Back again with another burning question - black widows and brown recluse's

[Jennifer41]

The friend that had me babysit her spider has found a new way to freak me out. She actually has a pet brown recluse, and is desperately wanting a black widow. My question is, is she secretly insane, or are the things you hear about those two overblown and straight out of left field? As I said in my initial post, I know jack about spiders. I dip in and out here but you guys get talking about genus with the Latin names, and I end up like a two year old again completely lost withe her thumb up her butt.

I just need to know if I need to alert the insanity hotline or stay the hell away from her house until those damn things die.

Also she gave me a shedding that she mounted for the tarantula I babysat for her. She went all out to mount it in a display case for me. So I'm curious as to what it is and how dangerous it is as I keep forgetting to ask her.

 

[Ratmosphere]

Totally normal.

 

[purrusaurus]

as long as she's got enclosures for them, i highly doubt they could get to you even if they wanted to, and they're probably just as scared of you !!

im new to the spider game myself and one of the spiders i have is a kind of false widow - not as venomous as your friend's, but they're very interesting spiders to watch and honestly a really great way of overcoming arachnophobia!! (they look so cute when they groom themselves!) i'll be slowly working my way up to those sorts of species as i get more comfortable with spiders but it's totally not unheard of to find them enticing!

ps. very beautiful tarantula molt !!

 

[aaarg]

the things you hear about those two [are] overblown

^ that

i've never kept recluses, being out of their range, but i've kept several widows over the years - great pets!

 

[Fini]

Agreed. They are a fun species to keep. Like aaarg, I've never kept recluses as they are out of my geographical area, but have had plenty of widows over the years. They are very hearty spiders and do quite well in captivity. One should observe some obvious protocols with them, but the general risk is very low.

I'm currently working on two widow enclosures for the spooky season that will be in a friend's show. We're using the large Tarantula Cribs casket with a lot of decor and hides. Should be a fun project.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

I prefer tarantulas but true spiders make good pets too they just don’t live as long . Wish I had molts in display cases nice ..‍ not sure we’re to get those cases . Recluse isn’t dangerous if you keep your fingers away . Same with widow .
Do you keep any spiders?

 

[The Snark]

I just need to know if I need to alert the insanity hotline or stay the hell away from her house until those damn things die.

If I was wearing a badge I would be obligated to ask Are you your friend's legally appointed guardian or caretaker?
To which I might add Every day countless people improperly handle loaded firearms. That too is entirely their business,
and I might drop out of cop mode to suggest, Consider avoiding your friend if what they are doing causes you undue concern..

Also she gave me a shedding that she mounted for the tarantula I babysat for her. She went all out to mount it in a display case for me. So I'm curious as to what it is and how dangerous it is as I keep forgetting to ask her.

Very nicely done display. Why would you think that could possibly be a hazard?

 

[Hardus nameous]

Brown recluses are endemic where I live in Kansas and I see them constantly in my house. They aren't going to chase you with laser chainsaws or anything like that. From what I hear they only bite if they're being crushed like if rolled over on in bed or they're in a shoe you're putting on. They've been all over every house I've lived in for the past 18 years and I don't think I've been bitten yet. If I have been bitten I haven't had any reaction like those worst case reactions you see videos and pictures of.
Just don't poke or try to pet it and you should be fine.

 

[Tbone192]

Nice mount , must've taken a lot of time and dedication so thank your friend for that. Half the time the molts I pull are already falling apart. The tarantula in question looks to be some sort of Theraphosa sp but I couldn't tell you which. This is not a dangerous spider at all but it does have hairs which can be quite irritating.

 

[Brewser]

The friend that had me babysit her spider has found a new way to freak me out. She actually has a pet brown recluse, and is desperately wanting a black widow. My question is, is she secretly insane, or are the things you hear about those two overblown and straight out of left field? As I said in my initial post, I know jack about spiders. I dip in and out here but you guys get talking about genus with the Latin names, and I end up like a two year old again completely lost withe her thumb up her butt.

I just need to know if I need to alert the insanity hotline or stay the hell away from her house until those damn things die.

Also she gave me a shedding that she mounted for the tarantula I babysat for her. She went all out to mount it in a display case for me. So I'm curious as to what it is and how dangerous it is as I keep forgetting to ask her.

Seems like Your Friend is trying to help Someone get over a little Arachnophobia?
lol

 

[CRX]

I can't see how a brown recluse would even make an interesting pet. They're called recluses for a reason lmao

You should tell your friend about Steatoda, they behave the same as widows, extremely predatory too. High prey drive. I have Steatoda triangulosa

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

I can't see how a brown recluse would even make an interesting pet. They're called recluses for a reason lmao

You should tell your friend about Steatoda, they behave the same as widows, extremely predatory too. High prey drive. I have Steatoda triangulosa

Are brown recluses like a pet hole? If I was gonna get a true spider it would probably be a wolf. Steatoda triangulosa hmm maybe I should check see if any are in my garage. Neat spider !!!

 

[Jennifer41]

Are brown recluses like a pet hole? If I was gonna get a true spider it would probably be a wolf. Steatoda triangulosa hmm maybe I should check see if any are in my garage. Neat spider !!!

What does "true spider" mean? Aren't all spiders "true spiders"?

Seems like Your Friend is trying to help Someone get over a little Arachnophobia?
lol

I wouldn't say I'm arachnophobic. Spiders don't bother me. Except for the ones that I hear all the horror stories about. Black widows and brown recluse's freak me out simply for those reasons. And I live in the heart of black widow and brown recluse country. Missouri sucks if you truly are arachnophobic.

Also I'm wanting to know as many details about the spider I had babysat, that I included the pic of. I don't know what the hell it is, or anything about it. I'm truly curious.

And as far as arachnids go, I'm a lot more into scorpions than spiders. i had an emperor scorpion when I was younger that was a total bitch. After being stung by it a billion times I finally wised up and bought some rawhide gloves. I think I mentioned this before, but I had named it Fluffy. The next one I get, I'm thinking of naming it Schnookums.

What can I say? I'm twisted. Or maybe Twiztid (hing hint) would be more accurate?

 

[MorbidArachnid]

I keep recleeses! They're very chill spiders, they're not teleportation level fast like Heteropoda are, and they are fairly docile. It usually takes quite a bit of annoying to get them to bolt, if I lightly brush one with a paint brush usually the only thing they'll do is lift up the leg that's being bothered. They are reclusive, but they come out more than most obligate burrowers would. They also don't climb plastic, which makes it way easier to prevent escapes than a lot of other spiders (again Heteropoda). Their care is also remarkably easy, they prefer drier habitats so only need minimal spraying and they're very good about scavenging food. I also have a Latrodectus, they're also pretty easy because they'll basically never leave their web. Brown recluse venom is a bit overblown, you aren't going to lose an arm or anything (most of those reports are from bacterial infections), but they are medically significant. As long as your friend understands that and knows how to deal with medically significant species there's a very small risk of being hurt. Obviously accidents can happen, and there is a higher risk of being bit if you have one in your house as opposed to not, but recluses are very reluctant to bite and their bites are unlikely to cause significant issues. I wouldn't do dumb stuff like put on on your face or handle it with your hands, but as long as you are treating them like a medically significant animal there's not that big of a risk. Again the not climbing plastic is a huge bonus, for the life of me I don't know how people keep Brazilian Wandering spiders.

Here's an excellent video on Brown Recluses that gives a very balanced and reasonable take on their venom, as well as talks about some other interesting information about them.

 

[aaarg]

What does "true spider" mean? Aren't all spiders "true spiders"?

i agree it's an unusual term, the technical term is Araneomorphae. tarantulas, trapdoor spiders, and a bunch of other cool spiders are in a separate lineage, the Mygalomorphae.
Araneomorphae includes the vast majority of spiders you encounter - wolf spiders, jumping spiders, crab spiders, orbweavers, cobweb spiders, sheetweavers, recluses, all those itty-bitty spiders in the leaf litter, etc

 

[darkness975]

The friend that had me babysit her spider has found a new way to freak me out. She actually has a pet brown recluse, and is desperately wanting a black widow. My question is, is she secretly insane, or are the things you hear about those two overblown and straight out of left field? As I said in my initial post, I know jack about spiders. I dip in and out here but you guys get talking about genus with the Latin names, and I end up like a two year old again completely lost withe her thumb up her butt.

I just need to know if I need to alert the insanity hotline or stay the hell away from her house until those damn things die.

Also she gave me a shedding that she mounted for the tarantula I babysat for her. She went all out to mount it in a display case for me. So I'm curious as to what it is and how dangerous it is as I keep forgetting to ask her.

I keep widows. They make great pets.

The fear mongering by the media has blown the reputation way out of proportion for widows and recluses.

 

[Godsmack1934]

I currently have multiple of both recluses and widows and they both make pretty good pets, widows are quite a bit easier to care for atleast for me. Also the fear of them is definitely blown way out of proportion, usually if you don't bother them they won't bother you but even if you do bother them they'll most likely try to run/hide.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

i agree it's an unusual term, the technical term is Araneomorphae. tarantulas, trapdoor spiders, and a bunch of other cool spiders are in a separate lineage, the Mygalomorphae.
Araneomorphae includes the vast majority of spiders you encounter - wolf spiders, jumping spiders, crab spiders, orbweavers, cobweb spiders, sheetweavers, recluses, all those itty-bitty spiders in the leaf litter, etc

Yep correct term would be keep Mygalomorphae but I’ve only had tarantulas not the other ones in this family . I’ve kept true spiders also .

I currently have multiple of both recluses and widows and they both make pretty good pets, widows are quite a bit easier to care for atleast for me. Also the fear of them is definitely blown way out of proportion, usually if you don't bother them they won't bother you but even if you do bother them they'll most likely try to run/hide.

so does either get defensive ?

 

[Godsmack1934]

so does either get defensive ?

I had a northern black widow a while ago that was super defensive evetytime I opened her enclosure, but none of my current southern black widows and brown recluses have ever been too defensive.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

I had a northern black widow a while ago that was super defensive evetytime I opened her enclosure, but none of my current southern black widows and brown recluses have ever been too defensive.

Yeah that’s same temperament as my tarantulas. Occasionally you get a mean one but it’s just defense I tell people no such thing as an agressive spider.