My Araneus diadematus Enclosures

WildSpider

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jul 14, 2018
Messages
465
Here are two of my A. diadematus in their enclosures. Caught both of them on there webs tonight. I've kept these girls in these enclosure since they were probably 0.5".

I keep these enclosures on a door of an outdoor building. I use thumbtacks to attach them to the door. Holes are also punched throughout the container with a thumbtack. Floral wire is used to attach the sticks to the tacks to make that frame. If the stick on the bottom doesn't have enough moss or lichen I add more to act as a padding in case the spider falls (it prefers to cling to the moss/lichen instead of leaving its home). Clear tape is used on the bottom of the lid to act as a hinge. The lid can hang vertically down or open just part way. When I open the enclosure and let the lid hang, boluses fall right out of the container (which works great for me since they're outside). The landscape photo in the background is just a cutout from a magazine which is kept outside the enclosure, between the wall and the back of the enclosure. The tacks keep it in place.

IMG_20180803_213826.jpg IMG_20180803_214234.jpg IMG_20180803_214320.jpg IMG_20180803_214518.jpg IMG_20180803_213956.jpg
 
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WildSpider

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jul 14, 2018
Messages
465
Update:
This enclosure worked wonders for me until I believe it was the final molt and then it was just a bit small for them. Although the web didn't look as nice, they had still webbed it up enough to catch food. I have since moved one of the ones in the above photo to a different enclosure and the other one I have let set up shop in the same building outside an enclosure. This morning I found that one of the ones I'm keeping like this had moved from the corner of the wall to the middle of the room near the light bulb and part of its web was attached to my rabbits cage door, haha.

I plan to continue making enclosures like these still as they were perfect for me most of the time. It was a mini cinnamon bun container. If I could find one just a tad larger, I think it would have worked even in the final molt.
 

DrewBarcelona

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 15, 2018
Messages
2
Wow.. I just came across this. This is so creative. I really like the idea. You have giving me true inspiration now for future wild caught true spiders. I think ill get on the case next week.
 

WildSpider

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jul 14, 2018
Messages
465
So, I thought I would give some more updates, info, and pics.

Additional Enclosure Info for Post #1

The dimensions of the container/enclosure (from post #1) is roughly 8.6 in x 8.6 in x 0.6 in. Kroger is the brand for those containers/enclosures:
https://www.kroger.com/p/bakery-fresh-goodness-mini-cinnamon-rolls/0004157324133

The enclosure has a snap on/off lid. The whole lid can be separated from the container. To open it, each of the four corners needs to be snapped open and to close it each corner must be snapped closed. It's also easy to open and close.

I'm currently trying to see if I can find another way to get ahold of these containers without always buying the cinnamon rolls (which would save more money I hope) so we'll see if that works out too.

I also thought I would try to give a better description of these enclosures and how to build them in case the photos in post #1 or the link above is ever unavailable. Then at least an idea of the enclosure and setup being used will be available.

How to build it:

You will want to tip this enclosure on its side because A. diadematus seem to prefer to build their webs vertically or at just a bit of an angle, but not horizontally. The lid can be removed right now. I use thumbtacks in each of the four corners (not right on the edge of the container but out just a little ways) inside the container to attach the container to the wall. The door that I keep this enclosure on is made of wood so thumbtacks work in my case. If needed though, I'm guessing nails will also work with this setup.

I use a thumbtack to create holes for the spider to breathe and also for some ventilation. I added holes to all sides of the container except for the side against the wall.

The next step is to have a frame. The spider should build its web within this frame. I used sticks that were maybe about 8 inches long for my frame and fairly thin (but strong enough to support the spider). I used floral wire to attach the ends of each stick to one of the four thumbtacks that are being used to hold the container to the wall. The sticks were closer to the container sides and the thumbtacks were on the inside of the frame. The frame should end up being square.

The sticks I used had moss/lichen on them for decoration but this is optional. When the stick on the bottom didn't have much moss or lichen I added more to it to act as a padding in case the spider fell. This lichen was then held on with floral wire. From what I've seen, the spider will prefer to cling to the moss/lichen instead of leaving its home.

Clear packing tape is what I used on the bottom of the lid to act as a hinge. The lid can hang vertically down or open just part way. When I open the enclosure and let the lid hang, boluses fall right out of the container (which works great for me since they're outside).

I used a landscape photo in the background for aesthetic appeal. This photo was a cutout from a magazine which was kept outside the enclosure, between the wall and the back of the enclosure. The tacks are what keeps it in place.

More Photos for Post #1

The pics in the original post were taken post-molt so I wanted to include some more pics of them where they were a bit more on the plump side. Below are a couple pictures (actually screenshots from a video I took since I guess I didn't take too many pics of them this summer) of the same two spiders about a week after this thread was created. They were quite a bit plumper than this at times too.

For the next section, we'll refer to this female as #1.
a_diadematus_plump2_cropped.jpg

For the next section, we'll refer to this female as #2.
a_diadematus_plump1_cropped.jpg

A. diadematus (Cross Orbweaver) Updates

In the update I gave previous to this one, I had moved both spiders out of these enclosures. Right now though, #1 has been moved back into her original enclosure. I have another WC A. diadematus that I'm keeping in the other enclosure.

As for #2, I've been keeping her outside of any enclosure for I believe this whole time. She's been doing great like this and has for the most part remained in an out-of-the-way place.

Here's a pic of where #2 has set up shop :p.
araneus_diadematus_with_iron_man.jpg
 
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DrewBarcelona

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 15, 2018
Messages
2
They really look great. Reminds me of the garden spiders i used to get in Ireland. Now having moved to spain, and it is starting to head into winter i dont know what ill find in the wild. Im heading out tomorrow to poke around the mountains and forests.
 

WildSpider

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jul 14, 2018
Messages
465
They really look great. Reminds me of the garden spiders i used to get in Ireland. Now having moved to spain, and it is starting to head into winter i dont know what ill find in the wild. Im heading out tomorrow to poke around the mountains and forests.
Sounds like you might find something you haven't seen yet then :). Hope you find some cool ones!
 
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