Heteropoda venatoria

[BileDrunk]

Check it out....I got a breeding pair of Florida Huntsmans from the Butterfly Pavillion here in Colorado. They gave them to me as thanks for donating some inverts from my collection. Anyhow, here's the female...

[BileDrunk]

here's the male...
(I'm not holding him...I put my hand in the background for size comparison)

[BileDrunk]

and here's the enclosures I made for them.
Whatcha think?

Atrax

[johns]

BRUTALLY AWESOME. I stretched two thumbs up so hard, I nearly sprained my tendons...

[jwb121377]

Thats a cool setup :) Neat little spiders.
Jeremy

[Alex S.]

Beautiful specimens Gary!! The enclosures look great too!!

Alex S.

[BileDrunk]

Thanks guys! :p

Atrax

[jwb121377]

I was wondering what is the captive life span of Heteropoda venatoria?

[johns]

I'd say(best guess) about a year or so.

[jwb121377]

Cool oneday I will have to give them a try. :)

[BileDrunk]

Yeah, I'm gonna pair up mine this coming weekend. Should be fun. (They're FAST!) We'll have to see how it goes. Anybody have experience breeding Florida Huntsmans?

Atrax

[TheEternal]

Wow! Very nice spiders :D

Those things are everywhere down here. I've been finding babies all over the house, so some breeding must have been going on recently.

You're right about the fast part. I could NEVER catch one of those things!

-Bryan

[BileDrunk]

LOL! I know, they pretty much just teleport! The funny thing is, I'm not afraid of ANY bug in my collection (although I HIGHLY respect several of them due to toxicity) but for some odd reason, the Huntsmans kinda freak me out. :8o
I can't explain why, they just kind of give me a little shiver when they get close to my hands. Like I said, pairing them up is gonna be fun.

Atrax

[JacenBeers]

How are you gonna raise the babies? THat will be such a pain in the rear end. They are gonna be so much smaller than a tarantual spiderling.

[BileDrunk]

Most likely I'd stretch a piece of very fine nylon mesh over the top of the enclosure. That will allow air to get in but no s'ling will be able to get through. From there, I guess it's survival of the fittest until the remainder are big enough for pins or fruit flies.

Atrax

[TheEternal]

If it helps, the spiderlings I've been seeing around here are about 2mm across (legspan) and completely transparent. I have to look hard to see them. It's not going to be easy to raise those little things, but I'm sure it'll be worth it.

About being afraid of them: I am, too ;) I think it has to do with the body shape and how they move.

-Bryan

[The_Phantom]

ATRAX ! those are AWSOME enclosures. Make mine for my spiders look boring