ID please

[Slappy]

Hey folks, I got some live moss to try out in different enclosures in the mail the other day. When I was sorting/ rehydrating/ examining the moss, I found a silly “spider”.
I don’t think they live in my area (so cal), so I don’t want to release it, and it’s pretty neat, so I don’t want to kill it.

I don’t think this type of arachnid bites, but I’m no expert
Could he hang out with isopods or millipedes? (If he won’t eat them).

 

[Nicole C G]

I think it’s an Opilione? Pretty sure they are predators

 

[Slappy]

I think it’s an Opilione? Pretty sure they are predators

Ooo okay interesting. I read they are scavengers, eat mites (and other tinys), and vegetation.
My 5gal millipede enclosure has mites and small critters, and my P. pruinosus are in 6qt enclosures.
I’m sure 1 wouldn’t kill off the P. pruinosus, I’ve had them a very short time and they already have babies, but millipede enclosure might be better?

 

[Nicole C G]

Ooo okay interesting. I read they are scavengers, eat mites (and other tinys), and vegetation.
My 5gal millipede enclosure has mites and small critters, and my P. pruinosus are in 6qt enclosures.
I’m sure 1 wouldn’t kill off the P. pruinosus, I’ve had them a very short time and they already have babies, but millipede enclosure might be better?

The jumping spider would eat the harvestmen, or the harvestmen could injure the Jumping spider. Depending on their sizes.

 

[Slappy]

The jumping spider would eat the harvestmen, or the harvestmen could injure the Jumping spider. Depending on their sizes.

I do not have any spiders currently.
I have roaches, isopods, millipedes… in different enclosures (micro fauna vary between enclosures between mites, pirate bugs, springtails, etc).

 

[Edan bandoot]

I've seen harvestmen eat small flies and dead isopods

 

[Slappy]

I've seen harvestmen eat small flies and dead isopods

Oh nice! Eating dead bodies and/or the occasional small isopod (of the powder blue/orange) would be fine with me.

Im leaning more towards putting it in the 5gallon with millipedes/mites/gnats/ terrestrial amphipods/ other random inverts over one of the 6 qt isopod cultures. There might be a limited amount of isopods in the 5gal, too, that came with the millipedes.

 

[Edan bandoot]

Oh nice! Eating dead bodies and/or the occasional small isopod (of the powder blue/orange) would be fine with me.

Im leaning more towards putting it in the 5gallon with millipedes/mites/gnats/ terrestrial amphipods/ other random inverts over one of the 6 qt isopod cultures. There might be a limited amount of isopods in the 5gal, too, that came with the millipedes.

Keep an eye on it with the millipedes, where i live we don't see very many surface dwelling millipedes so i can't speak to if they would be predated.

 

[Nicole C G]

I do not have any spiders currently.
I have roaches, isopods, millipedes… in different enclosures (micro fauna vary between enclosures between mites, pirate bugs, springtails, etc).

Oh, sorry, I thought you meant P. pruinosus as in Phidippus pruinosus, a species of jumping spider

 

[Slappy]

Keep an eye on it with the millipedes, where i live we don't see very many surface dwelling millipedes so i can't speak to if they would be predated.

Ahh okay! Thanks for the heads-up. Maybe an isopod enclosure is better for now. The 3 pruinosus morphs I got recently have already had their colonies split, so if s/he eats a few every now and then that’s fine, and I have a backup in case it goes “fox in the henhouse” and murders them all for fun
Or I can put together a small temporary container until I figure out the best spot for it.
I contacted the person I got the moss from and asked if they’re common enough for them to collect a few more for a colony. I just checked the mosses came from West Virginia.

 

[Edan bandoot]

Ahh okay! Thanks for the heads-up. Maybe an isopod enclosure is better for now. The 3 pruinosus morphs I got recently have already had their colonies split, so if s/he eats a few every now and then that’s fine, and I have a backup in case it goes “fox in the henhouse” and murders them all for fun
Or I can put together a small temporary container until I figure out the best spot for it.
I contacted the person I got the moss from and asked if they’re common enough for them to collect a few more for a colony. I just checked the mosses came from West Virginia.

they can be kind of annoying to breed from my research, update us if you're able to keep them alive longterm

 

[Charliemum]

We get loads of these in my back garden they eat the catfood we put out for the stray cats that live on the rail tracks behind our house , quite interesting to watch they prefer to scavenge and dont produce silk or venom, they also can not grow limbs bk as a true spider would. Be careful of putting it in with other bugs as they will eat other insects if given the opportunity ie the other insect is injured or sick. But are omnivorous so will eat fruit mushrooms ect as well . Kind of like the clean up crew of the arachnid world , imo pretty cool creatures.
Make it it's own forest floor would make a really cool addition to a woodland viv gl though whatever you decide to do with him