[Video] My Redback spider catching a large cockroach

RedbackBreeder

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Jan 26, 2014
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[video=youtube;dUGtWw0nL80]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUGtWw0nL80[/video]

Beautiful creature! Notice how tough her web is! Check out more videos in my channel :D
 

Widowman10

Arachno WIDOW
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i just love the redbacks, they are ferocious webbers! you can clearly see the strategy here, attaching that first sticky glob to the prey, and then anchoring that line to the web. lather, rinse, repeat... it's awesome!
 

Spepper

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Jul 22, 2013
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That was absolutely one of the most amazing spider things I've ever seen.
 

Spepper

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Gotta love widows! Always a great photo/video subject.
Huh, I had thought that RedBackBreeder was lucky to get their spider catching prey on camera because when I had a young black widow last summer I don't think I ever saw her actually catching her prey although I saw her sucking on it a few times. I fed her darkling beetles from my mealworms which she ate, but I assumed always at night because I never saw it and she stayed fat and I found dead beetles on the floor of her cage. She molted once or twice successfully in my care, but then she molted once more and all I ever found was a molt and there was no possible way she could have escaped so since her web was super close to the ground I assumed the darkling beetles that hadn't been consumed yet had consumed her when she was still soft from the molt and helpless. :( I know it was a mistake on my part to leave living beetles in there but she had done it twice successfully so I didn't expect it. Anyway. My widow didn't do much other than sit there not do anything interesting for me.
 

RedbackBreeder

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Huh, I had thought that RedBackBreeder was lucky to get their spider catching prey on camera because when I had a young black widow last summer I don't think I ever saw her actually catching her prey although I saw her sucking on it a few times. I fed her darkling beetles from my mealworms which she ate, but I assumed always at night because I never saw it and she stayed fat and I found dead beetles on the floor of her cage. She molted once or twice successfully in my care, but then she molted once more and all I ever found was a molt and there was no possible way she could have escaped so since her web was super close to the ground I assumed the darkling beetles that hadn't been consumed yet had consumed her when she was still soft from the molt and helpless. :( I know it was a mistake on my part to leave living beetles in there but she had done it twice successfully so I didn't expect it. Anyway. My widow didn't do much other than sit there not do anything interesting for me.
I don't know. I just throw in the prey into the container and my redbacks attack it almost immediately :p
I've heard that American Latrodectus species are not as temperamental as the redback. Maybe that's the reason.
 

Beary Strange

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Aug 30, 2013
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Nice video and extremely nice spider. Also as to the American Latrodectus not being as tempermental, probably so. I have a big female L.geometricus and despite an escape during a transfer, I'd label her as pretty chill. She does occasionally ignore food, but for the most part she goes at it right away like the redback.
Also, I LOVE what little I can see of your enclosure. Can we see pics of them perhaps?
 

Spepper

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Jul 22, 2013
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I guess it must have just been the species, then, or I had a particularly boring individual. :)
 

RedbackBreeder

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My setup

Hi, this is my setup. I use a small fish tank and a glass jar, and cover some of the wall with some material the spiders can crawl on. Finally, i like to give them some shade, and top it up with a small ceiling for them to hide under. I used an unused drumstick for my larger redback so she can extend the range of the web inside the tank. The first two photos are the setups for my two adult redbacks, and the last is for my trapdoor spider.

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Spepper

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Jul 22, 2013
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745
Wow, I love your first setup. It's genius because both the spider and the person looking in on them are happy because the spider has a ledge to hide under but the person can still easily view them at all times.
 

RedbackBreeder

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Wow, I love your first setup. It's genius because both the spider and the person looking in on them are happy because the spider has a ledge to hide under but the person can still easily view them at all times.
Thanks for your appreciation :) I wanted to find a way to make my spiders feel at home. I know that redbacks like shelters, and need two flat surfaces to build their web on, so I made it this way.
 

sandynoobhead

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Oct 1, 2014
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hey man, I subbed! also, I want to catch redbacks in my backyard, I want to, because there are plenty, however, I am inexperienced in spiders... should I take the risk? are they docil enough?
 

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
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Just my unscientific observations. Being from So Cal I've encountered a few trillion Hesperus and while in Aus I studied Hasseltii antics for a few weeks. The hesperus, with certain exceptions from circumstances, are quite shy and retiring. Mactans, from a dozen observations or so seem quite similar. Geometricus however, is much more overt and Hasselti acted identically to them.
What I couldn't figure out was the area around Darwin and the native habitat of Hesperus are pretty similar climate and habitat wise. (Ignoring the Eucs and occasional cyclones)
It sort of makes sense in a way. The red back could have been an invasive at one time and as such more robust and overt, as the Geo is presently. But it seems to me the red back has been established in Aus for probably a few million years. I wonder if Geo and Hasselti have a common ancestry. Maybe Geo is Hasselti, turned loose on the larger world a few millennia ago?
 
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Python

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Mar 21, 2005
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I have mactans and geos and they both act pretty similar in captivity. Neither one really shies away from me and both eat like they've never seen food before. In my experience, mactans feed voraciously and anytime I want to watch them feed, all I have to do is toss something in there, they'll attack it on the spot. They never muck around till my back is turned. That's why I love these guys so much. I've never had a shy one. Awesome video too. I want one of those.
 

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
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I have mactans and geos and they both act pretty similar in captivity. Neither one really shies away from me and both eat like they've never seen food before. In my experience, mactans feed voraciously and anytime I want to watch them feed, all I have to do is toss something in there, they'll attack it on the spot. They never muck around till my back is turned. That's why I love these guys so much. I've never had a shy one. Awesome video too. I want one of those.
Well sure, if you toss in their favorite food. We need to be more scientific here. Like which is more aggressive when you stick your finger in the web and wiggle it. Or toe. Any volunteers?
 

Python

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Lol. I have actually done that. Granted, I didn't leave my finger in long enough to get caught but I have stuck my finger in a web and wiggled it.
 

Beary Strange

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Well sure, if you toss in their favorite food. We need to be more scientific here. Like which is more aggressive when you stick your finger in the web and wiggle it. Or toe. Any volunteers?
I can't speak for a toe, but foreceps have been stuck in my Geo's enclosure many a time (to grab remains)...mostly she just runs and hides. Or panics in one spot until we're done.
 
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