ashleigh andre
Arachnopeon
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2016
- Messages
- 2
I've come to aracnoboards and lurked to glean all the best info on keeping my Ts (proud owner of 4 for over a year). Of course, I developed a soft spot for my outside spiders through this also. My hubbie and I have had an Orb Weaver on our porch since mid April I believe. She has had her times where she disappears for a couple weeks (I get upset and worrie), but then she'll return larger. Always the same spot, and she's not a variety we see a lot of so we assume it to be the same girl. Always on the left side of the porch, hence the name Left. We've enjoyed feeding her meal worms, them small crickets when she got big enough. The first time she got a meal worm she was all "ah! What the hell is that" as she skittered off her web to safety, buy the 3rd she didn't even flinch and ran right to it. She caught a lightning bug one night which was pretty cool to watch it blinking. I am obviously a quite a bit attached by now. So... getting to my point and questions. How long is the typical life span of a spiny orb weaver (Google says a year, but I believe that's because a freeze kills them). Could they be kept alive longer if brought inside during a freeze? I live in Texas so it wouldn't be often or for long. Could I possibly extend her life by bringing her inside? I do have a large 50 gallon aquarium not in use to give her space.
Any advice or personal experience with orb weavers would be greatly appreciated. Watching her over the months has taught me a lot more about true spiders which I think is an understudied science. I've learned to spot her premolt signs, which are very similar to signs of near end of life, as I found out just recently. She was spinning unsymetrical webs,and was lethargic, it was sad and I thought I had to say goodbye. After weeks gone by dhe reappeared last night, and yet again larger. So awesome, yay : ).
I've been keeping my eyes on the roof of my porch for an egg sac. Kinda like Charlotte''s web, I want to see her babies and hope some stay.
Any and all advice on how to keep Left around would be greatly appreciated, as well as any information on their behavior's or lifecycle. Wikipedia is sorely lacking on the type of information I am looking for.
TLDR: Can you keep an orb weaver alive by bringing them inside during freezes? How to extend the life of an orb weaver, or keep it as a pet.
Any advice or personal experience with orb weavers would be greatly appreciated. Watching her over the months has taught me a lot more about true spiders which I think is an understudied science. I've learned to spot her premolt signs, which are very similar to signs of near end of life, as I found out just recently. She was spinning unsymetrical webs,and was lethargic, it was sad and I thought I had to say goodbye. After weeks gone by dhe reappeared last night, and yet again larger. So awesome, yay : ).
I've been keeping my eyes on the roof of my porch for an egg sac. Kinda like Charlotte''s web, I want to see her babies and hope some stay.
Any and all advice on how to keep Left around would be greatly appreciated, as well as any information on their behavior's or lifecycle. Wikipedia is sorely lacking on the type of information I am looking for.
TLDR: Can you keep an orb weaver alive by bringing them inside during freezes? How to extend the life of an orb weaver, or keep it as a pet.
