wild tarantulas

[Calm River]

Not sure where to post this story...so I'll just leave this here...
7-31-14 this little cutie crawled into our kitchen...
Two years later...here "she" (maybe/hopefully) is...
Here "she/they" are after recent molt...
that is a penny in the back round for size reference...
then finger, finally, "blown-up"...

we think, after research, and logic (TINY), that we may have an Aphonopelma Paloma, but would love to hear other opinions! Thanks in advance.

 

[Calm River]

May I please add that most, (if not all) people think I am super crazy for even considering that this sweet little 8-eyed creature could possibly be a Tarantula,(dwarf, or otherwise). So any help, or support would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

 

[Jason B]

I can't help with the ID apholopelma is my least knowledgeable area.

But this post has made me decide I need to move somewhere where slings can come into my kitchen.. I get excited when I catch a wolf spider in my kitchen. The way I see it if comes in my house it obviously heard I had a few spare enclosure and was looking to rent a spot for a while with the potential to become a permanent resident.. MM only stay for a few days..

 

[Jason B]

May I please add that most, (if not all) people think I am super crazy for even considering that this sweet little 8-eyed creature could possibly be a Tarantula,(dwarf, or otherwise). So any help, or support would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Oh it sure looks like a T sling to me.. As tiny as it may seem even in your first pic, its much bulkier and larger then my H. sp columbia sling.
The thing is the genus apholopelma it can be hard to get a proper id from just pictures. Saving a Molt might be your best bet..The good thing is the one thing I know, is its gonna be a long time before it matures.
The one thing is if one day in the future it turns into a male,when it matures you should release it then so it has a chance to mate.

 

[Calm River]

Sorry I neglected to disclose location, California...San Benito County...
Thanks again!

 

[chanda]

What a cutie! I love it when they just wander in like that! I still have this little beauty (Aphonopelma of some flavor or other, San Bernardino County, California) that wandered into my garage several few years ago:

 

[Andrea82]

Not sure where to post this story...so I'll just leave this here...
7-31-14 this little cutie crawled into our kitchen... View attachment 240408
Two years later...here "she" (maybe/hopefully) is... View attachment 240408 View attachment 240409
Here "she/they" are after recent molt... View attachment 240410
that is a penny in the back round for size reference...
then finger, finally, "blown-up"...
View attachment 240411 View attachment 240412
we think, after research, and logic (TINY), that we may have an Apholopelma Paloma, but would love to hear other opinions! Thanks in advance.

Man, I really live on the wrong side of the planet!
Btw...I think you mean Aphonopelma? Or is Apholopelma a different genus? I have never heard of it...

 

[boina]

That definitely is a tarantula, but other than that? Aphonopelma seems a reasonable guess and matches the location and slow growth rate.

But man, am I jealous. I want a tarantula to come into my house, too. We only get very small and drab spiders around here. I even get exited when I find an Argiope in my yard.

 

[Calm River]

Man, I really live on the wrong side of the planet!
Btw...I think you mean Aphonopelma? Or is Apholopelma a different genus? I have never heard of it...

Oops, I should have double checked that before posting (very new to all this, obviously). Yes, that is the genus that I read that all the Tarantulas in California belong to, not sure if that is fact though. Aphonopelma, maybe I should edit the original post to clear that up. Thank you.

 

[Andrea82]

Oops, I should have double checked that before posting (very new to all this, obviously). Yes, that is the genus that I read that all the Tarantulas in California belong to, not sure if that is fact though. Aphonopelma, maybe I should edit the original post to clear that up. Thank you.

No problem! I think @Jason B also needs coffee

 

[aphono]

That is so cool and cute! I've seen wild baby or juvenile Aphonopelma only a handful of times over the decades. Was not interested in keeping back then so I did not pick them up for pets... should have though, as it would have been great to watch them grow over the years.

That definitely is a tarantula, but other than that? Aphonopelma seems a reasonable guess and matches the location and slow growth rate.

But man, am I jealous. I want a tarantula to come into my house, too. We only get very small and drab spiders around here. I even get exited when I find an Argiope in my yard.

I've seen Argiope-type spiders exactly twice in my whole life. I think those are insanely cool.... the colors, the pattern, the huge webs, the way they stick out their legs.. One was in our yard, I could not believe my luck.. checked out and fed that beauty every few days. Unfortunately one day she just completely disappeared, not even a single trace of the web was left... I was rather greatly saddened at the utter disappearance of a beauty.

 

[advan]

It isn't Aphonopelma paloma, their range is restricted to Arizona. Clicky

Based on your location I would hazard a guess at Aphonoplema iodius but you will have to wait for it to grow to get a more accurate ID.

 

[DPetsche]

Man I love looking at the local species. My yard is absolutely littered with Aphonopelma Hentzi burrows. It's always fun to go outside at night and see who's coming up for a wander around. We also find them chilling on the doorstep waiting to be caught and given a home. Right now is the time of the year when all the adults are usually coming up though so if I find a mature T (regardless of sex) I just relocate it into the grass, rather than leaving it on my porch or bringing it in.

 

[user 666]

Man I love looking at the local species. My yard is absolutely littered with Aphonopelma Hentzi burrows. It's always fun to go outside at night and see who's coming up for a wander around. We also find them chilling on the doorstep waiting to be caught and given a home. Right now is the time of the year when all the adults are usually coming up though so if I find a mature T (regardless of sex) I just relocate it into the grass, rather than leaving it on my porch or bringing it in.

Lucky!

If I lived there I would buy a dozen large crickets every week just to feed the Ts.

 

[JoshDM020]

Man I love looking at the local species. My yard is absolutely littered with Aphonopelma Hentzi burrows. It's always fun to go outside at night and see who's coming up for a wander around. We also find them chilling on the doorstep waiting to be caught and given a home. Right now is the time of the year when all the adults are usually coming up though so if I find a mature T (regardless of sex) I just relocate it into the grass, rather than leaving it on my porch or bringing it in.

I get the same thing every year. A. hentzi all over the place. In my house, too, on occasion.

 

[cold blood]

That definitely is a tarantula, but other than that? Aphonopelma seems a reasonable guess and matches the location and slow growth rate.

Agreed....

But Aphonopelma is the only guess as its the only genus in the US.

 

[Andrea82]

Lucky!

If I lived there I would buy a dozen large crickets every week just to feed the Ts.

It would be like how other people feed their chickens. I would come out with a big bucket of crickets and make all these funny noises like 'come here sweeties, come get a cricket from your momma, that's a good spider. No Lois, don't go eatin' your brother, that's not polite. LOIS!! Darn it, if you keep it up there won't be any babies, so STOP THAT immediately young lady!'

 

[DPetsche]

I get the same thing every year. A. hentzi all over the place. In my house, too, on occasion.

Surprisingly I've never seen any INSIDE the house, aside from wolf spiders that make their way in. I've seen plenty climbing up the walls outside the house though. I even found a mature male molt once, so I know there was a stud running around somewhere that day.

 

[user 666]

Surprisingly I've never seen any INSIDE the house, aside from wolf spiders that make their way in. I've seen plenty climbing up the walls outside the house though. I even found a mature male molt once, so I know there was a stud running around somewhere that day.

Neat find!

The only interesting thing I found in my bushes was a 6-foot-long skin from a black snake.

 

[JoshDM020]

Surprisingly I've never seen any INSIDE the house, aside from wolf spiders that make their way in. I've seen plenty climbing up the walls outside the house though. I even found a mature male molt once, so I know there was a stud running around somewhere that day.

I havent seen very many since randomly becoming obsessed with tarantulas, so I never paid attention to the ones i found before. I feel silly now, because theres no telling what ive passed on. The one and only time ive made skin to skin (exo?) contact was with a wild A. hentzi id caught in a jar. Didnt know they could climb glass at the time so i didnt worry about covering it. Wasnt even paying attention to it and i felt something tickling my hand. Looked down and he was halfway out. Naturally, i proceeded to panic and dropped it. He was fine. Walked away. I knew nothing about them, i just wanted to show my dad. Oh, little 10 year old me. Where has the time gone? That scared me into not trying to catch em for a good long while.