well or big open space, i guess it would be free:rolleyes:

[problemchildx]

Haha not to mention freaking out every single house guest.. ZOMG A SPIDER KILL IT!! Noooo it's mah bebbeh! etc..

But on my next day off I will have to go look outside, however aren't they usually dying by this time of year? *has no clue about spiders natural life cycle* :confused:

[Widowman10]

But on my next day off I will have to go look outside, however aren't they usually dying by this time of year? *has no clue about spiders natural life cycle* :confused:

i would say you've got a couple or few good weeks left still. at least here in CO we got a couple left before the snow...

[harveythefly]

Haha not to mention freaking out every single house guest.. ZOMG A SPIDER KILL IT!! Noooo it's mah bebbeh! etc..

But on my next day off I will have to go look outside, however aren't they usually dying by this time of year? *has no clue about spiders natural life cycle* :confused:

i'm not sure if Nephila live in WA but i think you have a good chance of snagging some Argiope orb weavers which (down here in louisiana anyway) tend to live a little longer...i have one of those on my swamp tour job as well who actually dropped a big fat eggsac about 2 months ago...alot of the big orb weavers like that drop dead shortly after laying but she's still going strong and showing no sign of slowing down...she's very active and eating HUGE bugs:eek: ...it may be because of the mild weather we're having this year

Argiopes also can take larger prey items than Nephila because Nephila can't cocoon their prey so they have to eat smaller bugs even though they're a bigger spider...the Argiope i keep has been taking big dragonflies and giant horseflies...i want to throw an adult hisser in her web and see what she does hehe:D

and also just like Pulk said i've kept them loose in my house before...just make sure you put them in a room with a door so you can kind of predict where they're going to build...i put one in an unused room once and forgot to close the door and it ended up building in the kitchen hehe...

but anyway have fun hunting!:)

Harvey

[Pulk]

and also just like Pulk said i've kept them loose in my house before...just make sure you put them in a room with a door so you can kind of predict where they're going to build...i put one in an unused room once and forgot to close the door and it ended up building in the kitchen hehe...

have you ever had one move after making a complete web?

[harveythefly]

have you ever had one move after making a complete web?

Nephila no...Argiope yes... usually Nephila species make a single web and only make spot repairs as needed...they only remake whole webs if it's completely destroyed...i've only ever kept adult females but i assume they'd take down smaller webs and make bigger ones as they grow but i'm not 100% sure on that one...

Argiope species on the other hand...i've had them take down spotless, beautiful webs and relocate for no obvious reason...like the female i'm keeping right now for instance...she took down 3 webs and relocated them before laying her egg sac and settling down in the web she's in now which she's been in for about 2 months...i do know that some spiders eat their old webs to reprocess the protein so perhaps what she was doing was trying to beef up a little in order to lay her eggs...

here's a picture of my girl right before she layed...sorry the quality is kinda poor but it's the only way i could get a pic without too much backlight...

http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w310/harveythefly/argiope1.jpg

hope you like her:)

Harvey

[problemchildx]

She looks really nice Harvey..

But yeah it has been raining heavily ever since the start of fall, coincidentally.

:wall:

[Pulk]

nice pic.
it's nice to hear you haven't had a Nephila move, I just got two big females. well, I guess it makes sense that they're more permanent, cause they have all that stuff around the orb.

[pitbulllady]

The easiest beginner species of true spider in my opinion, based on experience, is Kukulcania hibernalis or one of the closely-related Western species of that genus. In terms of care, personality, and longevity, a female of this species is about as close to a tarantula as you can get without going into the Mygalamorphs. Females are big and impressive, and can live for several years even producing eggsac after eggsac, and they can easily take down a full-size cricket or large cockroach. It doesn't take them long at all to get so used to human company that they will stay out in the open pretty much all the time, so they're a good show-case species, too.
I like to call these "the poor man's Grammostola pulchra", lol!

pitbulllady

[cacoseraph]

The easiest beginner species of true spider in my opinion, based on experience, is Kukulcania hibernalis or one of the closely-related Western species of that genus. In terms of care, personality, and longevity, a female of this species is about as close to a tarantula as you can get without going into the Mygalamorphs. Females are big and impressive, and can live for several years even producing eggsac after eggsac, and they can easily take down a full-size cricket or large cockroach. It doesn't take them long at all to get so used to human company that they will stay out in the open pretty much all the time, so they're a good show-case species, too.
I like to call these "the poor man's Grammostola pulchra", lol!

pitbulllady

hehehe, i saw you posted in this thread and i knew you were going to say Kuk (say it like "kook")!

they are really awesome spiders. finding a good size one in the wild is a real thrill!

[problemchildx]

Some of them really do look similar to Tarantulas.