# Heteropoda Lunula babies question?



## Alltheworld601 (Oct 30, 2012)

About to order my dream spider from Ken the bug guy.  

Now...I've done as much research on their care as I can, but it all pertains to adults.  He has 1/4 inch babies.  What the heck do I keep them in??  How big is too big for air holes??  Will the babies burrow like a baby T, or should I put teeny tiny sticks in there for hiding spots?  I've never had a baby anything that small.  The smallest T I've had is just hitting 2 inches right now.  

I won't order till I have an idea of how to care for it, but I would LOVE any advice anyone can give me.  I imagine the same care will apply to any huntsman species, besides humidity, I know the purples like it a little more humid than the ones found in AZ.


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## The Snark (Oct 30, 2012)

For Venatoria, natural bioactive leaf and leaf mold is the ideal habitat while emulating the natural temperature and humidity. Unfortunately you will never see them again until the fratricide is over and the sub adults come out to hunt larger more diverse prey.

Reactions: Like 2


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## Alltheworld601 (Oct 30, 2012)

I was just going to get one.  do you think I should get a couple and let them um, basically eat each other?  I was mostly asking how to house just one tiny sling, till it grows to a normal size where i can put it in a regular tank.  I got PLENTY of leaves and leaf litter


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## Ciphor (Oct 30, 2012)

Alltheworld I'll be frank with you, a juvenile tropical huntsman is not a beginner true spider. You need to have a good ventalltion/humidity setup. Adult care will be consistent with young juvenille care. I would feed it pin head crickets.

Care sheets aside, just look at the spiders natural settings. WSC (world spider catalog) lists this spiders range as "India to Vietnam, Malaysia, Java, Sumatra, Borneo".

They inhabit the heavily forested rainforests of these islands. Ideal setup would likely mimic that of pokie with lots of height and humidity, and lots of stuff to climb on. This is a fully arboreal spider that does not web, and hunts by prowling the night.

Just like a tarantula, you want to give it an appropriate sized enclosure as it grows (start with deli cups and increase in size till adulthood). They can climb smooth surfaces so as a juvenile the sides of the deli cup will support its desire to climb.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Alltheworld601 (Oct 30, 2012)

Ciphor said:


> Alltheworld I'll be frank with you, a juvenile tropical huntsman is not a beginner true spider. You need to have a good ventalltion/humidity setup. Adult care will be consistent with young juvenille care. I would feed it pin head crickets.
> 
> Care sheets aside, just look at the spiders natural settings. WSC (world spider catalog) lists this spiders range as "India to Vietnam, Malaysia, Java, Sumatra, Borneo".
> 
> ...


Fair enough; it would be the first large true spider I ever kept that wasn't, you know, native to my house/area.  I do keep an Avic and an Ephebopus uatuman sling, both of which enjoy humidity and need a good balance between that and ventilation.  But I have a feeling keeping a tropical huntsman is a lot harder.  Would you recommend a different kind of huntsman then?  I just love the look of those guys.  And I really kinda wanted a purple one....but yeah, I guess I should start off with something a little easier.  What's a really large true spider that would be good for someone who's used to keeping only Ts?  Was considering ordering a giant wolf spider instead.


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## catfishrod69 (Oct 30, 2012)

If you are wanting to get some huntsman, try Olios gigantea. Place a wanted ad, im sure someone in arizona can catch you some. I had some not long ago, they are very cool, like it dry, and are hardy. But either way, nothing will compare you for the speed of a huntsman. It will make the fastest arboreal tarantulas seem like a rosea in a ICU.

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 1


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## Alltheworld601 (Oct 30, 2012)

I'm totally okay with that!  I have a great spot to do maintenance or rehousing, so well sealed that any spiders are more than welcome to try to escape, they can't get far enough to get away from me!


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## catfishrod69 (Oct 30, 2012)

These suond perfect for you. My females popped out babies like mad once i paired them with the mature males. Believe me, if there is a way to escape, the babies will find it. I kept 3 Thelmectopus modesta from slings to juvies, and those would put the fear of good in you when they wanted to move. They were supposed to be hard to keep due to humidity/ventilation. My buddy lost 12 of them. Mine thrived, i had a little setup going that helped alot. But i ended up giving them away due to not wanting to keep fruit flies anymore, so i decided on not breeding them. But the gigantea are so much more forgiving, and easier to keep. Try the username Mamisha X.


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## Ciphor (Oct 30, 2012)

Alltheworld601 said:


> I'm totally okay with that!  I have a great spot to do maintenance or rehousing, so well sealed that any spiders are more than welcome to try to escape, they can't get far enough to get away from me!


To be honest I have no experience with the purple huntsman, but a friend has told me they are not the easiest. A lot of tropical true spiders can be tough captives. I warn you of this because the spider is not a cheap one, and nothing is a bigger bummer then dropping big money on a juvenile spider and having it die.

I would recommend speaking to the experienced, and take what I say with a grain of salt. You can message Ken on this forum, or email him from his website. As he currently has the slings, he can tell you how tough they are, or are not; if they are challenging to rear, he might have something else that he could recommend as a good starter. Ken is a pretty sincere guy, and runs a solid business. I have purchased a handful of spiders from him and he has always advised me with good information.


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## Alltheworld601 (Oct 30, 2012)

Ciphor said:


> To be honest I have no experience with the purple huntsman, but a friend has told me they are not the easiest. A lot of tropical true spiders can be tough captives. I warn you of this because the spider is not a cheap one, and nothing is a bigger bummer then dropping big money on a juvenile spider and having it die.
> 
> I would recommend speaking to the experienced, and take what I say with a grain of salt. You can message Ken on this forum, or email him from his website. As he currently has the slings, he can tell you how tough they are, or are not; if they are challenging to rear, he might have something else that he could recommend as a good starter. Ken is a pretty sincere guy, and runs a solid business. I have purchased a handful of spiders from him and he has always advised me with good information.


I might do that, I have spoken with Ken before via email, and he's always been really nice and fast about getting back to me.  I think though, that I'm going to hold off on this species for a while anyway.  You did make a good point, there is a lot to do with them that I am not familiar with having to do for the other things I care for.  The price was definitely also the reason I posted here...I don't want to pay $70 for a quarter inch baby that's likely to die.  If they were $5 or something, I'd just order 10!!   I think I'll wait for a while, and maybe start in a few more weeks (next pay period) with a regular desert dwelling huntsman, or whatever Ken recommends if he gets back to me.  Thanks!


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## Philth (Oct 30, 2012)

Be prepared for the speed. Huntsman spiders make the fastest tarantula look slow.
Later, Tom


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## The Snark (Oct 31, 2012)

Probably useless observations but... I've never kept Huntsman in captivity but avidly keep track of the ones around our house. About this time of year we have a native population of several thousand juveniles. Their forage area is, very roughly, 150 to 300 square meters. As they grow older they will range 500 to 1000 square meters or more. It isn't uncommon to see them making a 50 meter trip down the backwater roads. Come March or April the population will drop to 10 or so regular visitors and probably another 50 that stay hidden. I'd guess they have a natural mortality rate of around 95-98%. So figure, these aren't the ideal spiders to keep in captivity.

I suppose I should mention what our local experts point out. Our spiders natural #1 enemies are birds. Therefore they have adapted to an environment as bird free as possible: primarily nocturnal, climb trees and walls to escape foraging birds, and the thicker the dead vegetation on the ground, the better.

Reactions: Informative 1


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