American Grass Spiders - Genus Agelenopsis Care Guide + FAQ

[LuckySlevin]

Hey all:

So I've been lurking on these forums for a few weeks now, just reading about the various arachnopets that are available and I honestly don't feel ready to step up to the level of owning a tarantula just yet. I do, however, have two female Agelenopsis sp. that I personally caught and I've been really scouring around for information about them. Now there are various sources out there for the inquisitive who want to learn general facts about grass spiders but there aren't any care sheets or real information about how to keep them in captivity so thats why I wanted to start this thread on the 'true spiders & other arachnids' forum.

Now for the record I am fairly noobish when it comes to this stuff so all of this knowledge that I am posting here comes from what I've learned from reading websites/other forum posts/youtube videos/questions posed to youtube posters/etc. I just feel like these spiders are great for people who want to slowly get into owning pet arachnids (the kiddie pool version of caring for spiders if you will:biggrin so if you're going to do something, no matter how small the endeavor, it should be done well, right? Right. So here is some of the information that I've gathered - PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CORRECT any misinformation you might find on here. Like I said, I am a noob, and I honestly just want to compile some sort of guide/FAQ about these little guys so any help would be appreciated. I also have a few questions at the end of this post that need to be answered so if you have any knowledge please pass it along so I can add it here. Thanks!!

CATCHING A GRASS SPIDER:
--Coming Soon-- I want to add photos to this section to help explain what I found to be the easiest method for catching these little guys.

CAVEATS/STIPULATIONS about owning Grass Spiders:
There really aren't any. Grass spiders are non-lethal and are a great starting place for those who are new to owning any kind of arachnid.

COLOR/MARKINGS:
Grass spiders come in a variety of different color combinations of tan/brown/black/grey. The easiest way to recognize a grass spider is by the prominent hind spinnerets. These spiders can also be identified by the arrangement of their eyes, which are arranged into 3 rows of 2 eyes, 4 eyes, and 2 eyes. These spiders generally have 2 dark bands running down either side of the cephalothorax and will also have bands on their legs.

SIZE:
These spiders generally don't grow very large with the larger species of the genus growing to about 19mm in body length.

NATIVE HABITAT:
These spiders are found all around the USA

LIFE SPAN:
According to some owners, females can live anywhere from 1-3 years (thats even with egg sacs). Whereas males generally die soon after mating. Most commonly however, the females of the species only lives 1 year.

TEMPERATURE AND LIGHT:
These spiders are nocturnal but will hunt food that falls into their web during the day. There are no specific temperature requirements for these spiders aside from avoiding colder temperatures, 60 degrees Fahrenheit and up should be fine since these spiders generally have no issues with surviving fall, its only the frost that they have a real issue with.

SUBSTRATE:
As a general rule, it seems potting soil is a great choice for substrate however these spiders do fine in containers without any substrate at all as well. The females would probably prefer substrate because they will generally attempt to hide the egg sac utilizing the substrate that you provide. The only substrates I would avoid would be garden soil which could be soaked with various pesticides.

FEEDING:
From what I have gathered from other owners, these spiders are really easy to take care of when it comes to feeding. A large cricket once a week or 3-4 small crickets over a week is more than enough to keep these guys happy.

MOLTING:
--Coming Soon--

BREEDING:
--Coming Soon--


EGG SACS:
--Coming Soon--

WEBBING:
--Coming Soon--

HANDLING:
As a general rule I would say to avoid handling these little guys, not because they are dangerous but because they are fragile and pretty darn fast. In addition a female generally will never leave her web so if you force her to leave her web, it may aggravate her. These spiders make some pretty awesome webs tho and that is the best part about having them so leave your pets in the web and enjoy the show you get from feeding them.

QUESTIONS THAT STILL NEED TO BE ANSWERED:
(1) Can you overfeed a grass spider? Can a grass spider die from overeating?
(2) How long does it take for a grass spider to make a large web in captivity?
(3) How do you know if a grass spider is molting?
(4) Should you avoid feeding a grass spider until it's made a large web?
(5) Do Grass Spider slings eat each other at birth?
(6) If a grass spider only makes a 'web tunnel' does that mean that there is something wrong?

Please feel free to post any questions that you might have here so I can add them to this guide as well. I'm sure there are a lot of things that I haven't encountered yet so any veteran experience that can be added would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!! :laugh:

 

[flamingpie]

As a fellow newbie I found this very informative! Granted I can't help you to correct it, because really don't know better either, but I found it interestingly written and found the facts included helpful, at least in theory. (I obviously haven't had a chance to test any of it in practice).

 

[LuckySlevin]

Sounds good! Hopefully I can get some photos of catching one this weekend so if you ever decide to own one yourself you'll know what to do!

 

[Plissken]

Funny, I just had one of these guys creeping up my wall. It was a mature male, I put him outside so he can "get jiggy" :roflmao:

Anyways...
(1) Can you overfeed a grass spider? Can a grass spider die from overeating?
Most, if not all, spiders will stop eating instead of over eating. Although, over feeding may shorten its life span.

(2) How long does it take for a grass spider to make a large web in captivity?
They don't make that big of webs, maybe the size of your hand. As long as they have a good spot like a small crevice or hole, they should setup shop in less than a week.

(3) How do you know if a grass spider is molting?
Most spiders show similar signs before molting (premolt) such as not eating, not as energetic, closing up the entrances to their burrows. If you see it on its back, leave it alone. If its still on its back a day or two later, it's dead.

(4) Should you avoid feeding a grass spider until it's made a large web?
Personally, I would. Although the web doesn't need to be large in order to feed it. As long as you see a tunnel you're good to go. Grass spiders detect food with their web so they would have a hard time hunting without it.

(5) Do Grass Spider slings eat each other at birth?
Generally, the male and female parents live communally while waiting for the eggs to hatch. The baby slings will live in the web until they are mature enough to venture out on their own.

(6) If a grass spider only makes a 'web tunnel' does that mean that there is something wrong?
Well, scientifically, the family Agelenidae is known as "funnel weavers" or "funnel web spiders". That is what separates them from other types of spiders like salticidae (jumping spiders) or theridiidae (cobweb spiders). That is what makes them distinct, the fact that they exclusively spin funnel webs. So in short, no.

Hope I cleared some things up for ya. If you have questions in the future, feel free to pm me.

Good luck,
Ty

 

[Loptylop]

i just caught a male adult grass spider, it has a skinny belly with long spinneret it looks like this

should i release it ?

 

[Spepper]

i just caught a male adult grass spider, it has a skinny belly with long spinneret it looks like this

should i release it ?

I just caught one of these in the house a couple days ago, and have been calling it a wolf spider. LOL I guess it isn't. I need to check the spinnerets though. Do they invade houses much?

As for releasing it... yes, if you already have some and don't have a special use for it. No, if you're wanting to breed or something.

 

[Plissken]

should i release it ?

yes, it's mature and seeking a female to mate. Unless you have a female to breed, let it go do what a spider does.

 

[Loptylop]

i have a female wolf or grass, not sure but she is still small like in a size of a penny, she's been in her cage for like 5 days and haven't made a single web so i think it's wolf and she's like a pig when it comes to food.

 

[MrCrackerpants]

Great pic!

 

[lordhero3k]

You could add a section on trying to identify species within the genus.

 

[Lucidd]

I have been clicking on every update in this thread, as I have a few grass spiders in my yard I've wanted to catch. I tried to catch them several different ways and failed, but today I was successful and wanted to share my method.
I tied a cricket to a string and dangled it gently on the web. I waited for the spider to come out and try to pull the cricket into its funnel, then I cautiously pulled the string upward. The spider made no attempt to release its grip from the cricket, and in seconds was suspended in air with no resistance. I slowly lowered them into a container as the spider munched on its prey, undisturbed.

Here is my new buddy:

 

[CeylaTheFox]

What about humidity?

 

[Ungoliant]

I tied a cricket to a string and dangled it gently on the web. I waited for the spider to come out and try to pull the cricket into its funnel, then I cautiously pulled the string upward. The spider made no attempt to release its grip from the cricket, and in seconds was suspended in air with no resistance. I slowly lowered them into a container as the spider munched on its prey, undisturbed.

Spider fishing!

 

[VaejovisCarolineanusSDS]

This sounds like an interesting species to keep. I have thought about it before but haven't tried it yet. I have been keeping a lot of true spiders lately and I find them really fun to keep. Dolomedes and Phidippus are quickly becoming my favorite. I also really love keeping Lycosa. How much space would a Agelenopsis need?

If you see it on its back, leave it alone. If its still on its back a day or two later, it's dead.

The best way to identify a dead spider is the death curl. Generally, a dead spider is not on it's back unless something moved it.

The image is a lycosa but it looks like that for all spiders.

 

[VaejovisCarolineanusSDS]

Something like a small Kritter Keeper would do, but they may use more space if you give it to them.

Good to know, I have the necessary space. I might try it then. It all just depends on If I have anything left after I get the arachnids I want. V. ornata colony and a mature female lycosa.

 

[Svetlana14]

I just caught one in my house. What kinds of things should I put in the enclosure to help it build it's web? Should the enclosure have more height or ground space?

 

[Ungoliant]

I just caught one in my house. What kinds of things should I put in the enclosure to help it build it's web? Should the enclosure have more height or ground space?

I have not kept these, but anything that makes good anchor points for webbing should work.

Most of the agelenid webs I have seen seem to use more horizontal space than vertical space. They typically build sheet-like webs with a funnel-shaped entrance.

 

[Veles]

I have a large quantity og grass spiders in my yard.Albeit these are the european species.
I donk keep them,but i do catch them as food for my parson spider.
They arent too hard to catch,just put an insect into the web,wait for the spider to get out and scoop it off the web with a brush.

 

[Villagecreep]

I have been clicking on every update in this thread, as I have a few grass spiders in my yard I've wanted to catch. I tried to catch them several different ways and failed, but today I was successful and wanted to share my method.
I tied a cricket to a string and dangled it gently on the web. I waited for the spider to come out and try to pull the cricket into its funnel, then I cautiously pulled the string upward. The spider made no attempt to release its grip from the cricket, and in seconds was suspended in air with no resistance. I slowly lowered them into a container as the spider munched on its prey, undisturbed.

Here is my new buddy:

View attachment 120446

Thanks this is very helpful!

 

[Villagecreep]

I have been clicking on every update in this thread, as I have a few grass spiders in my yard I've wanted to catch. I tried to catch them several different ways and failed, but today I was successful and wanted to share my method.
I tied a cricket to a string and dangled it gently on the web. I waited for the spider to come out and try to pull the cricket into its funnel, then I cautiously pulled the string upward. The spider made no attempt to release its grip from the cricket, and in seconds was suspended in air with no resistance. I slowly lowered them into a container as the spider munched on its prey, undisturbed.

Here is my new buddy:

View attachment 120446

beautiful