In stock Miami Wolf Spider for sale All spiders for sale
Hogna miami
Miami Wolf Spider: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: A fast, ground-hunting South Florida wolf spider that digs in. Give it a burrow-friendly, mostly dry setup with low vents and a pebble-filled dish, and keep it hands-off: the bite is mild but painful.
Group: Spiders & Other InvertsDifficulty: Spice 2: BeginnerSetup: Terrestrial burrower, 3-4 in dig depthHandling: Not recommended, bolts when the lid opens
Use This Guide Safely
- Confirm the exact animal. Match this guide to the species, locality, size, and life stage on your label. If the ID is uncertain, use the more conservative part of the range and ask before changing the setup.
- Change one thing at a time. Treat temperature and humidity as target zones, then watch posture, burrowing, drinking, feeding, and molt behavior before making another adjustment.
- Respect the handling boundary. If the guide says no handling, fast, defensive, or medically significant, plan transfers with catch cups, locked lids, and no bare hands. For serious bites, stings, or symptoms, seek emergency medical care.
Quick Snapshot
| Temperature | 72-82°F |
|---|---|
| Humidity | 45-60%, mostly dry, vents low on two walls |
| Setup Type | Terrestrial burrower, 3-4 in dig depth |
| Substrate | 3-4 in sand/soil mix, dry to lightly moist |
| Feeding | Juveniles 2x weekly, adults every 1-2 weeks, at dusk |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 2: Beginner |
| Handling | Not recommended, bolts when the lid opens |
Humidity zones: Very Low under 30% - Low 30-60% - Low-Moderate 40-70% - Moderate 60-80% - Moderate-High 70-85% - High 80%+ - Very High 90%+
Enclosure Format / Size Class
- Juveniles: starter burrow setup, prey about 1/8-1/4 in, fed 2x weekly
- Adults: terrestrial enclosure with 3-4 in dig depth and low cross vents, fed every 1-2 weeks
Warnings First
- Fast and bolts when the lid opens. Work in a secure area or over a catch container.
- Mild venom, but the bite is painful and can break skin. Wash any bite and keep an eye on it.
- One spider per enclosure. Wolf spiders are cannibalistic.
- Stop feeding at the first premolt signs and remove uneaten prey until the new exoskeleton hardens.
- Pack the water dish with pebbles. A dispersing brood is dozens of pinhead spiderlings, and an open dish drowns them.
- Leave a female carrying an egg sac or spiderlings undisturbed. Do not separate them.
Simple Care
- House one spider per enclosure.
- Give it a starter burrow or a deep, loose corner so it can dig its own.
- Vent low on two opposite walls so air crosses the floor and the burrow mouth.
- Keep it mostly dry. Wet substrate brings mold and mites.
- Keep a shallow water dish packed with pebbles or grit.
- If humidity crashes below 40%, mist lightly at the burrow mouth.
- Feed at dusk: juveniles 2x weekly, adults every 1-2 weeks.
- Remove uneaten prey within 24-48 hours.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- Wolf spiders hunt from the ground, not a web. Floor space and a burrow matter more than height.
- Mold and mites usually mean stale air, not too much water. Lid-only vents leave the floor layer still, so vent low on two opposite walls.
- With that airflow the enclosure holds 45-60% by itself. The dish does the work, and a light mist is only a top-up.
- Judge by hand, not by gauge: substrate reads dry except around the dish, and any mist dries back within a day.
- If you mist, do it at the burrow mouth, not across the floor. A gravid or premolt female gets a damp spot while the open floor stays dry.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Crickets or roach nymphs no longer than the spider's body: about 1/8-1/4 in for juveniles, 3/8-1/2 in for adults.
- Feed in the evening, when it hunts. Juveniles eat twice weekly, adults every 1-2 weeks.
- Remove uneaten prey within 24-48 hours.
- Stop feeding at the first premolt signs (dull color, less activity, hiding). Wait until the new exoskeleton fully hardens, typically 3-7 days.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: South Florida, especially Miami-Dade County and the surrounding southern peninsula, where it hunts the ground from a burrow.
- Habitat translation: A dry-leaning ground setup: 3-4 in of diggable sand/soil, low cross vents, a small pebble-filled dish, and an occasional light mist at the burrow mouth.
Advanced Keeper Details
- All business: a fast, nocturnal ground hunter that is for watching, not handling.
- Grows through several molts to maturity in about a year. Males live 1-2 yrs, females 2-3 yrs.
- Females are strong mothers and carry spiderlings on the abdomen after hatching. Do not separate or disturb a brooding female.