Buying food for my orb weaver (in the UK)

[aimike]

So I have a little orb weaver at the moment (i will get a golden orb weaver eventually) I believe the one I have is called a cross orb weaver (but it seems very happy)

I've had it for the last couple of months, so far I've been feeding it flies I bought (as maggots) from a fishing shop

Wow that's a lot of effort (and smelly, I'm not a fan of maggots)

Anyway to cut a long story short, I bought maggots, tried to cool some/freeze some/ warm some (so they would have different times of hatching). I read around and found that it usually takes 10-14 days for maggots to go from their pupae to fly form depending on temp (freezing obviously it take a lot longer - as they stay this way during the whole of winter).

I waited 3 weeks and got fed up, I though I might have killed them all, so put them all in the spider cage hoping at least some would hatch... a few days later 200 flies all exploded at the same time... my poor spider was scared (as was I).

You have no idea how hideous it is, lifting up a blanket on a cage to hear 200 flies go wild... I dreaded coming home from work at night

However, the spider caught some... but there were so many flies it was impossible to rebuild its web (which was beautiful by the way... until it got "fly"-peded )
Okay, lesson learnt... assume the pupae are still alive and don't put them in until they are hatched.

Anyway, they all seemed to die on the same day too, and now I need some more, and I cant really wait 3 weeks (I think it will get very hungry).
I spray the cage every couple of days with water (its very cute watching it crawl up and drink the tiny drops), but its going to need food soon.

Crickets are going to be too big for it, flies seem to take too long to hatch, there's no real natural source in winter... how can I feed it

I was thinking of buying moths/butterflies on line, but apparently even those sites now say it's not the time of the year. I would really like to get some smaller flies (like green fly), but I have no idea where to get them/buy them this time of year, or even if anyone sells them....

Help, my poor spiders has an empty belly....

 

[Ratmosphere]

www.mantisplace.com sells them, I always use this source for flies.

 

[aimike]

www.mantisplace.com sells them, I always use this source for flies.

Looks like a really good site, lots of different flies as feeder and lots of options (flies in all different sizes), but they don't sell to the UK (I imagine shipping insects has some border legalities and costs).

If I could find a site like that in the UK it would be perfect (and I may not have to wait 3 weeks, since the pupae are not as fresh/young as can be, unlike fishing shops)

 

[Ratmosphere]

Dang man, so sorry. In the mean time I would just try to use small crickets and put them in the spiders web.

 

[Vandertern]

Crickets are going to be too big for it

Pinhead crickets are really tiny, absolutely no problem for a cross weaver to tackle and should be easily available in the UK.

Or you could try drop a small mealworm into the web, I have fed an E. atrica that in my shed like this with no problems, although the sheet type of webbing makes it very easy to just drop a worm on to it compared to an orb web I'd imagine.

 

[The wolf]

Yeah i just use pinheads and newborn mealworms for my trues they're easier and less hassle than flies

 

[basin79]

Crickets will be fine. I fed my adult female adult dubia roaches and crickets. So small crickets, dubia roaches will work. Here's where I buy my casters from though. I keep them in the fridge and just take a few out to hatch as needed.

http://www.wormsdirectuk.co.uk/acatalog/bugs-grubs-and-maggots-for-feeding.html