# How long can juveniles go without food?



## toolrick (Dec 11, 2008)

I am wondering how much can a juvenile last without food?
How many times should I feed it?


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## Scolopendra55 (Dec 11, 2008)

Juvenile what?


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## jsloan (Dec 11, 2008)

toolrick said:


> I am wondering how much can a juvenile last without food? How many times should I feed it?


That depends on a lot of things.  What kind of spider?  How old is it?  What kind of environment have you got it in?

Assuming the spider is very young, and very small, I wouldn't let it go too long.  Feed it at least every couple of days, or as often as it will eat. Once a spiderling has eaten a big meal you have some time before you have to feed it again.  Keep an eye on the abdomen and feed the spider when it starts to shrink.  Above all, make water available at all times.   Dessication kills many a spiderling.

Here's a tip: many spiderlings will scavenge for food; that is, they will pick up a dead insect and eat it, if it's available.  They don't necessarily have to be fed only live food.  This is helpful if you're wondering what live food you can feed to very tiny spiderlings.  There's no need to keep a stock of live fruit flies on hand, for example, or something smaller.

This depends on the spider, of course; but, in the past I have killed large flies and put part or all of it into a container with spiderlings.  When they find the fly they start eating it, in most cases.

I once had to feed some very small _Nephila madagascariensis_ lings, each with a total leg span of about 2 mm, as well as supply them with water.   Initially I kept several lings together in the same jar, where they  spun small, individual partial webs here and there.  I caught mosquitos and killed them (by crushing).  Holding the dead mosquito with forceps, I dipped it in water so it was wet then placed it into the web of the spiders.  Just set it there.  Soon, sometimes within minutes, the spiderlings had found it and ate their fill.  Giving spiderlings pre-killed food makes it much easier to feed them, by making it easier for the spiders to find the food, and you don't have to worry about having to supply very small live insects.

The other day I fed a large running spider this way, a penultimate male.  I just killed a big fly and dropped it into the spider's container.  That night, the spider stuffed itself. (The fly was too big for the spider to feed on otherwise - it avoided the fly when it was alive).

Hope this helps.


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## Widowman10 (Dec 11, 2008)

Scolopendra55 said:


> Juvenile what?


 that's what i was wondering!


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## toolrick (Dec 12, 2008)

Ok, sorry about not giving you details. Ctenid Juveniles. I am guessing they probably have a month and 3th instar. I've gotten 2 that I found in my house. One is eating everything I throw at him, and the other one has not eatten yet. When I found it was ready to molt and it molted yesterday. I guess it will take him to eat couple of days.


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