Latrodectus Mactans (Black Widow)

[Tym Hollerup]

This is the Black Widow. It's (edit) from Ken the bug guy. Does anyone know how to house theses and any other information I may need? Are they really as bad as I've always heard?

 

[cacoseraph]

yes, a wet bite can be very very very bad

no offense but did you get a burly toxic animal with no clue how to take care of it and no idea how strong it really is? that could really go poorly for you in this hobby, man


they pretty much just need a jar with a couple sticks in it. they can do with more, but that's all they need. careful when opening the jar cuz web thin enough it is hard to see is still strong enough for the spider to ride on.... so if you open the jar and lift the lid off real fast you might hoist the spider out

 

[Widowman10]

surf around HERE for awhile and you might learn a bit...

 

[Tym Hollerup]

I never got one! My dad was interested. Not in owning one, but if it was even possible that people do. Why would anyone want to own one though if they are really that bad!?! And how are they even legal too sell?

 

[spider pest]

surf around HERE for awhile and you might learn a bit...

Thanks for this!

 

[cacoseraph]

I never got one! My dad was interested. Not in owning one, but if it was even possible that people do. Why would anyone want to own one though if they are really that bad!?! And how are they even legal too sell?

they are very easy to keep and with even a tiny bit of intelligence they are not that dangerous, per se


afaik USA doesn't have any rules about selling/owning toxic terrestrial inverts. there are some state and local level rules, though

 

[Moltar]

I've kept several Latrodectus (all WC) and likeCaco says, they are easy as pie. Some people invert the jars for safety because a widow will go up if it feels threatened.

I used to do that myself but having learned a bit about their behavior, I want to offer my next one a more naturalistic setup with an undisturbed floor.

 

[cacoseraph]

they also do pindrop defense: they just let go of the web and fall. so upside down jars are not 100% safer. they are way way way easier to clean up, though!

 

[Tym Hollerup]

Clean up? How messy are they? What do you feed them? And what is lifespan?

 

[cacoseraph]

they will make a pile of bug corpses and poo under their favorite spot to hang out, if you let them




they live ~2-3 years normally. can stretch it out to like 5-6 ifyou were lucky and careful


they eat ANYTHING. these are the only bugs i have ever seen manage to eat an ironclad ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zopherinae ). since their web is magically strong they can take prey larger than themselves. especially since they are comb foots (the combs let them fling webbing onto prey or predators... my buddy has some great pics of his finger getting defensively webbed).

 

[Necromion]

Ive kept all three species of black widow found in the states (L. mactans, L, hesperus, and L. variolous) they are simple to care for and in my experiance they are quicker to run away then bite. I kept mine in pickle jars, and when ever i would open the jar I would just tap the lid to make sure the spider wasnt on it.

As far as their venom is concerned, It isnt a guarenteed death, but more like 24 hours in the hopital, on morphine (I know someone who was bite). however that can vary depending on a lot of factors

 

[cacoseraph]

you don't even have to go to the hospital, necessarily, though of course it is a good idea. i know an LPS guy who got bit. i have never seen someone look so happy to see me pop up in a petstore randomly


it will probably be the most painful thing most dudes experience, though

 

[Malhavoc's]

another very fascinating defence I have seen them do, which I see them do more then biting to be truthful is a unspun globual of silk, which in itself is a nasty little defence, it is worse then getting super glue on your fingers!

 

[Tym Hollerup]

Yeah... Really not too sure if I'll ever want one of these things!!!

 

[Widowman10]

somewhat like that:

 

[jsloan]

surf around HERE for awhile and you might learn a bit...

Nice start on the epigyne page!

 

[Widowman10]

Nice start on the epigyne page!

thanks!

 

[The Spider Faery]

they are very easy to keep and with even a tiny bit of intelligence they are not that dangerous, per se

So he takes this kind of Laissez-faire attitude towards Latrodectus mactans, but gets all over my a$$ about a spider with far less dangerous venom. He accused me of shooting a gun in a random crowd in that thread as well. I would never own a gun, literally or metaphorically, let alone shoot it. But apparently he would and has. And I've already said enough...I'm a pacifist. Peace.

 

[The Snark]

The initial bite of the Widow was, for me, a pin prick followed by a very minor and localized burning sensation. A half hour later I suffered increasing cramp like pains throughout my abdominal cavity that increased in intensity for about 8 hours with the entire cramping episode lasting 24 hours. I had an anti venin shot 1/2 hour after the bite and the doc conferring with a local expert informed me I was reasonably lucky.

2 years after the bite a wart like growth appeared on that location and continued to spread to 10 mm or so over some 20 years. I had a biopsy done of the tissue and it came back as a diffused, disrupted, and possibly mutated regrowth of normal cells. In the docs words, "As if the cells had lost the genetic memory of how to grow in a normal and natural fashion."

My suggestion: Treat Latro respectfully, preferably with a hammer, shoe, etc.

 

[Tym Hollerup]

The initial bite of the Widow was, for me, a pin prick followed by a very minor and localized burning sensation. A half hour later I suffered increasing cramp like pains throughout my abdominal cavity that increased in intensity for about 8 hours with the entire cramping episode lasting 24 hours. I had an anti venin shot 1/2 hour after the bite and the doc conferring with a local expert informed me I was reasonably lucky.

2 years after the bite a wart like growth appeared on that location and continued to spread to 10 mm or so over some 20 years. I had a biopsy done of the tissue and it came back as a diffused, disrupted, and possibly mutated regrowth of normal cells. In the docs words, "As if the cells had lost the genetic memory of how to grow in a normal and natural fashion."

My suggestion: Treat Latro respectfully, preferably with a hammer, shoe, etc.

And this is EXACTLY why I'm NOT getting one!!!