# Cyphonisia sp. Silver Trapdoor



## grayzone (Apr 16, 2012)

uh...... WOW... all i gotta say. One pet hole I MUST own. I know its not a t, but they appear to get fairly large in size. was wondering if anybody knows how to care for these guys. Im getting alot of mixed info... ALSO, where can i find one.  Forgive me if this is in the wrong section everybody


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## Curious jay (Apr 16, 2012)

grayzone said:


> uh...... WOW... all i gotta say. One pet hole I MUST own. I know its not a t, but they appear to get fairly large in size. was wondering if anybody knows how to care for these guys. Im getting alot of mixed info... ALSO, where can i find one.  Forgive me if this is in the wrong section everybody



Might be worth PMing Ciphor I know he keeps a lot of true spiders along with a few mulga morphs he's pretty active in the true spider sub-forum.

Reactions: Like 1


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## catfishrod69 (Apr 16, 2012)

I have a couple trapdoors. One Gygorella sp. red, and one Gygorella sp. black. I just keep them in deep plastic enclosures, with about 6" or more of substrate. Small water dish. Thats about it. Feed whenever they will take it. My red one is about 3" almost, and will eat like once a week. My black one is only about 1.5-2" and will eat once every 6 months if at all. Other than that, they are extremely hardy, and very easy to forget are there.


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## grayzone (Apr 16, 2012)

its a shame that some of the best lookin creatures in the world are NEVER SEEN


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## catfishrod69 (Apr 16, 2012)

Haha i know man. My red, i can actually open the door, and it will just sit at the bottom. But my black will hold the door shut and wont let me open it. Also most of the best looking creatures are deadly.


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## Curious jay (Apr 16, 2012)

catfishrod69 said:


> Haha i know man. My red, i can actually open the door, and it will just sit at the bottom. But my black will hold the door shut and wont let me open it. Also most of the best looking creatures are deadly.


Yea pity the best colourations are generally warning colours lol


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## catfishrod69 (Apr 16, 2012)

I know. That or extreme camoflauge. I almost got a WA gaboon viper, but decided not to. Most gorgeous snake in the world to me, but just too much of a risk giving their bite distance. 





Curious jay said:


> Yea pity the best colourations are generally warning colours lol


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## Ciphor (Apr 16, 2012)

grayzone said:


> uh...... WOW... all i gotta say. One pet hole I MUST own. I know its not a t, but they appear to get fairly large in size. was wondering if anybody knows how to care for these guys. Im getting alot of mixed info... ALSO, where can i find one.  Forgive me if this is in the wrong section everybody


Grayzone, fedway eh? I went to HS in Kent right next door 

Like Catfishrod said, they are pretty darn easy to care for, and really are tough to kill lol. 6 inch+ deep substrate would be fine, and probably over-kill for this genus. I put a stick in the enclosure then pile the substrate around it, pack it, then remove the stick. There are a lot of ways to set up the enclosure for these guys, that is just how I do it!

There are some really good threads with images/videos if you flip through the first 2-3 pages of this section. Someone keeps one in a vase at their dinning room table. Pretty cool!


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## grayzone (Apr 16, 2012)

Thanks for the housing tips. After a night of sleeping on it , i STILL really want a couple (ideally a pair) of these but have looked at KTBG and all the other bigger named sites and cant find any... do you know where to find any of these locally Ciphor.......


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## Ciphor (Apr 16, 2012)

grayzone said:


> Thanks for the housing tips. After a night of sleeping on it , i STILL really want a couple (ideally a pair) of these but have looked at KTBG and all the other bigger named sites and cant find any... do you know where to find any of these locally Ciphor.......


There is a spider hobbyist who runs a pet shop right off 1st ave in burien, he always has a massive spider selection and a bunch he keeps personally upstairs that he is more then willing to talk about selling, always eager to show them off 

I have not seen him with trapdoors, mostly just T's (amazing selection of T's tho for cheaper then you will find on here). I have never asked him though so might be worth a shot to see if he has or can get.

Cannot remember the name of it. Its by this really awesome brewer/restaurant off 1st ave.


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## catfishrod69 (Apr 16, 2012)

You know i would love to have some of these too. I seen some for sale ads, but they were all in the UK. Actually after thinking about it, i might just have to start picking up ANY trapdoors i can find. I mean they require very little room, and almost never need taken care of. Perfect pet to have if you are a busy person. Crazy how they can fast for months and months, and still look the same.


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## grayzone (Apr 16, 2012)

Its called A place for pets... its where my 1st t came from... They sold me a B. somethingorother that was gauranteed female... after about a week i learned it was a L.p and 4 months later it hooked out. IDK if id do biz with them again. Glad they have been good with YOU tho.... maybe they are better with true spiders.  They DO have a nice selection of ts, however after being scammed as a noob id feel dumb goin back

---------- Post added 04-16-2012 at 03:57 PM ----------

i even called when the Lp matured into a male and told them what all happened... His reply was "im sorry... we dont really have use for a MM right now...''    Like i did right? all i wanted to know is if they would take him back and give me credit toward a new purchase, or at least work with me a bit.  I was 4 months into the hobby (still scared as could be of spiders) and had 7.5" of fanged fury that i had NO CLUE what to do with.... till i met roadie


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## Ciphor (Apr 16, 2012)

grayzone said:


> Its called A place for pets... its where my 1st t came from... They sold me a B. somethingorother that was gauranteed female... after about a week i learned it was a L.p and 4 months later it hooked out. IDK if id do biz with them again. Glad they have been good with YOU tho.... maybe they are better with true spiders.  They DO have a nice selection of ts, however after being scammed as a noob id feel dumb goin back
> 
> ---------- Post added 04-16-2012 at 03:57 PM ----------
> 
> i even called when the Lp matured into a male and told them what all happened... His reply was "im sorry... we dont really have use for a MM right now...''    Like i did right? all i wanted to know is if they would take him back and give me credit toward a new purchase, or at least work with me a bit.  I was 4 months into the hobby (still scared as could be of spiders) and had 7.5" of fanged fury that i had NO CLUE what to do with.... till i met roadie


Sorry to hear that man. Always sucks not getting what you paid/hoped for. I've yet to buy from him, I know people that did though. Sometimes you live & learn though, and now that you have learned so much (I understand not wanting to give him your business) you might have a better experience.

If he could get them, would you buy? It's kinda a weighted choice, do you want his business to suffer more then you want the spiders. He probably cant get any anyway, but he has the best selection I've seen in WA.

FYI, trapdoors are primitive spiders just like T's, same infra-order.

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catfishrod69 said:


> You know i would love to have some of these too. I seen some for sale ads, but they were all in the UK. Actually after thinking about it, i might just have to start picking up ANY trapdoors i can find. I mean they require very little room, and almost never need taken care of. Perfect pet to have if you are a busy person. Crazy how they can fast for months and months, and still look the same.


It's almost like they are barely living above a hibernation state till they eat, then back to hibernation.

Lol I am envisioning your trapdoor spider room, and someone walking in and being like "Sooo, you collect dirt?"


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## grayzone (Apr 16, 2012)

Ciphor said:


> Sorry to hear that man. Always sucks not getting what you paid/hoped for. I've yet to buy from him, I know people that did though. Sometimes you live & learn though, and now that you have learned so much (I understand not wanting to give him your business) you might have a better experience.
> 
> If he could get them, would you buy? It's kinda a weighted choice, do you want his business to suffer more then you want the spiders. He probably cant get any anyway, but he has the best selection I've seen in WA.
> 
> FYI, trapdoors are primitive spiders just like T's, same infra-order.


 thats tough.. i can be kind of stubborn (especially when it comes to forgiveness) but i COULD get over it.. maybe. That would ONLY BE BECAUSE now im alot more experienced and know what im looking for . Also, what to avoid. Sometimes learning the hard way is the BEST way... which coinsidentally is the ONLY way i learn lol. Only reason id shy away from buying one of THESE guys from them, is because i know nothing about trapdoor spiders. This sp is sexually dimorphic at adulthood correct? can they be sexed younger in a similar fashion as sexing ts? at least ventrally


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## Ciphor (Apr 16, 2012)

I wouldn't be concerned about care, They genuinely are very hardy, and you would have to make an effort to kill them. 

Sadly they are quite tough to sex from what I have heard. I have not given it a go myself. It is definitely on my 2doList. I was sold the spiders as females, but just like you experienced, that is never a guarantee.

I'm looking for some articles. Only found this so far http://atshq.org/articles/ctenizidsRhys.pdf


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## grayzone (Apr 16, 2012)

awesome read ciphor.. thanks


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## grayzone (Apr 26, 2012)

still want one, and cant find any... does ANYBODY know who to contact for some of these


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## grayzone (Jun 11, 2012)

Aparently nobody knows?? id still like to find some.. been keeping an eye out with no luck.
Does anybody around here OWN any of these?


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## hedwigdan (Jun 11, 2012)

These are an African species if I remember right?
My best guess would be to get in contact with an importer that deals with old world Ts or other African inverts, ask them to keep an eye out 
for them?
Dan


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## Curious jay (Aug 23, 2012)

Grayzone if you can someone to import them from the UK for you there are some available over here: http://www.thespidershop.co.uk/insect/product_info.php?products_id=1475

I'm considering getting one myself only query is on the bite potency? As they're African I imagine it's quite potent?


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## grayzone (Aug 23, 2012)

Unfortunately i dont know anybody who could import, and am sure it would cost an arm and a leg.. WOULD be cool to get some (hopefully a pair) and get them more "readily available" in the US hobby though.. 

Honestly, i dont even know where to find somebody that CAN import from Africa

---------- Post added 08-23-2012 at 08:01 PM ----------

well, just PMd a guy who has connects to get some stuff from africa, but im not sure about importers from the UK

this sounds like a wild goose chase to me, but i DO still want these things, and think it would be cool to chase em down


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## Curious jay (Aug 23, 2012)

Didn't realise they only grow to 5cm are there any larger trap doors they all seem to be pretty small from what I've seen?

Woulda thought they would be more popular in the US due to the colouration alone but I guess you don't see them often unless you cover the side of the setup with a black sheet.


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## grayzone (Aug 23, 2012)

honestly, i know next to nothing about true spiders/arachnids in general, but i DO know that there are SOME sorts of TD spiders that get pretty decent size on them. Maybe somebody else can chime in with some. 

I know a member here in the states who caught some cool ones in California that were good sized, at least if my memory serves me right


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## josh_r (Aug 24, 2012)

grayzone said:


> honestly, i know next to nothing about true spiders/arachnids in general, but i DO know that there are SOME sorts of TD spiders that get pretty decent size on them. Maybe somebody else can chime in with some.
> 
> I know a member here in the states who caught some cool ones in California that were good sized, at least if my memory serves me right


The largest trappie in the USA that I'm aware of is eucteniza rex from texas. I have heard they reach a 4 inch legspan. Here is Aussie, there are some LARGE trappies. There are also some very large nemesiids that supposedly reach a 6 inch legspan.


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