Eggsac!!!

[Tarantula Lover]

My unidentified spider that ive found in my basement is around 1" or more and ive been housing it in a vial. A week later it still has no webbing, but a few days ago i checked its vial to see an eggsac with MANY eggs in it. It looks very cool my first sac. Just wanted to share. Thanks,


James

 

[ArachKnight]

neat

That's really neat! Yeah once you have 100 babies you can't go back. So got any ideas what kind of spider it is?

Joel:?

 

[Tarantula Lover]

Re: neat

Originally posted by ArachKnight
That's really neat! Yeah once you have 100 babies you can't go back. So got any ideas what kind of spider it is?

Joel:?

Im thinking brown recluse right now, i really dont have much experience with eggsacs(1st one) you guys have any tips for now? The spider is brownsish not too big, and have some white stripes(not a jumper), not too calm, skittish.
Thanks,


James

 

[Tarantula Lover]

Anyone?

 

[Wade]

Whatever your spider is, the babies are going to be really small. You may want to transfer the sac to a larger container, like a 32-oz deli cup or jar with a screen-vented lid. Very fine screen, like cut from an old nylon stocking. The spiderlings will probably be small enough to squeeze through window screen. You can cut out a section of the lid and hot-glue the screen over the opening, or you can just use a rubber band to hold a piece of nylon over the top.

If you don't want to take the sac from the mother, just take the lid off the vial and put the whole thing in the deli cup or jar.

A few sticks or leaves will give them some shelter, and a light misting now and then should keep them from drying out.

Feeding the spiderlings will be difficult because they'll be so small. The easiest thing to do is to let them eat one annother until they're down to a manageable number, and then separate survivors to raise. They should be big enough at this time to take fruit flies or pinheads. I've used this method successfully with widow spiders.

Wade

 

[ArachKnight]

Originally posted by Wade
The easiest thing to do is to let them eat one another....

Ahhh! let them eat one another! that's funny, sad but funny. reminds me of the movie deuce bigelow. "women find it erotic when they eat each other(fish that is)" Thanks for the info wade have you raised jumpers before? Virginia has some cool one's.(see my new thread)

joel

 

[Wade]

I've got some type of Phidippus right now, not sure which. Babies appeared a month or so ago but I've released most of them. I've been feeding fruit flies and they seem to be doing OK.

Wade

 

[ArachKnight]

Well if you see a pic of one let me know. I'd like to captive raise jumpers, they are just so facinating.

Joel=D

 

[Tarantula Lover]

Thanks for the info Wade, an update: The mother has died(not sure why though, tonight i will be taking the sac and transferring it into a larger deli-cup. Thanks again, i will update with results as soon as i can!


James

 

[cricket54]

I've watched the brown house spiders I have hatching
out of the sacks in the basement. There are just are
so many, that I think it would be fine to let them
canabalise themselves. Some how these tiny
spiders find enough to eat besides eating each
other and they survive to reproduce. I've got
spiders all over! I'd be interested in your updates.
Sharon

 

[ArachKnight]

hannibal

cannibals....I hate cannibals, bloody cannibals. spiders are cool but being cannibals, not one of their finer attributes.

just me,
Joel

 

[xanadu1015]

To each their own....




Got to survive...might as well take out the competition.




Laura

 

[Wade]

There's nothing really that complicated about it. They're skilled predetors with simple brains. Other spiders are just more bugs to eat.

I'm frankly more surprised when predatory invetebrates DON"T eat each other. That's much more perplexing to me :?

Wade

 

[ArachKnight]

Perhaps the mechanisms which prevent the predation, of their own kind, is driven by the need(hesitate to use this because I'm anthropomorphosizing them but for lack of better terms) to perpetuate naturally selected genes. If they ate each other to the point where not enough of the offspring survived then that would hinder this process. However since inverts are one of the most abundant organisms on earth perhaps sheer number can overcome cannibalism.

Joel

 

[Wade]

Well, there are safeguards to at least limit canibalism. One is that when the emerge most immediately disperse and don't hang out with each other. The cannibalism we see among our pets is largely an artifact of captivity.

For those species that actually do show a higher tolerance for one annother (such as emperor scorpions, ornamental tarantulas, etc.) one theory is that this is an adaption for periods of drought. During the dry season, these animals may congregate in what little humidified retreats they can find, and their predatory insticts may be turned off. I don't think this has been studied scientifically, but I could be wrong.

Wade

 

[ArachKnight]

Perhaps the same mech that causes this "tolerance" for one another is also the same when snakes den in a hibernaculum? Another possible explanation for tolerance is cooperative hunting when juveniles. Many spiders will stay together for a period of time in order to increase the chances of catching and restraining food. (some species like Phidippus, and "cloud" spiders). Also congregation of juveniles to protect themselves, like tent catipillars, is another valid reason. I'm sure I've left out some. But you get the point. The factors which prevent cannibalism are as numerous as factors for cannibalism. It's just all too overwhelming.

Joel