I just found a big ass False Tarantula outside on our wall. It

Shit, thought I put the location in my op. Northern California. And google is kind of failing me...

>>2253150
>>2253155
Whats the species name? What does it look like?

I think it's a nice idea - I couldn't let a big spider freeze to death. On the other hand it survived pretty well so far. Sucks that they won't let you keep it inside the house.

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>>2253170
I can get a picture tomorrow, but it looks a lot like this. At first I thought we didn't have tarantulas in Cally, but now I don't know if it's a real tarantula, or a 'false' tarantula. So pics tomorrow for sure.
>>2253171
They really don't like it, so I'm trying to look up some info and it all looks pretty similar. Found a tarantula ICU instructable, so that was nice. And another about keeping it on top of the fridge so the gentle heat from the coils can keep it warm. Which is a lucky find because we actually have a fridge in our garage. I think tomorrow I'll look around and see if I can't find a wider glass tank I could make a better setup in, give it some rocks so it can have a little cave and some proper bedding.

>>2253150
Smash it

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>>2253184

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>>2253172
Looks like an Aphonopelma spp.
They are fairly common in your area, you probably found a male, they are looking for females this time a year. If it is male you won't be able to keep it, it will die since it's probably past it's ultimate molt.

Best just to let it go if it is male, it will just walk itself to death in your tank otherwise.

Look and see if it has little hooks on its front two smaller legs.

>>2253194
I'll try to get some good pictures of it tomorrow, and thanks for the info.

>>2253195
One other thing, it's indigenous, and it's a not too distant relative of brachypelma smithi.
Just keep its cage dry, give it a soda bottle cap with fresh water every two to three days and keep it at a comfortable room temperature and it will be fine. You don't need to heat it's enclosure.
Tarantulas eat about a cricket or two a week, good luck!

>>2253199
>>2253199
Ya, I saw that on one of the caresheets. I was thinking of putting him on top of the fridge because the garage gets as cold as outside and will likely drop down to freezing temperatures soon, and that's the only spot I can think of that has a consistent heat source that's gentle too.

>>2253201
Put him in a climate controlled room if possible, you can easily overheat him in a warm surface. Tell your roomates to suck it up, tarantula aren't dangerous to people. Black widows have them beat a hundred times over.

Give him about 4-6 inches of substrate to burrow in for warmth, and he will burrow if he can. Coconut fiber is good, it's cheap, sold in bricks and expands to fill a whole tank. It's ideal for tarantulas.

>>2253205
One of the caresheets I found was saying to pack the dirt tight because they don't like feeling like the ground is going to give way under his feet. I do want to find a bigger tank, but he did come from outside, and he probably is going to die in a few months, I don't want to invest a whole lot.

What I was thinking was:

Long tank with two different sides, a 'soft' side, and a 'hard' side

Two sturdy stacks of rocks on each side for two cave like structures

The local dirt and leaves from outside that he's probably already used to

Small bottle cap for water

Whatever tiny bugs I can find once a week

Put tank on top of fridge to keep him from freezing in the garage, which is also the most dark and quiet place I could keep him

Monitor progress

>>2253201
lol what's freezing to you? 50? 60 degrees? Lol it's 34 where I'm at

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>>2253208
Man, I'm gonna shoot straight with you, your overestimating what these guys need. For example, pic is my baby green bottle blue, he's in a tupperware container on top of my shrimp tank and he's perfectly happy that way.

Just get you a 10 gallon fish tank and a screen lid, get lid clamps too, they are a few bucks and worth the extra security as these guys can climb glass rather easily.

The coconut fiber is like 5ish bucks for a ton of it and you don't have to pack it. You wet it a little to rehydrate and unbrick it and when it dries its at the right consistency, just pat it lightly to flatten it out.

Then just get a good looking stick from outside, make sure it is green and has leaves, clean it a bit and put it in there.

Then go to the grocery store and get a coconut, cut it in half and hollow out the outer shell, make a depression in the dirt with your hand and set the coconut half over it, make sure to cut a little door into it so the spider has an entrance. The spider won't want to leave it when he finds it.

Then just get some crickets from a pet store or fishing store, I don't recommend feeding wild caught food, it could be toxic or poisonous from pesticides.

All this should ruin you like 20 bucks or so depending on where you get it all.

>>2253209
Spiders are cold blooded, dork.

>>2253209
Once the snow hits, it usually drop down to 24-28 Fahrenheit.
>>2253215
>Pesticides. We live near some woods and no one gardens around here, would I really need to worry about that or parasites seeing as he came from outside?

You will PROBABLY be fine, but just remember it only takes one bad cricket to kill your spider. For me it's never worth the risk, but I don't catch my spiders in the back yard either. We don't even have significant wild tarantula populations on the east coast.

>>2253188
Goddamnit now I have to go and watch Snatch again.

>>2253243
Lol

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So, what kinda spider, guys?

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>>2253514

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>>2253515
I also found a critter keeper in the garage.

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>>2253523
I don't know, maybe after a couple weeks (assuming I don't kill him), I might get brave enough to hold him.

>>2253514
>Aphonopelma

Looks like a young one, cover that or it will escape, and you'll have a spider running around the house, they're usually nice when it's cold, but they can climb glass, and are strong enough to lift a lid.

I support you OP, people should care for their local spiders, so people get more used to them and gather more info.

>>2253633
Hmm, so I'm finding a little info but not much. A lot of it is saying they don't really need moist dirt just that bottle cap, but I wonder about if/when it molts? Im in northern Cally, so I'm not sure what it would need as far as moisture in the cage.

>>2253704
You are currently in it's natural habitat, it can't do better than inside the house in the winter.

On food, it's small so you have lots of options.

It can eat roaches and crickets, or anything around that size, ground tarantulas don't usually eat some species in the wild tough, moths for example can give them problems and wasps obviously, it's an usual problem with giving it bugs that enter the house.

>>2253736
Hmm...will it eat pill bugs, small worms, or maybe other small spiders? Otherwise I can just lift rocks and bark pieces until I find something, or find some crickets.

>>2253738
Depending on the season it will eat anything you can give it, take into consideration that it probably hibernates during the winter, or it's a semi-burrow, so you'll don't see it much, or it will not eat, but once it has made housing, it will stay there, tarantulas don't make more than one burrow if they don't have to. Especially ground ones, I don't know for arboreal tarantulas, never had one.

>>2253746
Well as soon as he found the fake coconut husk, he went under it and hasn't come out. I'll probably check on him tomorrow just for a second and leave him alone after that. I wanted to try and lift him up to get a picture of his front near the fangs and see if he's male or not, but I will give him a week or two before trying that. Was thinking of using a toothpic to just gently pic him up and have someone else take the pic for me.

>>2253747
I went to take a piss and turned the light on and saw that he came out of his hidy hole and was feeling the sides of the enclosure. I was going to let him settle in, but if he's already moving around, then should I try to feed him tomorrow?

Or does he just hate being in a tiny bowl?

(would love to get a ten/twenty gallon for him if I can find one)

Bump for interest

Bump, how's the spider doing OP? did he murder your roommates yet

>>2257854
Lol no. He started to build a web in the corner and once in a while I'll see him climb in the glass. I think its too small of an enclosure honestly, he/she is a pretty big spider.

Also, I named him Oswald, and he has definitely been banished to the garage for now so I'll have to get some kind of UTH to just sit near his enclosure once the temps drop down into the thirties and twenties.