Help me ID please!!

[goodkidvin]

She might if she feels like her webbing sufficiently subdues them. However, smaller crickets are fine too.

Don't waste her energy or jeopardize her health if you can avoid it. Small easily subdued prey is always preferable.

I just worry about over/under feeding her. I fed her the first cricket and she was still pretty lethargic (still staying to one side of her enclosure, not webbing hardly at all.) but as soon as she fully consumed that second cricket, that same night she got extremely busy and started wetting everything. I am definitely no professional, but I feel like that tells me that she was still hungry after the first cricket. Do you guys have any ideas on how to tell if she’s had enough or not? You guys have been extremely helpful, and I appreciate it so much.

 

[Ungoliant]

I just worry about over/under feeding her.

Spiders have much slower metabolisms than mammals; it is hard to underfeed them. It can take new keepers a while to get used to the idea of not feeding their pet spiders every single day.

I fed her the first cricket and she was still pretty lethargic (still staying to one side of her enclosure, not webbing hardly at all.) but as soon as she fully consumed that second cricket, that same night she got extremely busy and started wetting everything. I am definitely no professional, but I feel like that tells me that she was still hungry after the first cricket. Do you guys have any ideas on how to tell if she’s had enough or not?

She may have been weak with hunger and/or thirst -- and/or taking her time to settle in.

I don't feed spiders on a set schedule. I just go by abdomen size, how recently they have eaten, and the size of the previous meal.

I'd start with 1-2 small crickets per week (or 1 medium per week) and adjust as needed.

 

[goodkidvin]

Spiders have much slower metabolisms than mammals; it is hard to underfeed them. It can take new keepers a while to get used to the idea of not feeding their pet spiders every single day.



She may have been weak with hunger and/or thirst -- and/or taking her time to settle in.

I don't feed spiders on a set schedule. I just go by abdomen size, how recently they have eaten, and the size of the previous meal.

I'd start with 1-2 small crickets per week (or 1 medium per week) and adjust as needed.

Awesome. You have been so helpful and I really appreciate it. My son and I are purchasing our first two Tarantulas next week! I’ve been building enclosures like a mad man. I run a lumber yard and have been able to snag a lot of bark from outback live edge walnut slabs.

 

[ArachnidSpecilist]

Don't try to use your tweezers to poke the spider, I know sometimes I will get agitated about how my spider won't eat a fly. That's definitely a wolf spider. Also, where are the crickets?

 

[ArachnidSpecilist]

It waited for its prey to get stuck in webbing? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that not normal Wolf Spider behavior.

 

[ArachnidSpecilist]

I doubt it's too stressed. Spiders have very simple brains, and most species do very well in captivity if given the right conditions.

I haven't kept funnel weavers, but if it's like other spiders that build permanent webs, it's a gradual process. (An extreme example: I have Kukulcania hibernalis that have been gradually expanded their webs for months or even years.)

This type of spider, as the common name suggests, will build a web with a funnel-like retreat. Some species make horizontal sheet-like webs with a funnel; other species make webs that are mostly a funnel.

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Making sure it has lots of anchor points and then leaving it alone (ideally in the dark) for a while will encourage it to web. I would not leave the enclosure in the windowsill, as the greenhouse effect can cause a sunlit enclosure to get much hotter than its surroundings.

Yours is not a mature male, but if it does become a mature male (its palps will look like little boxing gloves), it would be best to release him to find a mate. Mature males abandon their webs, lose their appetites, and spend all of their energy trying to find mates.

Their lifespan is typically about 1-2 years depending on species.

I definitely think that that's your spider. Maybe we can ID it if you tell us its behavior

 

[Ungoliant]

My son and I are purchasing our first two Tarantulas next week!

Which species are you getting?

 

[goodkidvin]

Which species are you getting?

B albopilosum And Eupalaestrus campestratus )

 

[ArachnidSpecilist]

HEY! Red Knee Tarantulas are good too.