Orange Faced Demon Spider (again)

[Arachnophilist]

they cant climb smooth surfaces.. but they can slowly web their way up a corner. they make burrows and wait for food to happen upon the web they lay outside the burrow itself I think.

 

[Arachnophilist]

This is how I am housing them now. some pieces of dry ficus leaf and some sphagnum moss bits to hold a little moisture so they get to drink when I spray. what do you think Emanuele? and how long have you found it to take for them to mature?

I ordered 500 mini crickets for them to feed on

 

[Emanuele]

I think it should work!
I never took them to adulthood because after some months I had to leave home for some time and I gave them away. But I know that females can take up to 2 years to become adult.
Cheers

 

[Lorgakor]

So how many do you have in total now? Are they really fast like most true spiders?

 

[Arachnophilist]

I would say I have between 40 and 50 of them. and they are very clumsy little things but I have noticed they like to stay in groups and make an extending web up the corners of the communal tank and then dirt coated sheets of web along the ground in which they all snuggle up at night to "sleep". quite cool actually.. and there are web lines that run the sides of the tank and join all the corner communities. the spiders go from one spot to another and seem to interact and have some interesting behavior. so when u gonna come pick up a spider Lorgakor? lol

 

[KyuZo]

i know that this species comes from an area where the temperature can get very cold. do you overwinter them at all? or do you keep them warm all year long?

 

[Arachnophilist]

well seeing as it is winter and I just got them I am just keeping them warm.. I will try wintering them when they have grown and are stable and healthy.. perhaps for next year.. but for this one I am gonna keep em warm and simply try to help them grow for now.

Edit- I just looked into the communal cage to see where they all were (only saw a handfu) so I looked into the "sheets" they have made to hide in.. and there are little holes in the bottom of it.. and they are all clustered in groups of a dozen or so in the same little holes.. its like they are all snuggled up together its funny! they seem to really like to stay together.

 

[KyuZo]

well seeing as it is winter and I just got them I am just keeping them warm.. I will try wintering them when they have grown and are stable and healthy.. perhaps for next year.. but for this one I am gonna keep em warm and simply try to help them grow for now.

Edit- I just looked into the communal cage to see where they all were (only saw a handfu) so I looked into the "sheets" they have made to hide in.. and there are little holes in the bottom of it.. and they are all clustered in groups of a dozen or so in the same little holes.. its like they are all snuggled up together its funny! they seem to really like to stay together.

arachnophilist, how are things going with your eresus spiderlings? keep us updated. have they grown much?

 

[Arachnophilist]

they are doing wonderfully! a couple unexplained deaths but what can you do.. the communal set up seems to be working well.. there are two separate "camps" and the spiders seem to move freely from one to another and have a group burrow under the soil.. I am going to work on a series of photos to show the range in size from 1.32" up to nearly 1/4" for some of them now. I will also tru to photoshop some labels in to show where they are living and how their little community seems to work.. they are really much more interesting than I had imagined and seem to do better in a group than on their own.

 

[KyuZo]

yes, interesting. i m definitely looking forward to see some pictures. So you said that some of them have already reach a length of 1.25" and those are living with some of your 1/4"? i guess they are growing pretty fast then, huh?
kuyzo

 

[Arachnophilist]

yes, interesting. i m definitely looking forward to see some pictures. So you said that some of them have already reach a length of 1.25" and those are living with some of your 1/4"? i guess they are growing pretty fast then, huh?
kuyzo

sorry no that was a typo.. 1/32" to 1/4" it will be a long time before they are over an inch Im sure lol

 

[Arachnophilist]

alright I managed to get a couple shots that are almost acceptable.. the spider shown is about 1/4" in length. it is one of the largest.. there seem to be several at this size and many many others in varying smaller sizes all the way down to about 1/32" very small still.. all seem healthy and are molting well.

sorry for the poor quality these are extrememly hard to photograph.

 

[KyuZo]

are they still in a communal set up? how many do you have now?

 

[Arachnophilist]

some communal some not. coudlnt tell you how many they stay hidden away and come out on the webs when they feel like it.

 

[Lorgakor]

Any new pics of these little guys? How are they doing?

 

[Steven Gielis]

Does anyone has these available for sale?

 

[Arachnophilist]

Alright well after all this time and only knowing of a few that I managed to save.. I found something wonderful in the supposed "dead" tank.. (which I couldnt empty out and stop keeping an eye on) and well now I am glad I did so!!

pretty cool huh? I feel like i just won the spider lotto.. what a wonderful unextpected treat now I just hope one of the others turn out female so I can have one that will get big and last me a while

 

[edesign]

WOW...awesome! I'll take three!

 

[P. Novak]

It's alive! It's alive! Sweet philist. How big are they all now?

 

[Arachnophilist]

this one is about 3/8" so quite small.. we will see if anything comes up female..