h.gigas

froggyman

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 26, 2006
Messages
801
hey im just wondering a few things about h.gigas
1. whats the humidity these guys like(some sites say as high as 95)
2.what is their growth rate
3. also are they agressive or just quick and denfensive
4.finally how strong is their venom

any pics would be cool too thanks.:clap:
 

Goomba

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 22, 2007
Messages
520
hey im just wondering a few things about h.gigas
1. whats the humidity these guys like(some sites say as high as 95)
2.what is their growth rate
3. also are they agressive or just quick and denfensive
4.finally how strong is their venom

any pics would be cool too thanks.:clap:
I keep the humidity in my tank around 85 or more, depending on outside temps. My rule of thumbs is keeping the eco earth moist and having a little condensation on the plexiglass in the mornings. A little more wont hurt, as long as 80+ is the bare min, imo.

They arent super fast growers, but molt fairly often and will attain a decent size much faster than, lets say C. Crawshayi. Still waiting for mine to grow, he's around 4 inches now.

When I move mine, the bugger will rear up and hiss like mad, but usually when it can she'll run into her deep burrow rather than face a fight. She usually feels safe since theres a bark piece above the entranceway, and its fairly deep (6 inches or so). So keep atleast 7 or more inches of moist substrate for these guys.
In general though, theyre very unfriendly, if you poke at them with a tweezer, they wont run and go crazy, they will hiss balls out and drive their fangs at it. It just depends.

Lastly, their venom is more potent than most species, not quite sure what it can be comparable to, but as far as I know, H. Gigas along with Pterinochili and Heteroscodra's are more venemous than most T's (something about the African T's).

Hope this sorta helps. Take care.
 
Last edited:

Boo

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
58
I have some of these on the way.
The moist conditions sound like the ideal place from mites!!
 

metallica

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 18, 2003
Messages
2,512
hey im just wondering a few things about h.gigas
1. whats the humidity these guys like(some sites say as high as 95)
2.what is their growth rate
3. also are they agressive or just quick and denfensive
4.finally how strong is their venom

any pics would be cool too thanks.:clap:
1) i would keep them dry as they come from south africa
2) donno but pretty fast i would say... being an african species
3) they tend to run away.
4) like all africans pretty nasty.

oh you were asking about Harpactira gigas weren't you?

happy to help

Eddy
 

Goomba

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 22, 2007
Messages
520
1) i would keep them dry as they come from south africa
2) donno but pretty fast i would say... being an african species
3) they tend to run away.
4) like all africans pretty nasty.

oh you were asking about Harpactira gigas weren't you?

happy to help

Eddy
Um yea he was asking about the Cameroon Red, theyre from Cameroon, a very moist region in Western Africa.
They can be very confrontational
 

froggyman

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 26, 2006
Messages
801
every had problems with the burrow collapsing due to too much mositure?
also what kind of substrate? is peat ok?
 

ballpython2

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 28, 2007
Messages
1,670
every had problems with the burrow collapsing due to too much mositure?
also what kind of substrate? is peat ok?
I have two of these guys they are defensive but they'd rather run away than try and bite you. I use peat moss and it works well.
 

jr47

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 4, 2005
Messages
595
have had mine for 3 years. i wet the soil and let dry between. have not really had a problem with mold after i changed to just plain potting soil. so far the only time she has ever been defensive is when i changed her tank and had to get her in a jar. she will usually go hide. she is usually pretty slow moving unless spooked. and so far has been really calm but i leave her alone and have never tried to handle her. dont see her alot but she is still so far my favorite.
have only a few not so great pics. last time i changed her cage i had no batteries for the camara so couldnt get any. mine went from 3 inch's to between 6-7 in two years.
 

Ice Cold Milk

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 21, 2004
Messages
398
1) i would keep them dry as they come from south africa
2) donno but pretty fast i would say... being an african species
3) they tend to run away.
4) like all africans pretty nasty.

oh you were asking about Harpactira gigas weren't you?

happy to help

Eddy
Even Harpactira i wouldn't keep too dry. Most of south africa is NOT dry. It rains quite a darn lot here. Harpactira are actually quite moisture dependant, trust me...
As for Hysterocrates...i keep them in peat that is wet to the point of it being mud...lenough so that an inch or two of water collects at the bottom of the burrow.

-=ICM=-
 

green_bottle_04

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 4, 2006
Messages
437
keep them EXTREMELY moist! these are one of the only (if not the only) spiders who can actually swim! they need lots of humidity and standing water. they are elaborate burrowers. peat is not a very good substrate by itself. use a mix of vermiculite, cypress, peat. that will give the substrate enough rigidity when the spider builds its burrow and keep it from collapsing as well as hold in humidity very well. they can be defensive and they have a pretty toxic venom. but if they are in their burrow then you wont have too much to worry about. they grow semi-quickly but nothing like an a. geniculata or l. para or something like that. let me know if you need one as i have a female im looking to part with.
 

Fishstix

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 11, 2008
Messages
14
I'll say not to worry too much about humidity if they got enought water. H.gigas' range is from coastal areas in s.a where humidity can be as high as 85% in summer to semi-deserts areas, where your lips start to crack after 2 days being there. temp also ranges from 35 plus celsius to negative 5plus in winter. like i say just feed and give them water, they'll be fine
 

robc

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 10, 2007
Messages
3,824
hey im just wondering a few things about h.gigas
1. whats the humidity these guys like(some sites say as high as 95)
2.what is their growth rate
3. also are they agressive or just quick and denfensive
4.finally how strong is their venom

any pics would be cool too thanks.:clap:
Here is apic:

 
Top