African Wolf Spider Babies All Over The Cage, Not on mothers back????

[AriZoNaS HacKeR]

okay so i just noticed ONE baby come out of her burrow which is cool she made a second entrance where all the babies are coming from now theres like over 50 babies and i dont know where the mom is, idk if shes in there helping them out the sack or what, there just crawing all over the cage i wasnt prepared for all these single itty bitty wolfies i thought theyd be on her back till they got a little bigger so eat pin heads, is this common will i wake up and they be on her back? im just concered!! shes VERY well fed she ate today earlier this is all just a surprize!! a good one but im just wondering why there not on all on her back!!

 

[AriZoNaS HacKeR]

okay so i just noticed ONE baby come out of her burrow which is cool she made a second entrance where all the babies are coming from now theres like over 50 babies and i dont know where the mom is, idk if shes in there helping them out the sack or what, there just crawing all over the cage i wasnt prepared for all these single itty bitty wolfies i thought theyd be on her back till they got a little bigger so eat pin heads, is this common will i wake up and they be on her back? im just concered!! shes VERY well fed she ate today earlier this is all just a surprize!! a good one but im just wondering why there not on all on her back!!

 

[MarkmD]

Most baby spiders after while will go there separate ways as they are born with all the survival skills to hunt, sometimes some will stay and eat dead ones before they go, I'm no expert in wolf spiders am sure someone will answer better, congrats on the little ones.

 

[Aredtomato]

They should be carried on her abdomen. Maybe wait a couple days and see what happens. Eventually they may get up there.

Another question, did she carry the egg sac on kinda the edge near her spinnerets? If not, maybe its just because shes in captivity and shes an oddball

 

[jecraque]

IME they're on and off as she wanders around. They'll leave her back to drink & explore and when she comes near they'll climb up her legs to safety. Can you see her at all to make sure she is okay? That's more what I would be worried about, if she isn't behaving normally the little ones might not be getting the right signals.

 

[AriZoNaS HacKeR]

They should be carried on her abdomen. Maybe wait a couple days and see what happens. Eventually they may get up there.

Another question, did she carry the egg sac on kinda the edge near her spinnerets? If not, maybe its just because shes in captivity and shes an oddball

what do the babies eat??? like how do they survive on their mommas back?

 

[AriZoNaS HacKeR]

IME they're on and off as she wanders around. They'll leave her back to drink & explore and when she comes near they'll climb up her legs to safety. Can you see her at all to make sure she is okay? That's more what I would be worried about, if she isn't behaving normally the little ones might not be getting the right signals.

shes now out and vicious!! haha but how do the babies eat and stuff should i be putting in from flightless flies for them? im planning on selling all the babies and want them all to survive, anyone know how to feed the babies?????

 

[Ciphor]

slacker mods merge threads ;P

 

[John Apple]

The babies just like mom will eat anything smaller than them that they can overpower....including each other.......Mom will also continue to eat but probably will not eat the slings they may be too small.....Something neet I have noticed with some wolves is when mom is chowing on a ball of cricket flotsam, some babies have been seen eating off the same ball

 

[jecraque]

If the babies are still on her back they likely won't eat at all--like tarantulas, they only start eating at 2i which is when they leave their mother. Often they'll do this at different times, which allows the 2nd instars to pick off their 1i siblings. If you're keeping some or all, you can start to put them in separate vials after they leave her back, at which point you can start feeding fruit flies or another size-appropriate feeder. I usually put 3-5 in the same container and give feeders too, then the weak or defective spiderlings are weeded out by their siblings and I end up with relatively healthy slings.

---------- Post added 12-28-2012 at 12:34 PM ----------

Oops, I didn't read carefully enough. You'll likely have some losses you can't prevent, but if you want to maximize survival just go in every day and collect the ones not on Mom, put in separate vials, feed fruit flies, repeat until all spiderlings are separated out and the mother is alone again.

 

[Ciphor]

If the babies are still on her back they likely won't eat at all--like tarantulas, they only start eating at 2i which is when they leave their mother. Often they'll do this at different times, which allows the 2nd instars to pick off their 1i siblings. If you're keeping some or all, you can start to put them in separate vials after they leave her back, at which point you can start feeding fruit flies or another size-appropriate feeder. I usually put 3-5 in the same container and give feeders too, then the weak or defective spiderlings are weeded out by their siblings and I end up with relatively healthy slings.

---------- Post added 12-28-2012 at 12:34 PM ----------

Oops, I didn't read carefully enough. You'll likely have some losses you can't prevent, but if you want to maximize survival just go in every day and collect the ones not on Mom, put in separate vials, feed fruit flies, repeat until all spiderlings are separated out and the mother is alone again.

Do wolf spiders young come out of eggsac at 1st instar? I thought it was second star.

 

[jecraque]

Oops, you're right. Thanks for the correction. I think I just put 1st because of the eating thing. Add +1 instar to everything I said previously...