captive spider looks like it is truly a brown recluse

[cricket54]

My daughter came home from a friends house trailer here in Missisippi with a spider she thought was a huntsman spider. I knew looking at it that it wasn't a huntsman, but thought at first it could be a wolf spider. Well she has it in an old superworm container with a piece of paper towel for a hide and has given it a light spray of water. Since I usually have crickets of all sz here, she has been feeding it and it readily pounces on the cricket and eats it. Its abdomen was very very skinny when she brought it home and its filling out. Now that I was looking at it more closely today in the sunlight from our skylites and with a magnifying glass, you can tell its a recluse. She looked them up on the computer and looking at the legs and body and you can make out the fiddle around the eyes with the line coming out from it. Its really really hard for us to see the tiny eyes and count them and the arrangement of them. Its been as interesting a "bug" to watch and feed and does not try to come out of the container just like our pet black widows have done. When she collected it, it rolled up and tried to play dead even, so it never tried to get on her or bite her. Shes quite conserned though not having realised which spider it was at the time. This is the first time either of us have seen a real brown recluse. I have heard some people have kept them as pets, and we would like to. Shes trying to reach her friend to warn him about them being in his house trailor because she had seen others and one even bigger then this one.

Sharon

 

[Ciphor]

My daughter came home from a friends house trailer here in Missisippi with a spider she thought was a huntsman spider. I knew looking at it that it wasn't a huntsman, but thought at first it could be a wolf spider. Well she has it in an old superworm container with a piece of paper towel for a hide and has given it a light spray of water. Since I usually have crickets of all sz here, she has been feeding it and it readily pounces on the cricket and eats it. Its abdomen was very very skinny when she brought it home and its filling out. Now that I was looking at it more closely today in the sunlight from our skylites and with a magnifying glass, you can tell its a recluse. She looked them up on the computer and looking at the legs and body and you can make out the fiddle around the eyes with the line coming out from it. Its really really hard for us to see the tiny eyes and count them and the arrangement of them. Its been as interesting a "bug" to watch and feed and does not try to come out of the container just like our pet black widows have done. When she collected it, it rolled up and tried to play dead even, so it never tried to get on her or bite her. Shes quite conserned though not having realised which spider it was at the time. This is the first time either of us have seen a real brown recluse. I have heard some people have kept them as pets, and we would like to. Shes trying to reach her friend to warn him about them being in his house trailor because she had seen others and one even bigger then this one.

Sharon

Brown recluse are not defensive or aggressive. A lot of people live with them in and around their home and either never see them or never get bit. The only difference they have with other spiders is the toxicity of their venom. Apart from that, they behave just like any spider. That being said, the bite of a recluse spider is nasty enough that I would ward against keeping it as a pet unless you are very experienced and confident in your ability. I definitely would not let someone under 18 be around it, as accidents do happen, even to the experienced. This accident simply is not worth the risk.

 

[cricket54]

Thankyou for your reply. We've kept black widows for yrs so I think we are experienced enough. No kids in the house either. This one is not full grown yet, but is getting bigger. Its abdomen was shriveled at first, but since its filled out, it seems to be normal size now. It has not tried to come out of the little container it is in at all. Happy and waiting when we open the top like the widows did waiting for something to eat. Now that I see what they look like, I have found that a wall covered with ivy is full of little brown recluse and wolf spiders. I removed the ivy and they were running every where, but none bit me. Never knew they were in there. Am thinking of putting the spider in a larger jar with lid of something so we can see it without opening the top just like we've done with the widows. I agree accidents do happen and it is a risk, but it was nice to be able to show my other daughter and husband what a brown recluse looks like because they are electricians and often in people's atics and under houses. Turns out they have seen lots of these here in Mississippi and didn't realise it. They know now what to be conserned about.

Sharon

 

[Vespula]

Recluses make pretty cool pets. And here in Mississippi, they're easy to find if you know where to look. Where in MS are you?

 

[loxoscelesfear]

any chance of posting a pic of your spider? if you have a brown recluse, no need to mist it. they prefer a dry and dark environment. recluse are happy in a simple jar w/ an empty tp roll as a hide. a small cricket once a month is enough to keep them going.