Huntsman..... preggo?

[schizojoe]

I live in central Florida and have a lot of huntsman's running about the house and I see'em often.. but I was over in my grandads garage (lives 3 blocks away from my house) and I seen one as it appears to be.. but this wasen't like the usuall ones.. it's abdomen was way bigger compared to the ones I see normally... I was just wandering what the chances are that it is pregnant it is accepting crickets.. it has ate 3 full grown crikets.. I've had it about a week.. could it just be a big eater maybe?.. I'll take a pic if I can get the spider adjusted right.. I got it in a container with a half piece of toilet paper roll and it stays in there all the time.. I awoke this morning and it was clinging to the roof.. but still not good posistion for photo.. and boss man had just pulled in.. and I headed out for work.. it looks funny the way it posistions it's legs inside the tube.. but I guess that's the only way it could fit in there.. heh.. Yeh I don't know the Sci name.. but I see everyone else uses huntsman so I will too.. what are the water requirements for this spider?.. shallow lid/dish.. maybe mist the enclosure.. it has no substrate.. TIA ...Joe

 

[Malhavoc's]

Depends it could of jsut finished a big meal before you found it

 

[ilovebugs]

cool. what part of FL did you find it?

my bro's in orlando right now, I might get him to bring me one (AL)
I would love to have one, since those are the type of spider used in my childhood fav spider movie...Arachnophobia!!

 

[Malhavoc's]

mmm arachnophobia..isnt the doctor just so damn sexy?
and are they really? I'll have to proqure [spelling?] myself some too...

 

[schizojoe]

Orlando is about a 30 minute drive from where I'm located.. I see'em quite often and the ones I see I still haven't looked up the Sci name (well I did but it didn't stick to my mind) look like this one I took a picture of on my ceiling last year.. I still haven't been able to get a shot of the one I captured with fat abdomen ..but usually when I see'em they're like this one with small abdomen ............

 

[becca81]

cool. what part of FL did you find it?

my bro's in orlando right now, I might get him to bring me one (AL)
I would love to have one, since those are the type of spider used in my childhood fav spider movie...Arachnophobia!!

I thought the spiders used in Arachnophobia were Australian.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099052/trivia

 

[Wade]

The scientific name of your huntsman is Heteropoda venatoria, there are other related species also called huntsman, and I think it was a differnt species used in arachnopgobia.

The one pictured is a male, females are usually heavier and the markings on the carapice is not nearly as distint.

I've been breeding these lately, and if you want your spider to make a sac and carry it full term, I've found it helps to have plenty of hiding areas in the cage and put the cage in a place with minimal disturbances. Otherwise, she is prone to destry the sac. She makes a disc-shaped sac that she carries in her pediplaps.

Wade

 

[WYSIWYG]

Orlando is about a 30 minute drive from where I'm located.. I see'em quite often and the ones I see I still haven't looked up the Sci name (well I did but it didn't stick to my mind) look like this one I took a picture of on my ceiling last year.. I still haven't been able to get a shot of the one I captured with fat abdomen ..but usually when I see'em they're like this one with small abdomen ............

Hey, what's the difference between a wolf spider and a huntsman?
I have a bunch of little "house spiders" that I thought were some type of
huntsman (very similar to this picture, though mine have a cross on the back, with the horizontal line looking like it does here on the small t's that I type).

Someone told me he thought they were some type of wolf spider? :?

Wysi

 

[Wade]

Eye arrangement is one way. Wolf spiders (family Lycosidae) have two large forward facing eyes, with a row of four, smaller eyes beneath them, plus two more small eyes behind and above the big eyes. The two big eyes will stand out and be super obvious. Typically, the family Sparassidae (including the huntsman) will have tow rows of eyes (4 per row), one facing forward and the other upward. They may not be all the same size, but it is an obvious difference between them and the wolfs.

Sometimes you can tell just by where you encounter them. The Sparassidae are excellent climbers and are often encountered on walls and high places, even upside down. Wolfs are lousy climbers and are usually found on the ground or in burrows.

I don't think you have H. venatoria, but you might have one or more related Sprassidae. You also might have members of the Selenopidae family, AKA "six-eyed crab spiders" named for, you guessed it, the number of eyes. These are easily distinguished from the others I mentioned, as all the eyes are in a single (although not perfectly staight) row accross the front of the carapace.

Wade

 

[schizojoe]

egg sac here

Thanks for the info Wade.... today she is in the paper towel roll (that I cut) and has a pancake shaped egg sac ..I seen her start webbing and then later I came back to see she is on top of an egg sac.. thankyou for the information that was gonna be one of my first Q ..about the shape.. so I just let her handle everything.. I think I disturbed her today when I bumped the shelf.. so basicly just let her handle everything and move her to a non traffic space.. not much light etc... this is exiting to me even if it doesn't work out this is my first egg sac and real spider I've ever kept.... about feeding.. I fed her like I said 3 full grown crickets.. I take it.. it is best to not feed.. she can get by with what she's had?.. I know I should do my part to learn.. it is just exiting though.. ...I should also say I think it's amazing how much the abdomen size has come down.. she is on a shelf where I keep all my T's and sometimes I'm in and out of those enclosures.. I'll move to another place. Thanks again...

 

[N.W.A.]

Congrats on your new eggsac. I wish you a happy hatching. Where exactly in central florida are you? I'm in a city right next to Daytona Beach.