"False tarantula" (calisogsa) info needed

MrsHaas

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Two days ago, a dear friend of mine said a "small tarantula" crawled it's way into his house and (not knowing one thing about spiders) brought it to me in a small paper cup with a semi moist paper towel inside as a gift (my birthday is in a week - yay me lol). Turns out it was a Calisoga longitarsus spider - aka a "false tarantuls." I have seen a few in person but never cared for one before. As it was a gift from my friend, who saved it from being stepped on, he has become a tad attatched to it, I promised him I would care for it and treat it as part of my personal collection. However, that requires me to aquire the knowledge to do so. Anyone have any tips on proper care of this species of spider?

Also, out of curiosity, when true spiders mature as males, do they "hook out" and gain emboli as do tarantulas? By rudimentary "tarantula standards" this little one looks female only by physical standards I've based of off my knowledge solely as tarantulas - as in its shape (front legs not lengthy, body nor stalky, plump abdomen) - however I have no clue if that has any merit when guessing the sex of this spider.

Please help me! Will send much better/clearer pics when I transfer it from the paper cup to an actual enclosure to demonstrate why I think it could be possibly female (although that fact that it wandering into my friend's house does seem to be MM behavior). Regardless of its sex I really more need help with husbandry and such, so if anyone out there can drop some knowledge, please drop it here! BOOM!!

Here also are some (super crappy) pics my friend took, they probably won't help but I'll post anyways. THANKU U!!!!
 

chanda

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I have not heard of true spiders "hooking out" - but there are also a number of tarantula genera that do not have tibial hooks, either. Male true spiders do develop emboli as do tarantulas, but your little Calisoga is not a true spider. Calisoga are Mygalomorphs, as are tarantulas, trapdoor spiders, purseweb spiders, Dipluridae ("funnel web tarantulas"), and Hexathelidae (which includes the notorious Sydney Funnel Web spider).

I would imagine the care for a Calisoga would be similar to the care for one of the local Aphonopelma sp. tarantulas or Wolf Spiders because they are found in the same environment - dry substrate, a small water dish in case it wants to drink, a few inches of substrate for burrowing, and a hide of some sort. Other than that, just toss in a few crickets a week and it should be fine. (I haven't actually kept Calisoga sp. before - just haven't been lucky enough to find one - but I have kept the local Aphonopelma and Lycosidae successfully. Thought I found a Calisoga once - but it turned out to be a dwarf Aphonopelma.)
 

AphonopelmaTX

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Calisoga longitarsus males have tibial apophyses with a few long spines at the end. They also have emboli like tarantulas do.
 

MrsHaas

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Here are pics of the Calistoga - just got him yesterday. It is stunning!! But I see no emboli... can anyone guess its sex?

IMG_2678.JPG

IMG_2679.JPG

IMG_2680.JPG
 

MrsHaas

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And without flash and in a dark room:

IMG_2676.JPG

IMG_2677.JPG

Bad pics I know, but and guesses on the sex? I see no emboli...
 

chanda

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Here are pics of the Calistoga - just got him yesterday. It is stunning!!
Stunning is right! What a beauty!!! I'd love to find one of these, but I don't believe they are found this far south.
 

MrsHaas

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Ok, so here is my suspects females temporary enclosure. Not sure if she can stay in there for a while (anyone think this is a good size for a perm enclosure) but I read that mature females only grow to about 2 inches so maybe this is a good size for her. Here are enclosure pictures :

IMG_2702.JPG

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MrsHaas

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Also, can anybody here make out any hooks/emboli in any of these pictures? I am still trying to determine the sex and would love if anyone had any info or clues:

IMG_2697.JPG

IMG_2698.JPG

IMG_2696.JPG
Sorry the flash wasn't on, but maybe zoom in and check it out? Thanks peeps!
 

Andrea82

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I don't see tibial hooks or emboli, but im not familiair with this species. I looks absolutely stunning! What's the temperament like?
 

Tim Benzedrine

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I don't see any male traits either, but it is a cool spider. About the biggest natives we have around here are Dolomedes tenebosus which may get around the size of yours, but they don't look as tarantula like as that.

(anyone think this is a good size for a perm enclosure)
If I am not mistaken, the only spider that prefers a perm enclosure is B. albopilosum...*

*Before you start asking"What's he on about?", think about it, people!
 

MrsHaas

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I don't see tibial hooks or emboli, but im not familiair with this species. I looks absolutely stunning! What's the temperament like?
I'm thinking it's a female - which is so exciting to me I might Pee my pants!!

There is very little information on the Internet about these guys. I don't know what the general temperament of the species as a whole is, but this little lady is very well behaved LOL she has been kind enough to let me take so many pictures of her. My friend like I said gave her to me in a paper cup and at that point she was extremely stressed out. But she is not defensive at all. And I don't know if it's just because she's trying to settle in or perhaps she has been a bit traumatized by my friend giving her to me in a cup, but she is very slow and has not shown any signs of aggression. I also have been trying to scour the Internet to find any information on this species venom in case I ever got bit. Which I extremely doubt will ever happen because of her very mild temperament. But just because she's currently acting quite Docile, does not mean that she does not have the potential to be the opposite ...perhaps she is just sluggish from stress in transit. I guess we just have to wait and see!
 

BobBarley

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I'm thinking it's a female - which is so exciting to me I might Pee my pants!!

There is very little information on the Internet about these guys. I don't know what the general temperament of the species as a whole is, but this little lady is very well behaved LOL she has been kind enough to let me take so many pictures of her. My friend like I said gave her to me in a paper cup and at that point she was extremely stressed out. But she is not defensive at all. And I don't know if it's just because she's trying to settle in or perhaps she has been a bit traumatized by my friend giving her to me in a cup, but she is very slow and has not shown any signs of aggression. I also have been trying to scour the Internet to find any information on this species venom in case I ever got bit. Which I extremely doubt will ever happen because of her very mild temperament. But just because she's currently acting quite Docile, does not mean that she does not have the potential to be the opposite ...perhaps she is just sluggish from stress in transit. I guess we just have to wait and see!
I would guess care is similar to that of native Aphonopelma sp. I'd give it a larger enclosure than the one you have it in currently and do half dry, half slightly moist.
 

MrsHaas

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I would guess care is similar to that of native Aphonopelma sp. I'd give it a larger enclosure than the one you have it in currently and do half dry, half slightly moist.
Yeah, I was thinking she should have more space, but I am going to wait a few days before hopefully transferring into something bigger. She has been disturbed because of all the pictures I've been taking to guess the and I want her to be able to relax and calm down so she doesn't get all stressed out.

Does anyone know if this species are burrowers?

Also, anyone know ab the venom of this species??
 

AphonopelmaTX

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Yeah, I was thinking she should have more space, but I am going to wait a few days before hopefully transferring into something bigger. She has been disturbed because of all the pictures I've been taking to guess the and I want her to be able to relax and calm down so she doesn't get all stressed out.

Does anyone know if this species are burrowers?

Also, anyone know ab the venom of this species??
Bug Guide has the answers to several of your questions...
Calisoga at BugGuide.net

As well as the book "Spiders of North America" published by the American Arachnological Society...
http://www.americanarachnology.org/publications.html#snaim

You can also find natural history information from the book "Field Guide to the Spiders of California and Pacific Coast States" at Google Books here.
 

MrsHaas

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If I am not mistaken, the only spider that prefers a perm enclosure is B. albopilosum...*

*Before you start asking"What's he on about?", think about it, people!
They don't need a perm to get their hair curly, silly possum!
 

MrsHaas

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Bug Guide has the answers to several of your questions...
Calisoga at BugGuide.net

As well as the book "Spiders of North America" published by the American Arachnological Society...
http://www.americanarachnology.org/publications.html#snaim

You can also find natural history information from the book "Field Guide to the Spiders of California and Pacific Coast States" at Google Books here.
Thanks for all the resources. I'll check them all out today and tomorrow!
 

MrsHaas

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I don't see tibial hooks or emboli, but im not familiair with this species. I looks absolutely stunning! What's the temperament like?
Omg!! Now that the Calisoga is all settled in, her temperament has totally done a 180. Like I said earlier, I thought she was docile and slow. But when I picked up the little container she is in currently, she was a scrunched up and I and blew on it very slightly to see if she would move and she flipped out and started biting the hell out of the plastic and the dirt. So I guess she was just a bit stunned from being in transit in a paper cup, but now that she has become more comfortable she is showing her true colors.
 
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