Tarantula Keeper looking to get into True Spiders and others. Which do you suggest?

[Rowdy Hotel]

So I've been keeping tarantulas for years and have amassed quite a collection, but lately I've been finding myself looking at more and more true spiders and insects on youtube. I'm now interested in acquiring some but don't really know where to start. I'd rather buy them from other members or dealers as it's getting cold around here in MA and catching my own will be impossible now. The only ones I know I'm interested in are :

Lycosa Tarantula
The Regal Jumping Spider (among others in the same genus)

I was wondering if my fellow members would suggest others that I may be interested in, preferably something I can attempt to breed and is not too difficult.


Thanks a lot.

 

[TomM]

I caught a mature pair of P. audax (Bold Jumping Spiders) and bred them. It was my first experience with breeding any spider and it all went down without a hitch (if you don't count eating your mate as a hitch). She ended up having a double clutch, I let all the slings from the first clutch go in my garden (this was in the summer time), and the second clutch I let cannibalize until there was one reigning champion. That little sling grew from about 1/16" to 1/4" in about 2 months and is already taking down dubia nymphs.

IMO, jumping spiders are not only very easy to care for, they are very interesting to observe. They also don't mind observing you, with their proportionally HUMONGOUS eyes.

So keep your eyes out for a jumping spiders.

 

[DemonAsh]

I just got dolomedes albineus that stays out in the open all the time and is a voracious eater. Really awesome spider!!! Its my first true, tho and I can offer little more than that.

 

[Rowdy Hotel]

Those orb weavers are pretty cool too. Any others big and colorful like that?

 

[John Apple]

Gotta tell ya man...nothing in my opinion compares to therids....parasteatoda and steatoda and latrodectus are great captives.....I have steatoda grossa I am on a third generation with...awsome spiders

 

[zonbonzovi]

Hi John...I was reading through old threads on keeping Steatoda together, but didn't see anything about S. triangulosa...any experiences with these or known anyone that has kept them together?

 

[TomM]

I've been keeping one for a year now. Probably the absolute easiest spider to care for since their "habitat" is usually somewhere in your house; no special heating or humidity is necessary. They also feed very similar to widows, which is very interesting to watch without the danger of potent venom.

EDIT - The only S. triangulosa that I've kept together are mother and slings. Unless the enclosure is big enough, I'd assume juveniles and adults would cannibalize, but I'm no expert.

 

[John Apple]

never really heard of steatoda being together...the slings are pretty cannabolistic and as far as triangulosa [lot smaller than grossa] the same applies...up until a ceartain size then it is a total no-go...They have the ability to take down prey waaaayyy bigger than they are...cool spiders for sure
My females are doing very well and I have a male that has rotated thru the collection of grossa's...I will trade off a few shortly I am sure

 

[Bothrops]

I would also say any Latrodectus sp. or Steatoda sp.
I kept a few Steatoda paykulliana and I think they are not only very beautiful but easy to care for too.

 

[TheTyro]

You know I'm gonna say Phidippus jumpers. I love my P. regius, they make fantastic pets for anyone. They are really easy to aquire too.

 

[Silberrücken]

I have 5 MF P. regius, 2 MM P. regius, a mated pair of Plexippus paykulli, 1 MF Latrodectus geometricus, 1 MF Schizocosa avida, 1 Juvie Hogna lenta I took from it's mother's back, and about 50 slings of the same H. lenta mother (she abandoned the sack), and 1 Juvie Apollophanes sp. ...think I got them all listed....

Of all these, I love my P. paykulli's most. They are getting old and are now not quite as active. The P. regius are in a class all their own...

I agree with TheTyro. P.regius are such characters, each has their own personality and are soooooo curious about everything! Breeding and raising them is a snap. I even have an male who won't let the female back into her nest with the eggsack... he's claimed it as his own! (I'm still trying to get pics of that!)

If you go with P. regius, you must not miss the male's courtship dance. To me it is hilarious to watch. He does a snapping of his 1st pair of legs, and this scares the c**p out of the female...but at the same time she is totally fascinated by him. Really cool to see!

There's my 2 cents' worth... keep us updated on what you decide! S.

 

[Silberrücken]

PS- I forgot to mention Kukulkania hibernalis.... :wall:

 

[Rowdy Hotel]

The false widows and regal jumpers seem like must haves. I would keep latrodectus but does anyone else worry that they might escape and not only survive but multiply in their T-rooms? I keep it at a nice toasty 81F and there are penty of insects and moths flying around to eat.

 

[Silberrücken]

I never worry about my L. geometricus-once she made an web to her satisfaction, she only leaves it to catch prey at the lower level of it. She lives inside a well-ventilated plastic mayo container. This is placed on it's top so the lid collects the spider poo and the discarded prey items. Very very easy to clean this way. Every other day I will put a few drops of water onto different areas of her web, but I have yet to see her drink.

She's a very docile girl, and has never tried to escape. I even let her sit on my hand if she wants, and not once has she tried to bite or drop off. 5 eggsacks so far, and none of them ever produced slings.

Maybe Widowman10 will drop by with some advice and info. Good luck with your True Spider(s)! S.

 

[davisfam]

First of all, WELCOME! Considering that you've had experience with Tarantula's in the past, you don't nessasarily have to start out with a beginner species within the world of True Spiders.
We started out with two females (H. lenta) from the Lycosidae (Wolf Spiders) family which are "ground spiders" that are known to be quite aggressive and depending on the species, can get very large in size, for example; Hogna carolinensis. Wolf Spiders cannot climb smooth surfaces which makes things much easier.. trust me, I own a couple of "False Wolf Spiders" who can climb smooth surfaces and it's quite the rush when you have to open that lid, LOL!
Also, our female L. geometricus and L. mactan are very low-maitenance spiders. They just like to look pretty and proper.. and eat, of course! Plus, this species can be kept just about anywhere considering they don't require a extremely large 'home'. Other than that, my fellow board members have also listed tons of possible options, it's endless learning and a bizillion different species (known and unknown).. have fun with it and good luck to you! If you ever have a question about anything, feel free to give us a shout out and we'll do the best we can to help!

 

[the toe cutter]

Personally I really like the Dolomedes or any Lycosidae. They are very active, fast and interesting to observe. And extremely common!

 

[pitbulllady]

MY first true spiders after keeping T's for many years was the "Poor Man's G. pulchra", Kukulcania hibernalis. They are a sort of "missing link" between the Mygalamorphs and true spiders, and even LOOK like mini tarantulas, although they are still substantially-sized spiders. Females live for many, many years; I don't even know their lifespans, but I've had some of my girls for six years+ now, and they are still going strong. Like T's, though, they are very slow growers. They are quite handleable as well, and it's hard to beat a freshly-moulted big female for shiny good looks!

pitbulllady

 

[Vespula]

I've got a Rabidosa rabida. She's a good spider. She's always out in the open, a great eater, and is just all around beautiful!

 

[jsloan]

Lots of good suggestions so far. Another kind I'd recommend is one of the "larger" sheet web spiders, Pityohyphantes sp. (Linyphiidae). I've kept many in captivity and they do well.

Very interesting spiders, and very common in northern lattitudes, from coast to coast. They make sheet webs suspended in vegetation or trees, often at about eye level, and wait in a retreat or under a leaf off to the side for insects to drop in. When something does the spider rushes out and grabs the prey from underneath the web with no preliminary wrapping (they can open their "jaws of death" chelicerae and fangs very wide, and several sharp long "teeth" on the inside margins of the chelicerae give them a good grip on their prey). If the prey is small the spider quickly pulls it through the web and carries it back to its retreat to eat. If the prey is larger the spider will often bite it from below and hang on for several minutes until it quiets down before taking the unlucky insect back to its lair for eating.

A feature of the web is a latticework of tangled lines placed above the sheet web, which help knock flying insects down. This network of crisscrossing lines often extends up and over the web for more than a foot or more.

There are several species, which can look very much alike, and it is very difficult to tell them apart. At this time of the year almost all of the ones you find will be subadults, which have one molt to go before reaching maturity. They will overwinter (often under tree bark) and re-emerge next spring when they will molt and become adults. Look for them.

Here's one I photographed at my place the other day. I took this picture looking up from beneath the spider, as it was hanging in its web:



Here's another one from last year, grabbing a fly I threw into its web:

 

[John Apple]

forgot to mention tegenaria sp as far as big sheet web spiders these can get on the larger size...very cool to watch them bite a cricket several times
some of my females are 3" in span...the males even bigger and spindly