Scytodes( spitting spider)

[azgrower12]

any body ever keep these they seem so cool
i just found one under my bed while cleaning kinda scary
i live in phoenix AZ

 

[tom]

scytodes

I have kept them with some branches from vine and some soil to keep humidity from dropping too low. feed them small crickets, Drosphila,they seem to do reasonably well for a while, then release spider outdoors in a sheltered area.Cheers, Tom

 

[Tarantula_Hawk]

Im keeping some at the moment, but i know someone who's been keeping them since 2003 (and so knows everything on how to keep/breed them). First of all what species is yours? Scytodes thoracica? Different species can be more or less picky in their diets. Anyways, they need zero humidity (they are xerophile) so never bother spraying water. Feed them once a week if they are still juveniles, every 2-3 weeks with a big meal if they are adults. Preferred prey for adults are silverfish (Lepisma sp) and microlepidoptera. Juveniles thrive with small silverfish, drosophilas, mosquitos and especially collembola. Remember to not overfeed them. They have a low metabolism so can feast for a long period of time, especially as adults. This also means they have a long lifespan and can live for several years if kept under the correct conditions.
Personally i think they are awesome
Hope this helped

Edit: forgot to say, male adults are very picky in their diets. They tend to ignore most possible preys, so if you found a male adult you might as well just free him (unless you find a female too and want to try breeding them)

 

[azgrower12]

how can i tell if its a female and can i feed it ants

 

[Tarantula_Hawk]

Well first of all tell me the size (bodylenght) cause it might be an immature. If its an adult, to distinguish a male from a female in haplogyne spiders just check if an embolus is present on the tarsi of the pedipalps. You can do this with a normal magnifying lense (if there's an embolus its a male of course).

And no, ants will probably be ignored because of their pugnacity and bad taste. This is the case for most spiders in general (with exeptions of course).

 

[PlaidJaguar]

Resurrecting this really old thread because I just caught a spitter and I'm thinking about keeping it. How big of a container should they be housed in? Do they prefer more floor space or vertical space?
Mine was thrilled with the pinhead roach I gave it, so food won't be a problem.

 

[Smokehound714]

Resurrecting this really old thread because I just caught a spitter and I'm thinking about keeping it. How big of a container should they be housed in? Do they prefer more floor space or vertical space?
Mine was thrilled with the pinhead roach I gave it, so food won't be a problem.

Nearly every scytodes I found in the field was under a rock, or in leaf litter. They dont get big, so a small container is just fine.

 

[PlaidJaguar]

My spitter spends most of its time upside down under the stick. I spread moss about the bottom of the container but spitter is uninterested. It seems happy enough living on the underside of a chunk of wood.