Jumping spider eating fish food

TheTyro

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Messages
418
My largest Phidippus regius female found a fish flake I had put in there for a cricket, and I guess she decided she wanted to eat it? I sped up the majority of the clips because it took a while..

[YOUTUBE]hYLXlrAJdJg[/YOUTUBE]
 

TheTyro

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Messages
418
The only known species of vegetarian spider was discovered recently... and IT'S A JUMPING SPIDER

National Geographic ran the story: "Surreal" Vegetarian Spider Found -- A First" (link)
Yeah! Haha. I had heard about that. Cute little thing too.

I wasn't crazy surprised that my jumper would eat a fish flake, as I fed my Tegenaria gigantea spiderlings fish food a few times and they liked it, but that was on purpose! This time it was unexpected! Not that surprising though, because it is Betta fish food, more proteiny. Seems it tasted good haha.
 

jsloan

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 22, 2004
Messages
972
Yeah! Haha. I had heard about that. Cute little thing too.

I wasn't crazy surprised that my jumper would eat a fish flake, as I fed my Tegenaria gigantea spiderlings fish food a few times and they liked it, but that was on purpose! This time it was unexpected! Not that surprising though, because it is Betta fish food, more proteiny. Seems it tasted good haha.
What is the composition of the fish flakes? Crushed/processed insect material, perhaps? Worms? If so, eating them would be consistent with spiders scavanging dead insects off the ground and eating those (that's how I feed slings, just throw a crushed fly in there); if that's what's in the flakes, that is.
 

TheTyro

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Messages
418
Because I feel like typing today, I'm going to list everything in the ingredients! Yay!

Ingredients: Fish meal, soy flour, krill meal, wheat starch, shrimp meal, fish oil, brine shrimp, squid meal, brewers dried yeast, wheat gluten, spirulina algea, beet powder, soy lecithin, pepper powder, garlic powder ( wow this is getting weird!)astaxanthin, natural mixed tocopherols, rosemary extract, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate ( source of vitamin c) vitamin A acetate, choline chloride, a-Tocopheryl Acetate ( source of vitamin E) Niacin, d-Calcium, Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Biotin, Pyridoxine HCI, Folic acid, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, D-Activated animal sterol ( source of Vitamin D3) Vitamin B12 supplement, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, magnesium proteinate, iron proteinate, citric acid.


:barf:
 

GiantVinegaroon

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 14, 2008
Messages
1,389
I've had an agelenid I fed exclusively goldfish flakes for awhile, and it molted successfully and is still doing well today.
 

proper_tea

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 11, 2007
Messages
550
I think the most important questions is... what is that funky song that accompanies the video. Seriously... I have your post open in another tab right now, and I'm just replaying the video every time it ends, so I can listen to the song. Not watching it... just getting down with the groove. So sweet. So so sweet.

(100% serious)
 

TheTyro

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Messages
418
I've had an agelenid I fed exclusively goldfish flakes for awhile, and it molted successfully and is still doing well today.
Did you just sprinkle raw flakes in there, or did you moisten it and ball it up?



proper_tea- {D it was some random song I found on youtube using their audioswap audio thing. I am not sure the name of it but sometiems the songs are listed under the video. I'm too lazy to look it up. :eek:
 

GiantVinegaroon

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 14, 2008
Messages
1,389
Did you just sprinkle raw flakes in there, or did you moisten it and ball it up?



proper_tea- {D it was some random song I found on youtube using their audioswap audio thing. I am not sure the name of it but sometiems the songs are listed under the video. I'm too lazy to look it up. :eek:
I've only sprinkled raw flakes in there. Haven't observed her eating them, but definitely noticed her abdomen getting bigger and flakes disappearing.
 

Venom

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 21, 2002
Messages
1,700
This is fantastic. :) And I love the music you put with that video!
 

TheTyro

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Messages
418
I've only sprinkled raw flakes in there. Haven't observed her eating them, but definitely noticed her abdomen getting bigger and flakes disappearing.
You know now that you mention it...I've been sprinkling fish flakes in her cage for a while..but she hasn't been eating crickets that I put in there so I remove them and wait for her to get hungry. The fish flakes stay in there....so maybe she has been eating them for a while and doesn't have the "edge" of hunger for a whole cricket? I think she's gonna lay an eggsac because she always looks fat but doesn't eat crickets like..ever...I'm confused, but maybe this is a trend. I ought to pay more attention.

And you should get video of it too! It'd be cool to see how many different species will eat it.

Venom- I'm glad you like it! :D
 

spider pest

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 25, 2009
Messages
160
You know now that you mention it...I've been sprinkling fish flakes in her cage for a while..but she hasn't been eating crickets that I put in there so I remove them and wait for her to get hungry. The fish flakes stay in there....so maybe she has been eating them for a while and doesn't have the "edge" of hunger for a whole cricket? I think she's gonna lay an eggsac because she always looks fat but doesn't eat crickets like..ever...I'm confused, but maybe this is a trend. I ought to pay more attention.

A male p. audax I kept for about 8 months would only take crickets when it was very hungry. It would routinely reject them but accept flies, and it seemed to favor other spiders above all. Curious, because this jumper was caught on a fence outside my home as opposed to others that I've found in more natural environments, which would likely encounter crickets more often.
 
Top