False Black Widow In My Avicularia Terrarium. Should I Remove It?

[rantoinetterelp]

I was feeding my A. Avicularias the other day, and what I think is a false black widow popped out of the cave I have set up in the terrarium to join in the feeding. I'm pretty sure it's a "false" black widow because it is brown, rather than black and doesn't have the red on its abdomen. It seems to be keeping to itself for the most part. Can anyone think of a reason that I may need to remove it?

 

[Drakk]

Well there are sp of widow that are not false and are brown.

 

[alpine]

Look closely for that red pattern because there is in fact a "brown widow" spider that is also as bad as black widows and is spreading quite quickly across the americas. After that I think it would be worthwhile to remove it because you don't want to stress your T.

 

[Shrike]

I was feeding my A. Avicularias the other day, and what I think is a false black widow popped out of the cave I have set up in the terrarium to join in the feeding. I'm pretty sure it's a "false" black widow because it is brown, rather than black and doesn't have the red on its abdomen. It seems to be keeping to itself for the most part. Can anyone think of a reason that I may need to remove it?

If there is potential for harm to your Avic (however small), I'd remove it. You don't know for sure what type of spider it is and you've said nothing about the size of the invading spider relative to your Avic.

 

[Hydrazine]

Somebody will say it sooner or later so why not me - a picture would help way more than any written description.

 

[le-thomas]

If it's Latrodectus geometricus then there's something to worry about. Even if it isn't, though, I'd remove it immediately.

 

[MarkmD]

I would have removed it ASAP, T's and all spiders will eat each other.

 

[BrettG]

We had a black widow live with a MF A.metallica for years.They were in a 10 gallon vertical and probably never encountered each other.In a smaller enclosure I MIGHT be a hair worried,but IMHO it is nothing to stress yourself out over.

 

[rantoinetterelp]

Cool, thanks guys! It is a 10 gallon vertical terrarium. It has built its home in a cave-like part of the terrarium. It's much too small back there for the T's to access, and rarely comes out for me to get a picture of it. Next time it comes out for a feeding I will try and examine it more and get some pictures.

 

[Anonymity82]

Can you take a picture? Please!!

If it is in fact a brown widow send it to me! You'd be surprised how difficult it can be to try and purchase just one brown widow.

I've had babies (false widows) living in my OBT's enclosure. My S. grossa has had multiple egg sacs and sometimes when I open the cup to spray or feed a couple climb out. I just slide my finger across their webbing and let them loose on the walls. I think it would be most important to consider the size of the spiders. I would definitely keep a sling away from one but a full grown avic versus a tiny widow whether false or not I don't think would be much of a match but I'm unsure of tarantulas' sensitivity to true spider venom. Personally, I would remove it and keep it separately as a new pet.

 

[Aviara]

I agree with njnolan1. Certainly, there is no benefit to leaving this spider in the Avic's home. Widows are fairly simple to care for and don't need much space. Why not set up a nice little enclosure for the widow(?) and rehome it so each spider has its own safe, secure cage? I would be concerned mainly about the Avic eating this spider. Even if it's not a widow, feeding wild-caught items (which this spider would technically be) isn't a great idea.

 

[Cydaea]

I found a Daddy long legs (?) Pholcus phalangioides in one of my T's enclosures, and took it out quickly. Everyone knows they're totally the most venomous spider in the world ever Plus I don't want anything to disturb my T's and possibly cause them to be defensive (I don't like bald butts on my T's)

The long legged one was released into The Wild. i.e., my livingroom.

 

[rantoinetterelp]

I am trying very hard to get a picture. Like I said, it has made a home in the cracks of some rocks and RARELY comes out. In fact, I haven't seen it come out since that feeding, months ago. It really is just keeping to itself. I have had no problems at all. I have never even seen my T anywhere near that section of the terrarium. If I get it out though, and it turns out to be a brown widow, I will send it to you. You'll just have to give me advice on shipping spiders, cause I've never done it before.

 

[rantoinetterelp]

Right after I wrote that last reply, I went over to check on it, and it was actually out. As soon as I opened the terrarium, it bolted back under the rock. I was however, able to get a couple of okay pictures of it with my new camera phone because it's slimmer than my actual camera, and can fit into tight spaces. So, here is one of the better ones I took. It's fairly small. It's probably slightly more than a half an inch. Like I said, I didn't see any hour glass on its abdomen. My T is about 4 and a half to 5 inches, incase you were wondering.

 

[rantoinetterelp]

Here's another one. Is it just me, or are there spiderlings in this photo?
View attachment 112243

 

[Moonfall]

No clue what species, pretty though.

And congrats! You have babies! They're adorable.

 

[rantoinetterelp]

I ended up removing them. Well, most of them and I tried to be as humane as possible. I left the terrarium and everything inside it, outside for a while, coaxed them out, and sprayed it down with water. I was bit several times in the process. I'm really hoping that they aren't too venomous. It's only been about 40 minutes since I discovered the bites, and so far nothing more than pain, swelling, and fatigue, though the fatigue could be due to the immense amount of effort it took to get the little buggers out. After I was all done, I discovered a couple more that snuck in. Perhaps I'll throw them in a jar and raise them One things for sure, I definitely should've removed the mama the moment I discovered it! There were hundreds in there! My poor T!

 

[Moonfall]

Definitely keep at least a couple of them, they're cute and very pretty when grown.

If the bites start to go downhill or make you sick you need to take one (even a dead one) to the hospital with you. It will help them identify the spider and if they are venomous, save your life. Make sure you save a dead one, maybe write on the container in black marker and set it somewhere obvious so if you get really sick they will know what bit you. Worst case scenario but it can save a life so gotta point it out.

 

[Alltheworld601]

I probably would have taken the easy route and just removed your tarantula. Put her in a new enclosure of her own and move the tank with the mama and babies to another part of the house, secure it a bit, and rear them up in there.

 

[Anonymity82]

Ahhh, you got bit several times! What were you using to remove them? Your bare hands? :laugh: find it's easy to remove babies just by using the tip of the tongs. They often will climb right on them.

It could possibly save your life but there hasn't been a death in the USA since 1983 that I know of since the advent of antivenin. Also, the exact same antivenin that would work on a black widow bite will work fine on a false widow bite though it would definitely be unneeded for the false widow. It is still a great idea like Moon said and bring the spider anyway so the doctors know whether or not it is even needed to pump you full of antivenin and YOU can decide if you want to pay out the ying yang for it! Most importantly would be to make sure you wash the wound well and apply some neosporin to prevent infection. Secondary infections are often far more dangerous than the black or false widow bite itself.

That being said, if one does feel severe systemic symptoms from the BW bite definitely get to the hospital.