False widow not eating?

[alex666]

Hi guys. We have a false widow since about a month ago. He ate one fruit fly but haven't gotten him to eat since then. This week i moved him to a smaller enclosure and tried some more flightless fruit flies but he didn't get any of them

He made a small web I one of the upper corners. I gave him more fruit flies this morning, I figured it i put several he may have better luck. He chased one of them but didn't catch it. I should have fed him in the evening but I dont know if it makes that much of a difference

I havent been able to find a lot of info for care of this species, what I have seen is these guys basically barely do anything and barely eat, but I want to be sure I'm not missing any care requirements or if I should try different feeders or a different setup

Attached pictures of his enclosure just in case I need to change anything. I had him in a vertical one but he just hung out in the top corner anyway so I feel like the space was wasteful and it made it harder to feed him. From what I read they don't need a lot of space or decor. I had read they tend to hide during the day near their webs so I was thinking of making a little structure he would be able to go into, but just worried the feeder insects may hide in there and he won't get them

 

[WhyamIlikethis]

Hi guys. We have a false widow since about a month ago. He ate one fruit fly but haven't gotten him to eat since then. This week i moved him to a smaller enclosure and tried some more flightless fruit flies but he didn't get any of them

He made a small web I one of the upper corners. I gave him more fruit flies this morning, I figured it i put several he may have better luck. He chased one of them but didn't catch it. I should have fed him in the evening but I dont know if it makes that much of a difference

I havent been able to find a lot of info for care of this species, what I have seen is these guys basically barely do anything and barely eat, but I want to be sure I'm not missing any care requirements or if I should try different feeders or a different setup

Attached pictures of his enclosure just in case I need to change anything. I had him in a vertical one but he just hung out in the top corner anyway so I feel like the space was wasteful and it made it harder to feed him. From what I read they don't need a lot of space or decor. I had read they tend to hide during the day near their webs so I was thinking of making a little structure he would be able to go into, but just worried the feeder insects may hide in there and he won't get them

That looks to be an adult male S. nobilis aka a Noble false widow. Males tend not to eat a lot so you probably shouldn't worry. Fun fact! Adult females can take down shrews and possibly even bats but that's still up in the air if they eat them a lot/at all other than one case that was confirmed. So you can give him adult crickets and not just fruit flies! Btw I like your enclosure setup!

 

[WhyamIlikethis]

that's still up in the air

unlike those bats... I'll take my leave..

 

[alex666]

That looks to be an adult male S. nobilis aka a Noble false widow. Males tend not to eat a lot so you probably shouldn't worry. Fun fact! Adult females can take down shrews and possibly even bats but that's still up in the air if they eat them a lot/at all other than one case that was confirmed. So you can give him adult crickets and not just fruit flies! Btw I like your enclosure setup!

Thank you! Thats good to know. I had tried giving him crickets before but he was in a vertical enclosure and never caught them. This new setup i think might work better for him. Would an adult cricket be better than a small cricket? We have small crickets we get them for the two juvenile jumping spiders and an adult female black widow.

Thats crazy they can take down bats and stuff I couldn't imagine a little spider doing that, like a tarantula or something maybe but these little guys? Crazy haha

 

[WhyamIlikethis]

Would an adult cricket be better than a small cricket?

It probably wouldn't matter too much. I saw a cricket in the first pic and it seems like it is a good size for him.

 

[WhyamIlikethis]

I had tried giving him crickets before but he was in a vertical enclosure and never caught them.

you might try dropping a couple of crickets in the web and see what happens. It tends to help them eat especially considering false widows like S. nobilis most often eat flying pray (like bats)

 

[WhyamIlikethis]

(like bats)

DON'T FEED YOUR SPIDERS BATS...!!!!

 

[alex666]

DON'T FEED YOUR SPIDERS BATS...!!!!

Oof thanks for the heads up. Petco just got their new feeder bats in and I was about to go grab some

But thank you for your advice, he got one of the fruit flies earlier I'll give him a cricket later and see if he eats it

 

[WhyamIlikethis]

Oof thanks for the heads up. Petco just got their new feeder bats in and I was about to go grab some

THIS MADE ME CRY WITH LAUGHTER PFFTTT
(that's not an exaggeration I genuinely laughed hard enough to cry lol)

 

[WhyamIlikethis]

But thank you for your advice, he got one of the fruit flies earlier I'll give him a cricket later and see if he eats it

That's great!! I'm glad I could help!

 

[WhyamIlikethis]

We have a false widow since about a month ago.

Sorry to bug you, or should I say spider you but, where did you get him from? Did you find him in your room? Did you buy him from a store?

 

[alex666]

Sorry to bug you, or should I say spider you but, where did you get him from? Did you find him in your room? Did you buy him from a store?

My boyfriend brought him in from outside. He had a scheme to put a spider enclosure in this one corner we get fruit flies in. We googled what the spider was and found out they are invasive here so I mean idk if one spider matters but wasn't sure if we should put him back outside in that case. The fruit fly scheme didn't work lol