Spider. BIG spider..

[htownsoccer00]

To start off, this may be the wrong category but.. Oh well

Just to give you guys a backdrop..
So I live in central Florida, just north of Tampa. It's kind of a wooded area and there are all sorts of insects and such. I have seen these types of spiders before, I have believed them to be wood spiders but after I got this guy and did some research, I'm leaning towards a brown recluse(NOT GOOD). If you are unaware of that species, google its bite. Well I have been seeing them in my home increasingly often. I think they are feeding on my escaped crickets. The ones I have seen have ranged in sizes from 1" to 4" wide!!

I have two main worries, will they be a threat to my chameleons such as it try to eat them? And vice versa, with my chameleons trying to eat them, would they(chameleons) die from the spiders hemotoxin?

If anyone one can help me out with these questions and/or confirm the species of this spider I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks

 

[laurie]

I just googled brown recluse spider. From what I can tell yours looks more like a wolf spider. Since you saw the spider, just google and compare. They show several so you have something to compare with.

 

[drshaw6]

might be a clock spider/ huntsman spider. They are known to get 12''. Super creepy!

 

[ecoreef]

Yeah I'm not an expert but I don't think that is a brown recluse. They have spindley legs and a violin shape on their body.
-Alex

 

[DavidBuchan]

First thing I thought was Wolf spider too............again I'm no expert but we have very similar looking things in my shed and they are totally harmless (my chams will eat them, but I haven't seen a decent sized one in months)
They do get surprisingly big if they are well fed though

 

[firebird73159]

Here is an image of the brown recluse and it looks similar to the one in the image the dead give away is the violin or "fiddle" shape on its back. If this spider has that marking on its back could be trouble and I do not know the affects of the toxin on chameleons.

 

[camimom]

Its a wolf spider.
They dont spin webs, but hunt out bugs, and live primarily in debris. they are harmless, but get to be about 2 inches in length.
heres a website for you.
http://www.floridabugs.com/Florida-Insects/Spiders/wolf_spd.html

 

[Solid Snake]

I am an expert.

That is NOT a brown recluse.

That is just some sort of random LBS. (Little brown spider)

Its likely a wolf spider.

(I wouldnt feed it off on purpose, but its not a threat to your cham)

Brown recluses will be the size of that penny most of the time.