Selenocosmia Samarae/Orphnaecus

[kerplunk]

Good day to all! Just wanted to share my 3rd T, Selenocosmia Samarae!

I also labeled Orphnaecus in the title since there are some keepers telling me that its from the Orph genus but a lot of others also agree that it belongs to Selenocosmia! ID'ing local T's here can be really tricky since most of them look very similar. There are even some sellers taking advantage of newbies and selling these as C. Dyscolus with the reasoning that "the blue coloration will appear once it matures."

I've been curious about this T for the longest time and harbor nostalgia towards it since it was my first "unofficial" T that I got way back in college before I even knew anything about the hobby. So, I decided to get one now that I know and understand so much more about keeping T's and I must say she looks as beautiful as I remember! I must say pictures don't do this T justice. It's hard to capture the velvety chocolate brown appearance naturally and flash assisted pictures just mess it up. I tried my best though and will try to take more pics-soon. Not the most impressive when compared to a B. Smithi or GBB due to the typical "big brown spider that everyone's afraid of" look but I really love the plain dark velvety look.

Since information on this T is close to nothing, I just followed care for Selenocosmia in general. Also knowing that it is a cave dweller in the wild, I just put some moist substrate and a hide. I've yet to get a bigger enclosure but when I do, I plan on adding deeper substrate to allow for burrowing. I provided water thru a bottle cap as a water dish and found that it gets reduced to more than half so I upped the humidity by spraying the enclosure when the walls get dry. She seems to be liking the moist sub and lightly misted walls so I think the humidity is good enough. I feed her mainly lateralis roaches or crickets depending on availability.

Like most old worlds, she is incredibly defensive while inside the enclosure but calms down significantly once out of it. Threat posture immediately and relentlessly slaps at the plastic straw I use to gently prod her out when doing maintenance.

Additionally she came with 6 slings but I've yet to decide what to do with them. Feel free to message me for any interests towards them.

Also any discussions regarding this T is very welcome since there doesn't seem to be much information about them.

Any corrections or suggestions will be well-appreciated!

 

[RezonantVoid]

It's not often I see Selenocosmia/Phlogius get the appreciation they deserve. Stunning T, and anybody claiming them to be boring brown T's has clearly never kept them.

I would still reccomended against handling this genus though. I have a MM Phlogius Rubiseta (Phlogius and Selenocosmia are so similar alot of debate exists whether species from both genus should be swapped etc) who acts like a big fluffy gentle giant that just wants to slowly bumble around without causing a scene. The moment he's taken outside his enclosure for pairing, he swaps between that calm, non-aggressive temperament to a bolty 8 legged fuzzball travelling at lightspeed a few seconds later. And considering what Phlogius sp. and Selenocosmia Stirlingi venom is capable of, I'd be doubly cautious.
Here he is hunting

Better to be safe than sorry, especially when Selenocosmia sp. don't appear to be commonly available outside Australia.

When she gets a larger setup, try and add some wooden hides and branches as well as deep sub because they can make some pretty cool web castles, not as elaborate or dense as a GBB but still a pretty impressive

 

[viper69]

Like most old worlds, she is incredibly defensive while inside the enclosure but calms down significantly once out of it.

A lot of Ts DO NOT calm down once they are out of their home, be they NW or OW.

In fact, my Avics when they take a stroll out during husbandry, usually zip around when outside on the container wall, but go quietly back inside once they feel their web strands.

 

[RezonantVoid]

A lot of Ts DO NOT calm down once they are out of their home, be they NW or OW.

.

If anything i'd say this is probably the first OW ever alleged to calm down once removed from it's setup

 

[kerplunk]

It's not often I see Selenocosmia/Phlogius get the appreciation they deserve. Stunning T, and anybody claiming them to be boring brown T's has clearly never kept them.

Thanks and nice to see someone outside of the Philippines appreciating these T's! I don't know but when I see all the colorful Brachypelmas and Ornamentals around, sometimes it just feels nice to go back to a classic solid brown T such as this lol. I think a lot of the disinterest comes with several local T's here looking mostly the same. People catch phlogiellus baeri all the time and the Selenocosmia Samarae I have can be bought in several underground pet stores here. Some keepers jokingly generalize our T's here as being all P. Baeri lol. I guess people don't think they look as "showy" and exotic as other T's outside the Philippines.

I would still reccomended against handling this genus though.

I agree. I forgot to mention that I was actually bitten by this same species way back in college. I was a curious teen who became fascinated with that big brown spider for sale. Didn't know proper care and the do's and don'ts so you know how it went lol. It was expectedly painful due to the size of the fangs. The bite area swelled and it was a mix of a slight burning sensation and some kind of itching under the skin that I couldn't relieve. Apart from that, didn't feel anything further though I may have been lucky.

Getting back, I was in the middle of misting her enclosure and since it was very cramped, I couldn't risk spraying without her driving me away and potentially tagging me. I made sure to do it within the tub and gently coaxed her into a handling cup. Once in the cup she relaxed a lot and I just let her crawl onto my hand so I took the chance to snap a few pictures since it would be a very rare moment, all while staying very close to the ground. I've found the same behavior with my C. Marshalli (i did handle successfully too) which I will also be posting some questions about but that's very surprising about your P. Rubiseta. Just shows how temperament can be very individual more than general across a genus or species..

That said I'm well aware that handling does not benefit the T in any way and is generally frowned upon in the hobby. I understand its more for their safety as well. Personally I just find it a very rewarding and fascinating moment to interact with it, letting it crawl on my hand. As a kid I always loved creepy crawlies. Picked up centipedes, millipedes, huntsman spiders, golden orb weavers.. anything I could find in our garden. I always had the desire to interact with them by handling and felt that I "bonded" with them even though they don't have the capability do the same.

Which specimen is the one in your GIF? P. Rubiseta or S. Stirlingi? Either way he is one handsome T and you gotta love that velvety look to him!

Better to be safe than sorry, especially when Selenocosmia sp. don't appear to be commonly available outside Australia.

Man if you lived close by I'd happily give you one of her slings! haha

When she gets a larger setup, try and add some wooden hides and branches as well as deep sub because they can make some pretty cool web castles, not as elaborate or dense as a GBB but still a pretty impressive

Interesting. I'll be definitely giving her more room soon. Though it's sad that she would slowly become a pet hole by then. With just a hide for now she actually stays open and wanders a lot. Oh well, I hope she won't act too much like a Haplopelma haha!

 

[kerplunk]

It's not often I see Selenocosmia/Phlogius get the appreciation they deserve. Stunning T, and anybody claiming them to be boring brown T's has clearly never kept them.

Thanks and nice to see someone outside of the Philippines appreciating these T's! I don't know but when I see all the colorful Brachypelmas and Ornamentals around, sometimes it just feels nice to go back to a classic solid brown T such as this lol. I think a lot of the disinterest comes with several local T's here looking mostly the same. People catch phlogiellus baeri all the time and the Selenocosmia Samarae I have can be bought in several underground pet stores here. Some keepers jokingly generalize our T's here as being all P. Baeri lol. I guess people don't think they look as "showy" and exotic as other T's outside the Philippines.

I would still reccomended against handling this genus though.

I agree. I forgot to mention that I was actually bitten by this same species way back in college. I was a curious teen who became fascinated with that big brown spider for sale. Didn't know proper care and the do's and don'ts so you know how it went lol. It was expectedly painful due to the size of the fangs. The bite area swelled and it was a mix of a slight burning sensation and some kind of itching under the skin that I couldn't relieve. Apart from that, didn't feel anything further though I may have been lucky.

Getting back, I was in the middle of misting her enclosure and since it was very cramped, I couldn't risk spraying without her driving me away and potentially tagging me. I made sure to do it within the tub and gently coaxed her into a handling cup. Once in the cup she relaxed a lot and I just let her crawl onto my hand so I took the chance to snap a few pictures since it would be a very rare moment, all while staying very close to the ground. I've found the same behavior with my C. Marshalli (i did handle successfully too) which I will also be posting some questions about but that's very surprising about your P. Rubiseta. Just shows how temperament can be very individual more than general across a genus or species..

That said I'm well aware that handling does not benefit the T in any way and is generally frowned upon in the hobby. I understand its more for their safety as well. Personally I just find it a very rewarding and fascinating moment to interact with it, letting it crawl on my hand. As a kid I always loved creepy crawlies. Picked up centipedes, millipedes, huntsman spiders, golden orb weavers.. anything I could find in our garden. I always had the desire to interact with them by handling and felt that I "bonded" with them even though they don't have the capability do the same.

Which specimen is the one in your GIF? P. Rubiseta or S. Stirlingi? Either way he is one handsome T and you gotta love that velvety look to him!

Better to be safe than sorry, especially when Selenocosmia sp. don't appear to be commonly available outside Australia.

Man if you lived close by I'd happily give you one of her slings! haha

When she gets a larger setup, try and add some wooden hides and branches as well as deep sub because they can make some pretty cool web castles, not as elaborate or dense as a GBB but still a pretty impressive

Interesting. I'll be definitely giving her more room soon. Though it's sad that she would slowly become a pet hole by then. With just a hide for now she actually stays open and wanders a lot. Oh well, I hope she won't act too much like a Haplopelma haha!

 

[kerplunk]

A lot of Ts DO NOT calm down once they are out of their home, be they NW or OW.

In fact, my Avics when they take a stroll out during husbandry, usually zip around when outside on the container wall, but go quietly back inside once they feel their web strands.

Thank you for your feedback and insight on Avicularia. By the time I'm ready for an arboreal would that be a good choice over the Regalis?

And sorry, I think I should correct myself as well by saying "like MY other old world T's" since for some reason they seem to be an exception from their usual defensive nature even out of the enclosure. I agree about temperament regardless of being OW/NW. My lone NW which is a B. Boehmei is extremely defensive, skittish and a huge hair flicker. I've had more pleasure doing maintenance, rehousing and a very brief handling with this Selecosminae and my C. Marshalli to be honest.

 

[viper69]

Thank you for your feedback and insight on Avicularia. By the time I'm ready for an arboreal would that be a good choice over the Regalis?

And sorry, I think I should correct myself as well by saying "like MY other old world T's" since for some reason they seem to be an exception from their usual defensive nature even out of the enclosure. I agree about temperament regardless of being OW/NW. My lone NW which is a B. Boehmei is extremely defensive, skittish and a huge hair flicker. I've had more pleasure doing maintenance, rehousing and a very brief handling with this Selecosminae and my C. Marshalli to be honest.

Avic, then Psalmo, then Poki.

Ah, that's a BIG difference!

My AF boehmei, while very pretty, is just like yours. Typical for the species.

 

[RezonantVoid]

Thanks and nice to see someone outside of the Philippines appreciating these T's! I don't know but when I see all the colorful Brachypelmas and Ornamentals around, sometimes it just feels nice to go back to a classic solid brown T such as this lol. I think a lot of the disinterest comes with several local T's here looking mostly the same. People catch phlogiellus baeri all the time and the Selenocosmia Samarae I have can be bought in several underground pet stores here. Some keepers jokingly generalize our T's here as being all P. Baeri lol. I guess people don't think they look as "showy" and exotic as other T's outside the Philippines.



I agree. I forgot to mention that I was actually bitten by this same species way back in college. I was a curious teen who became fascinated with that big brown spider for sale. Didn't know proper care and the do's and don'ts so you know how it went lol. It was expectedly painful due to the size of the fangs. The bite area swelled and it was a mix of a slight burning sensation and some kind of itching under the skin that I couldn't relieve. Apart from that, didn't feel anything further though I may have been lucky.

Getting back, I was in the middle of misting her enclosure and since it was very cramped, I couldn't risk spraying without her driving me away and potentially tagging me. I made sure to do it within the tub and gently coaxed her into a handling cup. Once in the cup she relaxed a lot and I just let her crawl onto my hand so I took the chance to snap a few pictures since it would be a very rare moment, all while staying very close to the ground. I've found the same behavior with my C. Marshalli (i did handle successfully too) which I will also be posting some questions about but that's very surprising about your P. Rubiseta. Just shows how temperament can be very individual more than general across a genus or species..

That said I'm well aware that handling does not benefit the T in any way and is generally frowned upon in the hobby. I understand its more for their safety as well. Personally I just find it a very rewarding and fascinating moment to interact with it, letting it crawl on my hand. As a kid I always loved creepy crawlies. Picked up centipedes, millipedes, huntsman spiders, golden orb weavers.. anything I could find in our garden. I always had the desire to interact with them by handling and felt that I "bonded" with them even though they don't have the capability do the same.

Which specimen is the one in your GIF? P. Rubiseta or S. Stirlingi? Either way he is one handsome T and you gotta love that velvety look to him!

Man if you lived close by I'd happily give you one of her slings! haha




Interesting. I'll be definitely giving her more room soon. Though it's sad that she would slowly become a pet hole by then. With just a hide for now she actually stays open and wanders a lot. Oh well, I hope she won't act too much like a Haplopelma haha!

Good story. I mean handling with transfers is fair enough ive done it breifly with Selenotypus sp. before. And the gif is Phlogius Rubiseta. All my Phlogius behave similarly to if not worse than him. Surprisingly, pure bred S.Stirlingi are very hard to come by in Australia despite the fact they are the most widespread species in the country. Alot of the time they get caught, misidentified and then crossbred with something like P.Crassipes and the slings sold off as some rediculous new hobby species.

All my Phlogius are very night active even with their web castles, so I'm sure that should she make one, you'd still see her pretty regularly

 

[kerplunk]

Been a while with this thread but just wanted to post an update after a 3 month premolt period. Very different looking as a freshly molted specimen. Almost olive/black colored with white patterns on its patella compared to its usual velvety brown coloration. She doesn't seem to have gained a lot of size and looking forward to more growth as I've heard these reach 6" DLS. Right now she is around the 5" mark (small bodied but very leggy)