I kinda wish you'd stop doing that 'I hate to call it a dangerous or aggressive' animal. Because these ARE dangerous, and if bit, you will probably die. This isn't an H Mac or OBT that are 'just misunderstood defensive spooders,' (where a bite gives you cramps and burning sensations for months) this and the Dark Den guy's Deathstalkers are very much a dangerous animal. I wouldn't want people to pick this up going 'it can't climb glass! and it prefers to run and hide' to find that one time where it doesn't, and they haven't cleaned the sides of the enclosure in a while or its super dry and static is grabbing all the dust to the walls. There was this video series on pet to zoo rescues, where the guy preps animals for zoos and he made a short series on this particular King Cobra that was rescued from some person on his way to being a Darwin Award recipient, and pretty much came out stating, 'do not under any circumstances get this snake as a pet.' Just because you can be safe around them doesn't make them safe to keep. I just feel like there's been the competition over the last year among the big T youtubers to show off keeping lethal to human animals like its some kind of dare. I don't know who started this trend, as I don't watch allll of you T youtubers, but I do know you all communicate, and I'd like to request that you stop this dare thing before idiots kill themselves. Because the last thing I need is my apt manager to hear about people keeping spiders dying to stupid like the fake tide pods challenge and suddenly I had to show my DL to buy laundry products for a month, and her telling me to get rid of all my T's. Okay? I'm not allowed cats, dogs, rodents, fish, but because T's are 'naturally occurring vermin' according to my lease, I'm allowed to keep them.
God, I hate feeling like I ranted like a Karen, and T keeping isn't the biggest hobby on the planet. But for the love of god, please call dangerous animals 'dangerous.' It'll do everyone a world of good and put expectations of risk at the correct levels. That being, when asked about 'when am I ready to own a Sicarius thomisoides or Death Stalker (like you've gotten for old world T's) you reply with "do you have a will? do you have children? Are your beneficiaries up to date?"
Are you new to my channel? I don't trifle with any of the animals I keep, lethal or not. What I tried to explain in this video is that that they definitely pose a potential for danger...there is zero argument there. What I was also trying to make clear is that some folks feel comfortable keeping them because they are NOT aggressive and they are not quick to bite. Just do some research, and you'll find that there is only one recorded death that is suspected to be by one of these. ONE. Now, do a search on deaths due to cobra bites, whether in captivity or in the wild. I worked with snakes for years, and I can attest to the fact that their mobility can make them a bit trickier to work with. This is why I made a point of stating that the reason why there is less of a danger with this species is the fact that they can't climb glass or plastic. This makes it VERY easily contained and, quite frankly, makes it easier to work with than some of the tarantulas that I keep. And I actually stated in the video that they can't climb clean glass, to make the point clear that they could potentially climb dirty glass. Right there, I'm warning people not to be complacent with them and to be aware of the risks. Is the POTENTIAL for danger there...yes of course. I'm not telling anyone to buy one, nor am I understating what they are capable of. What I try to do is share facts about these animals in an intelligent and level-headed manner. I don't downplay the risks, but at the same time I'm not putting clickbait titles like "LOOK AT MY LETHAL AGGRESSIVE SPIDER" or "THE MOST DANGEROUS SPIDER ON THE PLANET" as those tend to draw more eyes and attract folks who probably should never keep one of these. It's also not realistic and doesn't present the animal accurately. I'm not trying to glamorize these animals, nor am I making videos of them in an effort to prove how "cool" I am or how "manly" I am. There's no competition here; I don't worry about what other people are posting, honestly. I think that my body of work more than supports that I'm I'm in this for education and not for entertainment. The fact is, people are buying these spiders, and many aren't properly informed about them. The purpose of this video is to present clear and factual husbandry information for those who want to keep them; that's it. Besides, there is actually a paper out there that presents studies on their venom, and they were found to be lacking in the protein that would render the bite lethal. I'm sorry that you watched this and came to the conclusion that I was showing off a dangerous animal in some misguided competition. That's not the case. I've had many people ask how I keep mine, and that's exactly what I've presented here. I'm pinning this comment, as if you somehow came to the conclusion that I was saying they don't pose a threat, then perhaps others will as well. To be clear - A bite from this species is nasty. Keep at your own risk. RISKS ---> 1:57 and 3:00
@@TomsBigSpiders I am never going to convince you. That's fine. I said my piece and take it as you must. Though I do seriously believe that this is one species that is better off show cased in a nature documentary instead of a husbandry video.
@UCDqEmEVBwdyHPbD2oWVtAUQ Did you watch this video? Please click the two time stamps above where I speak about the danger it poses. In fact, I even put up the words CAUTION on the bottom to make it clearer for those who may not hear what I'm saying. And I have kept hundreds of spiders now, and I have yet to find one that is "aggressive." They don't rush out to attack you or seek you out for no reason. They are animals that will defend themselves if cornered or threatened. This is most evident in animals that aren't set up correctly, or during rehousings when they are pulled from their homes and become agitated. When one throws up a defense posture or slaps at you, it's trying to defend itself...hence, "defensive" behavior. And as for the lethality, I stated it in the video even though there have been recent studies on its venom that prove it is missing the protein that would make it lethal. I just couldn't find the paper before I had finalized the video. And honestly, there are SO MANY channels out there that talk about how "dangerous" spiders are and how "aggressive", and do so to get views, not because they are trying to warn people with some public service announcement, that the hobby needs someone to balance that off.
@@OrbitalRescueSage Hey man so, there is alot of miss information on these spider, sicarius thomisoidies are actually not dangerous. other sicarius are indeed dangerous and the highly potent of the species were re classified into another genus a few years back. as with most thing true spider information isnt shared very often and google seems to hold the old data which is very frustrating
Hey Tom, always great to wake up with one of your videos. Try not to pay that one guy any mind. I think he's projecting his own irritation at other keepers onto you and it doesn't actually hold any water. Anyone who is familiar with your videos knows you are caring, compassionate, and don't take unnecessary risks to gain views, and that your main goal is to provide factual information about the hobby and try to get people inspired to learn about nature. The fact that you are a parent plays a big part in your caution and compassion, I think. You're trying to keep Billy and the kiddos and the puppies as safe as possible (not to mention the spoods) while you follow your dreams, and we love you for it. Keep up the great work and thanks for inspiring me to dive into the hobby that has brought me so much joy. Love, Morgan.
Hello, Megan! Thank you so much! As for that comment, I had to reply and address it. I could see if he said that he didn't think anyone should keep them because of the potential danger. I wouldn't argued against that opinion at all. I get it. But to say that I was downplaying the danger and to insinuate that I was just posting to "compete" with other UA-camrs? That's SO far from the truth, it was irritating. I wanted to make sure to clarify my position for anyone else who might get the wrong impression. It's done, and I've tried to make my point. :) Thank you so much for your kind words and your support! :)
@@TomsBigSpiders I was talking to David this morning (Eerie Arachnids) and he was saying that the commenter who said that the thomisoides are not actually lethal was correct, and that their bite probably wasn't much worse than a tarantula bite, and that their more venomous cousins actually did get reclassified into their own genus a few years back. Just a heads up. :)
@@morganfiedler119 Hi, Morgan! Yeah, I mentioned the article in the video, but I couldn't find it in time to include it in here. A buddy of mine sent it to me again recently though, so I have it now. Thanks for verifying that!
From what I've noticed, a little dry sphagnum moss strategically placed in arid enclosures tends to take some of the humidity out of the air. I live by a lake in Texas and occasionally had the same issue with super arid species like my Androctonus and Hardurus scorpions. I put in some dry moss on a lark and noticed the A Australis dragged a couple tufts of it under his favorite hiding areas, the H Arizonensus has dragged a bit into the lower areas of her tunnels, and neither have shown signs of stress during humid day since. Obviously, I can't be 100% sure how much of an effect it's had, given my lack of precision instruments for measuring such things, but the scorpions seem to find it helpful. Also, the T Apophysis made a weird, dome shaped den with the moss and some web, so that's an unrelated but amusing thing that happened
Literally minutes ago I almost pulled the trigger and bought one for 98 USD. They were out of stock which gave me time to re-thonk it. I still want one but Im going to keep studying before I do it. I want to be able to lecture my friends about everything I know about them first.
@TomsBigSpiders That would be even better. But I'd still never handle it. It seems to be a perfect pet for me. Minimal care and interesting. I'm still searching. Thank You for the response -Steve
Keeping seriously dangerous animals personally isn’t something I would do, especially venomous snakes, but so long as they can be contained safely, like sand spiders & deathstalker scorps., I don’t have a problem with anyone else keeping them, just so long as the information that they are so dangerous is readily available. Outside of the “gimmick” of them being so potentially deadly, a trait that I don’t doubt draws at least some people’s attention, six-eyed sand spiders are super cool and they look like a fascinating animal to keep. Good job on the enclosure, it looks great! 👍
Hi, Ryan! I completely understand and appreciate that. The deciding factor for me was the fact that they can be easily contained. Snakes can be a bit more wily and unpredictable. Sadly, I think a lot of folks pick them up because of the perceived "danger" of it, which is not okay. Like you, I just find them to be fascinating. Thanks again!
Great video Tom, I own 3 myself all bought as tiny slings. They grow much quicker than I expected molting almost monthly. Not at all defensive just very skittish. Was great to see a update on yours
Tom Moran i read the pinned comment and I honestly believe sicarius are very reluctant to bite I think there venom is a precious resource to them which they solely rely on to catch there prey. I really can’t see someone ever getting bit by a sicarius unless they are intentionally hurting the spider in there hands and then the spider might potentially bite to get away. These spiders just simply aren’t even defensive I’ve never seen a video to prove otherwise. To me this species is no more dangerous than owning a big dog, big python etc..., I feel more at risk driving my car to work everyday lol. Also just wanted to say I’m a big fan of the podcast, love listening to it while I do maintenance. Thanks fo all the great content you give us Keep up the great work
Awesome video Tom. These little guys are amazing! Every time I see them come up for sale in the UK they sell out before I can buy them. I’ll have one one day though 🤞I love the look of the enclosure too. Very nice.
Hola, Tink! :) It's one of my favorites in my collection. Glad to hear that you guys still have them over there...they've been pretty scarce in the US! Thanks again!!!
I love this genus so much, but I get very nervous about getting one. Great video! Thanks for showing how you rehouse! Super useful. Makes me feel better about getting one, not ready yet. In the future though!
Just listened to the latest podcast. You just keep being you mate. Never change what you do. You are the most respected UA-camr amongst actual hobbyists. Certainly here in the UK where your regularly mentioned in Facebook groups etc. Your message is being heard. Keep up the good work 👍
I just bought a sling! It hasn't shipped yet but I'm so excited I finally found one!!! Thank you for the videos I watch every one that I can on this species. So interesting!
It's videos like this that helped me determine what type of spiders I wanted to keep. I knew nothing about spiders but was interested in owning some T's. I made a list of T's from pictures and it wasn't until I did months of research on different types of spiders from watching videos from Tom Moran, Dark Den, The Tarantula Collective, Tarantula Kat, Tarantula Haven and more that my list dwindled to New World T's, and specific "Newbie" T's. These videos were/are very informative and if it wasn't for experienced people like this I may have purchased a T that was way above my experience level. Thank you Tom, keep up the great work. I've learned a lot and want to continue to learn more about the hobby.
This was more exhilarating than any recent action movies I’ve watched 🤣😅🤣😅🤣 good work! I was thinking about how I’d handle this...honestly I’d probably just have gently poured her whole enclosure into the new one. Would that have been an okay way to do it? I can’t wait to work my way up to one of these incredible spiders 🙌🙌
Hey, Amberly! hahaha You need one like this every once in a while. I would do it the exact same way if I were you...you'll be fine. If you try to pour it, I would worry that it could climb up the side of the enclosure when the sand sticks to it. Just my two cents, though!
Mine is kept in a large jar that I cut a hole in the lid and glued screen in. It’s a large plastic jar with a screw lid so she’s pretty well in prison now. I use long forceps to remove dead insects and old molts.
Gotta tell you Tom I was sweating watching that. I've watched a tonne of your tarantula videos and am getting used to most of them but true spiders still scare the hell out of me and this one had my heart rate through the roof lol. I just love your true respect for these spiders. I keep many scorpions for the reasons you pointed out that they don't climb my enclosures and they are pretty easy to read . Having said that in the uk at the moment we have a lot of tiny jumping spiders around at the moment and I have taken to collecting them in small enclosures so I'm getting there slowly but I can tell you now these sand spiders will never be sharing my accommodation with me.
It's funny because even after I got over my fear of tarantulas, it took me a little while to get over my fear of true spiders. Jumping spiders are a GREAT way to get into keeping true spiders. They are just so fun and adorable! Thanks, bud!
I love these little guys, sadly i lost my sling in a moult, but would love to get another one. Brilliant rehouse. I use very similar enclosures for my tarantulas and love them to pieces!
Hi Tom! great video as always, these guys look a lot like huntsman spiders, especially the carapace, although they're not very super leggy like the huntsman IMO by the way, it'll be awesome if you can do a video ( or a podcast episode ) on various types of mold that usually grow on tarantula enclosures I usually just rehouse my Ts straight away if I spot some yellow mold growing in the enclosure, I always give the enclosure plenty of vent holes but somehow they keep coming back maybe because the humidity is a bit high here in where I live but I saw exotics lair's video the other day and he said that those type of mold are not dangerous to the Ts I did some research online but the results were very ambiguous.
Hello! Thank you so much. I can totally see that! I plan on doing a podcast on it. A buddy of mine knows a lot about fungi, and I'm going to get him on to talk about the various kinds you can get. He, too, has told me that most are harmless (like that yellow mushroom stuff).
Yeah the six eyed sand spider it is truly so fun to watch them hunt but I don’t think I could keep it in my house because I am kind of a worry wart and I think I would always be freaked out that it may have escaped. LOL great video!
Hey Tom I love the vids and I also love the podcast! I loved the podcast about comparing tarantulas to people and I have been listening to the podcasts I have not caught up to while doing some yardwork. Ever since I saw this species I have really wanted one but I will probably wait until I get my own house. (I am 15) I love to keep animals to observe them without handling. Right now I have 7 tarantulas and 4 scorpions and a lot of isopods, millipedes and roaches too. I listened to the podcast about isopods a little while ago and wanted to mention that when keeping most species of isopods it is a good idea to supply them with cuttlebone for a calcium supplement and I could definitely see many species going after a melting tarantula when given the opportunity. Sorry for the long comment but I really appreciate what you do and you have helped me a ton and also helped me to convince my parents to let me get tarantulas and scorpions.
Hello, Basement Pets! Thank you so much! I love to hear what people do when they listen to the podcast; that is so fascinating to me. haha And you're so lucky that you are able to have an exotics collection! My mom absolutely forbade me to get any. haha That is AWESOME that I was able to help you convince your parents to let you get some. Man...so cool! And awesome tip; thank you so much!
I have not seen you making a information video on Ephebopus murinus? Besides the Phormictopus, Ephebopus is probably my favourite NW genus! The NW versions of Ornictoctonus. Please do Tom.
I come from African Cichlids and we used to use Black Diamond(kiss song) Blasting Sand for substrate. It's inert and not harmful to fish. Fish keepers have even used it with scaleless type fish like loaches. Its super cheap too. It can be found and tractor supply or farm supply stores. I wonder if that sand would work as well? Having the black sand might give the spider a pepper look after they use it to camouflage
@@TomsBigSpiders Haha thomisoides get alot of stick theres some nice papers out there detailing the lack of proteins and such in the venom that would cause us harm, other sicarius and the rest that were moved to hexo genus are a different kettle of fish and would really ruin you day
@@HouseOfBugs Yup, I found the articles again after I put this together, so I only briefly mentioned it in the video. Might have to do an update.... :)
They aren’t aggressive and the worse one is sicarius hahni awesome video cheers I forgot to say that I have two of them I’ve had them about one year and they are probably only half grown
As alway, a great video. The species is a bit too cryptid for me (I’m too old to stare at an enclosure of sand). However, I did order a Herpcult enclosure. Not sure what’s going in it, but they look pretty damn cool. Thanks!
Hey Tom, I have a friend and fellow admin on my Facebook Group who has studied venom and toxicity for many years now, he also told me of the article you referred to early in the video, its states that the South American Sicarius sp spiders are lacking a certain protein that the African spiders that were thought to also belong to Sicarius have in their venom that makes the African sp very dangerous, this is why the African sp have now been reclassified as Hexophthalm. My friend has posted pictures of himself handling his Sicarius thomisoides which I dont advocate anyone else attempting what so ever by the way just to be on the safe side. I wish I could find the article again but after a quick search its eluded me!
Hey, bud! Yeah, this was the paper I alluded to in the video. I couldn't find it in time for this, and I didn't want to downplay the potential risk just in case. I'll do an update on this one soon! Thank you!
Hi, recent studies showed that some south american ones are very dangerous, such as Sicarius thomisoides and Sicarius ornatus, they have a protein content of almost 400 micrograms, as well as the african ones, more than the brown recluse.
Completely understood! The good news is that they a recent study showed that they are missing the protein in their venom that would make them lethal (so they are not as dangerous as people once thought).
Love these spiders, but I don’t have one yet :) maybe one day I will pick a few up 👍🏻 Maybe you could use a soft natural bristle paint brush to get the sand out of the sliding lid bit?
Hello, LoveWolf 9! If you're prepared and are aware of the potential risk, they are amazing spiders. I actually tried that, and it helped a bit! haha Thanks!
I’ll wait a few more years before I get any :) They’re amazing animals and I wouldn’t want to just jump in and grab some without more experience in keeping very fast spiders 👍🏻
To oribitalrescuesage: Tom is a humble guy who will say “I’m not an expert” , but he has been keeping, observing, and studying the behaviors of these animals for over 20 years. In any other job, that would define someone as an expert, IMO. Sit down and watch a few of the videos. I have never ever heard him downplay any of the risks of keeping any kind of animal.
Thanks for the vote of confidence...I truly appreciate it. I found that comment to be perplexing, as I tried to make the risks very clear while also being realistic about it. It sounds more like he's against anyone keeping potentially deadly animals, and that I can appreciate. What I did NOT appreciate was the insinuation that I was posting this to "compete" with other UA-camrs. Oh well...can't please them all! :)
Hi Tom, are you still keeping them Sicarius thomisoides? Me and probably lots of others would like to see an update about them. Thanks for your work, have a good day.
Hey Tom, quick question: I know that M. balfouri can be kept communally. Is it something that should always be done? I thought I heard somewhere that keeping them singly results in higher mortality rates. I have an opportunity to get one, but I couldn't start a colony. I don't want to get it if keeping it alone is bad husbandry. Thanks as always.
I keep three by themselves before attempting the communal, and they did fine. They DID grow more slowly, however, and seemed to be less bold. I don't think that keeping them alone is bad husbandry at all. Hope that helps!
Awesome video Tom, next step Phoneutria genus! In all seriousness though I just picked up an interesting species from Fearnot that I have not seen before or heard about until I saw it listed on their website and absolutely had to add to my collection. The Cotztetlana sp. Puebla! Beautiful looking adult coloration and my .5" sling took to burrowing within a couple hours of unboxing and rehousing which was really cool to watch in real time. Most of my burrowers (barring my A. seemanni, she does whatever she wants) do so in the dead of night so I don't often get to watch the process, what are your thoughts on this species so far? Keep doing what you do, thank you Tom!
Hahaha. Yup! And I have a Cotztetlana sp. Puebla sling as well! Fat little bugger needs to molt soon. haha That's awesome that it let you see it dig! Mine is sitting right on top of it's substrate. I've been feeding it prekilled prey, and it usually fills up after a couple feedings. Right now, it's booty is huge and dark, so I'm hoping for a molt soon! Like you, I find them to be gorgeous as adults, so I'm excited about growing this one up! Thank you!
I hate jack in the boxes, when I was a toddler on Christmas morning my parents gave me a jack in the box, I began to twist the handle and the clown popped out scaring me to the point where I still hate them several decades later 😂😂😂😂. I do have one of these spiders and I’m learning everything I can about her to keep myself and anyone who visits safe. Awesome looking spider though.
Great video good info as always. big thumbs up! I think you should treat any animal that can potentially harm you as though it were a gun educate yourself on it understand it respect it and you shouldn't have any problems with it. that's the approach you take with all your videos. a little calm and scenes can go a long way Tarantulas/True Spiders can be a great hobby but like all things in life understand it before you jump into it. and that's why I like your videos very educational and helpful. keep up the great work.
Hey, thanks so much! I agree completely. It's about understanding it and respecting it...and that's what I try to demonstrate. It's not about thrills or click bait. I wan't people to walk away from these videos learning something and having a realistic and not sensationalize presentation of these animals. Thank you for getting it! :)
Hi, Ben! I believe that this is the one: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3749972/#:~:text=Author%20Summary-,The%20spider%20family%20Sicariidae%20includes%20two%20genera%2C%20Sicarius%20and%20Loxosceles,systemic%20effects%20observed%20in%20loxoscelism
Really good video Tom I was worried for u. Really cool looking spider.the key is give them respect and should have no worries.the spider shop had some very potent tarantulas close family to the sidney funnel web just a little less potent not for me as they should stay in the wild,total respect for u Tom in keeping the sand spider.
Hello, James! Thanks so much, bud. I agree completely. I gave it a lot of thought before deciding to keep this one, and the deciding factor was the fact that it couldn't climb glass or plastic. :)
@@TomsBigSpiders I haven't seen any, even in the black market. I don't know if I have to worry about humidity but people keeping desert animals here are not having problems.
Cool spider. I love to see them digging themselves in. It is funny and cute. Would not like to keep one though because of the venom and since one can see them for a short time when they hunt. I have got two questions about sth. different. The first one is what size the minimum size for a Damon diadema or a different tailless whip scorion (adult) is. Are there some smaller species that can be kept in a 20cm*20cm*30cm enclosure? Second thing: How long can jumping spider slings be kept communally? I have captured a native jumper. She laid eggs and I spotted several tiny little ones yesterday.
Hello, Aphilia! I LOVE the videos of them burying themselves. I agree...it's adorable. A 20 x 20 x 30 would probably work for an adult D. diadema. As for the jumping spiders, mine started feeding on each other rather early on...maybe a couple weeks or so?
Alien Facehugger... I had to pause the video Until I could stop laughing. I have wanted to add this species to my collection and have been looking for one for about a year now with no luck. Any ideas of where I could find one or two? Also I have a few different sizes of these enclosures. What I do is take a cotton swab and run a thin line of vegetable oil around the sides of the lid where it slides in. Then I take a eye glass cleaning cloth as it is very soft and wipe the excess vegetable oil off very carefully so you cannot even see it. So far this has worked really well for me and being able to slide the lids in and out without that sound or scratching them.
Hahahaha! Tell me that they don't look like them? haha Thanks, John. I've been looking for more myself, and I'm not finding any. I keep an eye on fauna classifieds, as they get posted up there every so often. And that is an AWESOME tip...thank you!
I think these spiders are amazing, it's one i would love to have in the future but at the same time they kinda terrify me!🤣 I think you should defo get more for your collection. That way i can just see yours instead of getting any myself. Be a lot safer that way lol
these are really interesting spoods and i like how they cover themselfs in sand. but I dont think I would keep them myself. but then idk if I should even be allowed to have a T. albo or G. rosea atm bcus yesterday I was frantic and w/ that horrible sick feeling while I moved furniture and looked under stuff searching for my H. maculata for like 40 mins then when I finally felt like giving up and crying I realised it hadnt escaped after all and I was looking in the wrong enclosure 😢
Hello, Super Loops! Totally understood. I gave a lot of thought it before getting mine. Oh no...that's terrible! I'm so glad that you figured it out. I think that kind of stuff happens to the best of us. The other day, I was feeding slings when I realized that I was missing one...the dram bottle was just GONE. I freaked out, because I had put a bunch of empty dram bottles in my garage a week or so before, and it was sweltering it there. After going through all of the ones in the garage, I realized that I had rehoused it recently into another enclosure. UGH. Talk about a brain fart. :(
I realise this video is old but... I think it's worth pointing out that I live in the United Kingdom and spiders such as Lactrodectus,Loxoceles,Phoneutria etc are all on the D.W.A list here. Sicarius, however are not and this is because whilst these spiders are potentially very dangerous the actual risk of being bitten is very very low. I think you covered this aspect in the video very well and in a mature way too. As far as I can tell it is in fact only Sicarius Hahni which is deemed to be fatal to humans (as we spider keepers know anything with Hexa/Hexo in the name is to be avoided!) but of course one would not want to be bitten by any Sicarius! It's probably fair to say that statiscally you would be more likely to be bitten by the family dog or killed by a car than being bitten by a sand spider. The rehouse went very well and smooth and the old transparent cup and cardboard is how I deal with all my spiders. Fascinating spiders for sure and how amazing that something so small could potentially be so dangerous to a much larger animal such as a human. Much respect for these little spiders...great video. P.S Good one for pointing out the static...I feel your pain lol.
Hello, Paula! Thanks so much for watching and for the kind words. There is still much discussion over just how potent this species venom is to people. Many now think that it's not that bad. That said, great point in that you shouldn't be in danger of getting bitten in the first place.
Devilmeow explained it perfectly. I'm normally a huge proponent of giving them dishes, but this species is not at all tolerant of high humidity. A dish would be a detriment.
Doesn't it, Joyce? hahahaha And I'm honestly not sure. They spend most of their time submerged in sand, so I wouldn't think that better eyesight would be needed. I could be wrong, though! I hope you and yours are well!
@@TomsBigSpiders I do not have the flu but I broke my left foot last 2 toes and then 2 days later fell in the laundry room and hit my head on the washer. You would not think a metal washer could leave big knots on the back of your head. My head has been banged, crashed and bonked and yet it never breaks or gets damaged (that we know of). At age 5 I was sitting in the front seat of my sister's car and she crashed into the car in front of her, no seatbelts in the 1950's, so my head left a huge spider web crack and totaled her windshield, my head had a bump but no blood and no breaks. Perhaps I was going to be a genius but well, the world will never know. Ha Ha. Stay well and God bless your and your family. Give my hugs to Billie.
I thought this spider was a lot less venomous than it's cousin the Hexophthalma hahni, which is what people think of when someone mentions six eyes sand spider.
they would come out, hanging around during night time...wutever, just wanna ask that would overfeeding lead to death of the spider? cuz I kinda feed mine a bit too much that its abdomen is like 4 times the size of its carapace...
This species can live quite a long time if not overfed. The though is that, in the wild, they do not eat all that often due to the scarcity of food. So, I wouldn't be so aggressive with the feeding schedule personally.
Yeah, that was the paper I was talking about in the video. Unfortunately, I didn't find it in time. They moved the really potent ones to another genus. Thanks, Jacob!
I've had this kind of spider before. but a rarer species that I got for free. I can't remember the name but it had a upside down smiley face marking on it's face. Supposedly threatened due to habitat loss.
All I can see when I see these is the “spider that couldn’t hide” I seen that video years ago and never realized until recently that they’re so venomous. Cool spiders, but I won’t be owning one 😬. “I cannot see you, therefore you cannot see me”
I kinda wish you'd stop doing that 'I hate to call it a dangerous or aggressive' animal. Because these ARE dangerous, and if bit, you will probably die. This isn't an H Mac or OBT that are 'just misunderstood defensive spooders,' (where a bite gives you cramps and burning sensations for months) this and the Dark Den guy's Deathstalkers are very much a dangerous animal. I wouldn't want people to pick this up going 'it can't climb glass! and it prefers to run and hide' to find that one time where it doesn't, and they haven't cleaned the sides of the enclosure in a while or its super dry and static is grabbing all the dust to the walls. There was this video series on pet to zoo rescues, where the guy preps animals for zoos and he made a short series on this particular King Cobra that was rescued from some person on his way to being a Darwin Award recipient, and pretty much came out stating, 'do not under any circumstances get this snake as a pet.' Just because you can be safe around them doesn't make them safe to keep. I just feel like there's been the competition over the last year among the big T youtubers to show off keeping lethal to human animals like its some kind of dare. I don't know who started this trend, as I don't watch allll of you T youtubers, but I do know you all communicate, and I'd like to request that you stop this dare thing before idiots kill themselves. Because the last thing I need is my apt manager to hear about people keeping spiders dying to stupid like the fake tide pods challenge and suddenly I had to show my DL to buy laundry products for a month, and her telling me to get rid of all my T's. Okay? I'm not allowed cats, dogs, rodents, fish, but because T's are 'naturally occurring vermin' according to my lease, I'm allowed to keep them.
God, I hate feeling like I ranted like a Karen, and T keeping isn't the biggest hobby on the planet. But for the love of god, please call dangerous animals 'dangerous.' It'll do everyone a world of good and put expectations of risk at the correct levels. That being, when asked about 'when am I ready to own a Sicarius thomisoides or Death Stalker (like you've gotten for old world T's) you reply with "do you have a will? do you have children? Are your beneficiaries up to date?"
Are you new to my channel? I don't trifle with any of the animals I keep, lethal or not. What I tried to explain in this video is that that they definitely pose a potential for danger...there is zero argument there. What I was also trying to make clear is that some folks feel comfortable keeping them because they are NOT aggressive and they are not quick to bite. Just do some research, and you'll find that there is only one recorded death that is suspected to be by one of these. ONE. Now, do a search on deaths due to cobra bites, whether in captivity or in the wild. I worked with snakes for years, and I can attest to the fact that their mobility can make them a bit trickier to work with. This is why I made a point of stating that the reason why there is less of a danger with this species is the fact that they can't climb glass or plastic. This makes it VERY easily contained and, quite frankly, makes it easier to work with than some of the tarantulas that I keep. And I actually stated in the video that they can't climb clean glass, to make the point clear that they could potentially climb dirty glass. Right there, I'm warning people not to be complacent with them and to be aware of the risks. Is the POTENTIAL for danger there...yes of course. I'm not telling anyone to buy one, nor am I understating what they are capable of. What I try to do is share facts about these animals in an intelligent and level-headed manner. I don't downplay the risks, but at the same time I'm not putting clickbait titles like "LOOK AT MY LETHAL AGGRESSIVE SPIDER" or "THE MOST DANGEROUS SPIDER ON THE PLANET" as those tend to draw more eyes and attract folks who probably should never keep one of these. It's also not realistic and doesn't present the animal accurately. I'm not trying to glamorize these animals, nor am I making videos of them in an effort to prove how "cool" I am or how "manly" I am. There's no competition here; I don't worry about what other people are posting, honestly. I think that my body of work more than supports that I'm I'm in this for education and not for entertainment. The fact is, people are buying these spiders, and many aren't properly informed about them. The purpose of this video is to present clear and factual husbandry information for those who want to keep them; that's it. Besides, there is actually a paper out there that presents studies on their venom, and they were found to be lacking in the protein that would render the bite lethal. I'm sorry that you watched this and came to the conclusion that I was showing off a dangerous animal in some misguided competition. That's not the case. I've had many people ask how I keep mine, and that's exactly what I've presented here. I'm pinning this comment, as if you somehow came to the conclusion that I was saying they don't pose a threat, then perhaps others will as well. To be clear - A bite from this species is nasty. Keep at your own risk. RISKS ---> 1:57 and 3:00
@@TomsBigSpiders I am never going to convince you. That's fine. I said my piece and take it as you must. Though I do seriously believe that this is one species that is better off show cased in a nature documentary instead of a husbandry video.
@UCDqEmEVBwdyHPbD2oWVtAUQ Did you watch this video? Please click the two time stamps above where I speak about the danger it poses. In fact, I even put up the words CAUTION on the bottom to make it clearer for those who may not hear what I'm saying. And I have kept hundreds of spiders now, and I have yet to find one that is "aggressive." They don't rush out to attack you or seek you out for no reason. They are animals that will defend themselves if cornered or threatened. This is most evident in animals that aren't set up correctly, or during rehousings when they are pulled from their homes and become agitated. When one throws up a defense posture or slaps at you, it's trying to defend itself...hence, "defensive" behavior. And as for the lethality, I stated it in the video even though there have been recent studies on its venom that prove it is missing the protein that would make it lethal. I just couldn't find the paper before I had finalized the video. And honestly, there are SO MANY channels out there that talk about how "dangerous" spiders are and how "aggressive", and do so to get views, not because they are trying to warn people with some public service announcement, that the hobby needs someone to balance that off.
@@OrbitalRescueSage Hey man so, there is alot of miss information on these spider, sicarius thomisoidies are actually not dangerous. other sicarius are indeed dangerous and the highly potent of the species were re classified into another genus a few years back. as with most thing true spider information isnt shared very often and google seems to hold the old data which is very frustrating
Hey Tom, always great to wake up with one of your videos. Try not to pay that one guy any mind. I think he's projecting his own irritation at other keepers onto you and it doesn't actually hold any water. Anyone who is familiar with your videos knows you are caring, compassionate, and don't take unnecessary risks to gain views, and that your main goal is to provide factual information about the hobby and try to get people inspired to learn about nature. The fact that you are a parent plays a big part in your caution and compassion, I think. You're trying to keep Billy and the kiddos and the puppies as safe as possible (not to mention the spoods) while you follow your dreams, and we love you for it. Keep up the great work and thanks for inspiring me to dive into the hobby that has brought me so much joy.
Love, Morgan.
Hello, Megan! Thank you so much! As for that comment, I had to reply and address it. I could see if he said that he didn't think anyone should keep them because of the potential danger. I wouldn't argued against that opinion at all. I get it. But to say that I was downplaying the danger and to insinuate that I was just posting to "compete" with other UA-camrs? That's SO far from the truth, it was irritating. I wanted to make sure to clarify my position for anyone else who might get the wrong impression. It's done, and I've tried to make my point. :) Thank you so much for your kind words and your support! :)
@@TomsBigSpiders I was talking to David this morning (Eerie Arachnids) and he was saying that the commenter who said that the thomisoides are not actually lethal was correct, and that their bite probably wasn't much worse than a tarantula bite, and that their more venomous cousins actually did get reclassified into their own genus a few years back. Just a heads up. :)
@@morganfiedler119 Hi, Morgan! Yeah, I mentioned the article in the video, but I couldn't find it in time to include it in here. A buddy of mine sent it to me again recently though, so I have it now. Thanks for verifying that!
Your quarantine look is getting Shakespearean
Bahahahaha As a huge fan of Shakespeare, I'm totally okay with that. I'm rocking my best Macbeth! :)
From what I've noticed, a little dry sphagnum moss strategically placed in arid enclosures tends to take some of the humidity out of the air. I live by a lake in Texas and occasionally had the same issue with super arid species like my Androctonus and Hardurus scorpions. I put in some dry moss on a lark and noticed the A Australis dragged a couple tufts of it under his favorite hiding areas, the H Arizonensus has dragged a bit into the lower areas of her tunnels, and neither have shown signs of stress during humid day since. Obviously, I can't be 100% sure how much of an effect it's had, given my lack of precision instruments for measuring such things, but the scorpions seem to find it helpful. Also, the T Apophysis made a weird, dome shaped den with the moss and some web, so that's an unrelated but amusing thing that happened
Hello, Sergei! That's an excellent idea; I'll have to try it out and see how it works. Thank you!
Been looking to add one of these to my collection! Been one of my favorite spiders since i was a kid. Nice video!
They are such cool spiders! And thank you!
I just got a couple! So freaking cool! And cute when they dig. Was sort of hard to find tho
I’ve been on a search for these guys. I think they are so cool to watch eat and bury themselves
I just got four
Happy to find a video of rehoming one, I have 2 that I’ve had since they were a month old, now they’re the size of nickels. Should be fun to move 😫
Hi, Jen! They can't climb plastic, so use that to your advantage! :)
Literally minutes ago I almost pulled the trigger and bought one for 98 USD. They were out of stock which gave me time to re-thonk it.
I still want one but Im going to keep studying before I do it. I want to be able to lecture my friends about everything I know about them first.
For the record, they now believe that the venom isn't nearly as bad as it was originally made out to be. Hopefully, you get one. They are amazing. :)
@TomsBigSpiders That would be even better. But I'd still never handle it. It seems to be a perfect pet for me. Minimal care and interesting. I'm still searching. Thank You for the response
-Steve
That fact about them embedding grains of sand into their exo skeleton is mad! Like to see a close up of that happening
I would love to catch them doing it. It seems to happen over time.
Keeping seriously dangerous animals personally isn’t something I would do, especially venomous snakes, but so long as they can be contained safely, like sand spiders & deathstalker scorps., I don’t have a problem with anyone else keeping them, just so long as the information that they are so dangerous is readily available.
Outside of the “gimmick” of them being so potentially deadly, a trait that I don’t doubt draws at least some people’s attention, six-eyed sand spiders are super cool and they look like a fascinating animal to keep.
Good job on the enclosure, it looks great! 👍
Hi, Ryan! I completely understand and appreciate that. The deciding factor for me was the fact that they can be easily contained. Snakes can be a bit more wily and unpredictable. Sadly, I think a lot of folks pick them up because of the perceived "danger" of it, which is not okay. Like you, I just find them to be fascinating. Thanks again!
Much Love from Newfoundland. Keep up the good work!!!
Thank you so much, Sigma! :)
I love these guys! Great video, Tom.
Thanks so much, Suz! :)
Great video Tom, I own 3 myself all bought as tiny slings. They grow much quicker than I expected molting almost monthly.
Not at all defensive just very skittish. Was great to see a update on yours
Thank so much, Matt! Yeah, mine are just skittish if I catch them out. I've never witnessed defensive behavior either!
Tom Moran i read the pinned comment and I honestly believe sicarius are very reluctant to bite I think there venom is a precious resource to them which they solely rely on to catch there prey.
I really can’t see someone ever getting bit by a sicarius unless they are intentionally hurting the spider in there hands and then the spider might potentially bite to get away.
These spiders just simply aren’t even defensive I’ve never seen a video to prove otherwise.
To me this species is no more dangerous than owning a big dog, big python etc..., I feel more at risk driving my car to work everyday lol.
Also just wanted to say I’m a big fan of the podcast, love listening to it while I do maintenance. Thanks fo all the great content you give us Keep up the great work
Awesome video Tom. These little guys are amazing! Every time I see them come up for sale in the UK they sell out before I can buy them. I’ll have one one day though 🤞I love the look of the enclosure too. Very nice.
Hola, Tink! :) It's one of my favorites in my collection. Glad to hear that you guys still have them over there...they've been pretty scarce in the US! Thanks again!!!
Another great video Tom, as always.
Thank you very much, Helen! :)
Very intense video. Great job with the rehousing.
Thanks so much, bud!
I love this genus so much, but I get very nervous about getting one. Great video! Thanks for showing how you rehouse! Super useful. Makes me feel better about getting one, not ready yet. In the future though!
They are such awesome spiders. I just wish that they were more readily available!
These are kool. Thanks for the video and info Tom!
Hi, Sara Jean! Thank you so much! Yeah, these are cool little guys. :)
Another great video bud. I've been looking for these for a while. Would love to own one
No one seems to have them at the moment...I'm getting worried. A couple years ago, they were everywhere. I'll let you know if I see any!
Great video Tom! Yes, it is not a speicies you want to have loose in the house
Thanks, bud! Yeah, that would get me in some trouble with Billie! haha
@@TomsBigSpiders what is worse, an angry Billie ir a loose sandspider? :)
Just listened to the latest podcast. You just keep being you mate. Never change what you do. You are the most respected UA-camr amongst actual hobbyists. Certainly here in the UK where your regularly mentioned in Facebook groups etc. Your message is being heard. Keep up the good work 👍
Hello, Ian! Thank you so much, bud....I appreciate that. Don't worry, I don't plan on changing. haha I just had to share a bit of my frustration. :)
I just bought a sling! It hasn't shipped yet but I'm so excited I finally found one!!! Thank you for the videos I watch every one that I can on this species. So interesting!
Hello, Carly! That's awesome...congrats! They really are fascinating. :)
I love true vids hopefully you do more in the future!
Thank you so much!
Such an interesting little spider! Very nice video.
Thank you very much, Kayla!
It's videos like this that helped me determine what type of spiders I wanted to keep. I knew nothing about spiders but was interested in owning some T's. I made a list of T's from pictures and it wasn't until I did months of research on different types of spiders from watching videos from Tom Moran, Dark Den, The Tarantula Collective, Tarantula Kat, Tarantula Haven and more that my list dwindled to New World T's, and specific "Newbie" T's. These videos were/are very informative and if it wasn't for experienced people like this I may have purchased a T that was way above my experience level. Thank you Tom, keep up the great work. I've learned a lot and want to continue to learn more about the hobby.
Hello, Louie! That's fantastic! :) Thank you so much!
This was more exhilarating than any recent action movies I’ve watched 🤣😅🤣😅🤣 good work! I was thinking about how I’d handle this...honestly I’d probably just have gently poured her whole enclosure into the new one. Would that have been an okay way to do it?
I can’t wait to work my way up to one of these incredible spiders 🙌🙌
Hey, Amberly! hahaha You need one like this every once in a while. I would do it the exact same way if I were you...you'll be fine. If you try to pour it, I would worry that it could climb up the side of the enclosure when the sand sticks to it. Just my two cents, though!
They are awesome spiders. mine is only small, but enjoy watching it grow. and hunt.
Hello, Andy! They are really fun to grow up!
Mine is kept in a large jar that I cut a hole in the lid and glued screen in. It’s a large plastic jar with a screw lid so she’s pretty well in prison now. I use long forceps to remove dead insects and old molts.
Gotta tell you Tom I was sweating watching that. I've watched a tonne of your tarantula videos and am getting used to most of them but true spiders still scare the hell out of me and this one had my heart rate through the roof lol. I just love your true respect for these spiders. I keep many scorpions for the reasons you pointed out that they don't climb my enclosures and they are pretty easy to read . Having said that in the uk at the moment we have a lot of tiny jumping spiders around at the moment and I have taken to collecting them in small enclosures so I'm getting there slowly but I can tell you now these sand spiders will never be sharing my accommodation with me.
It's funny because even after I got over my fear of tarantulas, it took me a little while to get over my fear of true spiders. Jumping spiders are a GREAT way to get into keeping true spiders. They are just so fun and adorable! Thanks, bud!
Awesome vid!
Can’t wait to see more❤️
New sub here 🤘🏻
Thank you so much, Alijah! :) And welcome! :)
I love these little guys, sadly i lost my sling in a moult, but would love to get another one. Brilliant rehouse. I use very similar enclosures for my tarantulas and love them to pieces!
Hi, Beth! Awwww...I'm so sorry to hear about that! Hopefully, you find another one soon! :) Thank you!
Hi Tom! great video as always,
these guys look a lot like huntsman spiders, especially the carapace, although they're not very super leggy like the huntsman IMO
by the way, it'll be awesome if you can do a video ( or a podcast episode ) on various types of mold that usually grow on tarantula enclosures
I usually just rehouse my Ts straight away if I spot some yellow mold growing in the enclosure, I always give the enclosure plenty of vent holes but somehow they keep coming back
maybe because the humidity is a bit high here in where I live
but I saw exotics lair's video the other day and he said that those type of mold are not dangerous to the Ts
I did some research online but the results were very ambiguous.
Hello! Thank you so much. I can totally see that!
I plan on doing a podcast on it. A buddy of mine knows a lot about fungi, and I'm going to get him on to talk about the various kinds you can get. He, too, has told me that most are harmless (like that yellow mushroom stuff).
Yeah the six eyed sand spider it is truly so fun to watch them hunt but I don’t think I could keep it in my house because I am kind of a worry wart and I think I would always be freaked out that it may have escaped. LOL great video!
Totally understandable! I had to give it a LOT of thought before I got mine. At least now we know that they are NOT lethal!
Hey Tom I love the vids and I also love the podcast! I loved the podcast about comparing tarantulas to people and I have been listening to the podcasts I have not caught up to while doing some yardwork. Ever since I saw this species I have really wanted one but I will probably wait until I get my own house. (I am 15) I love to keep animals to observe them without handling. Right now I have 7 tarantulas and 4 scorpions and a lot of isopods, millipedes and roaches too. I listened to the podcast about isopods a little while ago and wanted to mention that when keeping most species of isopods it is a good idea to supply them with cuttlebone for a calcium supplement and I could definitely see many species going after a melting tarantula when given the opportunity. Sorry for the long comment but I really appreciate what you do and you have helped me a ton and also helped me to convince my parents to let me get tarantulas and scorpions.
Hello, Basement Pets! Thank you so much! I love to hear what people do when they listen to the podcast; that is so fascinating to me. haha And you're so lucky that you are able to have an exotics collection! My mom absolutely forbade me to get any. haha That is AWESOME that I was able to help you convince your parents to let you get some. Man...so cool! And awesome tip; thank you so much!
@@TomsBigSpiders no problem thanks for the response!
I have not seen you making a information video on Ephebopus murinus? Besides the Phormictopus, Ephebopus is probably my favourite NW genus! The NW versions of Ornictoctonus. Please do Tom.
I planned on doing one, but my last specimen was a male, and I didn't get much footage of him. I'll definitely work on one!
I come from African Cichlids and we used to use Black Diamond(kiss song) Blasting Sand for substrate. It's inert and not harmful to fish. Fish keepers have even used it with scaleless type fish like loaches. Its super cheap too. It can be found and tractor supply or farm supply stores.
I wonder if that sand would work as well? Having the black sand might give the spider a pepper look after they use it to camouflage
That's a great question. I would love to see them with the darker camouflage! :) Thank you!
One of my favourite spiders of all time nice one Tom, female is a good call ive had 3 MM and they were all mature or sub around that size
I absolutely LOVE these guys...as does everyone in the house. Feeding mine is like an event here. And thanks so much on the MM info!
@@TomsBigSpiders 100% they are such a fun spider to keep and so so simple to care for
@@HouseOfBugs Agreed! Of course, now I'm getting flack for apparently not making them sound dangerous enough. haha
@@TomsBigSpiders Haha thomisoides get alot of stick theres some nice papers out there detailing the lack of proteins and such in the venom that would cause us harm, other sicarius and the rest that were moved to hexo genus are a different kettle of fish and would really ruin you day
@@HouseOfBugs Yup, I found the articles again after I put this together, so I only briefly mentioned it in the video. Might have to do an update.... :)
They aren’t aggressive and the worse one is sicarius hahni awesome video cheers I forgot to say that I have two of them I’ve had them about one year and they are probably only half grown
As alway, a great video. The species is a bit too cryptid for me (I’m too old to stare at an enclosure of sand). However, I did order a Herpcult enclosure. Not sure what’s going in it, but they look pretty damn cool. Thanks!
Thanks so much, William! I totally get it. And I'm going to be picking up a couple more of those cages...I like them!
Hey Tom, I have a friend and fellow admin on my Facebook Group who has studied venom and toxicity for many years now, he also told me of the article you referred to early in the video, its states that the South American Sicarius sp spiders are lacking a certain protein that the African spiders that were thought to also belong to Sicarius have in their venom that makes the African sp very dangerous, this is why the African sp have now been reclassified as Hexophthalm. My friend has posted pictures of himself handling his Sicarius thomisoides which I dont advocate anyone else attempting what so ever by the way just to be on the safe side. I wish I could find the article again but after a quick search its eluded me!
Hey, bud! Yeah, this was the paper I alluded to in the video. I couldn't find it in time for this, and I didn't want to downplay the potential risk just in case. I'll do an update on this one soon! Thank you!
Hi, recent studies showed that some south american ones are very dangerous, such as Sicarius thomisoides and Sicarius ornatus, they have a protein content of almost 400 micrograms, as well as the african ones, more than the brown recluse.
A teleporter, most venemous & camouflaging spider. NOPE. Kudos to you Tom !😁
Completely understood! The good news is that they a recent study showed that they are missing the protein in their venom that would make them lethal (so they are not as dangerous as people once thought).
Great vid tom!
Thanks, Justine!
Love these spiders, but I don’t have one yet :) maybe one day I will pick a few up 👍🏻
Maybe you could use a soft natural bristle paint brush to get the sand out of the sliding lid bit?
Hello, LoveWolf 9! If you're prepared and are aware of the potential risk, they are amazing spiders.
I actually tried that, and it helped a bit! haha Thanks!
I’ll wait a few more years before I get any :)
They’re amazing animals and I wouldn’t want to just jump in and grab some without more experience in keeping very fast spiders 👍🏻
To oribitalrescuesage: Tom is a humble guy who will say “I’m not an expert” , but he has been keeping, observing, and studying the behaviors of these animals for over 20 years. In any other job, that would define someone as an expert, IMO. Sit down and watch a few of the videos. I have never ever heard him downplay any of the risks of keeping any kind of animal.
Thanks for the vote of confidence...I truly appreciate it. I found that comment to be perplexing, as I tried to make the risks very clear while also being realistic about it. It sounds more like he's against anyone keeping potentially deadly animals, and that I can appreciate. What I did NOT appreciate was the insinuation that I was posting this to "compete" with other UA-camrs. Oh well...can't please them all! :)
Tom Moran the absolute worst bite I ever got that landed me in the hospital very sick was from my cat. It was totally my fault. Very lucky to be here!
@@lesleycheryl Oh, wow...that's crazy! I'm so glad that you're okay!
Hi Tom, are you still keeping them Sicarius thomisoides? Me and probably lots of others would like to see an update about them. Thanks for your work, have a good day.
Sadly, no. My last one passed away last year.
@@TomsBigSpiders sorry to hear it, wish you best
Hi Tom, wow this is a creepy little spider but really cool too. You gave great information for housing, care and owners safety. Thanks for sharing 😁👍
Hi, Anna! Thank you so much! They are cool (and creepy) little spiders. :) Hope all is well!
Hey Tom, quick question: I know that M. balfouri can be kept communally. Is it something that should always be done? I thought I heard somewhere that keeping them singly results in higher mortality rates. I have an opportunity to get one, but I couldn't start a colony. I don't want to get it if keeping it alone is bad husbandry. Thanks as always.
I keep three by themselves before attempting the communal, and they did fine. They DID grow more slowly, however, and seemed to be less bold. I don't think that keeping them alone is bad husbandry at all. Hope that helps!
Tom where are you getting desert sand? I have difficulty finding anything that doesn't have calcium added.
Hello, Ron! I think that I purchased this on Amazon. I paid a bit more for it, but I didn't want the calcium stuff.
Awesome video Tom, next step Phoneutria genus! In all seriousness though I just picked up an interesting species from Fearnot that I have not seen before or heard about until I saw it listed on their website and absolutely had to add to my collection. The Cotztetlana sp. Puebla! Beautiful looking adult coloration and my .5" sling took to burrowing within a couple hours of unboxing and rehousing which was really cool to watch in real time. Most of my burrowers (barring my A. seemanni, she does whatever she wants) do so in the dead of night so I don't often get to watch the process, what are your thoughts on this species so far? Keep doing what you do, thank you Tom!
Hahaha. Yup! And I have a Cotztetlana sp. Puebla sling as well! Fat little bugger needs to molt soon. haha That's awesome that it let you see it dig! Mine is sitting right on top of it's substrate. I've been feeding it prekilled prey, and it usually fills up after a couple feedings. Right now, it's booty is huge and dark, so I'm hoping for a molt soon! Like you, I find them to be gorgeous as adults, so I'm excited about growing this one up! Thank you!
Tom if possible could you please do a care video on the tiger wandering spider, thanks.
Hello! Unfortunately, I don't have one...yet.
@@TomsBigSpiders That's ok, I'm just in the market for one but I'm wanting to find out how to care for it before I get one.
I hate jack in the boxes, when I was a toddler on Christmas morning my parents gave me a jack in the box, I began to twist the handle and the clown popped out scaring me to the point where I still hate them several decades later 😂😂😂😂. I do have one of these spiders and I’m learning everything I can about her to keep myself and anyone who visits safe. Awesome looking spider though.
Great video good info as always. big thumbs up! I think you should treat any animal that can potentially harm you as though it were a gun educate yourself on it understand it respect it and you shouldn't have any problems with it. that's the approach you take with all your videos. a little calm and scenes can go a long way Tarantulas/True Spiders can be a great hobby but like all things in life understand it before you jump into it. and that's why I like your videos very educational and helpful. keep up the great work.
Hey, thanks so much! I agree completely. It's about understanding it and respecting it...and that's what I try to demonstrate. It's not about thrills or click bait. I wan't people to walk away from these videos learning something and having a realistic and not sensationalize presentation of these animals. Thank you for getting it! :)
You say dont mist or water dish, how does it get its drink then? Just from the food?
Yes, from the food. Humidity can be deadly for them. Normally, I'm a huge proponent of water dishes, but in this case it can be a hazard.
Mine coming today I can't wait 😊
Congrats, Martin!
I think these are incredible spiders, and I'd like to have one someday, but I know I'm not ready for something of this level.
Hi, Bobbi! Yeah, they are awesome spiders, but people need to be prepared and aware of the risks.
Hi Tom, did you ever get that article about them being less toxic then thought? Can't seem to find it myself
Hi, Ben! I believe that this is the one: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3749972/#:~:text=Author%20Summary-,The%20spider%20family%20Sicariidae%20includes%20two%20genera%2C%20Sicarius%20and%20Loxosceles,systemic%20effects%20observed%20in%20loxoscelism
Thanks Tom!
Really good video Tom I was worried for u.
Really cool looking spider.the key is give them respect and should have no worries.the spider shop had some very potent tarantulas close family to the sidney funnel web just a little less potent not for me as they should stay in the wild,total respect for u Tom in keeping the sand spider.
Hello, James! Thanks so much, bud. I agree completely. I gave it a lot of thought before deciding to keep this one, and the deciding factor was the fact that it couldn't climb glass or plastic. :)
I couldn't find one of those in my country.
I was curious if you guys had these! I would worry about the high humidity.
@@TomsBigSpiders I haven't seen any, even in the black market. I don't know if I have to worry about humidity but people keeping desert animals here are not having problems.
Cool spider. I love to see them digging themselves in. It is funny and cute. Would not like to keep one though because of the venom and since one can see them for a short time when they hunt.
I have got two questions about sth. different. The first one is what size the minimum size for a Damon diadema or a different tailless whip scorion (adult) is. Are there some smaller species that can be kept in a 20cm*20cm*30cm enclosure? Second thing: How long can jumping spider slings be kept communally? I have captured a native jumper. She laid eggs and I spotted several tiny little ones yesterday.
Hello, Aphilia! I LOVE the videos of them burying themselves. I agree...it's adorable. A 20 x 20 x 30 would probably work for an adult D. diadema. As for the jumping spiders, mine started feeding on each other rather early on...maybe a couple weeks or so?
Spider Jesus is back ;)
Bahahaha. I might have to cut it soon...I have an interview next week! lol
@@TomsBigSpiders You should spread your arms as intro, would be fun as hell ;) No sweat, looks great!
I love these they are like true leggy spiders that are awesome with a real wow factor, but at thesame time one has to becareful of the venham
They really are very cool spiders. And absolutely. :)
Alien Facehugger... I had to pause the video Until I could stop laughing. I have wanted to add this species to my collection and have been looking for one for about a year now with no luck. Any ideas of where I could find one or two? Also I have a few different sizes of these enclosures. What I do is take a cotton swab and run a thin line of vegetable oil around the sides of the lid where it slides in. Then I take a eye glass cleaning cloth as it is very soft and wipe the excess vegetable oil off very carefully so you cannot even see it. So far this has worked really well for me and being able to slide the lids in and out without that sound or scratching them.
Hahahaha! Tell me that they don't look like them? haha Thanks, John. I've been looking for more myself, and I'm not finding any. I keep an eye on fauna classifieds, as they get posted up there every so often. And that is an AWESOME tip...thank you!
I think these spiders are amazing, it's one i would love to have in the future but at the same time they kinda terrify me!🤣
I think you should defo get more for your collection. That way i can just see yours instead of getting any myself. Be a lot safer that way lol
Hello, Helen! I agree completely. Hahaha I'm definitely on the lookout for more! :)
these are really interesting spoods and i like how they cover themselfs in sand. but I dont think I would keep them myself. but then idk if I should even be allowed to have a T. albo or G. rosea atm bcus yesterday I was frantic and w/ that horrible sick feeling while I moved furniture and looked under stuff searching for my H. maculata for like 40 mins then when I finally felt like giving up and crying I realised it hadnt escaped after all and I was looking in the wrong enclosure 😢
Hello, Super Loops! Totally understood. I gave a lot of thought it before getting mine. Oh no...that's terrible! I'm so glad that you figured it out. I think that kind of stuff happens to the best of us. The other day, I was feeding slings when I realized that I was missing one...the dram bottle was just GONE. I freaked out, because I had put a bunch of empty dram bottles in my garage a week or so before, and it was sweltering it there. After going through all of the ones in the garage, I realized that I had rehoused it recently into another enclosure. UGH. Talk about a brain fart. :(
I realise this video is old but...
I think it's worth pointing out that I live in the United Kingdom and spiders such as Lactrodectus,Loxoceles,Phoneutria etc are all on the D.W.A list here.
Sicarius, however are not and this is because whilst these spiders are potentially very dangerous the actual risk of being bitten is very very low. I think you covered this aspect in the video very well and in a mature way too. As far as I can tell it is in fact only Sicarius Hahni which is deemed to be fatal to humans (as we spider keepers know anything with Hexa/Hexo in the name is to be avoided!) but of course one would not want to be bitten by any Sicarius!
It's probably fair to say that statiscally you would be more likely to be bitten by the family dog or killed by a car than being bitten by a sand spider.
The rehouse went very well and smooth and the old transparent cup and cardboard is how I deal with all my spiders. Fascinating spiders for sure and how amazing that something so small could potentially be so dangerous to a much larger animal such as a human. Much respect for these little spiders...great video.
P.S Good one for pointing out the static...I feel your pain lol.
Hello, Paula! Thanks so much for watching and for the kind words. There is still much discussion over just how potent this species venom is to people. Many now think that it's not that bad. That said, great point in that you shouldn't be in danger of getting bitten in the first place.
Great video tom. Sandy hide nope boi looks great but not one i will be getting anytime soon lol
Bahahaha Totally understandable! lol
How big can they get buddy thanks
About 2.75"
I've been wanting one or two of these for eons but can never find any for sale :/
I haven't seen any offered here lately either. :(
so cool ❤️
Thank you, Lewis!
These things are cool, but creepy AF. 😅
Well done with the rehouse, Tom.
Hey, Dan! hahahaha They really kind of are. bahaha. Thanks, bud!
So do they ever drink? If water dish is a bad idea then where do they get their water from?
Prey item, inverts adapted to dry conditions typically are very good preventing water loss. Just like blue death feigning beetles
Devilmeow explained it perfectly. I'm normally a huge proponent of giving them dishes, but this species is not at all tolerant of high humidity. A dish would be a detriment.
@@Plasmaspy I see, thank you!
You're right. It does look almost exactly like the face grabber on Alien. Six eyes, do they see better than T's?
Doesn't it, Joyce? hahahaha And I'm honestly not sure. They spend most of their time submerged in sand, so I wouldn't think that better eyesight would be needed. I could be wrong, though! I hope you and yours are well!
@@TomsBigSpiders I do not have the flu but I broke my left foot last 2 toes and then 2 days later fell in the laundry room and hit my head on the washer. You would not think a metal washer could leave big knots on the back of your head. My head has been banged, crashed and bonked and yet it never breaks or gets damaged (that we know of).
At age 5 I was sitting in the front seat of my sister's car and she crashed into the car in front of her, no seatbelts in the 1950's, so my head left a huge spider web crack and totaled her windshield, my head had a bump but no blood and no breaks. Perhaps I was going to be a genius but well, the world will never know. Ha Ha.
Stay well and God bless your and your family. Give my hugs to Billie.
I have a pet black widow and its really low maintenance this seems like a similar deal should I get this spider?
They are super low maintenance, but they need it bone dry. They are also quite expensive these days, unfortunately.
Great information
Thank you, Channy!
I thought this spider was a lot less venomous than it's cousin the Hexophthalma hahni, which is what people think of when someone mentions six eyes sand spider.
it is. I think that I touched on that in a more currently video.
they would come out, hanging around during night time...wutever, just wanna ask that would overfeeding lead to death of the spider? cuz I kinda feed mine a bit too much that its abdomen is like 4 times the size of its carapace...
This species can live quite a long time if not overfed. The though is that, in the wild, they do not eat all that often due to the scarcity of food. So, I wouldn't be so aggressive with the feeding schedule personally.
Do Calisoga false tarantulas next!
I'll have to get one first!
I thought the super deadly one was H. hahni? Not that I’d want to be bit by this one either
Yeah, that was the paper I was talking about in the video. Unfortunately, I didn't find it in time. They moved the really potent ones to another genus. Thanks, Jacob!
Have a few amazing spiders but need a lots of respect when rehousing
I show respect to them all, whether potentially lethal or harmless.
Oh hell to the NO Tom 😂. Lol
Hahaha. Thanks, David!
I want one
Hi, Sydney! They're becoming much more difficult to find.
I've had this kind of spider before. but a rarer species that I got for free. I can't remember the name but it had a upside down smiley face marking on it's face. Supposedly threatened due to habitat loss.
Hello, Zachary! I'll have to do some research and figure out which one it was. Sounds cool!
Great video..should do a video on long lived true spiders I never knew these lived that long👍
I could definitely look into that for the future! Thanks!
Scary spiders
Yeah, they can be a bit creepy looking. haha
All I can see when I see these is the “spider that couldn’t hide” I seen that video years ago and never realized until recently that they’re so venomous. Cool spiders, but I won’t be owning one 😬. “I cannot see you, therefore you cannot see me”
Hahaha Totally get it, Becky!
Fake plant looks really good in there
Thank you, John!
👍🖖🕷🕸💯
Thank you!
Mine is still no bigger than a flee haha.
Oh, man! What are you feeding it? :)
Tom Moran tiny fruit flies.
Idol kayo ni schizo pelma tv
I love Schizo Pelma TV! Thank you!
Temperature would be a nice addition to the care requirements
Did you even watch the video? They are clearly stated here: 12:12.
I just don’t like spiders 😬 Tarantulas ok but spiders no way
Fair enough. :)