Huntsman spider in the aviary

[finchbreeder]

Well in that case they will have to stay in the house here. Cause the geckos and lizards live in the shed and patio areas.
LML

[arthur]

They eat geckos and lizards ?????!!!!

Doubt it . .

Would go even further and say not possible

Get rid of all spiders from aviaries . . humanely of course . . or sooner or later you will find a young finch hanging suspended from a web

[arthur]

spider eating finch.jpg

Not a Huntsman . . but you get the idea

[ColouredFeathers]

WOW! thats a big spider.

[spanna]

That is an orb weaver. I have no doubt that if one was established in your aviaries, it would be a risk to some small birds, but I also have no doubt that it would be well and truly noticeable, and very unlikely to set up shop in an aviary to begin with (too few insects). Huntsmans by their very nature are sit and wait nocturnal predators, they may stalk prey that is nearby, but for the most part, they will sit facing down on a vertical wall, and catch whatever may come crawling up the wall, or land nearby (moths, flies etc). I have yet to see a finch that is either nocturnal OR climb vertically up walls rather than flying, the day I do, I would spider proof my aviaries.

Please people, 99.99% of spiders really aren't a threat to finches, if you don't like them there, sure, move them, but there is no need to take a shoe to them.

[arthur]

That is an orb weaver. I have no doubt that if one was established in your aviaries, it would be a risk to some small birds, but I also have no doubt that it would be well and truly noticeable, and very unlikely to set up shop in an aviary to begin with (too few insects).

That may be so in the south of WA . .

But in coastal Qld in planted aviaries of a reasonable (not overly large) size they are very likely to 'set up shop'

Don't know if it was an Orb Spider web, but I can tell you of a very relieved Plumhead that I found alive in a similar situation to that of the Chestnut above

Cannot speak for other states bur Tintola may have some comment re northern NSW

[spanna]

That is an orb weaver. I have no doubt that if one was established in your aviaries, it would be a risk to some small birds, but I also have no doubt that it would be well and truly noticeable, and very unlikely to set up shop in an aviary to begin with (too few insects).

That may be so in the south of WA . .

But in coastal Qld in planted aviaries of a reasonable (not overly large) size they are very likely to 'set up shop'

Don't know if it was an Orb Spider web, but I can tell you of a very relieved Plumhead that I found alive in a similar situation to that of the Chestnut above

Cannot speak for other states bur Tintola may have some comment re northern NSW

Keep in mind, the original post was from a member also in Perth, and regarding a huntsman spider, a non web spinning species. In a more tropical setting, spiders are much more prolific, but in the given circumstances, and in a typical sized aviary, I doubt this scenario would ever be encountered. An orb weaver big enough to build a web strong enough to catch a finch wouldn't even be able to fit through 25x12.5mm wire ( largest size suitable for holding finches I believe). An unlikely case. Would like to hear from Tintola, Danny and Eorix if they read this, I agree.

[matcho]

They eat geckos and lizards ?????!!!!

Doubt it . .

Would go even further and say not possible

Get rid of all spiders from aviaries . . humanely of course . . or sooner or later you will find a young finch hanging suspended from a web

Arthur

They do, and is indeed possible, and is fact. The family is found around the world, in FACT they are called "lizard eating spiders" in South Africa. Have seen heaps in log piles, dead wood, which is also the habitat of geckoes and small skinks. While we are at it the so called "harmless" Daddy Long Legs prey on Red Backs and Huntsmen spiders. Have seen small lizards in the webs of daddys and redbacks in my back shed. Shrunken and sucked dry. My comments were based on fact and observations.

[jusdeb]

Coopex

[matcho]

In regards to the photo with the chestnut and the orb weaver, I was up north in the middle of no where fishing for barra and this was a quite common spectacle. The biggest I saw was a microbat, bundled up and hanging in the web. Needless to say, it was a fair sized spider and had no fear when you rattled its web. Worst of all was when you got up during the night for a little p...ss break and found yourself tangled in a sticky web. Not good.