Pets

Pet hobo spiders, also known as funnel spiders, are a popular pet amongst many hobbyists. Despite their notoriety, many people look to keep pet hobo spiders, as they are quite exciting pets and are wonderful to watch as they go about their daily activities. Pet hobo spiders require small tanks, just like other spiders, and are extremely easy to keep although handling them requires a certain degree of expertise.

Pet hobo spiders have been known to have bitten numerous humans although their bites occur only when it is squished or squeezed by humans. They grow upto 15mm in length and have potent venom even against humans. Although the venom doesn’t cause death or anything close to it, it is known to cause severe localized pain.

These spiders are brown in colour, matching the surface where they prefer staying, i.e. on the ground. When building a tank for a hobo spider, you need to ensure that there is enough earth as a substrate along with other objects that aid the creation of their webs. Pet hobo spiders have been known to create a funnel-like nest. Although the web is not sticky, the concept of the web is one where there are trip lines over the funnel structure and creatures falling into the funnel are sent to the bottom where the spider lies in wait.

Pet hobo spiders need to be kept with a lot of care and caution. They are an extremely aggressive species although they do tend to avoid contact with species bigger than themselves, such as humans. Hobo spiders do not bite unless they feel absolutely threatened and even if they do bite, in most cases, they do not inject venom.

The tank for a pet hobo spider needs to be quite dry and warm, a replica of the habitat that they normally enjoy in the wild. Known as the “aggressive house spider”, pet hobo spiders should never be handled without protective gear such as gloves and long-sleeved shirts. They are quite quick across the ground and unless you know exactly what you are doing, you should never try and handle them.

Feeding them is quite simple as all you need to do is drop in the periodical cockroach, housefly or carpet beetle and they will happily chew away. Of course, like in all cases, it needs to be alive and kicking because even pet hobo spiders only eat prey that gets entangled in their webs.

If you are looking for a spider that is a bit more challenging to keep, then the pet hobo spider is a great choice. They build wonderful webs and are extremely aggressive, making them quite an exciting pet. So the next time you are looking to fill your tank with a wonderful spider, look to get a pet hobo spider.