ispectechular
Arachnosquire
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I haven’t found much, but could someone link me to a good black widow care video or web page? Interested in getting one!
Black Widow Care
- Thread starter ispectechular
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I don't have any web pages or videos, but I've kept black widows for years and they are super easy. All you really need is a secure container and food. They aren't picky about substrate - and don't even need substrate at all. They don't need much in the way of moisture because they get that from their prey. They also don't need much for ventilation. I have successfully kept western black widows (Latrodectus hesperus) in a dry, empty 1-liter water bottle or 2-liter soda bottle with no ventilation holes. Their oxygen requirements are low enough that the air exchange when the bottle is opened for feedings is adequate. My current widow is in a 32 oz deli container with a "bug lid" that has fabric mesh over holes in the lid.
What you'll need is a secure container that she will not be able to escape from and an assortment of twigs or other material to climb on or use as anchor points for her web. (If you opt for an unventilated container, it's best to use dry twigs or artificial plants rather than fresh plant material, so you don't get too much condensation in the container.) She would appreciate a small space (like a hole) that she could hide in - but if you give her one, she will spend most of the daylight hours wedged into it. I do not give my widows a hiding spot, and they seem to do just fine.
For feeding, just toss in a cricket or other feeder bug roughly once a week - a little more frequently if she has just laid a sac and is looking pretty skinny. Widows can learn a "feeding response" where - instead of retreating from the cage opening when you open the cage - they approach it because they have learned that food will be forthcoming. Be aware of this and keep your fingers back when dropping in the feeder, because I've had some widows that were ready to spring on the first thing that entered their space.
Another thing I noticed when I was using water/soda bottles as enclosures was that the spiders would sometimes crawl into the cap (because it was a dark place to hide) which makes opening the bottle a little tricky. To prevent that, I would put a bit of paper towel or thin fabric over the top of the bottle before screwing on the cap, so if the spider did climb up into the lid, it would remain in the bottle, under the fabric or paper, and not come out in my hand with the cap.
Black widows can tolerate quite a range of temperatures. They do just fine at room temperature and do not require supplemental heating.
One thing to keep in mind, if you end up with a wild-caught adult female, is that she may have already mated before you found her, so any egg sacs she lays may be fertile - and she can continue to lay fertile egg sacs for a year or more after mating. I've had wild-caught spiders lay seven or eight fertile sacs. Baby spiders are really tiny and will disperse pretty quickly throughout your house, given the opportunity. If you do not want baby spiders, just use long tongs or tweezers to pull the egg sac and destroy it as soon as it's been laid, so the babies don't have the opportunity to hatch. If you do want baby spiders, be sure you don't have any ventilation holes. The bug cup lids with the fabric mesh are sufficient to contain a batch of widows, as are unventilated containers like water or soda bottles. Just watch out for escapees when you open the lid to feed them! (Or leave the lid closed and let the baby spiders eat each other until the population is down to more manageable levels.)
What you'll need is a secure container that she will not be able to escape from and an assortment of twigs or other material to climb on or use as anchor points for her web. (If you opt for an unventilated container, it's best to use dry twigs or artificial plants rather than fresh plant material, so you don't get too much condensation in the container.) She would appreciate a small space (like a hole) that she could hide in - but if you give her one, she will spend most of the daylight hours wedged into it. I do not give my widows a hiding spot, and they seem to do just fine.
For feeding, just toss in a cricket or other feeder bug roughly once a week - a little more frequently if she has just laid a sac and is looking pretty skinny. Widows can learn a "feeding response" where - instead of retreating from the cage opening when you open the cage - they approach it because they have learned that food will be forthcoming. Be aware of this and keep your fingers back when dropping in the feeder, because I've had some widows that were ready to spring on the first thing that entered their space.
Another thing I noticed when I was using water/soda bottles as enclosures was that the spiders would sometimes crawl into the cap (because it was a dark place to hide) which makes opening the bottle a little tricky. To prevent that, I would put a bit of paper towel or thin fabric over the top of the bottle before screwing on the cap, so if the spider did climb up into the lid, it would remain in the bottle, under the fabric or paper, and not come out in my hand with the cap.
Black widows can tolerate quite a range of temperatures. They do just fine at room temperature and do not require supplemental heating.
One thing to keep in mind, if you end up with a wild-caught adult female, is that she may have already mated before you found her, so any egg sacs she lays may be fertile - and she can continue to lay fertile egg sacs for a year or more after mating. I've had wild-caught spiders lay seven or eight fertile sacs. Baby spiders are really tiny and will disperse pretty quickly throughout your house, given the opportunity. If you do not want baby spiders, just use long tongs or tweezers to pull the egg sac and destroy it as soon as it's been laid, so the babies don't have the opportunity to hatch. If you do want baby spiders, be sure you don't have any ventilation holes. The bug cup lids with the fabric mesh are sufficient to contain a batch of widows, as are unventilated containers like water or soda bottles. Just watch out for escapees when you open the lid to feed them! (Or leave the lid closed and let the baby spiders eat each other until the population is down to more manageable levels.)
ispectechular
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Thank you so much!
WhitenerJ
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Thanks Chanda. I have 5 Mactans coming tomorrow.
ispectechular
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Are they communal?
WhitenerJ
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Not exactly. Only if they have plenty of room to have their own space and food supply. I wouldn’t keep them together and risk loosing some.
AngelDeVille
Fuk Da Meme Police
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Not for very long, you will end up with one really fat one...
I keep mine, which are 3rd or fourth instar in 5.5 oz deli cups and pill containers with a slanted piece of bark or cardboard and some twigs. I feed them small crickets and fruit flies occasionally now. As adults they can be kept in a 16 oz deli cup. Feeding can be 1 large cricket once a week. Be aware that wild caught females are usually mated and will produce egg sacs on the dime. Oh and they are definitely not communal past being freshly hatched. They can and will cannibalize.
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If by "communal" you mean that they will tolerate proximity to one another - right up until they get hungry - then yes, they are communal!
In the wild, it is not uncommon to see several widows sharing a stretch of wall or the underside of a barbecue grill or some other bit of territory, but only if they each have their own private hidey-hole and a bit of space from the neighbors. If you try to keep multiple widows in an enclosed area like a cage - even a very big cage - you will notice that you have fewer spiders as time goes on. This applies equally to both juveniles and adults.