funnel webs as pets? + afew other Q's

[Luke1]

hey all spider and scorp lovers!

Spider Questions
ok, so the title says funnel webs...i think they are the coolest spiders and i have so many running around the back and front of my house and i have caught several before and taken them to the hospitals and they milk them them give them back to me and i realese them...

...so anyway my main questions are:

> do you need a special licence for them?
> if you don't can you catch them from highly populated areas on your property?
> how big a tank would you need?
> how often would they want feeding?
>since they are burrowing spiders, how deep would you need the substrait?

i have a few tubs lying around for some that i could keep em in...

scoripoin questions
i was just looking at my jar in which i have my good old dead pet scorpion in with spirits or what ever and i thought it would be cool to get another few! then...what freaked me out was my mum called me up to here and showed me an email that my mums sister had sent me from her mate at works whos got some pets scorps hes selling off...

heres the main quote or whatever that he said in the email:

They will be going for $25.

They are local rock scopions, they grow to around 3cm, they are poisonous but not leathal (to humans) they pack the puch similar to a bee or huntsman spider bite (though i can't tell you from experience...yet). They are very easy to look after, only need to feed them once a week and since they are local they don't need any special equipment like heat lamps

so thats that and i thought it would be heaps cool to get little tiny scorps....

do any of you guys have info about these little scorpions? i have heaps of spare cricket containers and a duel simease fighter fish tank lying around would i beable to use them?

Cheers,

Luke

 

[Luke1]

hey again!
i have looked at the green scorpion and that was helpfull with scorps!

also, i just remebered i did a project on scorps in year 7 and remembered about that chemical in there body that makes em go awsome colours...has anyone go pics of this?

 

[Mark Newton]

hey again!
i have looked at the green scorpion and that was helpfull with scorps!

also, i just remebered i did a project on scorps in year 7 and remembered about that chemical in there body that makes em go awsome colours...has anyone go pics of this?

and for the #1 Site on Aussie Scorpions : www.thedailylink.com/phpBB
vip code= 196943KILL

I dont bite.....erm, actually I sting....LOL

cheers

 

[scorps]

Heres one of my black rock scorpions normally and under a uv light

(please note these pics where taken when i had no idea how to use a camera, i cant believe how fuzzy they are lol but you get the picture)

NORMAL

UNDER UV BLACK LIGHT

Cheers Ben

 

[Mark Newton]

Heres one of my black rock scorpions normally and under a uv light

yep//.....looks a bit like a blurry Urodacus manicatus

 

[dunno103]

I kept a funnel web for quite a while in a large coffee jar with a huge base and a rock in the middle on top of dirt. A female can live for many years approx 20 I think and if you have any cockys at home and don't spray the house then it is fun to watch.

A good book is spiderwatch,

cheers

 

[scorps]

yep//.....looks a bit like a blurry Urodacus manicatus

it is

 

[Luke1]

thanks guys!
can i keep smaller species in cricket containers (scorpions that is)?
and with the funnel web i have a spare fish tank thats 45 x 30 x 30 (LXHXW)

cheers,

Luke

 

[JasonL]

Funnel Webs are tricky to keep long term, they perish quickly in hot temps. I had them going great in tanks under my house, but thats the only place that doesn't get too hot for them here.

 

[hornet]

Atrax robustus are tricky, qld species are alot easier

 

[Luke1]

thanks, its worth a try anyway! can i feed them just crickets or should i gice them both crickets, roaches and meal worms?

 

[angel]

I find my funnels and my bird eaters prefer crickets and grasshoppers.... they are not really into roaches.. but that could just be mine.

 

[notechistiger]

Could anyone pot pictures of their spider/scorpians, and their enclosures?

 

[the_tsar]

No Licence required for Fun webs.

Make the substrate about 2 inches deep, Tip...., put in the dirt, and bury your finger into the corner, and put the dirt about your finger, this will make a hole starter for the F web, you will find it will start to did this hole in a day or so. Some like to have fake holes...

Mine dug down and then after hitting bottom, went sideways, then popped out in the other corner.
Took about 10 days for her to do it.
Feed 1 cricket a week, but judge hunger by their bum. Smaller than their heads, feed it. hould be bout the same sized *** and head.

You will not see them much in the day, but at night, they always seem about.

I even feed mine small geckos I find....(IMported buggers...their everywhere).

I have seen these spiders with mites on them, rather entertaining to get them off, so make sure you look closely at the ones you capture.

 

[Luke1]

thanks the tsar! great info...do you have pics of your tanks or what ever?

thanks everyone?
anymore info is greatly appreciated!

Cheers,

Luke

 

[RedEyeGirl]

is it illegal...............all reptiles are protected?are they not

 

[ecam8310]

Funnel-web Spider Care

G’Day Luke.

I agree that funnelwebs are very cool spiders. I have been keeping them on and off for about six years and I have experience with two NSW species (robustus and versutus). I found both species very easy to keep with little maintenance. My best advice would be to read up on them and develop a thorough understanding of their needs. However, I’ll give you a few simple tips to start off with and I’ll chuck some photos in as well. The funnelwebs in your garden are certainly Atrax Robustus, so they will have the same needs as the spiders that I have kept.

Housing: I have used two different approaches to keeping funnelwebs.

1. Get a tupperware container, about lunchbox size. Fill it about 10cm deep with moist dirt from near area that you caught the spider. Funnelwebs cannot jump or climb smooth surfaces but I would still keep about 10cm of air space between the dirt and the lid. There is no need to put air holes in the lid. Under these conditions the spider should burrow and lay extensive web on the surface. You won’t see very much of it because will stay in the burrow during the day and sometimes surface at night.

2. Get a jar or a very small tupperware container and line the bottom with about 2 cm of dirt. Put one small air hole in the lid and again be conscious of having the dirt level well below the lid. Under these conditions the spider will not be able to dig very deep and it will treat the entire enclosure as its burrow. It will remain on the surface and lay a lot of web. If you choose to keep the funnelweb like this then it is important to keep it in a dark area. Otherwise it will attempt to submerge itself in dirt during the day. You are attempting to simulate a dark, cool burrow.

Feeding: Feeding funnelwebs is pretty straight forward. Give it a week to settle in (although many will eat immediately). Crickets are an easy food source that you can obtain from most pet stores and the occasional pinky mouse for an adult funnelweb won’t do any harm. Offer food at the edge of the burrow or just leave the prey item in the enclosure. Remove dead prey after the funnel web discards it or if it dies without being eaten. You can judge how much food your spider needs by the size of its abdomen, but a cricket or two a week would be more than enough. They can go a very long time without eating and the longer they go without using their venom the more aggressive they become. A scientist, doing venom research at UTS, explained to me that they take quite a while to produce their venom and it builds up and becomes more potent with time. They are instinctively aware of this and are more likely to accept food, or strike at you, if they have been left alone for a while so that more venom can develop.

Maintenance: Keep their soil moist (not soaked) by spraying the enclosure with a water sprayer every few days. They require quite high humidity to breathe from their book-lungs. In Sydney heating is unnecessary and potentially harmful. In fact keep enclosures in a cool spot with no sun exposure, especially if you are using the second enclosure type.

Finally, always treat the spider with the enormous respect that it deserves! They have extremely toxic venom and often a really bad temper. Use long tweezers/forceps when feeding or removing old meals and never put your bare hands anywhere near the spider or its burrow! If any major maintenance needs to be done to the enclosure, then remove the funnelweb first by guiding it into a jar using a metal spoon.

I recommend two books. The Funnelweb by Gillian Scott and The Silken Web by Bert Brunet.

Best of luck.

ED.

 

[dunno103]

great advice ecam, thanks.

 

[ecam8310]

Some photos:

 

[alex_c]

is it illegal...............all reptiles are protected?are they not

a funnel web is a spider its not a reptile.