# Dolomedes Minor Care Sheet.



## Violet (Jun 6, 2010)

*Dolomedes Minor Care Sheet.*





_Fig 1_

*General:*

_Dolomedes minor_, also known as Nursery Web or raft spiders, are found throughout New Zealand in a range of habitats from wetlands to urban backyards. _D. minor_ are pale brown or dark grey in colour with yellow bordering around the cephalothorax and a stripe of yellow running down the centre of the abdomen.  _D .minor_ are ambush hunters and are often seen sitting at the edge of ponds where they wait for their prey to fall onto the surface of the water. Although semi aquatic, _D. minor_ are not found exclusively around water sources and certainly do not need a pond in a captive situation (although a water dish is necessary).


*Adult size:* 

Body length, around 18mm. Legspan, up to 60mm.


*Sexing:*

Females are heavier set with a fuller abdomen. Males tend to be smaller with longer legs. Pedipalps are present and obvious in sexually mature males.







*Male* _fig 1_ *Female* _fig 2_


*Feeding:*

As a general rule _D. minor_ should be fed once per week but this routine can be altered depending on abdomen size.  _D. minor_ are not fussy eaters. Mealworms (larvae and beetles), Galleria (larvae and moths) or crickets are all readily accepted.  Wild-caught insects may also be used as feeders, but care must be taken to collect these from areas where pesticides are not used.


*Housing:*

The larger the better, 25cm x 15cm minimum size.  _D. minor_ are arboreal moulters and will hang off a branch when they moult, so it is important to have as much height as possible to avoid difficulties (at least 3x the spider’s legspan). Decor is totally up to you, but must include some form of climbing structure such as twigs for moulting purposes. A water dish is also needed. Substrate must be used, as these spiders find it difficult to grip onto plastic or glass, 1 or 2cm of peat moss or sterilised potting soil is adequate.  





_fig 3_


*Temperature:*

Room temperature. 18°C - 20°C 


*Humidity:*

The enclosure must be well ventilated. A moisture gradient is also important, half wet and half dry. The wet end should be sprayed weekly and the dry side not sprayed at all. 


*Maintenance:*

_D. minor_ need not be serviced every day; once or twice per week is all that is required. Any pieces of feeder insects left uneaten must be removed and water dishes cleaned. Every 2 – 3 months the enclosure should be totally cleaned; washed with hot water and substrate/ decor replaced. This full clean may need to be performed more often if mould growth is noticed (Keep in mind that excessive mould growth may be caused by poor ventilation).


*Safety:*

_D. minor_ have large fangs and could potentially deliver a painful bite. They can also move extremely fast. Care must be taken when opening the lid of the enclosure for maintenance or feeding, a paint brush or forceps should be kept close at hand. 


*Records:*

Record keeping is an important part of arachnid husbandry, not only for general day-to-day care but also for further possible scientific data collection. Keeping and sharing records will help to improve the captive care of arachnids, and is particularly important for species not regularly kept in captivity. Two types or records should be kept:

Individual spider details – sex, common and/or taxonomic name, date collected/ acquired, location collected, habitat collected and date deceased (If applicable). Example:







Daily maintenace reports – when fed, moults, breeding behaviour, abnormal behaviour or anything else you feel needs noting down. Example:








*References*

Fig 1, 2 & 3 courtesy of Brice McQuillan, used with permission. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/spidermanbryce2006/

http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/pages/default.aspx

http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/research/biosystematics/invertebrates/invertid/index.asp



By Ben Goodwin aka Violet


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## Malhavoc's (Jun 6, 2010)

great work I approve.


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## Crysta (Jun 6, 2010)

wow very proffesional! great job!!


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## ErikWestblom (Jun 6, 2010)

Really good job! This could apply to all Dolomedes spp IMO.


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## Violet (Jun 7, 2010)

Thanks


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