Spiderling care tips?

[Villagecreep]

So I got a surprise the other day where my male Hacklemesh weaver (Callobius spp.), somehow found an old "dud" eggsac and somehow managed to fertilize it. I know I probably sound like a clueless dweeb, so anyone know how he managed to do this? Also any tips for the spiderlings? there's currently snow outside where I live, and I don't know anyone who would want them. PLEASE HELP!

 

[chanda]

That isn't possible. Male spiders don't fertilize eggs after they have been laid - they deposit sperm through the epigynum of the female spider and into her spermathecae, where she can store it for quite some time until she is ready to lay eggs. She will deposit fertile eggs (or unfertile eggs, if she has not mated or has used up all her stored sperm) into her egg sac. The eggs are not fertilized after they have been laid. It is far more likely that you only thought the egg sac was a dud, but really it just took a long time to hatch. (Either that or your "male" Callobius isn't quite as male as you thought!)

 

[Villagecreep]

That isn't possible. Male spiders don't fertilize eggs after they have been laid - they deposit sperm through the epigynum of the female spider and into her spermathecae, where she can store it for quite some time until she is ready to lay eggs. She will deposit fertile eggs (or unfertile eggs, if she has not mated or has used up all her stored sperm) into her egg sac. The eggs are not fertilized after they have been laid. It is far more likely that you only thought the egg sac was a dud, but really it just took a long time to hatch. (Either that or your "male" Callobius isn't quite as male as you thought!)

thank you so much! I'm not very experienced with this species so thank you again!

 

[NYAN]

The spiderlings can be fed with prekilled larger prey items. You will likely need fruit flies though at somebody point, especially if you separate them.

 

[Villagecreep]

The spiderlings can be fed with prekilled larger prey items. You will likely need fruit flies though at somebody point, especially if you separate them.

Will small pre-killed flies work, or do they have to be more on the spiderling's scale?

 

[NYAN]

Will small pre-killed flies work, or do they have to be more on the spiderling's scale?

If it’s already dead then it doesn’t matter the size really.

 

[chanda]

Will small pre-killed flies work, or do they have to be more on the spiderling's scale?

They should be able to handle live fruit flies, and if you drop a small bit of fruit in the bottom of the enclosure, it will feed the flies and keep them alive longer. (Just remove and replace the fruit every day or two, so you don't encourage mold, mites, or other problems in your enclosure.) Fruit flies do not pose a threat to the baby spiders, the way some other feeders (like mealworms, crickets, or roaches) can. Baby crickets, mealworms, or roaches should be prekilled, though, because they could potentially injure or even eat your spiderlings.

While it may seem impossible, baby spiders are able to take down prey their own size - including their siblings. That's actually a pretty good way to handle surplus spiderlings, if you can't release them and don't want to (or aren't able to) sell them or give them away. Just let them eat each other until the population is down to manageable numbers - then separate them to prevent further cannibalism. It may seem cruel, but really - they have to kill and eat something to survive, so what's the difference between them eating a baby spider or eating a fruit fly or pinhead cricket? It also weeds out the weaker spiderlings - which is exactly what happens in nature. Spider egg sacs may contain hundreds of babies, but relatively few of them survive to adulthood.

 

[Villagecreep]

They should be able to handle live fruit flies, and if you drop a small bit of fruit in the bottom of the enclosure, it will feed the flies and keep them alive longer. (Just remove and replace the fruit every day or two, so you don't encourage mold, mites, or other problems in your enclosure.) Fruit flies do not pose a threat to the baby spiders, the way some other feeders (like mealworms, crickets, or roaches) can. Baby crickets, mealworms, or roaches should be prekilled, though, because they could potentially injure or even eat your spiderlings.

While it may seem impossible, baby spiders are able to take down prey their own size - including their siblings. That's actually a pretty good way to handle surplus spiderlings, if you can't release them and don't want to (or aren't able to) sell them or give them away. Just let them eat each other until the population is down to manageable numbers - then separate them to prevent further cannibalism. It may seem cruel, but really - they have to kill and eat something to survive, so what's the difference between them eating a baby spider or eating a fruit fly or pinhead cricket? It also weeds out the weaker spiderlings - which is exactly what happens in nature. Spider egg sacs may contain hundreds of babies, but relatively few of them survive to adulthood.

okay thank you!