# Huntsman Spiders



## lizardminion (Feb 28, 2012)

Does anyone keep huntsman spiders? (I'm sure someone does) How easy is it to keep these spiders? What is the largest species?
Feel free to post some pics! 
Oh yeah, and what's a great source to buy these magnificent spiders?


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## Galapoheros (Feb 28, 2012)

I can't quite remember but I think the largest sps is from the East somewhere, not so much a recent discovery but more of a focus on how big that spider can get.  Just google "largest spider".  There is a vid somewhere of cavers searching for it.


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## Ciphor (Feb 29, 2012)

Ryan the Roach Guy said:


> Does anyone keep huntsman spiders? (I'm sure someone does) How easy is it to keep these spiders? What is the largest species?
> Feel free to post some pics!
> Oh yeah, and what's a great source to buy these magnificent spiders?


_Heteropoda maxima_ in Laos is the largest. This spider has the largest leg span of any spider known to science.

They have been recorded with well over 13 inch legspans, averaging a foot!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/toddgearheart/4017222119/


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## catfishrod69 (Feb 29, 2012)

Those would be truly awesome. I have been wanting some of these. Why the heck have they not made it in the US hobby?





Ciphor said:


> _Heteropoda maxima_ in Laos is the largest. This spider has the largest leg span of any spider known to science.
> 
> They have been recorded with well over 13 inch legspans, averaging a foot!
> 
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/toddgearheart/4017222119/


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## Ciphor (Feb 29, 2012)

catfishrod69 said:


> Those would be truly awesome. I have been wanting some of these. Why the heck have they not made it in the US hobby?


Not easy to get spiders out of that area, nor is it easy to find this particular one as it is a cave dwelling species.

Laos also has massive environmental issues, and well, I doubt they let you take home much wild life.


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## catfishrod69 (Feb 29, 2012)

Aaah i see. Isnt there a african species that gets to 12" legspans, and is more common? 





Ciphor said:


> Not easy to get spiders out of that area, nor is it easy to find this particular one as it is a cave dwelling species.
> 
> Laos also has massive environmental issues, and well, I doubt they let you take home much wild life.


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## Galapoheros (Mar 1, 2012)

There are some big ones in Australia  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRV4d9LCawU  I think 15 mil of those views are mine, I crack up at 50 and 55.


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## The Spider Faery (Mar 1, 2012)

I had a Heteropoda davidbowie.  I think it's the fastest spider I've ever owned!  It managed to escape from its cage during maintenance, in a blink of an eye, and I didn't find it again for 5 days.  That's the only time I've had a spider really escape from me. ::


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## josh_r (Apr 29, 2012)

Galapoheros said:


> There are some big ones in Australia  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRV4d9LCawU  I think 15 mil of those views are mine, I crack up at 50 and 55.


Hahahaha!!! I have seen that vid before. So funny!!!!


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## catfishrod69 (Apr 29, 2012)

I have 3 Thelcticopis modesta. Hoping that any of the females out of them get large enough for the males to pair with. Gonna be impossible to find mms for them. And yeah they are fast. One popped out while feeding, and ran around the vial three times before i realized it.


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## The Snark (Apr 30, 2012)

H Venatoria. These kids range over a huge area. I'd suspect several acres. This one, 6 to 7 inch leg span, is about as big as the Venatoria gets.


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## catfishrod69 (Apr 30, 2012)

Awesome pic. Note the little huntslings runnin around.


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## The Snark (Apr 30, 2012)

Huntslings! I like that! Yeah. She just popped, posing for me. Egg sack still under her.


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## catfishrod69 (Apr 30, 2012)

Haha thanks. It just came to me. Thats very cool. I would like to get some of the 12"ers, but i figure my orange are gonna be hard enough to keep alive. Is this one of your spiders, or just a random wild one?


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## The Snark (May 1, 2012)

catfishrod69 said:


> Haha thanks. It just came to me. Thats very cool. I would like to get some of the 12"ers, but i figure my orange are gonna be hard enough to keep alive. Is this one of your spiders, or just a random wild one?


I don't keep any critters. We leave the light on in the carport all night (after wifey almost got tagged by a Russells) and it fills with insects. In turn the ground of the carport is crawler heaven while the tokays battle it out on the walls. When the termites are swarming it turns into a 12 ring circus out there. The pictured charming lass decided to come in there to let her kids out. Maybe some instinct to turn them loose in a prey rich environment. One memorable evening I had two chunky lycosids squaring off on the roof of the jeep contesting who owned it, I guess.


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## Ciphor (May 1, 2012)

The Snark said:


> I don't keep any critters. We leave the light on in the carport all night (after wifey almost got tagged by a Russells) and it fills with insects. In turn the ground of the carport is crawler heaven while the tokays battle it out on the walls. When the termites are swarming it turns into a 12 ring circus out there. The pictured charming lass decided to come in there to let her kids out. Maybe some instinct to turn them loose in a prey rich environment. One memorable evening I had two chunky lycosids squaring off on the roof of the jeep contesting who owned it, I guess.


And..... I am jealous


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## catfishrod69 (May 1, 2012)

Man it must be awesome to live somewhere with no winter, and a vast amount of critters. I love hearing about your encounters. 





The Snark said:


> I don't keep any critters. We leave the light on in the carport all night (after wifey almost got tagged by a Russells) and it fills with insects. In turn the ground of the carport is crawler heaven while the tokays battle it out on the walls. When the termites are swarming it turns into a 12 ring circus out there. The pictured charming lass decided to come in there to let her kids out. Maybe some instinct to turn them loose in a prey rich environment. One memorable evening I had two chunky lycosids squaring off on the roof of the jeep contesting who owned it, I guess.


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## calum (May 1, 2012)

I just bought a Heteropoda venatoria to get me back into the hobby.. fascinating wee thing, so, so fast. Also surprisingly agressive, when i tried to move it from the delivery tub into the setup it attacked the forecepts, I would've expected it to just leg it. I think this species is pretty much bulletproof when it comes to keeping conditions, it's a really widespread sub/tropical species


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## The Snark (May 2, 2012)

calum said:


> I just bought a Heteropoda venatoria to get me back into the hobby.. fascinating wee thing, so, so fast. Also surprisingly agressive, when i tried to move it from the delivery tub into the setup it attacked the forecepts, I would've expected it to just leg it. I think this species is pretty much bulletproof when it comes to keeping conditions, it's a really widespread sub/tropical species


I've noticed these definitely have a limit switch. They will make every effort to run and hide but push them one tiny bit too far and she will go to guns. I've seen them go right past threat pose into chomp mode. I end up feeling bad that I somehow forced her to attack when all I ever want is to protect them.


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## ctenid (May 2, 2012)

Supposedly the Giant Huntsman Spider of Laos, possibly called Heteropoda maxima? has a leg span of one foot. This was reported on an internet site called Countries to Avoid if You Hate Spiders, so I don't know if its valid or not. If its verified, than this would certainly be the mother of all Huntsman spiders!


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## Ciphor (May 2, 2012)

The largest verified and recorded specimen was 13 inches.


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## ctenid (May 2, 2012)

Ciphor, good job. I will now steer clear of opinions concerning spider pet keepers and just stick to the substance of spider IDs, habits and everything spidery. After all, thats why I just joined this thing. Since I never meet anyone who gives a hoot (excluding the few researchers I work with) or is the least bit interested in spiders much less know what they are, this could be interesting. My main interest is researching spiders of medical importance but I am generally fascinated by all spiders, their fellow arachnid pals and a few insects like the Hemipterans.


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## Ciphor (May 2, 2012)

ctenid said:


> Ciphor, good job. I will now steer clear of opinions concerning spider pet keepers and just stick to the substance of spider IDs, habits and everything spidery. After all, thats why I just joined this thing. Since I never meet anyone who gives a hoot (excluding the few researchers I work with) or is the least bit interested in spiders much less know what they are, this could be interesting. My main interest is researching spiders of medical importance but I am generally fascinated by all spiders, their fellow arachnid pals and a few insects like the Hemipterans.


This message board is mostly comprised of people who have a love of spiders, more so then a love of the science of studying them. I'm personally excited to see someone who at first glance, appears very knowledgeable about the infraorder araneomorphae, as that is my main interest. I hope you do stick around and we can squeeze some facts from you  and get more input on tough ID's.


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## The Snark (May 2, 2012)

Ciphor said:


> This message board is mostly comprised of people who have a love of spiders, more so then a love of the science of studying them. I'm personally excited to see someone who at first glance, appears very knowledgeable about the infraorder araneomorphae, as that is my main interest. I hope you do stick around and we can squeeze some facts from you  and get more input on tough ID's.


I'll second that! 
Come on out and do some field research. I've got a list of cave areas that are darned difficult to get to that need a willing victim... err, researcher. Be prepared to lift several hundred 1 to 10 ton boulders. (Maxima tends to prefer a rather hostile environment)


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## Ciphor (May 2, 2012)

The Snark said:


> I'll second that!
> Come on out and do some field research. I've got a list of cave areas that are darned difficult to get to that need a willing victim... err, researcher. Be prepared to lift several hundred 1 to 10 ton boulders. (Maxima tends to prefer a rather hostile environment)


Oh dude that's right, you are in that area. To bad you can't get them to us. Those guys would be loved in the hobby.


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## The Snark (May 3, 2012)

My most recent Maxima hunting expedition. Little brother claimed he knew of a cave where he thinks they had been spotted and invited me to go check it out. If I knew then what I know now I would have shot the little spud and kicked back with a cold drink and a smile on my face.
At the end of a dirt road we parked. The terrain was so open after a mile hike I went back and got the jeep. We drove another 15 miles or so eventually winding up into a valley. We parked and topped a ridge. Going down the other side of the ridge was some pretty steep loose rocks terrain. And on down we went. Altogether, another 2 miles I'd guess. Then the cave was up on the side of the valley. We really needed rock climbing gear but finally managed it. 20 feet in the cave entrance, about 4 feet tall and 10 feet wide, it jogged left about 45 degrees. Another 50 feet and it was pitch black. The ceiling was far out of sight above. Then we entered a vast cavern. The floor of the cave was massive boulders going up an incline of 45 degrees off into the darkness hundreds of feet judging by the echos. That was when I began weighing the pros and cons of shooting him. In that rock scree you could have hidden several hundred million Maxima and still have had room for a couple thousand SUVs.
Out of drinking water, it was around 110 degrees outside, no shade, and we had a super steep 2 mile climb back to the jeep. 
I'm leaving the exploring to someone else.


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## catfishrod69 (May 3, 2012)

Here is how i am keeping my Thelcticopis modesta slings. I figured with high humidity and ventilation needs, this would work good for now. They have all molted 2-3 times. At first the wouldnt touch anything but FFF, but i now have them on cricket legs. 


http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/catfishrod69/DSCF3562.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/catfishrod69/DSCF3563.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/catfishrod69/DSCF3564.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/catfishrod69/DSCF3565.jpg


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## Mamisha-X (May 3, 2012)

*Olios giganteus*

I have some AZ Huntsman (Olios giganteus) they are awesome spiders and so fun to keep. i have 6 of them at the moment and 2 of them have sacks! i keep mine in a tub that is like 8" tall and 7" wide. they make these sacks that they hide inside of when they have their eggs or babies. it would be interesting to have a larger one but i do enjoy my not so little AZ ones


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