Aphrael
Arachnopeon
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2016
- Messages
- 13
Hi, there!
I'm Aphrael, reformed spider hater turned spider lover, thanks to the loving attention of several Araneus diadematus spiders.
About two months ago, one moved into my bedroom directly above my desk/bed. She's chill; she looked like a Wendy, so that's what I named her. So far, she's been feasting on the odd live housefly and I've been able to sort of breed her some fruit flies...but I live in Halifax, Nova Scotia and they're starting to become difficult to find due to the weather. Frost already.
I thought about moving her outside...but even when the house gets cool she seems to get a bit unwell, and I've been reading that the cold kills them in a lot of cases. And besides, she's pretty friendly, honestly, for a spider. She's dropped down by my head a few times while fixing her web, no fear of me, really. Currently sitting in her web less than two feet from me so I like to think (imagine? pretend?) she's cool with me, too.
I have some questions. If I overwinter her, I would like to do so in a way that's as natural as possible...after all, she IS wild, so I'm hesitant to trap her in a box or any sort of cage etc. But I will if needed. If so, what do I do?
And what on Earth do I feed her? Mealworms? Crickets? She's not that big..about the size of a Canadian dime not including legs.
How often should I feed her?
From what I've read, mealworms and crickets can kill them so I was a bit concerned...and apparently they can go weeks with no food?
Thanks for your info in advance
I'm Aphrael, reformed spider hater turned spider lover, thanks to the loving attention of several Araneus diadematus spiders.
About two months ago, one moved into my bedroom directly above my desk/bed. She's chill; she looked like a Wendy, so that's what I named her. So far, she's been feasting on the odd live housefly and I've been able to sort of breed her some fruit flies...but I live in Halifax, Nova Scotia and they're starting to become difficult to find due to the weather. Frost already.
I thought about moving her outside...but even when the house gets cool she seems to get a bit unwell, and I've been reading that the cold kills them in a lot of cases. And besides, she's pretty friendly, honestly, for a spider. She's dropped down by my head a few times while fixing her web, no fear of me, really. Currently sitting in her web less than two feet from me so I like to think (imagine? pretend?) she's cool with me, too.
I have some questions. If I overwinter her, I would like to do so in a way that's as natural as possible...after all, she IS wild, so I'm hesitant to trap her in a box or any sort of cage etc. But I will if needed. If so, what do I do?
And what on Earth do I feed her? Mealworms? Crickets? She's not that big..about the size of a Canadian dime not including legs.
How often should I feed her?
From what I've read, mealworms and crickets can kill them so I was a bit concerned...and apparently they can go weeks with no food?
Thanks for your info in advance