# House spiders.



## friendttyy (Jul 20, 2013)

I want to start keeping these house spiders as pets, i want to hear from you guys if its worth the time and space i have caught one already and will provide a pic tomorrow.


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## friendttyy (Jul 20, 2013)

I caught another 2 and guess what, 2 MFs and 1 MM i am gonna inhabit the male with the female tomorrow.I know its a male because of the huge pedipalp 
	

		
			
		

		
	



	

		
			
		

		
	
this is the pic with the male.Do you guys agree that it is a male?


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## Ciphor (Jul 20, 2013)

Can you define house spider? There are quite a few spiders that could go by that ambiguous common name.


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## ReignofInvertebrates (Jul 20, 2013)

You should get a spider in the tegenaria genus, they make good spider pets overall.  tegenaria domestica males are sometimes short-lived.  Not sure what kind of spider you have photographed above...  Looks like a more web-relying spider.


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## friendttyy (Jul 21, 2013)

well indeed it is a web laying spider I am thinking american common house spid?er


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## Ciphor (Jul 21, 2013)

friendttyy said:


> well indeed it is a web laying spider I am thinking american common house spid?er


_Parasteatoda tepidariorum_ make great pet spiders in my experience. They are very skilled predators for their size and will take down larger cobweb spiders like widows, _Steatoda spp._ and it's not uncommon to see one munching on a cellar spider (_Pholcidae_). Males of the species cohabitat with the female in her web mating several times. http://bugguide.net/node/view/176587/bgimage Females produce a large amount of eggsacs, most I've seen in a single web was 13. http://bugguide.net/node/view/80247/bgimage They are also incredibly hardy.

The one downside is life span and over eating. They will live only around 12 months when mated and fed well. I personally like keeping a male and female (can take a few males before the female likes one).


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## friendttyy (Jul 21, 2013)

well i put them together the female tried to kill it but stopped now.FINGERS CROSSED


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## friendttyy (Jul 26, 2013)

Male got eaten hope he got the job done i was so certain hes was gonna be ok, I fed it a cricket but anyways hope she is gravid or i have to get another male.


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## Ciphor (Jul 26, 2013)

friendttyy said:


> Male got eaten hope he got the job done i was so certain hes was gonna be ok, I fed it a cricket but anyways hope she is gravid or i have to get another male.


Work on finding another male. Females in this genus do not often eat males after copulation; they eat males they do not find satisfactory to mate with. When they accept a mate, they cohabit web and mate many times.


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## friendttyy (Jul 27, 2013)

Will do my best to find a male i only see females but the jackpot is somewhere in my house I hope


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## friendttyy (Aug 2, 2013)

Well the male-eating-female does not look gravid but her neighbor is FAT hope she IS GRAVID.


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## Ceratogyrus (Aug 7, 2013)

Your spider is not a Parasteatoda tepidariorum by the way seen as you are in South Africa, Sunny.
Probably a Theridion sp.


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## Ciphor (Aug 7, 2013)

Ceratogyrus said:


> Your spider is not a Parasteatoda tepidariorum by the way seen as you are in South Africa, Sunny.
> Probably a Theridion sp.


_Parasteatoda tepidariorum_ is a *cosmopolitan* species, so not sure how him being in South Africa matters.


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## friendttyy (Aug 7, 2013)

I dunno i sw a pic on the net that looked like mine so i thought it was a Parasteatoda tepidariorum. However the female is really FAT hope she is gravid lol.


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## Ceratogyrus (Aug 7, 2013)

Ciphor said:


> _Parasteatoda tepidariorum_ is a *cosmopolitan* species, so not sure how him being in South Africa matters.


It matters because we don't have the species in South Africa and the common spider from the Theridiidae family in South African homes is from the Genus Theridion.
Trust me, I live here and have been keeping spiders like this for 20 years.
Thanks for your understanding on this matter.


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## Ciphor (Aug 7, 2013)

Ceratogyrus said:


> It matters because we don't have the species in South Africa and the common spider from the Theridiidae family in South African homes is from the Genus Theridion.
> Trust me, I live here and have been keeping spiders like this for 20 years.
> Thanks for your understanding on this matter.


It's this simple; You cannot rule a species out because you have not seen it.

While I am not doubting in the least what you are saying, I will simply re-state _Parasteatoda tepidariorum_ is *cosmopolitan*. It could establish 2 weeks ago, in 2 years, or 15 years ago. The spider is capable of living in this area, and is known to be found all over the world including that area. For you to say "its not here because I haven't seen one" may be a little hasty. You are one person after all.

I'm not saying it is or isn't that spider. If he gets better pictures I can tell you for sure.


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## Ceratogyrus (Aug 7, 2013)

We will wait for better pics then.
How many times have you seen this species in South Africa?


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## Ciphor (Aug 7, 2013)

Ceratogyrus said:


> We will wait for better pics then.
> How many times have you seen this species in South Africa?


Twice in Johannesburg while on a 3 month secondment with my job.


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## The Snark (Aug 7, 2013)

Ciphor said:


> It's this simple; You cannot rule a species out because you have not seen it.
> 
> While I am not doubting in the least what you are saying, I will simply re-state _Parasteatoda tepidariorum_ is *cosmopolitan*. It could establish 2 weeks ago, in 2 years, or 15 years ago. The spider is capable of living in this area, and is known to be found all over the world including that area. For you to say "its not here because I haven't seen one" may be a little hasty. You are one person after all.
> 
> I'm not saying it is or isn't that spider. If he gets better pictures I can tell you for sure.


I recall Rod Crawford saying the exact same thing about Latrodectus when I found a suspect Widow here in Thailand.


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## Ceratogyrus (Aug 7, 2013)

Ciphor said:


> Twice in Johannesburg while on a 3 month secondment with my job.


Interesting. Where in JHB did you stay?


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## friendttyy (Aug 7, 2013)

will try to get a better pic soon


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## Ciphor (Aug 7, 2013)

Ceratogyrus said:


> Interesting. Where in JHB did you stay?


IIRC it was Selborne.


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## Ceratogyrus (Aug 7, 2013)

Ciphor said:


> IIRC it was Selborne.


You should note your siting on ispot.org.za. Would be a nice record to have seen as they have never been seen here before other than by yourself.


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## Ciphor (Aug 7, 2013)

Ceratogyrus said:


> You should note your siting on ispot.org.za. Would be a nice record to have seen as they have never been seen here before other than by yourself.


In science you really have to exclude broad assumptions.

That statement would be more accurate if it was "_Would be a nice record to have seen as they have never been seen by anyone I know of or heard about other than by yourself_.

Gotta stop acting like you have some type of South African omniscience lol.

The spiders I saw could have come in luggage that someone stored in their garage, it happens all the time. This guys spider could have come on a the underside of a shipping crate, crawled off onto someones truck, who drove by his residence where the spider ballooned off.

Synanthropic cosmopolitan spiders like the "Common house spider" constantly show up in new places. Sometimes they establish for a season, sometimes they don't, sometimes they establish permanently. You're trying to paint something as black and white that absolutely will never be black or white, but always somewhere in between.


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## Ceratogyrus (Aug 8, 2013)

You obviously have no idea of my involvement in the South African true spider community, so lets just leave it at that, lol. 
I have sent your claim to the top 3 South African arachnologists and they are very interested in your sighting, so could you please post your sighting on ispot? According to them it is all a first, so would be a great record to have.
Thanks.


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## Smokehound714 (Aug 8, 2013)




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## friendttyy (Aug 8, 2013)

Smokehound714 said:


> Ciphor and the other guy stop fighting


I who was fighting?


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## Ceratogyrus (Aug 8, 2013)

Who was fighting? Must have missed that...

Reactions: Like 1


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## Ciphor (Aug 8, 2013)

Ceratogyrus said:


> Who was fighting? Must have missed that...


It's 2013, overly-sensitive men raised by mom run rampant. 

Forums are also for debating, debates are what debates are.

Reactions: Like 4


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## friendttyy (Aug 8, 2013)

Well female is still fat hoping she is gravis


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## JohananV (Aug 12, 2013)

friendttyy-I live in Richards Bay, South Africa. And, I have kept several House spiders. Most of them have been various species of Steatoda. But, they are definitely worthwhile pets. If you have caught a fully-grown Theridiid female, the chances are that she is already gravid. ALL of the WC female Theridiids that I have kept produced egg sacks. Once you have that first brood of slings, you will realize just how rewarding it is to keep them. All the best with your spiders. And, if you need any further advice, don't hesitate to ask.


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## friendttyy (Aug 12, 2013)

Thanks Johan all mine are females.


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## JohananV (Aug 14, 2013)

It is my greatest pleasure. So, when are we seeing photographs?


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## friendttyy (Aug 14, 2013)

As soon as i can get my camera back and the pics can be compressed


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## MelissaDBrown (Aug 14, 2013)

I found a house spider recently and I caught it just now. The palps are huge and it looks like there is a third appendage up there and it's not a leg. What is that?


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## JohananV (Aug 14, 2013)

Any chance of a photo? At the very least, we'd probably need a description of the appendage.  I'd love to help, though. friendttyy- I'll be waiting for those photos.


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## friendttyy (Aug 15, 2013)

Won't be too long ... I hope.One suspected gravid female moled :fury::wall:


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## JohananV (Aug 15, 2013)

I feel your pain. Collected a very swollen female on Sunday, which I suspected was gravid, then she molted on Tuesday. :-(


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## Ceratogyrus (Aug 15, 2013)

friendttyy said:


> Won't be too long ... I hope.One suspected gravid female moled :fury::wall:


She was obviously not mature yet if she moulted. A pic would help to ID the species and then we can see at what size they have their final moult at.


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## MelissaDBrown (Aug 15, 2013)

JohananV said:


> Any chance of a photo? At the very least, we'd probably need a description of the appendage.  I'd love to help, though. friendttyy- I'll be waiting for those photos.


I will try to get you a picture. The body is like a widow: larger abdomen and fine, slender legs, dark brown with some light brown markings on abdomen


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## friendttyy (Aug 16, 2013)

AHA ALMOST like that


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## friendttyy (Aug 16, 2013)

《is that good enough?>


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## VictorHernandez (Aug 16, 2013)

Tengenaria and jumpers are the best "common" spider pets in my opinion.


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## Ciphor (Aug 16, 2013)

friendttyy said:


> View attachment 119675
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Closer would be better, but it is looking a lot like _Steatoda triangulosa_. Can't confirm from these images however.


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## friendttyy (Aug 17, 2013)

these were the best i could do.

---------- Post added 08-17-2013 at 08:35 AM ----------

looks like it is a Steatoda triangulosa any advice on them?


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## JohananV (Aug 17, 2013)

Triangulosa are very easy to keep, and breed. I once raised a sling, that hatched from an eggsac my female had laid, all the way to it's penultimate moult in a glass vial. They don't need a lot of space, but I don't suggest glass vials, that was merely due to space constraints. They do appreciate some depth in their containers, and some anchorpoints for their webs. They're not picky feeders, but they don't do well with food that's too "buzzy" like blowflies. I had good results with fruit flies, mosquitoes, and even woodlice. It is very humid here, so the moisture that mine ingested through their food was enough; but if you live in a dry area you'll probably want to mist their web once a week.  If you have any specific questions feel free to ask.

All the best,
Johanan


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## friendttyy (Aug 17, 2013)

Ok thanks johan!Ijust wanna know if i NEED a male to breed the females.

Reactions: Like 1


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## JohananV (Aug 18, 2013)

Technically spoken, if you want to breed the spiders you will require a mature male and a mature female. But, if you are more interested in hatching the eggs and raising the slings, you can get away with catching a gravid female. More often than not, if you catch an adult female, the spider will already be gravid. If you want to observe courtship, and mating, behavior; or you want to breed that female that molted; you will need to track down a mature male. Whereabouts are you located? I have a Steatoda triangulosa male(I think, ID still needs confirming) that I would gladly give to you if you want him....


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## friendttyy (Aug 20, 2013)

I am in bredell area and THAT IS FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR away to where you are bredell is in gauteng.


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## JohananV (Aug 20, 2013)

Oh, that's too bad... How are your little gals doing?


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## friendttyy (Aug 20, 2013)

They are quite good actually and one is probably gravid because She is FAT and neva ate since I had her.


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## friendttyy (Aug 24, 2013)

[video=youtube;GYcuGJpt5ow]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYcuGJpt5ow[/video]


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## friendttyy (Aug 25, 2013)

She laid today woohoooooooo


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## friendttyy (Aug 25, 2013)

Well i took the sac away from her as JohanV recommended in a PM.Fingers crossed the sac is currently on top of a moist paper towel and is kept a 80% to 90% humidity.


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## Ciphor (Aug 28, 2013)

friendttyy said:


> Ok thanks johan!Ijust wanna know if i NEED a male to breed the females.


For 99% of spiders, yes, you need a male. _Steatoda triangulosa_ is a rare spider indeed, they are completely capable of asexual reproduction. They only need their DNA, and the females basically clone themselves. It is not uncommon, and they can found in homes with only females present (the clones are all female).


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## friendttyy (Aug 28, 2013)

Meaning i might only get females if the female never mated?


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## The Snark (Aug 28, 2013)

friendttyy said:


> Meaning i might only get females if the female never mated?


Always. That's the way with asexual reproduction, be it plant or animal.


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## friendttyy (Aug 30, 2013)

cool it is better than nothing


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## friendttyy (Sep 16, 2013)

I thought i had posted this before but i never. So my female dropped another sac and my other sac produced 8 slings.


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