# Looking for something, and I need some help



## Rain_Flower (Jan 12, 2008)

So I'm not really into true spiders and such, I like Ts alot more, but here I am and I need some help.
My dad's birthday is coming up, and I would looove to get him a black widow. He talks about them all the time and says how much he would like to have one.
So how would I go about getting one, and where? How much do they cost? What are the basic precautions to take when owning these?

Please and thank you!!


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## What (Jan 12, 2008)

To get one you can probably just catch one. Or you can order one from someone on arachnoboards. I wouldnt recommend spending more than $10 on one.

Basic precautions are: dont handle them, keep them in their cage, and dont over feed. Widows seem to live longer when kept thinner than full capacity.


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## Widowman10 (Jan 12, 2008)

ah, the wonderful world of widows! careful, cause once you get one, they are very addicting!! like what said, don't spend more than about $10-$15 on one. female of course. they live for *roughly* 3 years. warmer temps and tons of feeding speed up their life cycles quite a bit. you can put them in pretty much any kind of container any size. they are one of the hardiest spiders on the planet. you hardly can kill them even if you try. they can go for months w/out food. hardly any misting is ever required, i don't even mist mine, they get moisture from food. you can get them anywhere, outside if you look hard enough. if not, many people on the boards have plenty . precautions: just don't be stupid. use common sense and you will be fine. as long as you use tools and such, you're allright. they are not super lightning fast like some T's are, but they can be fairly fast in their web. they are quite happy just finding a little niche in their cage, but if you do ever need to get her out for any reason, i've always just used 2 pencils. stick one down in the web and start twisting and use the other to guide the widow to where you want it to go. really simple. they are pretty much like every other animal, just use common sense, don't be stupid, and you will enjoy it immensely!! widows are the best! enjoy and let us know if you got one and then post some pics!!!


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## cricket54 (Jan 12, 2008)

*Black Widow females*

I have loads of widows all around my house her in southern CA. I am in the high desert of the Mohave Desert. I have two big female widows living in y garage and several around the porch. I just had one little sling from this spring thats fully matured mate with a pretty male that I found in my house. Your Dad's interest, I commend him on it. Been faciated with black widows since I lived in NC and kept one as a pet. I would gladly find a way to ship one of the big girls in my garage to him for just the cost of postage if you private message me. Don't know if sending them from CA they would need a heat pack, does anyone know? They are real interesting spiders that you only have to give them a couple crickets a week to feed them and they can survive for up to 4 yrs. Good luck and I think you are wonderfull to want to do this for your Dad. Once they establish their webs in a tall plastic container or big jar, they stop trying to come out and let you just drop in the food for them. At first they sometimes panic and come out and you have to gently get them to go back in. I've even had them crawl across my hand without biting me. They reallly are not aggressive and scarey spiders and are very easy to maintain. Have 3 girls of various ages in my house as pets.

Sharon


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## Widowman10 (Jan 12, 2008)

cricket54 said:


> Don't know if sending them from CA they would need a heat pack, does anyone know?
> 
> 
> They are real interesting spiders that you only have to give them a couple crickets a week to feed them and they can survive for up to 4 yrs.
> ...


they don't need a heat pack. widows are so tolerant it's incredible. i actually just shipped buthus a big female (thread just started today in this forum) a week ago. and it's been snowing in CO. they are fine don't worry. i wouldn't suggest a couple of crickets per week if you want it to live longer. they will live longer and do just as well on 1 cricket every couple of weeks. if you have them in a plastic jar or such, i would even recommend drilling a small hole for feeding. you can just put tape over it or something, but it makes feeding so much easier, b/c you don't have to worry about opening a lid or anything. small hole is really easy to just shove a cricket through and you don't have to worry about the widow that way.


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## Rain_Flower (Jan 12, 2008)

Yaaay thank you everybody! You've all been very helpful


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## Rain_Flower (Jan 14, 2008)

So I have two coming in the mail now, and for those of you who have kept them before: What would be good to house them in? I want to have a nice looking display tank, as it's for my dad's birthday... Can I keep them together or should I house them seperatly? 
Thanks once again


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## What (Jan 14, 2008)

If you want you can put in a divider to separate the tank into two sections. You could then utilize the cage for both spiders.

Otherwise keep them separate.


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## lostriverdoc (Jan 14, 2008)

Just keep them seperate or you will only have one. Kritter Keepers work great with a twig to ancher the web to. One cricket every couple of weeks and they're good to go.


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## Rain_Flower (Jan 14, 2008)

Alright, I'll do that. Thanks again for the info (and the spiders)!


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## spydrhunter1 (Jan 14, 2008)

16 ounce pre-punched deli cups with a couple of twigs. I house dozens this way.


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## Widowman10 (Jan 14, 2008)

spydrhunter1 said:


> 16 ounce pre-punched deli cups with a couple of twigs. I house dozens this way.


that works great! basically ANYTHING will work. they will build and thrive literally everywhere. just make it so it looks good to you . and no, not together, they don't like that too well...

oh- and remember, when you unpack them, they will probably be very pissy, so please use long tools...


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## Rain_Flower (Jan 16, 2008)

Yay! So my two little (big actually...) black widows came in the mail today  What's the scientific name anyways? I'm so excited about them, although I thought I was gonna wet myself when I did the cage transfer... It went rather well actually. I opened the deli cup, and used tweezers to put the tissue she was on in her new home  Though I kinda freaked out and shut it with the tissue in there and now I'm scared to get it out. Haha. 

I've only opened one right now, and she was safe and sound and absolutely gooorgeous! Thanks again Brian!


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## lostriverdoc (Jan 16, 2008)

Your very welcome Courtney;
Those are Western Black widows ( l. Hesperus ) Hope the other is as pleasing to you as the first. These are my favorite spiders.


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## DrJ (Jan 16, 2008)

spydrhunter1 said:


> 16 ounce pre-punched deli cups with a couple of twigs. I house dozens this way.


How big are the holes?  I'm afraid of escape, as they are so little.  I know T slings can escape very easily...I've never had experience with a widow variety, but I'm thinking of capturing the female outside my patio door after her eggsac hatches out and all the kids are gone.


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## Widowman10 (Jan 17, 2008)

DrJ said:


> How big are the holes?  I'm afraid of escape, as they are so little.  I know T slings can escape very easily...


just make sure the holes are smaller than the prosoma, or cephalothorax. plus, widows are quite happy once in their webbed home. they have no reason or want to go anywhere else. 



DrJ said:


> I've never had experience with a widow variety, but I'm thinking of capturing the female outside my patio door after her eggsac hatches out and all the kids are gone.


get all the kids and raise them as well!!


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## DrJ (Jan 17, 2008)

Well, How would I keep the kids from escaping?!  I don't think anything makes a hole small enough...I'm afraid of escape, if you can't tell...For the adults, what do you use to make the holes, and how large do you make them?  I'm guessing using a small nail and shoving it through the plastic on the deli cups will work?  That would be small, but I'm thinking a little kid could get through that, maybe?  Plus, to further complicate things...how would I ever get the kids seperated...especially from Mom?  I know I have a lot of questions here, but the advice would be appreciated.  I just know I'm interested in the big girl!  I'll have to get a picture of her eventually to post.  I would be curious to know what specie she is.


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## Widowman10 (Jan 17, 2008)

DrJ said:


> Well, How would I keep the kids from escaping?!  I don't think anything makes a hole small enough...I'm afraid of escape, if you can't tell...For the adults, what do you use to make the holes, and how large do you make them?  I'm guessing using a small nail and shoving it through the plastic on the deli cups will work?  That would be small, but I'm thinking a little kid could get through that, maybe?  Plus, to further complicate things...how would I ever get the kids seperated...especially from Mom?  I know I have a lot of questions here, but the advice would be appreciated.  I just know I'm interested in the big girl!  I'll have to get a picture of her eventually to post.  I would be curious to know what specie she is.


well, lets start at the beginning. you can use nails to poke holes if you want, i prefer using a drill and a drill bit to make my holes (tends to look nicer IMO). use your judgement and look at the spiders cephalothorax, just go half as big if you're worried (but pretty much, as long as the holes are ginormous, you will be just fine). for the kids, well, i always take the sac out when it starts to darken, then it's about a week or so before the babies hatch out. i kept the sac in a large-ish *airtight* jar. airtight so i know they can't get out. it's not a problem b/c it's not like they're using up vast amounts of oxygen or anything . then i suggest keeping them in airtight jars til they are too big to fit out of any holes you make in any lids. to separate the hundreds of babies that pop out of the sac, i've used a set of hypodermic needles and those work best for me. they are super super tiny and really help. anything bigger, like a pencil, would be too bulky to separate such tiny spiders. anyway, hope this helped, any other questions, just let me know!


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## Rain_Flower (Jan 17, 2008)

Thread jackers!!! Just kidding, I don't care.


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## Widowman10 (Jan 17, 2008)

Rain_Flower said:


> Thread jackers!!! Just kidding, I don't care.


well, at least it's still about widows...


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## Rain_Flower (Jan 17, 2008)

Yes, that's true.
I'm at school with mine right now


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## Widowman10 (Jan 17, 2008)

Rain_Flower said:


> Yes, that's true.
> I'm at school with mine right now


haha! i took a BW to school once! the other students and mainly teachers didn't appreciate it needless to say...


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## Rain_Flower (Jan 17, 2008)

My teacher thinks it's awesome but everyone else thinks I'm strange... Lol.


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## NevularScorpion (Jan 17, 2008)

*widow related questions*

The Widow that i just took from my apartment a few weeks ago made an egg sac. how will i know if its fertile ?


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## Widowman10 (Jan 17, 2008)

Genei Ryodan said:


> The Widow that i just took from my apartment a few weeks ago made an egg sac. how will i know if its fertile ?


if it turns black in a few weeks. those will be the babies.


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## What (Jan 17, 2008)

Genei Ryodan said:


> The Widow that i just took from my apartment a few weeks ago made an egg sac. how will i know if its fertile ?



If you have the sac in with the female she will usually cut it out of the web within 2 days if it is not fertile. 

When it begins to turn a darker color I highly recommend removing the sac to a separate container... Latro slings are hard enough to separate on their own.


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## DrJ (Jan 17, 2008)

Okay...I'm very concerned!  The momma spider is gone!  I haven't seen her in awhile...I keep checking and the egg sac is still there and so is the male's carcas.  I had to use the door the other day, and she was there before I closed the door...I just hope I didn't do anything to her...will this kill the offspring if the mom is gone permanently?  For all I know, they could already be dead.  She's been gone for a couple days, I just expected to see her again...by the way, the egg sac has turned darker and kinda has a yellow hue to it.  What does this mean?  I'm worried...I don't want the kids to die...due to me (if I did something that made mom leave)!


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## Widowman10 (Jan 17, 2008)

DrJ said:


> Okay...I'm very concerned!  The momma spider is gone!  I haven't seen her in awhile...I keep checking and the egg sac is still there and so is the male's carcas.  I had to use the door the other day, and she was there before I closed the door...I just hope I didn't do anything to her...will this kill the offspring if the mom is gone permanently?  For all I know, they could already be dead.  She's been gone for a couple days, I just expected to see her again...by the way, the egg sac has turned darker and kinda has a yellow hue to it.  What does this mean?  I'm worried...I don't want the kids to die...due to me (if I did something that made mom leave)!


they'll be fine w/out mom. if the eggsac is turning dark, that means the babies are growing. i would bring it in and let them hatch in your care. if you shine a bright flashlight through the sac, you should see little spider blobs.


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## DrJ (Jan 17, 2008)

Widowman10 said:


> they'll be fine w/out mom. if the eggsac is turning dark, that means the babies are growing. i would bring it in and let them hatch in your care. if you shine a bright flashlight through the sac, you should see little spider blobs.


Okay.  Awsome.  Now, what would I put the eggsac in?  I'm considering this simply because it appears as though mom is gone.  And, you make it sound a little easier than I anticipated.  What do you suppose happened to the mom?  I just can't figure it out.  But, I am concerned.


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## DrJ (Jan 17, 2008)

Also, next to the egg sac, about an inch or two, are two other round sperical things that are slightly smaller than the known eggsac (I saw the momma tending this one, so I know it's the eggsac)...what are those?


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## Widowman10 (Jan 17, 2008)

DrJ said:


> Okay.  Awsome.  Now, what would I put the eggsac in?  I'm considering this simply because it appears as though mom is gone.  And, you make it sound a little easier than I anticipated.


i put my eggsacs in an airtight jar. it is easy  



DrJ said:


> Also, next to the egg sac, about an inch or two, are two other round sperical things that are slightly smaller than the known eggsac (I saw the momma tending this one, so I know it's the eggsac)...what are those?


:? i dunno. can you take a pic?


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## DrJ (Jan 18, 2008)

Widowman10 said:


> i put my eggsacs in an airtight jar. it is easy
> 
> 
> 
> :? i dunno. can you take a pic?


1.  You mean, just plop it into something like a baby food jar?  Or something bigger like a deli cup?  Should I include some moist paper toils or something?

2.  Sorry, I have no clue how to get pictures onto here...best I can do is describe it.  They look exactly like the known eggsac, but half the size.  Both appear to be about the same size, and that appears to be half that of the known eggsac.  They also look yellowy...sorta like the eggsac.  But, I wouldn't think that those would be eggsacs, too...I mean, can't a spider only lay one at a time?  And, wouldn't they be territorial about letting other spiders lay eggsacs?  I don't know...it's a little confusing.:?


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## Widowman10 (Jan 18, 2008)

DrJ said:


> 1.  You mean, just plop it into something like a baby food jar?  Or something bigger like a deli cup?  Should I include some moist paper toils or something?


i give it a hammock (sorta...). i pile up some grass, and lay it gently on that. if you want to save ALL of the babies, you will separate them at time of opening of sac, if you want manageable numbers, put them in a slightly bigger jar (bigger than baby food), so they can cannibalize. they don't need anything like moist paper towels or anything, no worries.



DrJ said:


> 2.  Sorry, I have no clue how to get pictures onto here...best I can do is describe it.  They look exactly like the known eggsac, but half the size.  Both appear to be about the same size, and that appears to be half that of the known eggsac.  They also look yellowy...sorta like the eggsac.  But, I wouldn't think that those would be eggsacs, too...I mean, can't a spider only lay one at a time?  And, wouldn't they be territorial about letting other spiders lay eggsacs?  I don't know...it's a little confusing.:?


you can sign up for a free photobucket, then link them to here . they _might_ be eggsacs, hard to tell from a description. they can produce more than one sac at a time, i've had a female pop out 4 in a span of about 3 weeks before.


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## dtknow (Jan 18, 2008)

I'm not quite buying those containers though. Would you want something with the bottom open rather than the top? This would allow easy waste removal and feeding.


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## Widowman10 (Jan 18, 2008)

dtknow said:


> I'm not quite buying those containers though. Would you want something with the bottom open rather than the top? This would allow easy waste removal and feeding.


definitely for the adults. definitely. but i'm talking about slings. with the intention of separating them in a couple of weeks. when i put grass in the bottom (for padding the sac), the slings make a giant web and stay at the bottom. it is very very easy to remove the top and not have little guys going everywhere. plus they generate virtually no waste and require no feeding the first few weeks. but i readily agree with you in the case of adults, yes


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## DrJ (Jan 18, 2008)

Widowman10 said:


> i give it a hammock (sorta...). i pile up some grass, and lay it gently on that. if you want to save ALL of the babies, you will separate them at time of opening of sac, if you want manageable numbers, put them in a slightly bigger jar (bigger than baby food), so they can cannibalize. they don't need anything like moist paper towels or anything, no worries.
> 
> 
> 
> you can sign up for a free photobucket, then link them to here . they _might_ be eggsacs, hard to tell from a description. they can produce more than one sac at a time, i've had a female pop out 4 in a span of about 3 weeks before.


1.  Okay...can I put some subtrate in there too?  Or would that be a mistake with how little they'd be?  And...are you saying I have to open the sac?  Okay, let me get this straight so far (I'm really sorry for my naivity regarding widows and widow babies.  I have always just been more into tarantulas...):  I get a big deli cup, I found one that has been used for tarantulas (it's clean, so no worries....it's 1025ml and I exchanged lids so there are no holes...is that a good size?).  I put grass in there, and then put the eggsac(s) in and then let the kids eat each other untill they are big enough to eat a pinhead cricket and easily seperate...right?  Or, am I still doing this wrong?  LOL...I am really sorry about all this...I just want to make sure I do it right.  

2.  I'll probably just house all three together just in case...but I'm wondering if the other two are even fertile, because when the mother was around, I only saw her tending to the one.  Well see what happens.


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## DrJ (Jan 18, 2008)

And...so now I need to find some sort of bottom opening container for when these grow up?  What kind of container would this be?  I feel so lost...

And, is there a good website or something that I could look at?  That may help keep me from asking you so many questions.

Thank you so much for all your help and advice!


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## Widowman10 (Jan 18, 2008)

DrJ said:


> 1.  Okay...can I put some subtrate in there too?  Or would that be a mistake with how little they'd be?  And...are you saying I have to open the sac?  Okay, let me get this straight so far (I'm really sorry for my naivity regarding widows and widow babies.  I have always just been more into tarantulas...):  I get a big deli cup, I found one that has been used for tarantulas (it's clean, so no worries....it's 1025ml and I exchanged lids so there are no holes...is that a good size?).  I put grass in there, and then put the eggsac(s) in and then let the kids eat each other untill they are big enough to eat a pinhead cricket and easily seperate...right?  Or, am I still doing this wrong?  LOL...I am really sorry about all this...I just want to make sure I do it right.
> 
> 2.  I'll probably just house all three together just in case...but I'm wondering if the other two are even fertile, because when the mother was around, I only saw her tending to the one.  Well see what happens.





DrJ said:


> And...so now I need to find some sort of bottom opening container for when these grow up?  What kind of container would this be?  I feel so lost...
> 
> And, is there a good website or something that I could look at?  That may help keep me from asking you so many questions.
> 
> Thank you so much for all your help and advice!


haha, i love when people ask questions!!! shows they're interested and actually care!!:clap: let's see... i will answer all your questions in detail tonight, i gotta run a few errands. i will see if i can upload a few pics for you to see exactly what i mean. i will get those up tonight.


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## CHDB (Jan 18, 2008)

What said:


> To get one you can probably just catch one. Or you can order one from someone on arachnoboards. I wouldnt recommend spending more than $10 on one.
> 
> Basic precautions are: dont handle them, keep them in their cage, and dont over feed. Widows seem to live longer when kept thinner than full capacity.


but when you keep them in full capacity their shedding process is one hundred percent perfect with no limb broken. also how long did your widow
lived when thinner


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## CHDB (Jan 18, 2008)

What said:


> To get one you can probably just catch one. Or you can order one from someone on arachnoboards. I wouldnt recommend spending more than $10 on one.
> 
> Basic precautions are: dont handle them, keep them in their cage, and dont over feed. Widows seem to live longer when kept thinner than full capacity.


but when kept in full capacity their shedding process is one hundred percent
with no broken limbs. also how long did your widow lived when thinner?


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## cacoseraph (Jan 18, 2008)

CHDB said:


> but when kept in full capacity their shedding process is one hundred percent
> with no broken limbs. also how long did your widow lived when thinner?


i had a WC adult female L. hesperus for 3 years.  she was already knocked up when i got her and she made something like 13 eggsacs, but the last 5 or so where pretty pathetic.  i fed her moderately well


i expect you could eggrave a hesperus in 6 years if you were careful


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## Widowman10 (Jan 18, 2008)

DrJ said:


> 1.  Okay...can I put some subtrate in there too?  Or would that be a mistake with how little they'd be?


doesn't really matter. dirt grass whatever, they will eat some brothers and sisters in due time anyway.



DrJ said:


> And...are you saying I have to open the sac?


no no! the sac will noticeably darken when the babies are about to hatch. just leave it be. they will break out when they are ready to see the world and fend for themselves. just put the sac in a jar, and most likely overnight you will see a change from a dark sac to hundreds of new little babies!!



DrJ said:


> Okay, let me get this straight so far (I'm really sorry for my naivity regarding widows and widow babies.  I have always just been more into tarantulas...):  I get a big deli cup, I found one that has been used for tarantulas (it's clean, so no worries....it's 1025ml and I exchanged lids so there are no holes...is that a good size?).  I put grass in there,


sure, any size jar will do. the bigger the better for cannibalization IMO. bigger jars are better b/c they can spread out a little and don't get all bunched up. they are like adults, except little mini versions. capable of webbing, eating, etc.. grass works fine. 



DrJ said:


> and then put the eggsac(s) in and then let the kids eat each other untill they are big enough to eat a pinhead cricket and easily seperate...right?  Or, am I still doing this wrong?  LOL...I am really sorry about all this...I just want to make sure I do it right.
> 
> 2.  I'll probably just house all three together just in case...but I'm wondering if the other two are even fertile, because when the mother was around, I only saw her tending to the one.  Well see what happens.


if i were you (which i'm not ) i would do 3 separate jars. if all 3 were fertile, and all 3 hatched, you have potential to have 500 widow slings all in one tiny jar. 



DrJ said:


> And...so now I need to find some sort of bottom opening container for when these grow up?


yes it works better for cleaning and feeding.



DrJ said:


> What kind of container would this be?  I feel so lost...


a set of matching cups in the simplest design works great. 



DrJ said:


> And, is there a good website or something that I could look at?  That may help keep me from asking you so many questions.


website i don't know off the top of my head. you might be able to search for "latrodectus care" or something. questions are fine  



DrJ said:


> Thank you so much for all your help and advice!


no problem!  my pleasure, it is fun!!


PHEW! I THINK THAT IS EVERYTHING!! let me know if there are any questions i missed or if there is anything else!!


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## Widowman10 (Jan 19, 2008)

*sling and adult care. cage designs*

ok, so instead of posting pics :8o, i'll just describe in detail.


*FOR HATCHING SLINGS*: in an airtight jar (and remember, this is just my PERSONAL preferred method, many other people probably do it a different way...): find a jar (with good securing lid), about peanut butter size, and put about 1" of grass covering the bottom. gently lay the eggsack on the grass a couple of days before hatch time (the closer to hatching the better). babies should pop out within a week give or take a few days. the slings will make their webs and disperse to different places throughout the jar. they will be fine for about 3 or so weeks without food or water because they will cannabilize. they will molt and start getting bigger and needing food and water and this is when i separate them. separating is tricky and time consuming, so be prepared.


*FOR ADULTS*: there are many methods that work, and i have used both fairly equally. 

method #1: the display cage. the display cage is one with substrate and a few branches for decoration and web attachment. consists of a clear jar, a secure lid, some dirt, and as said earlier some branches or things for web to be attached to. position branches securely in dirt. make a small hole in the jar near top of substrate for easy feeding and easy cleaning. obviously make a small patch for your access hole. 

method #2: the practical/easy cage. the easy cage IMO is best for storing many spiders. i use the 2-cup design. i take 2 identical cups, and cut the bottom off of the 2nd cup. i then fashion a cheap lid to fit over top the cup with the bottom cut off. the cups fit inside each other for a nice secure seal, with a lid. feeding and cleaning are essentially idiot proof. you can just take the cups apart (the inside cup has the spider and all the webbing attached to it), and pick up leftovers from the bottom of the bottom cup. also easy feeding as you just pull the cups apart and drop food in and put them back together. this does not disturb the spider at all, and makes a nice neat area for them to drop everything: straight down. it is basically a cage with a bottom that pops off, except a lot quicker IMO. i might write an article with pictures if i get around to it someday... or if someone wants to buy a widow, i can design a cage and send it too... 





and again, Rain Flower, sorry for hi-jacking the thread... :8o


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## What (Jan 19, 2008)

CHDB said:


> but when you keep them in full capacity their shedding process is one hundred percent perfect with no limb broken. also how long did your widow
> lived when thinner


I have had no issues with the molting process but that may be because I keep my widows a bit more humid than most. 

As for the lifespan. I have had mature female widows that were WC live over 2 years in my care and I have had slings I raised from sacs live about a year so far and they are almost mature. 

If you observe widows in the wild, away from humans, how often are they full to capacity 100% of the time? Almost never in my experience, in the wild I see many widows who live for over 2 years as mature females, yet in my garage the widows who are full to capacity typically live ~4 months at maturity. 

I am a firm believer that we over feed our inverts. I hardly ever feed an invert more than once every other week. As long as they have water they are fine. I have let some widows go for up to a month with no food and they have lost almost no body mass. My T's and true spiders hardly ever have molting problems and it prolongs their life, so I will continue with my techniques.


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## Widowman10 (Jan 19, 2008)

What said:


> I am a firm believer that we over feed our inverts. I hardly ever feed an invert more than once every other week. As long as they have water they are fine. I have let some widows go for up to a month with no food and they have lost almost no body mass. My T's and true spiders hardly ever have molting problems and it prolongs their life, so I will continue with my techniques.


i would tend to agree that most people overfeed their spiders. especially widows. i remember a story of one guy who left a widow on a closet shelf and completely forgot about it. she sat there for 6 months with no food and no water, and was absolutely fine. hungry and thirsty i bet, but fine. they can go incredibly long times w/out food, and widows, a long time w/out water (at least hesperus).


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## Pulk (Jan 19, 2008)

CHDB, please check your PM's.


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## DrJ (Jan 19, 2008)

Widowman10, Thanks for answering all those questions!  :clap:  

You really did answer a lot for me.  I don't think I have any questions for now...maybe later though. 

Okay, one more...Would an adult ever use a water dish if it were available?  And, after the three week mark, what do you feed them?  Make that two questions!   

Thanks again!


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## Widowman10 (Jan 20, 2008)

DrJ said:


> Widowman10, Thanks for answering all those questions!  :clap:
> 
> Okay, one more...Would an adult ever use a water dish if it were available?  And, after the three week mark, what do you feed them?  Make that two questions!
> 
> Thanks again!


adults don't really need much water. at all. they don't need much to begin with, and will get any and all water from their prey. if you really want to, lightly misting the web every other week will be fine. but a water dish will just get in the way and clog things up, very unneccessary. 

after the 3-ish week mark, feed them anything their body size. fruit flies work wonderfully!! i think you can get them at petsmart or places like that, but they are the perfect size! leafhoppers if it's summertime and you can find them. i use leafhoppers a lot b/c i don't buy anything that way  

any more?? :}


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## DrJ (Jan 21, 2008)

Thanks so much!  I don't think there are anymore questions on my end...haha!  You must love questions, though!  Makes me wish I did have more!  Seriously, though, thank you for taking the time to answer all those questions.


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## Widowman10 (Jan 21, 2008)

DrJ said:


> Thanks so much!  I don't think there are anymore questions on my end...haha!  You must love questions, though!  Makes me wish I did have more!  Seriously, though, thank you for taking the time to answer all those questions.


no problem . and yes, i like to share knowledge/answer questions


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## fishwithoutabik (Feb 16, 2008)

*this is such an all encompassing thread*

Ok, rather than start a new one, I figured I would tack onto this one. How big do widows get? does anybody have a picture with something that would show scale? Where can I buy one/some?


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## Pulk (Feb 16, 2008)

typically the largest legspan is 2" for the biggest species (hesperus & revivensis).
you can find lots of pictures of them by searching the True Spiders & Other Arachnids forum... this thread may be helpful.
you should be able to find widows where you live, go out at night with a flashlight and look under crevices. if not, there are probably a lot of hobbyists who will send you some cheap.


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## dragonblade71 (Feb 16, 2008)

Rain Flower: “I'm so excited about them, although I thought I was gonna wet myself when I did the cage transfer... It went rather well actually. I opened the deli cup, and used tweezers to put the tissue she was on in her new home ￼Though I kinda freaked out and shut it with the tissue in there and now I'm scared to get it out. Haha” 

As Steve Erwin used to say…..: “Danger Danger Danger!”

As many of you know, the Australian red back spider is a close relative of the black widow. The females look very similar too. I was getting out a motorbike from a shipping container close to Halloween last year and there was a red back crawling on the bike. When I got the bike on the grass, the spider had disappeared into the bike. I searched for it but to no avail. I then got on the bike and rode around a farmland property knowing that a red back spider was somewhere on the motorbike.


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