Favorite True Spiders

[Alex S.]

What is everyones favorite order, genera, species etc. of true spider?

Alex S.

[johns]

Family Heteropodidae ( I've jonsed like nobody's business to get a Holconia immanis)and Salticidae, Alex S!In my opinion, these are the most active spiders. Close, is my other favorite- Ancylomedes sp.

John.
:D

[Alex S.]

Hey Johns, yeah, the Heteropodidae and Salticidae are awesome families! I occasionally keep Phiddipus audax (bold jumper), but Im a really big enthusiast of the web constructing spiders. Im currently keeping a very large, adult, female specimen of Latrodectus geometricus (brown widow) that I have fed small tree frogs!!

Alex S.

[Immortal_sin]

hey Alex, or johns...or anyone?
I have a question..I was sent two large female N clavipes in the mail yesterday.
I thought they were near death, not moving much, really stressed out.
So I took the lids off the deli cups, misted them, and had to leave for an hour or so.
I came back and they have completely disappeared..I thought they would go UP...but NO!
any ideas of where they could be?
thanks
Holley

[MrDeranged]

I think there's a spider gang forming at your house. The P. regalis is leading them and pretty soon they're gonna go on a rape and pillage spree. You better watch out...... :D

Sorry I don't have any pertinant information to add, but I just had to say that. ;P

Scott

[Immortal_sin]

well, sheesh....I was all excited to see that someone had replied with PERTINENT information :D NOT!!!!
Yes, I now have 1 P regalis, 1 A avic, 1 C fasciatum, and 2 N clavipes loose in the house along with an untold amount of crickets, and just the other day, I found an adult hisser on the closet door LOL

[johns]

Originally posted by Immortal_sin
hey Alex, or johns...or anyone?
I have a question..I was sent two large female N clavipes in the mail yesterday.
I thought they were near death, not moving much, really stressed out.
So I took the lids off the deli cups, misted them, and had to leave for an hour or so.
I came back and they have completely disappeared..I thought they would go UP...but NO!
any ideas of where they could be?
thanks
Holley

Not a clue- but best guess is search the room at approximately eye- or-slightly-lower- level- that's where my spiders tend to hide when they pull a Fulsom prison break.

Second option<my personal favorite> hunt down whomever sent you the spiders and strangle the peedingle out of them.;) It's worked for me several times!=D

Good luck hunting the lost colony!:D

[Immortal_sin]

ok all you smarty pants ;)
I was told to release them on a wall near a corner, and that they would start building a web. They needed at least 5' of space for their webs. The one that seemed the most 'ok' was released on my curtain, about eye level and near the corner. The other was in such bad shape that I thought she would not survive, therefore, was left in an open deli container after being misted....
I halfway expected to see some magnificent golden webs this morning upon opening the office door...but ....nada
These girls are NOT small, having an approx legspan of 4.5" +
where the HELL are they?!!!

[johns]

<Slowly backing away from Holley, picking up sharp, pointy objects as I slowly dial 911...>

The only thing remotely helpful I can suggest is E-mailing Alex, and asking himwher the clavipes might be, as his Other Arachnids kung-fu knowledge is quite good.

And Holley, this wouldn't have happened if you'd purchased a Holconia immanis~! ;P

[Alex S.]

Hey Holley, sorry to here about the lost spiders, Nephila clavipes is a great species.

Alex S.

[Immortal_sin]

Hey everyone..
well, one of them has turned up on my curtain....she looks like she's having a hard time
I crushed a cricket and put it on her web, such as it is..a couple of strings..
I misted her well, seemed like she enjoyed it, she's cleaning off her legs and drinking.
Alex...I know what you mean, but I certainly don't have an enclosure big enough. Should I just leave her alone now to do her thing?
The other one is still AWOL
Holley

[johns]

You're welcome, Alex:) .


Holley, glad you found at least one of the escapees.

[Immortal_sin]

thanks Johns...and BTW...were those scissors, exacto knives, etc for me, or the spiders?!

[Alex S.]

Hey Holley, good to hear you found one. Yeah, I guess you could see if she will construst a web, I would keep an eye on her though.

Alex S.

[johns]

Originally posted by Immortal_sin
thanks Johns...and BTW...were those scissors, exacto knives, etc for me, or the spiders?!


For you, dear Holley-you're very:mad: ;) when you lose your N. Clavipes, I should think.


I was dialing 911 because there was about to be some HollyjumpingonpoormiserableJohn, in light of my *witty*(cough)reponse.:D

[atavuss]

Yes, I now have 1 P regalis, 1 A avic, 1 C fasciatum, and 2 N clavipes loose in the house along with an untold amount of crickets, and just the other day, I found an adult hisser on the closet door LOL

WOW! now I don't feel so bad about having an unknown amount of hissers loose in my house (I had adults in a kritter keeper, they had babies and I did not realize until too late that baby hissers could get out through the ventilation slots in the keeper top). of course my wife would have to find one of the mad hissers while she was bagging up newspapers for the recycle bin (of all my inverts mad hissers are the ones she cannot stand)......I think they heard her scream in the next county when she saw the almost adult sized male hisser hiding in the newspapers. Holley, does your S.O. know about all the escapees?
Ed

[Weapon-X]

I would have to say my favorite true spiders are : the brazilian wandering spider, sidney funnel web, and proly the green lynx spider---Jeff

[Wade]

I'd check around windows and other well lit areas. You should be able to find them if they're alive. The problem is, when it's time to die they tend to just creep away to somewhere quiet. I also had one recently, but it died within hours of me building a frame for it :(

Wade

[Immortal_sin]

well, I am bummed...the one that showed up on the curtain is dead, and the other is awol.
Wade, how do you build the frame for it?
I'm wondering if I just didn't have the proper place for them to build a web?

[johns]

Holley- Wade's going to be away from his machine til Tuesday(80's group!;P ). Have you got a copy of Schultz's Tarantula Keeper's Guide ?


In there are detailed instructions on frame building.

[johns]

you can e-mail joy reed she'll tell you step-by step.

[Immortal_sin]

thanks Johns...I have the book, and I could SWEAR I read it cover to cover more than once...but don't remember anything about making a frame...I'll look again!
Holley

[johns]

Maybe it's another book:confused:

Anyhoo,

Tell you what-I'll call Wade at home and ask him how to build one of them thar frames, and I'll hie my skinny little bohonky to my computer and tell the Other Arachnids forum how to build a frame,unless some inverthead(*cough* ALEX S) comes around and beats me to it.


Sound copacetic?:D


There's a bat in my house!

[Alex S.]

Actually I have never built a frame, I have customized huge tupperware containers and turned them on end. Works great, kept a nice specimen of Araneus using this method.

Alex S.

[Immortal_sin]

Originally posted by atavuss
[b]

Holley, does your S.O. know about all the escapees?
Ed

Ed,
sorry, didn't see the question!
Yes, he does, but I've really downplayed it *wink wink* !!
Sometimes, he just looks at me, then shakes his head :?
I'm clearly a complete lunatic, but he puts up with me!=D

[johns]

Originally posted by Alex S.
:D Well ok, Ill let you tell them this time Johns. :) Actually I have never built a frame, I have customized huge tupperware containers and turned them on end. Works great, kept an awesome specimen of Araneus trifolium using this method.

Alex S.

Hey, Holley-

Use Alex's customized huge tupperware thingie.... and then when Wade gets back to his computer at work I'm sure he'll be glad to instruct the forum on the gentle arte of framemaking.


< reading through the Schultzes' guide...:D >

[Immortal_sin]

Johns...are you sure the bat's not in your belfry instead? ahahhaha!
sorry, couldn't resist :D
SO....about the tupper ware idea....I THINK I can picture it...
thanks!
Holley

[johns]

Originally posted by Immortal_sin
Johns...are you sure the bat's not in your belfry instead? ahahhaha!
sorry, couldn't resist :D
SO....about the tupper ware idea....I THINK I can picture it...
thanks!
Holley


Oho! As soon as I think of something devastatingly witty , I'll be certain to retort it at you at the speed of light...


<hours go by>

Booger head.;P

[Alex S.]

Would you like me to tell you how to make one?? Really quite simple...

Alex S.

[Immortal_sin]

sure Alex....I would love that :-)
Johns...don't worry about the witty reply....I RARELY come up with that myself LOL!

[johns]

;)

[Wade]

I have made a few different frames for orb weavers...

The coolest was made from a length of plastic lawn edging. It was black plastic and about 4-5" wide and 6-7' long (they sell it in various lengths at the hardware store). I made this into a loop and and attached a platform the bottom (to catch poop and prey remains. The platform itself was just a piece of flat plasic I cut out of a storage tub lid in the process of making annother cage. Mostly I used little screws to hold the different parts together. I attached a length of lightweight decrative chain to the top and hung it from the ceiling with a plant hook. To provide web attachment points, I glued twigs and sticks around the inside surface of the loop. Since these spiders aren't that good at walking on smooth plastic, they tend to stay in the frame and build their webs using the sticks. I say "tend" because sometimes they leave, but it always seems like thats at the end of their life.

I think part of the problem is that Nephila are usually collected at the end of the season when they're most conspicuous, but also near the end. I also think they get treated like tarantulas in transit, but they're much more delicate and by the time we get them they're in pretty bad shape. In the future I will probably only purchase immature specimens unless I can collect them myself. I will probably just have to be content with our local Argiope.

Wade