True spiders as pets?

[Splashstorm]

Are they docile and harmless like I heard? Which one would make the best pet, and why aren't they as popular as tarantulas? Any opinions will be appreciated. :biggrin:

 

[Superflysnuka]

Yeah you can house some if you want, i actually have 2 right now. an A. trifasciata and a T. chamberlini. but i think having a jumping spider as a pet would be pretty cool, they are always fun to play with. But tarantulas are just much bigger, more fun to make an enclosure for, hold, and show off to your friends.

 

[catfishrod69]

Not all true spiders are docile and harmless. The most venomous spiders in the world are true spiders. There are true spiders that can kill a healthy human. Tarantulas on the other hand have never been know to kill a human. A good reason why they are not as populary is because lifespan. Alot of true spiders only live for around a year, as alot of tarantulas can live upward of 30 years.

 

[Crel]

The vast majority of true spiders pose no threat to humans. Orb weavers are hard to house in captivity. Some people build them frames to build their webs in. The single biggest reason that they are not more common in the hobby is the lifespan as catfishrod said.

That said, there are some vendors that do sell them, species are seasonal however.

 

[Ciphor]

Size, lifespan & I also think people find the creepy crawlies more... creepy and crawly, while tarantulas are like fuzzy teddy bear spiders. Well, some.. probably not OBTs

 

[S2000]

Jumping spiders and wolf spiders make great pets. Pretty much any active hunter will be a good pet. The orb weavers and other web builders don't thrive as well.

I don't know why true spiders aren't as popular. Maybe because tarantulas are bigger and better to showcase. Some people get creeped out by spiders that aren't "hairy". I personally love keeping jumping spiders. They're great to handle and just to watch hunt.

 

[donniedark0]

i like the idea of putting an orb weaver in a picture frame. Might look neat as a wall fixture.

 

[pnshmntMMA]

I used to latrodectus varioles (sp?). They were great eaters and spooky.

 

[lizardminion]

Size, lifespan & I also think people find the creepy crawlies more... creepy and crawly, while tarantulas are like fuzzy teddy bear spiders. Well, some.. probably not OBTs

OBTs are more like fuzzy grizzly bear spiders.

I know huntsman spiders could be more interesting true spiders. Almost like tarantulas...

 

[catfishrod69]

Huntsman are crazy awesome. If you want a spider that will blow any old world tarantula out of the water speed wise, get some Thelctiocopis modesta. These guys are so fast that that they will dissapear before your mind process it even moved. Luckily i will be shipping mine out soon. Gonna suck packing them up though.

OBTs are more like fuzzy grizzly bear spiders.

I know huntsman spiders could be more interesting true spiders. Almost like tarantulas...

 

[Anonymity82]

I think there's many possible reasons why people don't keep true spiders. Short life span like Catfish said. For newbies, they may not seem as exotic. Local spiders (not that anyone's limited to that nowadays with so many places to buy them) may not seem as interesting because people have seen them their whole lives. The more I learn about true spiders the more interesting they become when I find them outside.

I love my true spiders. I have three at the moment (running crab spider-not that exciting looking but it was free and still pretty awesome, false widow [Steatoda spp]- another free catch in the garage and very handable and awesome, and my southern black widow [Latrodectus mactans]- Love the all black coloration with the red and I absolutely love the web she creates). They're just not big, huge hairy spiders which may not be as attractive to some people, plus many people may be scared to own something as venomous as widows. I can understand this but after having one (scary as hell catching it!) I can safely say that unless you handle (some experienced people get away with this and I'm 99% sure I would be able to without getting bit but I'm uninsured at the moment and don't want to take that chance!) you're fine. To rehouse it I just destroy the webbing because without the webbing it's extremely clumsy and seemingly less defensive. When push comes to shove they'll curl up into a ball and just fall to the ground. I take a spoon and scoop it up and quickly but carefully put in the catch cup or the new enclosure.I really love my widow and definitely want to start a widow collection. I NEED! to get a red widow and definitely want to get a brown widow. Preferably two of each at least and not babies but I'll be happy with one of each.

I love watching my tarantulas and scorpions eat but nothing beats watching my widow go to town. The way she shoots out globs of sticky fluid that incapacitates the prey item. She then proceeds tap at it while and after she's wrapping it up. She then very delicately takes a teeny, tiny little bite usually on a leg where she begins the killing and liquifying process. Sometimes the cricket will twitch and she'll jump back and slap at it with her two long front legs a couple of times and then go back to it. Amazing!

If the prey item is crawling around at ground level she may put down vertical webbings with tiny droplets of the sticky fluid on it. They're pretty obvious. I've only seen her do this once and she put down three, long webbings and quickly removed them after she get her prey. Her webbing gets so strong at the top of her mini KK I can put a quarter on it without it slipping through or breaking a web. I'm confident a half dollar would be good too although I have not tried this.