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Atlas / Library / Araneidae / Spiny orb-weaver (Gasteracantha)
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Araneidae

Spiny orb-weaver (Gasteracantha)

Gasteracantha spp. (e.g. G. kuhli)แมงมุมหนาม

Part of this is not on the page we cite. We opened it on 10 Aug 2026 and some of the degrees above are not stated there. The values above may still be right, but we cannot show you where they came from, and nobody here has checked them against a second source. Anything about a sick animal goes to a qualified exotic vet, not to a page. en.wikipedia.org

Photograph: Subhadra Devi · CC BY

Photographed by an observer on iNaturalist and published under a Creative Commons licence; the photographer and the licence are named under the image. It is not an animal of ours, and no animal was handled by us to produce it.

14:00
Day

Drag the sun. Spiny orb-weaver (Gasteracantha) is diurnal, so what it is doing changes with the light.

National law is not global, and we hold no national wildlife law for any country, Thailand included. Check your own authority before buying or selling.

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https://keepr.pet/husbandry/en/gasteracantha-spp-e-g-g-kuhli

‹ All husbandry guides
Temperature25–32 °C
Humidity65–80 %
Enclosure30×30×30
Diet7 days

The numbers

Temperature

152025303540 °C
25–32°Ambient

One ambient band, 25–32°C. This sheet states no warm side, no cool side and no night figure, so none are shown. Same scale on every sheet here, so two species compare by eye.

The sheet states25-32°C

Humidity

65–80%Target RH

The sheet states65-80%

Identity

Adult size

1.75 m0.6–1 cm
1520100400 cm
0.6–1 cmNose to tail, adult

The size the sheet states for a grown animal.

Why

Two drawings, because they answer two questions. The silhouette is at true scale against a 1.75 m person: it says how big this animal actually is, which no number does for someone who has never seen one. The bar under it is logarithmic and shared by every sheet here, so a 2 cm isopod and a 4 m python both stay readable on the same axis and two species can be compared at a glance.

Order / Family
Araneae
IUCN / CITES
IUCN not assessed; CITES not yet in our data
Difficulty
Intermediate
Commonality
Very common Thai native (wild); rarely deliberately kept
Adult size
Female body ~0.6-1 cm wide, hard spiny 'crab-like' abdomen
Lifespan
Female ~1 year (annual)
Growth rate
Fast
Activity & niche
Diurnal orb-web ambusher in vegetation
Temperament
Docile, sedentary in web
Venom / defense
Mild venom, not medically significant; harmless: spines are not a sting

Enclosure and conditions

Enclosure

substratewarm hidewater65–80 % RH30 cm30 cm
warm hidewatersubstrate
50100150200 cm
30 × 30 × 30 cmWidth × depth × height
9dm² of floor
Warm side: not in our dataUVB: not in our data

Drawn from the stated numbers. Only what the sheet states is drawn inside.

Why

The rectangle carries the exact width-to-height ratio of the figures above it, and the ruler under it places that width on the 0–250 cm scale every sheet here shares, so two species still compare at a glance. Nothing is added that the sheet does not name: a lamp drawn on a sheet that never mentions one would be invented equipment. What the sheet leaves out is listed rather than left blank, because an empty tank reads as « none needed ».

The sheet statesMesh/screen cage ~30x30x30 cm for web

Temperature
25-32°C
Humidity
65-80%
Min. enclosure
Mesh/screen cage ~30x30x30 cm for web
Substrate
Thin coco base; open frame for web
Hides / decor / water
Branches/plants for orb web; misting for water

What your climate adds

This sheet states a range to hold. Your local climate decides how much work holding it is. Pick the nearest city: nothing is sent anywhere, the choice stays in this browser.

Diet

Feeding rhythm

every 7 dAs the sheet states
4Meals in 28 days

Twenty-eight days, one row. Each band is a meal window.

Why

The windows widen as they go because the interval is a range: four meals after a 10–14 day cycle land anywhere between day 40 and day 56.

The sheet statesSmall flying insects — fruit flies, house flies, small crickets · 2-3 small insects weekly

Staple food
Small flying insects — fruit flies, house flies, small crickets
Feeding frequency
2-3 small insects weekly
Supplements
Not required

Behaviour and handling

HandlingNot handled; harmless but disrupts web; observe
CommunalSolitary webs, but many can share a hedge
Defense / stress signsDrops on dragline, vibrates web

Reproduction

Life course

Day 0Hatch
1 yrLifespan in care
1 yrMinimum commitment
Sexual maturityNot in our data

Read from the lifespan and maturity the sheet states, for animals in care and not in the wild.

Why

The minimum commitment is the low end of that lifespan, and the reproductive window is what is left after maturity: both are subtractions on stated figures, not figures of their own.

Reproduction
Oviparous: small egg sac attached to vegetation; not live-bearing

Common health problems

Common health issues
SignsShort annual lifespan; dehydration
Red flags / quarantine
SignsWild adults near end of life; QT wild-caught; big enough web frame

Good to know

  • The hard, colourful spiny abdomen makes it look like a tiny crab: the spines deter bird predators
  • The hard, colourful spiny abdomen makes it look like a tiny crab — the spines deter bird predators

What it needs

Enclosure at least 30 × 30 × 30 cmbecause enclosureMesh/screen cage ~30x30x30 cm for web
A thermometerbecause temp25-32°C
A hygrometerbecause humidity65-80%

Every line above is deduced from a value this sheet states, and names which one. Nothing here is a general recommendation.

Sources

Others in this group

What this sheet states

100%
TemperatureHumidityEnclosure sizeActivityOriginDietSourcesUVB

Every field this product runs on is stated here. That is not a claim that the values are right: it says what the sheet states, not whether it is true. Whether a human has read it is the badge at the top of this page.

UVB is measured but does not count: it is absent from 421 of 678 sheets, and on most of them that is not a gap, since a nocturnal snake's sheet has no reason to state a UV index. Counting it would call the library incomplete without cause.