Cross orb weaver help.

[Swellbow]

Hello, new hear. I've been on this page before looking up info about tarantulas but today I'm looking for info about my Cross orb weaver friend. She moved into my house last August and proceeded to start spinning her web on one of my plants, she's been there ever since and I'm happy to say she's doing great.
I've been feeding her twice a week, either a cricket or a roach but sometimes I wonder if that's too often. I have looked into it on Google pretty extensively but it's hard to find good concrete information about it.
I also have heard overfeeding can effect certain spiders lifespan in a negative way so I worry about that.
So really I'm just looking for info about how often I should feed her. As of lately I have been thinking about switching to once a week which I'm sure is still plenty.
It's, like with watering plants. I worry I will either give her too much or not enough. So any recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[magouilles]

there are no specific answers for your question because you shouldn't follow a strict feeding schedule
the right way to go is to look at your spider's abdomen size
a healthy spider should have an abdomen 1.5-2x larger than it's carapace for tarantulas but for some true spider species that have a much smaller carapace like Latrodectus sp. you could go to 3 maybe 4x bigger without issues
feeding a cross orb weaver once a week sounds fine but you should really monitor its abdomen size
if you could join a photo also it would help to assess if it is currently overfed or not

 

[TheraMygale]

true spider species that have a much smaller carapace like Latrodectus sp. you could go to 3 maybe 4x bigger without issues

interesting.

i am glad you mentionned a “bigger” size, because in the wild, these spiders have huge abdomens.

it helps to look at wild photos of these spiders in their elements. Its puts proportion into perspective.

good advice.

captive spiders will always get more food then wild. And the prey we give is usualy well fed too.

 

[Swellbow]

there are no specific answers for your question because you shouldn't follow a strict feeding schedule
the right way to go is to look at your spider's abdomen size
a healthy spider should have an abdomen 1.5-2x larger than it's carapace for tarantulas but for some true spider species that have a much smaller carapace like Latrodectus sp. you could go to 3 maybe 4x bigger without issues
feeding a cross orb weaver once a week sounds fine but you should really monitor its abdomen size
if you could join a photo also it would help to assess if it is currently overfed or not

there are no specific answers for your question because you shouldn't follow a strict feeding schedule
the right way to go is to look at your spider's abdomen size
a healthy spider should have an abdomen 1.5-2x larger than it's carapace for tarantulas but for some true spider species that have a much smaller carapace like Latrodectus sp. you could go to 3 maybe 4x bigger without issues
feeding a cross orb weaver once a week sounds fine but you should really monitor its abdomen size
if you could join a photo also it would help to assess if it is currently overfed or not

I have a video I took last week. Now I'm worried I might be overfeeding her because her abdomen is getting pretty big.
Thanks for the reply, like I said its hard to find good info for about em and I have so many questions, that's why I came here.

 

[magouilles]

I have a video I took last week. Now I'm worried I might be overfeeding her because her abdomen is getting pretty big.
Thanks for the reply, like I said its hard to find good info for about em and I have so many questions, that's why I came here.

that is definitely a very well fed cross orb weaver, just slow down on feeding for some weeks
overfeeding will not reduce its lifespan without an actual cause such as abdomen rupture or impaction, it only leads to higher risks of those things happening so just don't feed it for some time until it gets back to a healthy size and things should be good
good luck

 

[Swellbow]

that is definitely a very well fed cross orb weaver, just slow down on feeding for some weeks
overfeeding will not reduce its lifespan without an actual cause such as abdomen rupture or impaction, it only leads to higher risks of those things happening so just don't feed it for some time until it gets back to a healthy size and things should be good
good luck

Ok, thanks a lot! That's one thing I was worried about, I know some species the more you feed em the more it lessens their lifespan. I switched to bigger prey recently too (roaches) I started with small crickets, then moved onto large, and now I'm onto roaches. I've read that they like more soft bodied prey but she has no problem munchin down the roaches. Hah She usually eats just about the whole thing.
Also I kinda figured if she wasn't hungry that she would just wrap it up and save it for later but I guess that isn't the case?

So should I just not feed her for a couple weeks? And, like I said I was feeding her twice a week up until recently but it did feel, like a fat roach twice a week might be a bit much so I switched to once a week. I swear she gets bigger every time I feed her.

I have read that ones that live in parts of Europe where they don't face harsh winters can live up to two years! So my goal is to have her live as long as her big ole spider butt can. Hah She's about 5 months old now and she def still has some molts left in her.
The last time she molted she did it right there in front of me! Which made me feel super special because the last two times she hid somewhere to molt but not this time, that makes me feel special because I know they will only molt in an area where they feel safe, so the fact that I was able to sit there and watch her entire molting process makes me feel, like she trusts me.
It was definitely awesome to watch too, I have never seen a wild spider, like that molt.
It sure was nerve racking though!!
I had to step away a few times because I was getting so full of anxiety.
I was just super nervous something would go wrong, like she would get stuck or something and then I'd just have a heart attack cuz I'd have no idea what to do or how to help her. But thankfully all went well.
I know she is prob do for another molt too and I almost hope I'm not home to see it happen. It's so stressful! Hah

But yeah, I guess I will skip a few feedings and then go back to once a week.
So my schedule will be one fat roach a week, I also mist her web with water almost every night. I usually give a small test misting at first because I can tell she is thirsty by if she holds her legs out to catch droplets, then if she does that I'll give a few more light sprays.
If I notice she kinda scrunches up after my test misting I won't spray her anymore because from what I have gathered that means she's not thirsty at the moment.

Ohh, one more question you may know the answer to.
As of now I only give her bottled water because I know tap water can kill certain insects and such, I learned that lesson the hard way with a praying mantis buddy I tried to take care of over winter a few years ago.
I didn't learn about the tap water being bad till it was too late.
I cried my damn eyes out for that guy, I named em Terry and he was the best. He lived in my huge spider plant in my room, I didn't have to keep him in a container or anything.....
Ok, sorry, I'm rambling. Hah But do you know if tap water is ok for my orb weaver buddy? It's just sometimes I run out of bottled water and I don't want to give her tap if it's bad for her.

Ok, thanks again, sorry about the rant, I tried some new coffee today and I can tell the caffeine content is pretty high...hah

 

[TheraMygale]

I give tap water to all my tarantulas. And praying mantises.

mantises arent meant to live forever and can be full of parasites if wildcaught.

depends on whats in your water.

if you just have one spider, bottled water wont rack a bill.

but many people have too many to just use bottled water.

for feeding, not sure bigger prey is the way to go. It just prolongs premolt.