Spider recommendations?

[DerekG4]

Lately I’ve been thinking about doing some true spiders or some mygalomorphs. I’m looking for something that just overall looks cool or colorful and/or something that has interesting behavior. Any size is fine, so long as it’s something that doesn’t require anything bigger than a 5 gallon tank. I would also highly prefer if it didn’t have any really potent/deadly venom, unless it is highly unlikely to bite.

I’ve been looking at H. Boiei, H. Davidbowie, and Sicarius spiders (I know they’re definitely deadly, but I hear they’re very unlikely to bite, nor can they climb) what other species are there that is recommended?

I have experience with tarantulas of many kinds (brachypelmas, Poecilotheria, Chilobrachys, etcetera), Scorpions, and a few centipedes. I also have a jumping spider, so I would prefer not to get another species of jumping spiders.

 

[Liquifin]

H. Boiei, H. Davidbowie

Never owned any of those two huntsman because they're easier to come by now which is a good thing. So I don't worry about buying them unless they become harder to come by. Huntsman are bolty fast almost all the time. I've learned that if you take your time with opening their enclosures they tend to be less bolty and skittish (common sense for huntsman I guess).

Sicarius spiders

Very hard to come by those now (for me that is), and would appreciate finding some in the future.

Here's one of my younger huntsman spider that I like, it's still small (1"), but it'll grow pretty fast. The yellow sheen slowly coming in with the leg patterns. Hoping I can breed them, since these guys are more uncommon or rare (depending how you look at it) in the hobby.

 

[DerekG4]

I’m definitely thinking about getting some huntsmans, I thought of getting trapdoors as well but do they always hide? I feel like the only moments I’ll see them is the split second they come out for feeeing. Any other cool species out there?

 

[Ungoliant]

I’m definitely thinking about getting some huntsmans, I thought of getting trapdoors as well but do they always hide? I feel like the only moments I’ll see them is the split second they come out for feeeing. Any other cool species out there?

Kukulcania hibernalis are native to Florida. They build lacy-looking webs and live for many years. (I have some that I found as adults in 2012-2013, and they are still going strong.)

Kukulcania hibernalis (Filistatidae): Female

• Ungoliant
• Jan 2, 2017
• 7
• female filistatidae hibernalis kukulcania kukulcania hibernalis mature female southern house spider

Kukulcania hibernalis: mature female (captive, wild-caught)

Commonly known as the southern...

 

[DerekG4]

Kukulcania hibernalis are native to Florida. They build lacy-looking webs and live for many years. (I have some that I found as adults in 2012-2013, and they are still going strong.)

Kukulcania hibernalis (Filistatidae): Female

• Ungoliant
• Jan 2, 2017
• 7
• female filistatidae hibernalis kukulcania kukulcania hibernalis mature female southern house spider

Kukulcania hibernalis: mature female (captive, wild-caught)

Commonly known as the southern...

I don’t think I’ve ever seen that species here before, do they live around south Florida? How big are they?

 

[Ungoliant]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen that species here before, do they live around south Florida? How big are they?

The females max out around 1.5" - 2".

It's easy to miss them if you don't know where to look for them; they're seldom out during the day, but at night they sit on the edges of their retreats, waiting for food.

Mature males wander in search of females and are often mistaken for brown recluses.

Here are finds that BugGuide has documented from Florida.

 

[Greasylake]

Heteropoda are awesome, they never get boring. Super fun to watch slings tackle prey and adults look amazing, and are pretty fun to keep too. Just be aware that if you get an adult it'll probably be female and might drop you a sack, happened to me twice now.

Never owned any of those two huntsman because they're easier to come by now which is a good thing.

I have a bunch of boiei slings now, sack hatched not too long ago.

 

[Liquifin]

I have a bunch of boiei slings now, sack hatched not too long ago.

I've heard H. boiei are quite easy on pairings and breeding. But I still haven't got any because I personally think they are somewhat still overpriced with davidbowie. I personally, am no pricing expert, but the davidbowie is overpriced (my opinion). I wouldn't wanna pay $40 for a sling, and they're not very flourishing on survival when young. The H. boiei are one of the ones I want most, but I still can't wrap my head around $25 for slings even though they're way cheaper in comparison to the davidbowie. The boiei do better than the davidbowie as slings from what i've seen. But I would buy some boiei when it goes down a little to around the $20 mark.

 

[Ratmosphere]

Davidbowie are awesome and fast, just careful when rehousing. I recommend that species.

 

[Greasylake]

I wouldn't wanna pay $40 for a sling, and they're not very flourishing on survival when young. The H. boiei are one of the ones I want most, but I still can't wrap my head around $25 for slings even though they're way cheaper in comparison to the davidbowie. The boiei do better than the davidbowie as slings from what i've seen. But I would buy some boiei when it goes down a little to around the $20 mark.

40 bucks for a sling is way overpriced. I bought two adult female boiei for 35 bucks a pop and I usually see slings for like 15 or 20 bucks (not from the retailers though). 15-20 bucks is pretty much the standard going rate for most huntsman slings in my experience.

 

[mantisfan101]

Tigrosa or lycosa sp or really any lrge native wolf spider. They’re big, bulky, and can’t climb glass or smooth surfaces for the most part. Watching them hunt in a larger enclosure is amazing while they stalk and wrestle their prey.

 

[checkmate]

I’m definitely thinking about getting some huntsmans, I thought of getting trapdoors as well but do they always hide? I feel like the only moments I’ll see them is the split second they come out for feeeing. Any other cool species out there?

You won't see your trapdoors unless they happen to burrow next to the enclosure wall and even then the webbing will make it hard to see in. Some fishing spiders get nice and big like Dolomedes okefinokensis. You can find people selling them online (I usually see D. okefinokensis and D. triton for sale). Huntsmans are great and I always see mine out at night. If you want to start with juvies/adults, you can find people selling WC Olios giganteus or Heteropda venatoria for cheap. As mentioned above, wolf spiders are also cool.

 

[DerekG4]

I’m most likely gonna end up getting an H. Boiei and davidbowie. How are the fishing spiders like? Will they do fine in an enclosure with half land half water? I’ve always wanted to do a mini paludarium.

So far I tried doing a quick search to see if anyone has both Boiei and davidbowie but looks like there’s not. Was hoping to do one transaction so I wouldn’t spend extra on shipping

 

[RezonantVoid]

Definitely some Dipluridae. They are primitives that look like modern/true spiders and most genus in the family have spinnerets long enough to almost count as a 10th pair of legs. Insane webbers and the feeding reactions are often hilarious.

Australothele Nambucca

Probably the best group of primitives I can reccomend are wishbone spiders. I'm not sure about globally, but at least in Australia they are the rarest of all our spider groups and look absolutely stunning.

Aname sp. Gold