# Does anyone keep banana spiders



## Spyder 1.0

i have heard that these spiders can grow to a 5 inch legspan. Does anyone keep these spiders, and does anyone know where i can buy a few. thanks

as in


----------



## pinktoe23

no clue but that's one sweet spider!


----------



## LeilaNami

that's a gorgeous spider! :drool:


----------



## Bothrops

Those are _Nephila sp._


----------



## fangsalot

dont you need like a gigantic screen cage,or a screened in patio to accomodate the huge web??


----------



## Bothrops

Yes, I think that you need it...


----------



## ZoSoLp510

Those are amazing spiders. I used to have one... brought it back from florida. You deffinitely need a very large enclosure for them, considering the web. But my god are they beautiful... and the silk is so strong!!!! Wish I could tell ya where to get 'em though.... only think I can think of is go down to Florida and catch them yourself. Besides, isn't it more rewarding that way? You get to experience so much going out and catching your own.


----------



## fangsalot

i see them all the time here!would they spend there life in the corner of my animal room if i coax them to build a web??


----------



## ZoSoLp510

fangsalot said:


> i see them all the time here!would they spend there life in the corner of my animal room if i coax them to build a web??


If you could get them feeling comfortable enough, I don't see why not lol


----------



## Spiderface

Botar was recently advertising some large nephila species. You may be able to obtain some from him and I believe he mentioned that due to their size they could be kept in a corner of the room. I was considering one for that very reason.


----------



## beetleman

nephila clavipes the golden silk spider they have been known to trap small birds in those huge webs. ive sen them down here aswell, they like very shadey areas to build that huge web, very cool spider.


----------



## Spyder 1.0

well i have a massive aquarium I wanted to keep one in. does anyone know where I can buy one?


----------



## Spyder 1.0

ok, so maybe Ill just get a dead one for my collection. so freaking big!


----------



## EK2

how long does it take them to spin the web usually?


----------



## dtknow

They replace half of the web each night...so I guess you could say 2 days.

I wonder if you could get one of these or another orbweaver to stay in a windowsill and get any pesky flies that get in the house and then try to escape out the window.


----------



## 8+)

Wouldn't these be an awesome crime deterrent? Have a couple of them out in your living room, and if a thief broke in they'd probably either have a heart attack or hurt themselves in their panic to get out!


----------



## beetleman

:clap: oh yeah i'd love to sse that.


----------



## JColt

Back in 1975 I was in a Orange Grove having ornge fights with my buddies. I nailed one guy with an orange and took off running only to run face first into one of those guys! Damn thing ran down my face to chest, back up to face, down across arm and jumped off. Freaking spooked the hell out of me!


----------



## kahoy

8+) said:


> Wouldn't these be an awesome crime deterrent? Have a couple of them out in your living room, and if a thief broke in they'd probably either have a heart attack or hurt themselves in their panic to get out!



i kept one outside the house, and went inside and made a webbing, it would acctually make your mother go panic and then the next moment is that you will be the one webbing outside the house. you can only make a web back on your room if someone will let you in.


----------



## Ganoderma

they get bigger than that! 

not too good at catching flies either, the web spaces are usually too big, unless the fly is impaired.  great for grasshoppers and well...birds.


----------



## edesign

and who says T's are the only large spiders?  I'm sure i've said this before on this forum in another thread about Nephila's...but when I first moved down here I was driving down a neighborhood road with trees on either side and saw something floating in the air above the road. Turned out to be a "banana spider" that had a web spun between the tree branches a good 15 feet in the air and were not growing over the road  The spider itself wasn't all that huge (not like the pic on the previous page...that's insane!) but the web was...


----------



## By-Tor

hey edesign i used to live in lake charles and numerous other louisiana places, They seem to love to bunch together you know 3ft radius web here, another one there and about 20 more between those 6 trees.... the one type of spider that really gives me goosebumps


----------



## Ganoderma

lots of food there?  maybe a good bug migration spot, winds just right etc?


----------



## Scolopendra55

I have a 4" female Nephila madagascariensis that is kept in a large srorage bin without set on end (the long way) the lid and she is doing great! She has a decent sized orb web and eats very well. I've had her for over 9 months and she has molted once and is nearing another


----------



## edesign

By-Tor said:


> hey edesign i used to live in lake charles and numerous other louisiana places, They seem to love to bunch together you know 3ft radius web here, another one there and about 20 more between those 6 trees.... the one type of spider that really gives me goosebumps


i know EXACTLY what you mean...they kinda creep me out seeing them like that too lol. I refuse to walk around in the woods here, just ain't happenin'  (i still have some arachnophobia...I don't mind spiders, I just don't like em on me unless they're under an inch or so)


----------



## dangerprone69

No idea where you can get one. 

You could try building a box frame to house one- I've seen this done with orb weavers. Basically a wooden box that stands on end, with plexiglass "windows" and an open bottom to facilitate clean up after the spider.

I've also heard of people who keep Nephila madagascariensis who allow the spider to inhabit a corner of a room.


----------

