How much to feed false black widow?

Roly Poly

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 30, 2016
Messages
15
I have what I believe is a female false black widow spider who hitch hiked into my slug enclosure via the soil I put in.

I think she grew up in there as a spiderling, living off springtails and any gnats/small flies that got in the enclosure, and then when she got bigger and I noticed her I started feeding her fruit flies.

I just make sure there's always a few fruit flies in there but I wondered how often she really needs to eat? Is it possible to overfeed her?
 

ReignofInvertebrates

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 29, 2012
Messages
1,066
It's impossible to overfeed her, although she may wrap up everything you give her for later. If her abdomen is chubby then you don't need to feed her often.
 

Ghost56

Arachnobaron
Joined
Aug 28, 2016
Messages
443
Not sure about false widows, but I feed my black widow once a week when I feed my T's. False widows are built similar so that's probably the way I'd feed it. Usually the food is around the same size as she is.
 
Last edited:

jaredc

Arachnosquire
Joined
Nov 5, 2014
Messages
84
False widows don't eat quite as much as a latrodectus. I found that any kind of isopod (pill bug) were actually very good feeders for my false widow, and fun to watch as they will bite the carapace til the isopod unrwaps and they can get a good interior bite. It's the majority of their diet in the wild, too. You can try feeding once a week and as long as the abdomen is looking plump they'll be fine.
 

Roly Poly

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 30, 2016
Messages
15
Thanks that's good to know so that I don't worry about her starving or overeating. She's just eaten another fruit fly today, last time she did was maybe 5 or 6 days ago so it sounds like she's eating alright. I did wonder because she doesn't usually catch anything unless she's going to eat it so I wondered if she was bad at catching flies or if she just wasn't hungry.
 
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