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RE: Funnel Webs
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by vanerka on November 9, 2010
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To be honest, I dont think there are any due to Australia's super strict, or should I say non-existant exotic animal export laws. I believe there may be a couple zoo's that have thm but thats about it. rivate collection of these animals in the states is non existant to the best of my knowldge.
Best regards, Eric
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RE: Funnel Webs
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by Buzztail1 on November 12, 2010
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They generally get smuggled to some place like Germany, bred in captivity, and then marketed to the US.
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RE: Funnel Webs
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by theemojohnm on November 15, 2010
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I once had a few Sydney Funnel-Webs.. Used to know a guy here in PA that had quite a few of them. He used to sell them at the local Reptile Show, along with other inverts, from around the world. I believe they sold for something like $30.
I had picked up a few from him in the past. I've never been into invertebrates as much as herps, but he is one of the better invert dealers in the area, in my opinion, and always had cool, not-so-common stuff.
I'm not sure of the origin of his specimens, never asked. He never really dealt in herps, just inverts, but had some interesting stuff over the years. Haven't seen him at any of the recent shows, but I would bet that he still has some..
As Karl said, a lot of Aussie stuff finds it's way into Europe, and then to the US.
Spiders aren't really my expertise, but aren't there funnel-webs species that are native to other parts of the world? Of course, the Sydney funnel-webs are Assuie natives, but I believe there are more species.
I guess you are specifically interested in the Atrax species..? There are a few other species, of different genera, that are sometimes given the common name "funnel web", but none as notorious at A. robustus that I know of..
Take Care,
-John Mendrola
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RE: Funnel Webs
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by theemojohnm on November 15, 2010
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I would have a hard time believing that they are all that uncommon.. Just might be something that isn't commonly kept. Although, it does raise questions with Australia's exportation laws being as strict as they are. Not entirely sure..
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RE: Funnel Webs
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by vanerka on November 17, 2010
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All considered, Hexathelidae is the family in which all funnel web spiders are linked to, the a. robustus being the most well known as John had stated. They are australian, and as we know the export laws are very strict. However not all the funnel web species are from australia. There are species in South America and South Africa as well. None of them have the potentcy of venom that can hold a torch to both of the 2 Australian species.
John, Im rather suprised the fellow your talking about had some. I think thats awesome! How long did you keep your spiders for? Im not big into the world of inverts, Ive only kept a few scorpions but I find them very interesting and enjoy learning about them...
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RE: Funnel Webs
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by theemojohnm on November 17, 2010
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I have had 3 or 4 of them from him over the years, but I only kept one that I worked with long-term (something like 2 years, which is long-term for spiders with me). The others were traded off at different times, with other groups of animals.
The large one that I kept for a while was absolutely nasty, and that was one spider that actually made me uneasy. Stuff like that doesn't really creep me out, but she (believe it was a female) did startle me, on quite a few occasions.. When they rear-up, they ARE intimidating! This was around the same time that I also had a decent little collection of some other cool inverts, but nothing was as feisty or made me as uneasy as the funnel-webs.
From what I remember, they all ate like champs (crickets, mealworms, roaches, and the occasional day-old pink), and were kept as I'd keep any tarantula or scorpion. From my experience, they’re usually very secretive, and spend most of the time hiding. All did pretty good, from what I recall..
Again, I'm not quite sure of their origin, but I suppose that somebody has to be working with them..? Does anyone know of their availability in Europe? I'm assuming that there has to be some kind of breeding colony that exists outside of Australia. Trust me, Australia is tough! I've been trying to get quite a few Aussy species (snakes) for years.
Does anyone know if A. robustus occurs on any of the islands off the mainland? New Guinea? I don't believe so, but I could be wrong.. Again, inverts aren’t really my thing.. Although, I have been meaning to get a little invert collection going again. If I see Chris at any of the upcoming shows, I may try to get another robustus! Very defensive spider, but they are impressive!
Take Care,
-John Mendrola
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