Unidentified spider found in Costa Rica

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liko san jose, Costa Rica Apr 02, 2009

i found this guy in my cats water. i really want to keep him as a pet but i dont know what it eats, if it needs heat, humidity, etc... please help. Right now he is cleaning his fangs and moving his butt (two little finger-like projections) thanks.

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liko san jose, Costa Rica Apr 02, 2009

more pics

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liko san jose, Costa Rica Apr 02, 2009

let me know if anyone needs a better pic. like a front shot or something.

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kwanjin (Zone 7a) Apr 02, 2009

Pretty big. Looks like a tarantula of some kind. An expert will be along shortly.

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suunto Sinks Grove, WV Apr 02, 2009

A frontal shot showing the eye pattern would be helpful. It definitely is not a tarantula; it could be either a wolf spider (Lycosidae) or a wandering spider (Ctenidae).

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liko san jose, Costa Rica Apr 02, 2009

its kind of hard to tell from te pic, but it has 4 eyes in a dome shape and 2 more below those

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liko san jose, Costa Rica Apr 02, 2009

heres an inferior view

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liko san jose, Costa Rica Apr 02, 2009

eyes

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liko san jose, Costa Rica Apr 02, 2009

mouth

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suunto Sinks Grove, WV Apr 02, 2009

Although I still cannot see the eyes all that clearly, I believe that this spider most likely is in the family Ctenidae, possibly a Cupiennius spp. - see http://tinyurl.com/2n8ws8 for an example.

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liko san jose, Costa Rica Apr 03, 2009

Thanks. From that and other photos, I think it is most likely a Ctenidae.
This pic especially: http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/showimage/2506/
So from what i've read on wikipedia, i don't want too get to close to him but what does he eat?
I put a smaller spider in there overnight to see if he would eat it, but so far i looks like hes been avoiding it. Should i look for cockroaches crickets instead?

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suunto Sinks Grove, WV Apr 03, 2009

As far as I know, ctenids are fairly general predators; large ones have been known to kill and eat small lizards in addition to their fellow arthropods. That aside, I have known other spiders in captivity to exhibit picky behavior towards potential prey. About all I can suggest is to keep presenting it with insects that are no larger than it is.

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