Can spiders chew through coffee filters

[Kylerlikesspiders]

I caught a spider and it has a egg sac
And I was wondering if I did the old coffee filter as a lid trick would it be able to chew through the coffee filter

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Well, I don't know. I use hard as hell coffee filters so I doubt that a spider could chew mines, but really, not even a genus Theraphosa one.

 

[Kylerlikesspiders]

I use paper coffee filters

 

[Chris LXXIX]

I use paper coffee filters

Mah... without pics everything is leaved to imagination. I say no, but I wouldn't use those as a (if I got everything well, English isn't my language) sort of cover. Seems too light, not for the munching part itself, but for resist.

I doubt that a normal little spider will munch that.

 

[Kylerlikesspiders]

like this
you just cut a hole in the lid a hot glue the paper coffee filter over the hole

 

[klawfran3]

Unless it was really determined, I don't think a regular spider would chew through that. What kind of spider are we talking about? They all have different chelicerae strength

 

[Kylerlikesspiders]

Don't know what kind of spider it is just caught it today

 

[klawfran3]

Think you could post any pictures? or give a rough description?

 

[Kylerlikesspiders]

 

[klawfran3]

Oh it's a little garden orb weaver. They need quite a lot of space to make their huge webs, probably more than what's in that deli cup. Still, you shouldn't have an issue with it trying to chew its way out. Their fangs aren't very tough.

 

[The Snark]

Oh it's a little garden orb weaver.

Was was looking at that picture thinking exactly what you typed. Nope. Those are definitely deadly spiders capable of chewing through expanded metal up to 16 gauge. But I also believe in the tooth fairy.

Seriously, they are very gentle interesting kids. Sort of permanently lost in their own weird webby world. They will tend to wander though. It's next to impossible to figure what they think is the right habitat for their web. And yes, they can make HUGE webs. Way out of all proportion to how large they are. 6 foot across for a little 3/4 incher isn't unusual.

 

[Kylerlikesspiders]

 

[The Snark]

Diadematus yes. I hate that 'cross orb weaver' name. There's something like a dozen spiders that plork a decoration in their web like a cross.
So you named if Coffee Filter and if you're lucky you may get some little Coffee grounds?

If you are keeping it think vertical orientation and lots of ventilation. Something like a tallish terrarium with things it can climb and build a web on.

 

[Biollantefan54]

I would let it go, lots of orb weavers won't even web in captivity.

 

[Garth Vader]

I have lots of those in my garden and I love seeing their webs. They build a lot of webs off of my hanging flower planters. If you are interested in seeing their webs then I'd recommend providing something like that and letting them be outside. I've caught a few of them before and they curl up and look super stressed out.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Biollantefan54 is right. I would let him go, man. We used to call those "Cross spiders" as childrens, they love to "build" their amazing web in the open, they aren't exactly the best to keep in captivity.

 

[klawfran3]

A good common spider to keep instead are the Tegenaria grass spiders. They're pretty easy and you can find them everywhere. Orb weavers are finicky and will just wander until they starve in captivity.

 

[Smokehound714]

Orb weavers are best kept in an open space.

By glueing together long sticks in a large square, you can make a 'frame' for them to build a web with.

Having a gentle fan blow on them simulates a breeze, which helps trigger web building. An enclosed container stresses them out.

Some orb weavers, like argiopes, are diurnal and full spectrum lighting will make them happier.

 

[chanda]

I have used similar materials for spiders and never had any attempt to chew through them - it's just not in their nature (except for big things like tarantulas!). But smaller spiders such as brown and black widows, brown recluse, lynx spiders, jumping spiders, fishing spiders, sac spiders, ghost spiders, assorted cobweb spiders, etc. do quite well in deli cups with the papery lids for ventilation. (Those kind of lids are also better than screen for anything small enough to be eating fruit flies because it keeps the flies in.) On the other hand, as has been said, orb weavers need a LOT of room to web. If they can't make a proper web, they will starve to death, no matter how much food you attempt to give them. I have occasionally brought home orb weavers. Some - like the Araneus and Eriophora - make very large webs and will not web in captivity, even in my largest (2'x2'x5') mesh butterfly pop-up with an assortment of sticks and branches for attachment points. I've brought them in for a few days to show my students, but then released them back into the wild.

If you want to keep orb weavers in captivity, there are some with less-ambitious webs that can be kept in large cages. I've had good luck with both Argiope argentata and Argiope trifasciata in medium butterfly pop-ups (approx. 18"x18"x24" tall) and 18" hex screen cages. I only keep the orb weavers in screen or mesh sided enclosures so they can have good air flow and the occasional breeze. They don't do as well in glass-sided enclosures because there is less air flow. You should also provide some branches or large twigs for them to use as attachment points for the web, but make sure there is plenty of open space around and below the branches.

Feeding them is also a bit more complicated than other spiders because crickets tend to break free of their webs. They prefer flying prey like moths and flies, with large wings that get tangled up in their webs - which means when I've kept them, I spend a lot of evenings with my porch light on, waiting for a suitable moth to land. (And if it's too pretty, I'll usually give it a pass and wait for something a little less interesting to come along!)

Labyrinth Orbweavers (Metepeira labyrinthea) also make smallish webs and do well in captivity.

One thing I've noticed when I've kept orb weavers in captivity is they do not tend to take down their own webs or repair them. After awhile, the webs start getting pretty ratty and the gaps in them are so large that the prey insects can go right through them. If I go in every week or so and take down the old webbing myself, though, they'll put up a brand new web and be back in business.

 

[Smokehound714]

Ive had spiders bite through plastic wrap and cheesecloth.

Jumping spiders particularly quickly learn they can make a score of punctures and break loose