Indigenous species

Shamrock

Arachnolover
Joined
Mar 10, 2017
Messages
14
Good day everyone

I live in South Africa and as most people know the baboon spiders native here are rare and illegal to keep.

So I was wondering, what if i found a female and male of the same species, native to a specific region, and breed them. After getting a a sack I raise the slings till they reach a more hardy stage and release them back into the wild? Releasing the female and male as well where i found them after the sack was produced. Would it be possible to start such an organization and get the necessary legal permits? Would definitely not attempt this without permission.

I know not to interfere with nature, but us interfering is the reason why the are so scarce.

Other option is to just walk around with a few crickets at night and feed them after i mapped their homes :)
 

advan

oOOo
Staff member
Joined
Apr 11, 2010
Messages
2,086
Do not feed wild spiders with captive feeders. Same thing goes with the breeding and releasing babies fed with captive feeders.

Your tarantulas are not rare in SA. Just need to go find them. ;)
 

Alexw

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 20, 2017
Messages
16
Do not feed wild spiders with captive feeders. Same thing goes with the breeding and releasing babies fed with captive feeders.
Can you elaborate on these statements? Just curious.
 

Shamrock

Arachnolover
Joined
Mar 10, 2017
Messages
14
Thanx, i forgot about the mites crickets can carry and other parasites. It must be said it is VERY difficult finding native T's as they hide their borrows quite well. I'm unable to walk in a feild without turning over a rock, and have never found a T before. Maybe thats a good thing.
I see there are people that find baboon spiders and photograph them in the wild for the baboon spider atlas. Perhaps that would be a good place to start.
 

Shamrock

Arachnolover
Joined
Mar 10, 2017
Messages
14
What if a catch the crickets in the wild and feed it to them. I see no harm with that
 

advan

oOOo
Staff member
Joined
Apr 11, 2010
Messages
2,086
Can you elaborate on these statements? Just curious.
Disease, parasites etc. Do you remember the Cricket Paralysis Virus (C.P.V.) that wiped out majority of Acheta domesticus at cricket farms? Luckily that virus didn't do anything to animals that ate the infected crickets but what about the next virus that pops up? Does anyone want to be the one directly responsible for the tarantulas in their area dying out because they thought it would be cute to feed them? Or thought they were helping by reintroducing spiderlings? Not worth it. It is the sole reason here in the US only AZA affiliated institutions a long with USFWS can have reintroduction programs. :)

@Shamrock I see no issue with feeding the spiders wild crickets you find around their burrows.
 
Last edited:

Chris LXXIX

ArachnoGod
Joined
Dec 25, 2014
Messages
5,845
I live in South Africa and as most people know the baboon spiders native here are rare and illegal to keep.
If I'm not wrong, according to other South Africa keepers, with a 'special' permit (and I don't know now obviously if that's worth the game) you can keep native 'Baboons'.
 

CWilson1351

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jan 23, 2017
Messages
454
While laws are most definitely different between our countries I do know that here in the U.S. (Massachusetts specifically) it is illegal to catch and keep, for any reason, local wildlife. There are of course permits and ways to do so within the law however. I found this out after encountering a Crotalus horridus, aka Timber Rattlesnake out in the Blue Hills reservation.
Since I found it in a fairly populated area I did some research and found all of this out, along with more information about conservation efforts for them. I know snakes and Ts are very different though.
 

Shamrock

Arachnolover
Joined
Mar 10, 2017
Messages
14
@Chris LXXIX I read that you are not allowed to keep native baboons, and also many wildlife here, in enclosures. Even educational institutions have strict regulations. The average public citizen would have a hard time getting a permit.

@CWilson1351 I know of a few people here that keep native reptiles illegally. Some make great pets. But often you will see people on the street with a handfull of WC baby chameleons that they sell to people. Most dont survive.
 

CWilson1351

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jan 23, 2017
Messages
454
@Shamrock the sad rating was only because the WC Chameleon's don't survive. I see the same as far as native fish in the U.S. I personally don't think we should take animals from their natural environment, minus a few circumstances of course. Even if I really did want that gorgeous C. horridus :(
 

Chris LXXIX

ArachnoGod
Joined
Dec 25, 2014
Messages
5,845
Ah ah don't want to sound like a jerk now but there's something 'cool' into having S. A. 'Baboon' Theraphosidae that are prohibited to own, or very hard to get except for permit/s in their native nation... you can show those to the average man and tell him something like:

"See? Those are banned to keep even in their native nation, but I have those" :pompous: and thus "W-ooo-w" :troll:

joook :kiss:
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
17,851
Good day everyone

I live in South Africa and as most people know the baboon spiders native here are rare and illegal to keep.

So I was wondering, what if i found a female and male of the same species, native to a specific region, and breed them. After getting a a sack I raise the slings till they reach a more hardy stage and release them back into the wild? Releasing the female and male as well where i found them after the sack was produced. Would it be possible to start such an organization and get the necessary legal permits? Would definitely not attempt this without permission.

I know not to interfere with nature, but us interfering is the reason why the are so scarce.

Other option is to just walk around with a few crickets at night and feed them after i mapped their homes :)
Aside from what Advan said. I know personally from a long time SA keeper who owns native species. You would need at least 2 permits. 1 for keeping the native species, and 1 for breeding the species too! You would need a permit for each individual species. So 2 native species, you'd need 2 permits, to keep, and 2 more to breed.
 

Shamrock

Arachnolover
Joined
Mar 10, 2017
Messages
14
@viper69 thanx that makes sense. Is the permit per species or per specimen? And if you breed, what do you do with the slings if you cant sell them or set them free?
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
17,851
@viper69 thanx that makes sense. Is the permit per species or per specimen? And if you breed, what do you do with the slings if you cant sell them or set them free?
I understand the permit to be per species, however I'm not from SA. AND, I can easily see a limit on animals that are illegal to own w/out a permit. As for offspring, if you have no outlet, don't breed them.
 
Top