# Latrodectus cages...



## Asgard (Nov 25, 2008)

Hello!!

This thread is adressed to the several Latrodectus keepers... could you share your enclosures?

Thank you

Kind regards


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## recluse (Nov 25, 2008)

Try the Latrodectus pics sticky at the top of this page.


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## spydrhunter1 (Nov 25, 2008)

Prepunched 16 or 32 ounce deli cups for the adults, smaller cups for the slings depending on size. I start slings out in 1 ouce cups, moving them up to 2.5 and 4 ounce cups as they get larger.


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## Moltar (Nov 25, 2008)

Latros also keep well in upside down plastic jars (lid on the bottom). They tend to like hanging out at the top of the web so they're that much less in the way when you open up for cleaning/feeding or whatever.


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## Asgard (Nov 25, 2008)

spydrhunter1 said:


> Prepunched 16 or 32 ounce deli cups for the adults, smaller cups for the slings depending on size. I start slings out in 1 ouce cups, moving them up to 2.5 and 4 ounce cups as they get larger.


Thank you for sharing!!


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## Asgard (Nov 25, 2008)

etown_411 said:


> Latros also keep well in upside down plastic jars (lid on the bottom). They tend to like hanging out at the top of the web so they're that much less in the way when you open up for cleaning/feeding or whatever.


It seems a very good idea indeed...


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## Widowman10 (Nov 25, 2008)

i keep mine in big jars for the sole purpose of display. i think it is nearly impossible to kill these things, or even make them uncomfortable in ANY type of enclosure. whatever you house them in, where they can make a web, they will be happy. simple as that. a jar, some sticks, you're done.


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## Widowman10 (Nov 25, 2008)

Asgard said:


> It seems a very good idea indeed...


have you seen those screw-on lids for biscotti jars? well, any type of jar that is wide, but bottlenecks slightly at the top is great. the widows will hang out in the mass of sticks/debris at the bottom, and never web at all at the lid. it all depends on cage design. i like this better than the upside down cage. just fiddle with it a bit until you get a cage design where the widow doesn't go up into the lid. much easier.


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## Asgard (Nov 27, 2008)

This is the way I keep my Latrodectus...I try to keep it simple...


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## LasidoraGT (Nov 27, 2008)

Neat enclosures, I would get one but my mom won't let me for obvious reasons lol
I did keep a common house spider in a peanut butter jar with a stick and popped in flys ever now and then for food


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## hauser (Nov 28, 2008)




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## xeno81 (Dec 4, 2008)

Damn hauser.  Looks like widow zoo there, not that I'm complaining or anything.


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## white_feather (Dec 28, 2008)

What is the lifespan of a black widow? How often do they lay sacs?


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## Widowman10 (Dec 28, 2008)

up to 3-4 yrs, and as often as you feed them  (a LOT)


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## white_feather (Dec 28, 2008)

What is a good enclosure to keep them in? I wawas thinking about the smallest Kritter Keeper? Where can I find care sheets for these things?


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## Widowman10 (Dec 28, 2008)

white_feather said:


> What is a good enclosure to keep them in? I wawas thinking about the smallest Kritter Keeper? Where can I find care sheets for these things?


enclosure: doesn't really matter. just give them stuff to web on.
care: feed whenever you feel like it. done.


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## white_feather (Dec 28, 2008)

Sweet! It seems like they have a ton of babies, what should I do with them?


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## Widowman10 (Dec 28, 2008)

white_feather said:


> Sweet! It seems like they have a ton of babies, what should I do with them?


i let them cannibalize down to a number i feel comfortable taking care of.


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## white_feather (Dec 28, 2008)

I don't want a million of them. Just one or two.


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## Widowman10 (Dec 28, 2008)

white_feather said:


> I don't want a million of them. Just one or two.


you could always let the little ones go. it's exactly what would have happened had the spider stayed in the wild to begin with. assuming of course, it's WC.


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## What (Dec 28, 2008)

No... dont let them go... No animal kept in normal captive conditions should *ever* be released. The chances of passing along a parasite/disease/fungi to wild population, while slim, are a very real thing.

So unless you are keeping animals in laboratory controlled conditions, with feeders that are 100% parasite, disease, fungi, and anything else free dont ever release a captive. *Ever*.

If you end up with more than you want, and dont want to let them cannibalize then freeze them or something similar.


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## Widowman10 (Dec 28, 2008)

What said:


> No... dont let them go... No animal kept in normal captive conditions should *ever* be released. The chances of passing along a parasite/disease/fungi to wild population, while slim, are a very real thing.
> 
> So unless you are keeping animals in laboratory controlled conditions, with feeders that are 100% parasite, disease, fungi, and anything else free dont ever release a captive. *Ever*.
> 
> If you end up with more than you want, and dont want to let them cannibalize then freeze them or something similar.


there's absolutely no reason why if you release right out of the sac :? :? 

now, if you've been feeding and raising them awhile, i totally agree


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## What (Dec 28, 2008)

Widowman10 said:


> there's absolutely no reason why if you release right out of the sac :? :?


Parasites/spores on the eggsac. That is a reason.


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## Widowman10 (Dec 28, 2008)

What said:


> Parasites/spores on the eggsac. That is a reason.


oh, ba-humbug  

i guess there's a _very small_ possibility, but still...


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## jsloan (Dec 28, 2008)

What said:


> Parasites/spores on the eggsac. That is a reason.


Is there anything in the literature to back up this concern?


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## What (Dec 29, 2008)

jsloan said:


> Is there anything in the literature to back up this concern?


The only lit I have on hand is this, where a lab stock of spiderlings was infected with fungi from fruit flies. A spider that had such a fungi in its enclosure could very easily end up with spores on an eggsac, which once transferred to the outdoors would be a problem for native populations of animals. While the fungi in this specific paper are found worldwide with all the exotics kept in captivity, who knows what is floating around in our captive collections that isnt found in our local areas.

A Zygoycetous Fungus as a Mortality Factor in a Laboratory Stock of Spiders. Nentwig, W. 1989.


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## mitchnast (Dec 29, 2008)




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## Craig (Dec 29, 2008)

Hauser: Those are really awesome setups! I really like the maps with the geographical range of each species!


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