Set-Up For L. mactans

[pitbulllady]

How do y'all Widow keepers keep those critters? After looking for one for the past two years, I finally came across a smallish female L. mactans in the pantry, not where I was expecting to find one, mind you, but nonetheless, I found her...fortunately before putting my hand on her or doing something that might have otherwise ended rather badly for both of us. I put her in a tall clear Tupperware cup with a lid, and put in a forked twig for her to climb on and start constructing a web, but after balling up and playing dead for about four hours, she just climbed up to the very top and sort of plastered herself right under the lid. I've kept House Spiders(Archaranea or recently changed to Parasteatoda) and Steatodas, and they wasted no time getting a web started, but she's been in the container for three days now,and hasn't moved from that "Pokie" position up at the very top. That's gonna make feeding her problematic, since whatever food items I put in are going to wind up on the bottom, while she's at the top, with no web for them to get caught up in.

pitbulllady

 

[Raikiri]

If she there for 3 days she couldn't be injured during capturing or before. They can't climb on glass, so If you would like to keep it in a glass you should put inside more things to climb. I think if you put 2-3 twigs it can make a web. Be sure they are not moveable for the spider. Place two of them forming an X, the third one can be placed near to the previous twigs. I keep smaller Latrodectus spp. in plastic boxes (can't climb on plastic, too) and 2 twigs forming an X are enough them to make a good web.

 

[Widowman10]

i like using clear plastic food containers (like biscotti) with labels removed and screw on/off lids. i put some dirt in the bottom and put 3 sticks as mentioned in there for her to build the web on. it makes feeding a breeze since she's not attached to the lid, mating the same.

 

[pitbulllady]

That's basically how I'm keeping her, in a vertical plastic one-quart food container with the screw-on lid, and a couple of branching sticks, just like I keep Archaranea & Steatoda, which are related and build that same sloppy cob-web. I don't think she's injured, since catching her was a breeze; I just held a little condiment cup(or spider cup, as I prefer to call 'em) underneath her and touched her with a broom straw, and she balled up like a BB and dropped right in! All her legs are intact and I can't see any fluids anywhere that would indicate a ruptured abdomen or anything, and once she got tired of trying to convince me she was dead, she climbed right up the sticks and has stayed up at the top, under the lid, ever since. She has now got one or two threads going from the lid to the longest branch, but she's still under the lid. I'm not sure how to open it without either hurting her, or having her come strolling out onto my hand, and I'm not quite sure I want that latter scenario to take place, lol! I guess that maybe over the next few days, she'll create a bit more webbing that will suitable for snagging prey items, but I am just used to House Spiders, which start making themselves at home right away.

pitbulllady

 

[crpy]

I use screw top lids for my Latrodectus. They always retreat to the lid when disturbed, like when I take the lid off. They just stay there tucked in the lid while I put prey in or clean and then. They will make swathing film when they relax, to catch anything on the bottom. I've had no problems with them.
Also I keep non-mated in small KK and thats easy peasy. They are allot shyer than steatoda.

 

[pitbulllady]

I use screw top lids for my Latrodectus. They always retreat to the lid when disturbed, like when I take the lid off. They just stay there tucked in the lid while I put prey in or clean and then. They will make swathing film when they relax, to catch anything on the bottom. I've had no problems with them.
Also I keep non-mated in small KK and thats easy peasy. They are allot shyer than steatoda.

Ok, that explains why she's staying up at the top, then. Steatodas don't seem to mind just hanging around in the open, and are a lot less likely to "play possum" than these guys are.

pitbulllady

 

[Widowman10]

They are allot shyer than steatoda.

haha, none of my widows are shy, they are a LOT less shy than the steatoda i find at my place... they hardly ever ball up.

Ok, that explains why she's staying up at the top, then.

if you aren't comfortable with the widow hiding up in the lid every time you take it off for feeding/cleaning, try making a mass of sticks down below, i never have them coming up in the lid that way, plus you can still see the widows really easily. makes for good display.

 

[crpy]

haha, none of my widows are shy, they are a LOT less shy than the steatoda i find at my place... they hardly ever ball up.


Yeah I guess it depends, I keep mine in the garage where its pretty hot and when I move anything on the shelves they scoot.

Do you keep hesperus, I know those are bold little dudes.

 

[Widowman10]

Do you keep hesperus, I know those are bold little dudes.

yep

 

[ErgoProxy]

I used to keep L. hesperus and L. variolus and and the variolus were much more "shy" than the hesperus. But then variolus is more of a reclusive species than hersperus. Those herperus though are quite colorful as little 'slings and some would retain a bit of red on the dorsal of the abdomen (even females) into adulthood (nothing like the GORGEOUS Latrodectus hasselti of Australia...quite common those little buggers were too).

I always used some type of side opening container for the widows as their catching threads go to the ground and they did tend to make a retreat farther up in the web (though they are adaptable). This made maintenance quite easy as well.

L. variolus is really FUN though when you find it in its native habitat....usually in wooded areas where they may be beneath picnic benches but when deeper in the woods, they would have a web near a bush or tree or low vegetation with a tubular retreat in which to hide that went down into the leaf litter. As soon as you disturbed that web, they would dash into the retreat and if you didn't have their way blocked you would have to dig them out of the leaf litter, where the spider would be at the end of the retreat, curled up into a little ball.

The "redbacks" were more bold! :worship:

 

[crpy]

i even thought of venom collection, so lets see,...i only need about 10,000 widows huh.

 

[Widowman10]

I always used some type of side opening container for the widows as their catching threads go to the ground and they did tend to make a retreat farther up in the web (though they are adaptable). This made maintenance quite easy as well.

i used to use a side opening as well, for maintenence sake as well. but i found no need for it after a screw on/off lid that they couldn't hide in. i really don't even need to keep the lids on because they can't get up in there, but i have to . plus, if you only feed every month, or twice a month, cleaning is minimal too. side openings are pretty useful though...

 

[Widowman10]

i even thought of venom collection, so lets see,...i only need about 10,000 widows huh.

haha, with the 175398296 sacs i have this year, quite possible for me

 

[crpy]

haha, with the 175398296 sacs i have this year, quite possible for me

Wow, put some comas there, my eyes my eyes

well, well well, I have the lab, maybe we can work a deal

 

[Raikiri]

Perhaps it can be too old. If it has a good place to make a web, not injured and not too old, then I have no more guesses, sry.
However if it has a very small abdomen then it could have not enough power to make a web. You can try to kill a cricket and hang it next to the spider, then it will eat it. And of course you can try to offer water. It could be dehydrated if it haven't eaten for a long time..

 

[Widowman10]

haha, with the 175,398,296 sacs i have this year, quite possible for me

Wow, put some comas there, my eyes my eyes

well, well well, I have the lab, maybe we can work a deal

hahaha, i need to get rid of them...

 

[crpy]

I just got a new housing facility planned for trues and "T"s, so I will have to get them going before anything, but I am interested, its something I've contimplated for awhile.

sorry for hogin your thread sassysmama. err Pitbulllady

 

[Moltar]

I keep mine in an inverted plastic jar with kabob skewers criscrossed inside. With the lid at the bottom and her at the top there's no significant risk of her coming out. She just stays in her web, no prob.

 

[pitbulllady]

I put a few more twigs in the jar, and now my girl has moved down a bit from the lid, although she's still right near the top. When I took the lid off yesterday to add more sticks, she did really plaster herself to the underside of the lid and didn't budge! I'm noticing more little gossamer strands now through the enclosure, so it appears that she's getting comfortable enough to web, even though I've never actually seen her doing this.

pitbulllady

 

[Raikiri]

Perhaps she will molt soon. If you capture a widow what is near to the next molt sometimes it didn't make a good web. After molting it makes the new home.