Funnel Web Weaver Spider - Agelenopsis sp.

[Roland Slinger]

Can these be made into little pets? I have about 15 of 'em outside in a bush. Everytime I walk the dog I make sure to poke all their webs with sticks (not cutting through) and watch them come out and try to bite it

So I thought I could just capture one and keep it in a deli container, would be interesting to see what kind of webbings they make in it and such.

Has anyone kept one? How long do they live? What can I feed them (can I feed them ants?), and are they communal?

 

[Widowman10]

yes, you could probably keep one of these gals with a proper setup.

you can feed them random insects, you know, the kind they would probably catch outside where you find them.

no, they are not communal. all the ones you found were in separate webs, correct?

 

[Roland Slinger]

yes, you could probably keep one of these gals with a proper setup.

you can feed them random insects, you know, the kind they would probably catch outside where you find them.

no, they are not communal. all the ones you found were in separate webs, correct?

Yup, all separate. So if they feed fine on the insects outside, does it mean they are resistant to pesticides, or are the insects outside pesticide free and I could probably also feed them to my Ts?

On their webs the only food I can make out they eat are some sort of fliers, which I won't be able to catch of course So I don't know what else I could feed them

And what would a proper set up be? Would a deli container not be good enough?

 

[Widowman10]

Yup, all separate. So if they feed fine on the insects outside, does it mean they are resistant to pesticides, or are the insects outside pesticide free and I could probably also feed them to my Ts?

hahaha, not going there, that's the big debate. basically, if you live out in the middle of nowhere and are sure there's no pesticides around, you can make that choice, you know the consequences. that being said, i've fed WC prey all my life and have always been fine with all critters.

On their webs the only food I can make out they eat are some sort of fliers, which I won't be able to catch of course So I don't know what else I could feed them

sure you can!! a clear vial lowered slowly over a fly from above! easy every time... shake it up until it's dazed, then pick it out and throw it in!

And what would a proper set up be? Would a deli container not be good enough?

try to mimic the natural environment/setup as much as possible.

 

[Roland Slinger]

Hehe, good idea with the fly. Shouldn't be too hard since I have a few floating around the house a couple of times a day.

I'll go ahead and try to capture one and see how it goes.

Thanks for the help! :clap:

 

[Roland Slinger]

>.< Much harder to catch than I expected. As soon as I move my hand after luring them out with a stick, they run back into their funnel.

 

[leoman777]

what i do sometimes is catch a cricket and let the spider gte it then play tug-o-war with and about half the time the spider will come out hope this helps you!

 

[jsloan]

Has anyone kept one? How long do they live? What can I feed them (can I feed them ants?), and are they communal?

I've been keeping a female Agelenopsis utahana for several months now and she's doing fine. Just put the spider in a large container and throw in a few flies each week and it will do well. Have water available (I squirt in a few drops with an eye dropper now and then - make sure you don't use the dropper for anything but water for your spiders,though), and also give it a place to hide. I don't like to put in rocks, in case they shift when I pick up the container. For mine I put in a crumpled piece of paper, which gave it plenty of nooks and crevices to make a home in. I mated it with a male a couple of months ago; but, even though she's been very fat for weeks, she hasn't laid eggs yet.

The spider will do well enough in a small container, but put it in one where it has enough room to make a good web. It will hide for most of the day, but come out at night and sit in its web.

You can try feeding them ants, but some spiders have problems with them. Experiment and see what it will take (ants bite back and spray formic acid, which some spiders don't like. Since this spider doesn't wrap its prey before grabbing it, ants might be a problem for it - if it doesn't take the ant within a reasonable time, I recommend removing the ant from the container).

 

[BiologicalJewels]

If you are interested in the making of their egg sac.

http://scabies.myfreeforum.org/about2737.html

 

[jsloan]

If you are interested in the making of their egg sac.

http://scabies.myfreeforum.org/about2737.html

Very interesting, thanks! I didn't know that some of these spiders cover the egg sac with debris.

 

[loxoscelesfear]

leave your door ajar and they will come in and be your pet. i have several in my home. natural bug control. then again, maybe i should close the door and i wouldn't have a bug problem.

 

[Roland Slinger]

weeee got one! After trying for 30 minutes the other day I went out again today, this time almost ALL were out on their webs. I tried a couple I liked but they got away and I sadly ruined all their webbing in the process.

There was one out however that didn't seem to have a funnel yet and was cleaning his legs, must be the new guy on the block. So I just nabbed him straight from the middle of his web. Hope I didn't hurt him because he's been under the same leaf since I caught him 15 minutes ago. Hope he isn't dead

 

[Roland Slinger]

Hm, seems like these spiders can't climb plastic

Not sure what to put in for vertical climbing. There isn't much outside besides leaves and grass I can put in the container.

 

[8+)]

I've been meaning to post about these for a long time! I caught a pair of the large ones (about 2" DLS) a couple of years ago and set them up in a large plastic tub with a divider that they could cross over to mate.

Let me tell you they displayed some fascinating behavior! They switched webs several times. The male actually seemed to be the dominant sex. He was the one that would chase the female out of her web. Once I observed him taking prey to the female! I saw them mating, but didn't get a sac. Probably because I didn't cycle them with temps or light. After they mated they spent time in the same web together with her deep in the tunnel and him standing guard at the opening.

I'll have to upload my photos and post them here; along with any other behavior I can remember...

 

[BiologicalJewels]

Hey,

Good luck on your catch.
Agelenopsis don't necessarily need a little more floor room that vertical space, but they will build a web based on what you give them.
What container do you have yours in?

I kept the one I had in an acrylic box approx 7" x 3" x 3"

I used some dirt as substrate, a couple or rocks n order for her to have nooks and crannies from which the web would radiate outward and a couple of sticks.

You can really do well with the sticks alone.

On the set-up I used the spider made a sheet-web that tapered into a small funnel.

If you use a vertical set-up (even an old soda bottle) with sticks coming from the floor up, you will find that the spider is likely to make a deep funnel web from the bottom center and opening wider at the top (really cool).

They are not hard to breed or get them to hatch, I didn't cycle her, just kept her ~77 F.

With one mating she gave me 4 sacs, the first two didn't hatch, the last two did.

The slings are very small... and there were TONS of them.


Good luck and enjoy your new pet They sure are fascinating to watch.


Oscar R

If

 

[Roland Slinger]

xD xD xD

I just found a MM and managed to capture him. I put him in the females tank. We'll see how it goes!

I don't think it will go well, though, because I just captured the female less than 24 hours ago. She made a small web but I'm sure she's not confident in the cage yet.

How do males attract females with this sp.? Right now he's kind of thumping his abdomen on the silk and then vibrating his body a little, could that be it? The female can't tell though because she was scared off the silk as soon as he moved in the cage, she's waiting on the ground.

 

[Roland Slinger]

He ate her

I have another female in a different cage. I guess I'll wait for him to make a sperm web, then I'll put them together.

Should I move the female into the males cage, or the male into the female?

 

[Spider-Spazz]

I have a Agelenopsis utahana, Had him since he was about.. 5 cm big. I thought he was a female until his last molt. He's molted about 3 or 4 times since I've had him, and hes at least one to one in a half inches big right now.
Theres one on my back porch thats atleast 3 inches big. Very pretty boy.
I've had mine for about 4 months now.

 

[Roland Slinger]

I have a Agelenopsis utahana, Had him since he was about.. 5 cm big. I thought he was a female until his last molt. He's molted about 3 or 4 times since I've had him, and hes at least one to one in a half inches big right now.
Theres one on my back porch thats atleast 3 inches big. Very pretty boy.
I've had mine for about 4 months now.

:O The ones around here at 1 inch at most! I haven't seen any bigger. Even this MM I caught today isn't 1 inch and he's the largest I've seen so far. 3 inch :drool:

 

[Roland Slinger]

WTHHHHH

She's ALIVE! That is the most amazing thing I've seen!!!!

I put him in the cage and he kept raising his legs whenever the female walked by (he wasn't sure where she was because she was running all over the place).

He then jumped her when she got close and she stopped moving. I thought he envenomed her and was just going to eat her. He took her into the makeshift home she was using in a leaf where I could barely see them, and she was laying in the same position until now like 6 hours later. And he was there the whole time.

Now I went to check on him seeing how far he got to eating her. And I see both of them out and about!

Can someone explain this?