Funnelweb in pet shop

[JasonL]

Id love a funnel web, cant imagine it being anymore aggressive than the asian Haplopelma species ive kept, whats the usual price paid for them ?
Would you be allowed to go out and collect youre own ?

They are usually free! if you live in an area they can be found, they can be collected from non protected areas ( ie. National Parks ect) at will, though there's really not many people interested in doing so. They are highly aggressive and will die if stressed out too much.

 

[mysnakesau]

Does anyone else think it's a little strange that Average Joe can keep a Funnel web but years of experience (and expense) are required for something like a RBB?.....

I agree. I think sellers should be very careful who they sell animals like this to. I am sure National Parks' lines "there's no excuse to be bitten" would come in play if something did go wrong.

 

[bylo]

we have some thing like 44 species of funnel web spiders in Australia , some of them have next to no venom at all hence the Sydney funnel web.
the only problem in selling funnel web spiders to me is if there is a miss identification as there is veray little difference in appearance in between some species.
I keep 10 different species my self that I am currently studying .
but we do not sell them to the public .

 

[abbott75]

we have some thing like 44 species of funnel web spiders in Australia , some of them have next to no venom at all hence the Sydney funnel web.
the only problem in selling funnel web spiders to me is if there is a miss identification as there is veray little difference in appearance in between some species.
I keep 10 different species my self that I am currently studying .
but we do not sell them to the public .

This particular spider was a female Blue Mountains Funnel Web.

 

[Lucas]

Go for H infensa or H formidibalis Phil, bigger animals and from around your area i believe.

Cheers
Jordan

infensa and formidibalis are found in SEQ from memory.


Formidibalis sounds like a character out of Asterix, just need to add an X ...........................Formidibalix...:lol:

 

[ozianimals]

Rbb

Does anyone else think it's a little strange that Average Joe can keep a Funnel web but years of experience (and expense) are required for something like a RBB?

Anyway, what are they like to keep?

Funnel webs are not endangered species and you can tread on them quite easily a RBB you should not stand on and they are protected.:lol:

 

[falcon69]

so if everyone went around a stamped on funnelwebs then their would be no spiders to make antivenom...then we would all be stuffed...
i agree with what was said befre, people should not be allowed to go out and buy animals that can kill you..without some sort of experience..i dont think everyone starting out in reptiles would go out and buy a veno..no. most people need some sort of experience to handle them and its the same with spiders,,regardless weather its a tarantula or funnelweb..both can do damage.but the unfortante thing is theres going to be those people who go out and buy these animlas just for the hell of it,or a show thing..its the same with snakes theres also a small majority of people who do the same,,,

 

[ozianimals]

Information on Funnel Web Spiders can be found at http://www.termite.com.au/pest-control-advice.html for all of those interested in them......

 

[ilovepythons]

"people should not be allowed to go out and buy animals that can kill you..without some sort of experience.."

Guess that means that there should be licences for horses, large dogs etc.......................................................

 

[abbott75]

"people should not be allowed to go out and buy animals that can kill you..without some sort of experience.."

Guess that means that there should be licences for horses, large dogs etc.......................................................

Good point. I think that if I had a room I could devote to animals, I'd be fine keeping a Funnel web. That way I could prevent anyone else having contact with it and endangering themselves.

 

[digdown2001]

Hi,
Adult Northern Tree Funnel-web (which by the way are about the most difficult of the FW's to keep in captivity ):

Adult Toowoomba FW:

Being sold in petshops??? That IS scary!

The wandering spiders of South America encounter more people, so more are bitten there then with the FW, however, in a "top ten" list of most venomous, the entire list would fill with FW's (both Atrax and Hadronyche), no other spider is even close (with the exception of the Aussie mouse spiders, genus Missulena. A young girl was bitten up in Gatton in the early 80's, went into a coma and needed to receive the FW antivenine to recover, which she promptly did)

Cheers,
Steve

 

[JasonL]

Nice spiders, is it stress that knocks off the Hadronyche?

 

[abbott75]

They really are nice. Are they captive bred or wild?

 

[digdown2001]

Hi,
Stress is a major factor with the FW's. the Northern Tree species is by far the most highly strung of the group, I remember one I touched once threw a limb! That is a high stress level if ever I heard of one. I have also opened enclosures to see the northerns throw legs at the disturbances, thankfully the fossorial spp. are a lot calmer.

The other two big factors that relate to high mortalities in captivity are humidity and heat. Most of the FW's love a LOT of humidty, yet they loath the warm weather (completely unlike the Aussie tarantulas available nowadays). With this group, the colder you keep them, usually the better you will do. I use a mix of sand and sphagnum moss, which they seem to love mostly. The arboreal spp. get a nice piece of cork....

Cheers,
Steve

 

[JasonL]

Yeah, I have found the only place I could keep Sydneys alive was in tanks under the house (where they thrived). But it was an effort just to get down there to look at them.

 

[richo99]

What's the best environment to keep a Sydney funnel web in? What do they eat?

 

[richo99]

What do they eat?

 

[dragon170]

I never realised there were so many different types of funnel webs always thought there was just the 2 (sydney and tree):shock:. Personally hate spiders they scare the crap out of me but can see why some people would be interested in them but I think I will stick to snakes:lol:

 

[toxinologist]

Atrax robustus might have potent venom, but they could never be classed as a dangerous animal. Youd have to be thick as two short planks to be bitten by a captive critter.

You obviously have little experience with Atrax or Hadronyche spp. Jordan, and have certainly never had one use a milking pipette as a ladder to the fingers holding it...

Funnel webs may well be fascinating spiders to keep in captivity, but if you think for a moment that they are not dangerous then you are seriously deluded, and on a path straight to an Emergency Room.

Bites by male Atrax robustus have caused deaths in humans in as little as 15 minutes. Of 13 definite fatalities between 1927 and 1980, 5 of the victims were >15 years of age. Antivenom is available at major hospitals in the regions where these spiders occur, but it's availability should not be taken as a reason not to be worried about the risks of being bitten.

As with any venomous animal, there are risks and responsibilities if you chose to keep them. I would imagine however that the parents of a child who gets bitten by his or her newly purchased pet funnel-web, might take a fairly dim view of the business or individual who sold it. Some lawyer will probably get to repay his mortgage with the proceeds...

Cheers


David

 

[cockney red]

Sydney Funnelweb is numero uno. Official.

well the guiness book of record states the toxin in the wandering spider is the most potent,
but further reading states it is responsible for deaths in young children.

the sydney funnel web has killed 14 people both adults and children since 1927

havent found anything directly comparing the venom of the two spiders
funnelweb might inject more??