Found an Unexpected Spider in my T Enclosure

[coolnweird]

Hi all! I was taking a look at my P. reduncus' enclosure, and I noticed some teeny tiny legs poking out of a webbed up hole in the cork. Then, I saw another smaller webbed hole, with no feet visible! I have never been more surprised by something in an enclosure.

My T lives in a deep webbed burrow/web tube around the back of that same cork. The T is 4+ inches, and this spider is less than a centimeter. My first instinct is that this type of spider rarely leaves its tube, and poses minimal risk to my T. Does anyone have any experience with something similar, or think that I should evict this little fella? Thanks in advance!

 

[BoyFromLA]

Did your tarantula told you anything about it’s roommate when signing a rental agreement?

 

[chanda]

I would evict the uninvited guest if I were you. I've got an ongoing problem with random spiders - mostly Steatoda - in my cages. They make a mess with all the extra webbing, particularly in the cages of the non-spiders. They poach the feeders, so I have to drop in extras to make sure my pets get fed. When I have something with babies (like mantises or whip spiders or assassin bugs - or even day geckos) the stray spiders have been known to help themselves to the juvenile critters as well. They've driven my scorpion out of her hide. (They webbed it up inside, so she wouldn't go in any more. After I cleaned out the hide and evicted the spiders, she resumed using it.) The also have babies - lots of babies - and those little guys are small enough to get through screen or ventilation holes, spreading to other cages and infesting them.

 

[Scp682]

I would evict the uninvited guest if I were you. I've got an ongoing problem with random spiders - mostly Steatoda - in my cages. They make a mess with all the extra webbing, particularly in the cages of the non-spiders. They poach the feeders, so I have to drop in extras to make sure my pets get fed. When I have something with babies (like mantises or whip spiders or assassin bugs - or even day geckos) the stray spiders have been known to help themselves to the juvenile critters as well. They've driven my scorpion out of her hide. (They webbed it up inside, so she wouldn't go in any more. After I cleaned out the hide and evicted the spiders, she resumed using it.) The also have babies - lots of babies - and those little guys are small enough to get through screen or ventilation holes, spreading to other cages and infesting them.

I'm not even kidding when i say i found my t violaceus eating an unidentified house spider (they're common though i just haven't taken the time to id one). I immediately checked all my slings and all were accounted for, im still shocked about it. In some places there's just lots of bugs and you have to plan your setups accordingly. I regularly see spiders on my t shelves and i just catch them and move them. The only time I've had one get in an enclosure that i know of was just this once where it didn't last long.

 

[viper69]

I'm not even kidding when i say i found my t violaceus eating an unidentified house spider (they're common though i just haven't taken the time to id one). I immediately checked all my slings and all were accounted for, im still shocked about it. In some places there's just lots of bugs and you have to plan your setups accordingly. I regularly see spiders on my t shelves and i just catch them and move them. The only time I've had one get in an enclosure that i know of was just this once where it didn't last long.

Communals kill- what do we know!

 

[Frogdaddy]

Aww your T has a pet spider.

 

[Conor10]

Fun-nelwebs.

 

[coolnweird]

I would evict the uninvited guest if I were you. I've got an ongoing problem with random spiders - mostly Steatoda - in my cages. They make a mess with all the extra webbing, particularly in the cages of the non-spiders. They poach the feeders, so I have to drop in extras to make sure my pets get fed. When I have something with babies (like mantises or whip spiders or assassin bugs - or even day geckos) the stray spiders have been known to help themselves to the juvenile critters as well. They've driven my scorpion out of her hide. (They webbed it up inside, so she wouldn't go in any more. After I cleaned out the hide and evicted the spiders, she resumed using it.) The also have babies - lots of babies - and those little guys are small enough to get through screen or ventilation holes, spreading to other cages and infesting them.

I get your point, but this little guy doesn't seem like the type to bother anyone, and as far as I can tell, there's only one. It's so tiny, I doubt I could remove it without hurting it, and even if I did, there's 3 inches of snow outside where I live. I don't think the little guy deserves to die, just because he found a cozy piece of cork bark and made himself at home.

 

[Scp682]

I get your point, but this little guy doesn't seem like the type to bother anyone, and as far as I can tell, there's only one. It's so tiny, I doubt I could remove it without hurting it, and even if I did, there's 3 inches of snow outside where I live. I don't think the little guy deserves to die, just because he found a cozy piece of cork bark and made himself at home.

I mean it's not like there's tons of other bugs/inverts everywhere in nature or anything. If it's not hurting anything leave it, it will probably just end up being a snack at some point anyway.

 

[Ungoliant]

I get your point, but this little guy doesn't seem like the type to bother anyone, and as far as I can tell, there's only one. It's so tiny, I doubt I could remove it without hurting it, and even if I did, there's 3 inches of snow outside where I live. I don't think the little guy deserves to die, just because he found a cozy piece of cork bark and made himself at home.

What about moving it to its own enclosure?

 

[coolnweird]

What about moving it to its own enclosure?

I would, but it is truly miniscule! Every time I open the enclosure, it retreats into its web, and if I try to lure it out with a brush or food, it just slaps at me and hides. I don't think I could remove it without taking out the whole cork bark, which is also the main anchor for my T's burrow

 

[DaniB]

I would evict the uninvited guest if I were you. I've got an ongoing problem with random spiders - mostly Steatoda - in my cages. They make a mess with all the extra webbing, particularly in the cages of the non-spiders. They poach the feeders, so I have to drop in extras to make sure my pets get fed. When I have something with babies (like mantises or whip spiders or assassin bugs - or even day geckos) the stray spiders have been known to help themselves to the juvenile critters as well. They've driven my scorpion out of her hide. (They webbed it up inside, so she wouldn't go in any more. After I cleaned out the hide and evicted the spiders, she resumed using it.) The also have babies - lots of babies - and those little guys are small enough to get through screen or ventilation holes, spreading to other cages and infesting them.

Nppe, nope, nope! Unwanted guest got to go!

 

[chanda]

I would, but it is truly miniscule! Every time I open the enclosure, it retreats into its web, and if I try to lure it out with a brush or food, it just slaps at me and hides. I don't think I could remove it without taking out the whole cork bark, which is also the main anchor for my T's burrow

I've found that uninvited guests in little pockets in the cork bark can usually be evicted with a little water. If you take an oral syringe (or a regular syringe, with the needle removed) and gently inject water into the hole, the spider will most likely come scrambling out, allowing you to capture and relocate it without having to remove the entire piece of cork bark.