# Super Mutant Spider Of Fertility?



## The Spider Faery (Mar 21, 2011)

Some of you may know that I've been blessed with several egg sacs from my Steatoda triangulosa.  However, it's gotten to the point where it may not be a blessing but a curse, lol.  Maybe it's payback for all those spiders I killed in my arachnophobic youth, but this seems like an anomoly.  My female just keeps laying _sac after sac after sac _and so far they've all been fertile!  As of today she's laid sac number 9 since the beginning of this year! :?

A little background info.  I did not breed her.  I found her in my home, decided to keep her in a container, and then she immediately started with the sac laying. 


Can anyone explain how this little lady is sooo fertile?  I read that they only lay 3-4 sacs on average.


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## TomM (Mar 21, 2011)

cyanocean said:


> Some of you may know that I've been blessed with several egg sacs from my Steatoda triangulosa.  However, it's gotten to the point where it may not be a blessing but a curse, lol.  Maybe it's payback for all those spiders I killed in my arachnophobic youth, but this seems like an anomoly.  My female just keeps laying _sac after sac after sac _and so far they've all been fertile!  As of today she's laid sac number 9 since the beginning of this year! :?
> 
> A little background info.  I did not breed her.  I found her in my home, decided to keep her in a container, and then she immediately started with the sac laying.
> 
> ...


If you are feeding her very well it helps in egg production.  As soon as I started feeding my S. grossa more, she dropped 4 sacs, probably going on 5 by the way she's looking.


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## Moltar (Mar 21, 2011)

Latro's do the same thing. It's like a machine, bug in one end, eggs out the other, repeat as necessary...


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## The Spider Faery (Mar 21, 2011)

I think you might be right, Tom.  She seems to drop everytime she finishes a nice meal of one or two gutloaded pinhead crickets.  I should stop being so generous with her feedings (which are nourishing her babies), otherwise like Moltar said, the cycle might never stop!


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## Widowman10 (Mar 21, 2011)

latrodectus geometricus- 33 eggsacs. 

'nuff said.


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## Moltar (Mar 22, 2011)

Widowman10 said:


> latrodectus geometricus- 33 eggsacs.
> 
> 'nuff said.


Holy flinging monkeycrap! That's a lot. I've heard of like, 8 or ten or more but sheesh, 33?!?! That's gotta be one sore Latro.


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## The Spider Faery (Mar 23, 2011)

You just blew me out of the water with that comment, Widowman10.  And here I thought my spider was breaking some kind of a record!


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## malevolentrobot (Mar 28, 2011)

mine's already done three (probably going on four) since i found her about a month or two ago. i never realised the correlation between feeding and her dropping them. 

crap, she's probably going to do it again then because she looks huuuuuge.... :S


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## The Spider Faery (Mar 29, 2011)

She's at sac #10 now. :wall:  Can't wait to set these slings free soon, now that the weather's getting milder..   As much as I want to keep the mom, if she doesn't slow down, I'll be setting her free and keeping one of her (no chance of being gravid) babies instead!


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## TomM (Mar 29, 2011)

cyanocean said:


> She's at sac #10 now. :wall:  Can't wait to set these slings free soon, now that the weather's getting milder..   As much as I want to keep the mom, if she doesn't slow down, I'll be setting her free and keeping one of her (no chance of being gravid) babies instead!


You should just keep releasing the slings but keep the mom to see how many she'll have.


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## Widowman10 (Mar 29, 2011)

yes definitely. and actually if you re-mate her, she'll produce even more.


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## ZergFront (Mar 30, 2011)

Widowman10 said:


> latrodectus geometricus- 33 eggsacs.
> 
> 'nuff said.


 If there is someone up there, don't have me come back as a L.geometricus! 

 I wish some tarantulas reproduced like that. :drool:

 My Zoropsis female had just three egg sacs before she died. After what cyanocean posted, I think I'm glad that was her max. I still have over 20 of her daughters; some are starting on their way to be mothers already.


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## The Spider Faery (Mar 31, 2011)

ZergFront said:


> I still have over 20 of her daughters; some are starting on their way to be mothers already.


Some of them grow quickly.  Take the last spiderling standing from one of the original sacs (I keep the slings from each sac together)...All of its siblings are gone, since they cannibalized each other, and this last one probably ate the last of them and is now a chubby mini replica of the mother, already around about a quarter of her size!  I think I'm going to keep this one.


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## The Spider Faery (Apr 15, 2011)

For those of you interested in the continuous tally of egg sacs....As of today she's laid *sac #11*!

Just when I thought it was the end of it all...and I cut back on her feeding too. 

Well the good news is that by the end of the month the weather should be nice enough to set them free outside.


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## Widowman10 (Apr 15, 2011)

you should find another male, re-mate her, and see how many total eggsacs she can get to.


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## The Spider Faery (Apr 15, 2011)

@: Widowman...As it stands, she may not even be done dropping sacs from her first romp with a male!  I don't think I want to even think about _more_.


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## Widowman10 (Apr 15, 2011)

once sac numbers start dropping, time for fresh swimmers! you've got a good thing going documenting this, keep on with it!


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## JC (Apr 15, 2011)

Widowman10 said:


> latrodectus geometricus- 33 eggsacs.
> 
> 'nuff said.



Ouch                !


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## ZergFront (Apr 15, 2011)

cyanocean said:


> Some of them grow quickly.  Take the last spiderling standing from one of the original sacs (I keep the slings from each sac together)...All of its siblings are gone, since they cannibalized each other, and this last one probably ate the last of them and is now a chubby mini replica of the mother, already around about a quarter of her size!  I think I'm going to keep this one.


 Haha, I just kept all the spiderlings that looked the biggest in leg span and carapace, not gut size. I have yet to get a MM from any of the survivors.

 I still have about 8 that haven't been paired up. The MM my dad brought home finally slowed to a stop this week but I have 4 egg sacs and growing. I had to take one of them from the mom because there was a hole in the sac and some of the eggs were floating in her water dish.

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cyanocean said:


> For those of you interested in the continuous tally of egg sacs....As of today she's laid *sac #11*!
> 
> Just when I thought it was the end of it all...and I cut back on her feeding too.
> 
> Well the good news is that by the end of the month the weather should be nice enough to set them free outside.


 Wow, busy busy bee. Most spiders would die of exhaustion after that!


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## The Spider Faery (Apr 16, 2011)

ZergFront said:


> Wow, busy busy bee. Most spiders would die of exhaustion after that!


And most spider owners would die of exhaustion after that.  She's keeping me on my toes...


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## Tresta (Apr 18, 2011)

How do you seperate the slings from the mom? Or do you seperate the egg sac from her before it hatches? I've recently come upon an egg sac from my eastern parson and I'm pretty inexperienced with this spider thing. :?


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## Widowman10 (Apr 18, 2011)

Tresta said:


> How do you seperate the slings from the mom? Or do you seperate the egg sac from her before it hatches? I've recently come upon an egg sac from my eastern parson and I'm pretty inexperienced with this spider thing. :?


check THIS out, might be helpful for some of your questions, even though slightly different species.


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## Tresta (Apr 18, 2011)

Thank you so much Widowman. That was extremely helpful. How did you come to know so much about spiders? Just a hobby? I will definitely use your site frequently. As I said, I'm new and inexperienced but I've found that I love spiders


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## The Spider Faery (Apr 18, 2011)

Tresta said:


> How do you seperate the slings from the mom? Or do you seperate the egg sac from her before it hatches? I've recently come upon an egg sac from my eastern parson and I'm pretty inexperienced with this spider thing. :?


I left the first sac with the mother and let the hatchlings emerge with her, but not many survived.  I think the mother was eating them.  Plus, it's just awkward trying to feed the mother with little ones running around.  I suggest removing the sac before they hatch.  You know they're going to hatch soon when the sac starts turning dark.


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## Tresta (Apr 18, 2011)

Any idea about how long it takes for the eggs to hatch? I'm sure it differs with every species, but an estimate would be cool. I appreciate you guys putting up with my newb questions  I saw that widow's normally take 25-40 days or something like that, is that the norm for most spider species?


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## The Spider Faery (Apr 24, 2011)

Tresta, I find it's a few weeks for S. triangulosa, but like you said, it probably differs per species.  You might want to start a new thread to ask your questions about this in.

As for my girl, she's laid sac *#12 *today!

Does anyone have any suggestions about the types of places where I should release the spiderlings?


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## The Spider Faery (May 9, 2011)

Aaaannd she's laid *sac #13 *today!

I will continue to keep a running tally as long as she keeps dropping and you're all not annoyed with the updates. 

P.S. She _has not _been mated in between any of these sacs!


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## Widowman10 (May 9, 2011)

i'm tellin ya, when sac numbers start to go down, breed her again and keep it going!!


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## TomM (May 10, 2011)

Are you sure you haven't fed her crazy fertility hormones?


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## The Spider Faery (May 16, 2011)

TomM said:


> Are you sure you haven't fed her crazy fertility hormones?


Haha, if I knew I was feeding her fertility hormones I would've stopped by now! 

Honestly, maybe it's just the regular feeding that's doing it.  I get used to how plump she looks while she's gravid and then when she drops a sac she looks so much smaller, so I figure I need to feed her, and then that's more nourishment right away for another sac, I guess? :?


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## Malhavoc's (May 17, 2011)

To be honest you should *not* release the spiderlings, as you are introducing the wrong fauna/flora into the nautural enviroment, Alot changes when in captivity and it can be devestating when put back into the 'wild' due to different bacteria/hitch hikers/etc.

however, crazy fertile spider


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## The Spider Faery (May 17, 2011)

Thanks for your suggestion Malhavoc's.  I haven't released them yet because I think it's still too cold, lol.  I'll consider your suggestion.  The numbers diminish quickly when they're kept with their sacmates and I end up with a few remaining very plump spiderlings, so it's not like it's difficult to maintain them.  And now I found a spiderling on my strawberries that I can feed some of the babies too as well.


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## The Spider Faery (May 23, 2011)

This is _unreal_!  As of today, she's laid sac *number 14*.



Maybe the sacs will start being duds?  I can hope...


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## The Spider Faery (May 31, 2011)

*Update!*

*Sac #15 was just laid!*

Ok, so I just said to Charlotte, the infamous sac-layer, "Stop it!  Stop this right now!  No more!  Do you hear me?!"  And of course, she can't comprehend...or hear me.  I just needed to get that out!


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## The Spider Faery (Jun 17, 2011)

Charlotte laid *sac #16*, but it's very small.  I'm thinking it won't be half the amount of spiderlings most of her sacs have been producing.  Could it be the end is in sight?


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## Widowman10 (Jun 17, 2011)

mate her again!!!


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## The Spider Faery (Jun 17, 2011)

If you lived near me, Widowman, I'd mate her and send you all the sacs!


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## Malhavoc's (Jun 17, 2011)

was all of this off one male? did you keep count of the eggs in each sac ( alot of work I know) I am wondering if she ran out of sperm or if her body finaly can not produce anymore.


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## Widowman10 (Jun 17, 2011)

i assume they start running out of sperm, b/c if they are re-mated, sac numbers will go up again.


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## The Spider Faery (Jun 17, 2011)

Malhavoc's said:


> was all of this off one male? did you keep count of the eggs in each sac ( alot of work I know) I am wondering if she ran out of sperm or if her body finaly can not produce anymore.


Believe it or not, I don't know Malhavoc's.  I'm assuming it was off one male, because I found her in my bedroom, already mated.  I immediately put her in a container because she looked gravid, and within a week she started laying.  I found her at the beginning of January, so all of these sacs have been laid just this year!


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## malevolentrobot (Jun 26, 2011)

any updates or did she finally hit her limit without a remating?

mine's on sac #9. i have two fat tris from sac 2 & 3 that survived cannibalizing, 4-6 dudded, sac #7 has darkened up, and 8 & 9 are still with her, the latter being fresh from yesterday or the day before.

crazy little things...


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## The Spider Faery (Jun 26, 2011)

malevolentrobot said:


> any updates or did she finally hit her limit without a remating?
> 
> mine's on sac #9. i have two fat tris from sac 2 & 3 that survived cannibalizing, 4-6 dudded, sac #7 has darkened up, and 8 & 9 are still with her, the latter being fresh from yesterday or the day before.
> 
> crazy little things...


The most recent sac she laid was on June 17, but it's half the size of her usual ones.   None of her sacs have been duds so far, though.


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## The Spider Faery (Jun 29, 2011)

Charlotte has outdone herself yet again with another half sized eggsac.  She always seems to lay these when I'm out and about, and I come home to find her little surprise.  This one's *sac #17*, as of yesterday.


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## TomM (Jun 30, 2011)

This thread is just crazy! *17*?!?!?!?! I've been following the sac count for over 3 months now and it sounds like it isn't going to end!  Congrats on the hundreds and hundreds of spiders that you've brought into this world.


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## patrick86 (Jul 1, 2011)

I just found this thread and I must say it's been quite entertaining. I know my opinion means nothing but I have to agree with Widowman10 and say "Find her another man!" 

17 sacs in six months. Too cool.

Thanks for keeping this thread going, never would have found it otherwise.


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## The Spider Faery (Jul 1, 2011)

I'm glad that people are appreciative and amused by the updates.  Thanks for the comments.


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## The Spider Faery (Jul 6, 2011)

_Another_ mini sac!  Now we're at *18*.  These babies are going outside from now on.  I have found a perfect spot that's urban enough, but not residential!


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## malevolentrobot (Jul 7, 2011)

cyanocean said:


> _Another_ mini sac!  Now we're at *18*.  These babies are going outside from now on.  I have found a perfect spot that's urban enough, but not residential!


WOW she's still going!

your girl got a head start on mine, i'm up to 10 as of today. and yes, it looks like the amount of eggs has greatly decreased. i think when #7 hatched only 10or so came out.


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## The Spider Faery (Jul 22, 2011)

malevolentrobot said:


> WOW she's still going!


Yep, she's still going!  She laid another sac two days ago, BUT since the last couple of sacs were duds, I'm going to assume this one will be also.  I wonder if she'll just keep laying duds until she dies now that she won't be mated again?   So if we're still counting duds, then she's at number *19*.


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## khil (Jul 24, 2011)

cyanocean said:


> Yep, she's still going!  She laid another sac two days ago, BUT since the last couple of sacs were duds, I'm going to assume this one will be also.  I wonder if she'll just keep laying duds until she dies now that she won't be mated again?   So if we're still counting duds, then she's at number *19*.


so are these all hatching? that's crazy haha


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## The Spider Faery (Jul 24, 2011)

khil said:


> so are these all hatching? that's crazy haha


All of them were hatching up until the last two sacs.


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