Hourglass Trapdoor Spider (juvenile, 3 – 4 cm)

True Spiders / Huntsmans

MOQ 20 head

Partners Only

4 – 5 cm legspan (body ~3 cm; sold here as 3 – 4 cm juveniles)

Mild venom — a ctenizid trapdoor spider; bite gives only minor local pain and is not medically significant. Defensive but rarely bites.

Shaded ravine and riverbank slopes of southern China (Guangxi, Yunnan) and northern Vietnam (Vinh Phuc, Ninh Binh). Digs a silk-lined burrow and seals the entrance with its hardened, disc-shaped abdomen (phragmosis).

Ground insects ambushed at the burrow mouth. Nocturnal sit-and-wait predator.

22 – 27 °C ambient — 20 °C cool end

70 – 80 %. Keep substrate lightly moist with a drier surface; good ventilation to avoid mould.

None required (nocturnal, fossorial).

Small crickets and roach nymphs near the burrow. Every 7 – 10 days.

Fossorial: 10 – 15 cm of firm packed substrate so it can dig and plug a lined burrow. Min 18 × 18 cm, kept undisturbed.

Extremely shy; vanishes into the burrow and blocks it with its abdominal disc. A hardy, fascinating display burrower; not for handling.