Husbandry
From Dipluridae
Housing:
Most Dipluridae spp. don´t need big containers. The containers, that can be used to keep them can range from a 1 Liter delicup up to a big terrarium.
Small species, like Ischnothele caudata, or Thelechoris striatipes can be kept in small containers like delicups with about 1 Liter content. Those species don´t grow larger than about 2,5cm BL and are therefore well qualified for this way of keeping.
Larger species like Linothele, which can grow up to 5cm BL should be kept in larger containers, like big plasticboxes (5 Liter content minimum) or terrariums from 20cm width up.
The arrangement of the terrarium can be kept very simple. It consists of a 5cm high layer of substrate (50:50 mix of Sand and soil) and a diagonal piece of bark.
The spiders use the hollow space under the bark to build their housing, which ends in several funnels. Because of the high activity on building it´s web the terrarium will fastly be coverd with several layers of white silk.
It´s recommended to house spiderlings from 1cm BL on in their final housing. Experience shows, that spiderlings, which were kept in too small housing didn´t show the same growrate as their siblings, which were kept in larger containers.
Feeding of Dipluridae normally causes no major problems, the spiders subdue nearly everything, that moves in their web. So it might happen, that spiders with a bodylength of about 1cm catch a grown up cricket. Only when the bodylength of the offered feeding animal exceeds the double of it´s own bodylength the spider retreats to its housing.
To ensure the spider gets enough water it´s recommended to sprinkles the web with water twice a week. A permanent cup with water is not necessary.
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