Tegenaria domestica Care?

[Caveternal]

Get some mealworms crush the head before you drop it in n your Tetchy will put weight on .

There are lots of flies here ( we have chickens) Do you think that flies are a good food source aside from meal worms? Better than crickets?

 

[Tbone192]

Flies have less nutritional value than worms, crickets, or roaches. I'd just prekill a worm or cricket and pop it in the enclosure as mentioned above. If you really want, you can add a small water dish. He might be needing to fill up on fluids.

 

[Charliemum]

There are lots of flies here ( we have chickens) Do you think that flies are a good food source aside from meal worms? Better than crickets?

If you want your little friend to hold weight I suggest getting another food source as Tbone192 says flys don't have great nutritional value for Tetchy plus they would usually eat crawling stuff rather then flying. I suggested mealworms because they help with putting weight on the fastest due to fat content and they last the longest .

 

[Caveternal]

If you want your little friend to hold weight I suggest getting another food source as Tbone192 says flys don't have great nutritional value for Tetchy plus they would usually eat crawling stuff rather then flying. I suggested mealworms because they help with putting weight on the fastest due to fat content and they last the longest .

Okay makes sense definetly picking up some mealworms I'm just also trying to get an idea of a varied diet. There are small catepillars here too.

 

[Charliemum]

Okay makes sense definetly picking up some mealworms I'm just also trying to get an idea of a varied diet. There are small catepillars here too.

Caterpillars have their own poison not many things can eat them but if you get some bought spood food as long as you vary what that eats it will vary your spiders diet.
Different veg/fruits give different vitamins minerals ect so if your spoods food gets a varied diet, your spood then does too through eating them and that's enough to vary the diet, although as your collection grows you can always get other stuff in like crickets or roaches to change it up but your spider won't care food is food to a spood its only us ppl that care or get bored with the same stuff all the time

 

[Caveternal]

Caterpillars have their own poison not many things can eat them but if you get some bought spood food as long as you vary what that eats it will vary your spiders diet.
Different veg/fruits give different vitamins minerals ect so if your spoods food gets a varied diet, your spood then does too through eating them and that's enough to vary the diet, although as your collection grows you can always get other stuff in like crickets or roaches to change it up but your spider won't care food is food to a spood its only us ppl that care or get bored with the same stuff all the time

Well there is a tiny yellow caterpiller roaming in the tank with him. I won't be back until tomorrow so I hope it's not poisonous or whatever.

 

[Charliemum]

Well there is a tiny yellow caterpiller roaming in the tank with him. I won't be back until tomorrow so I hope it's not poisonous or whatever.

Fingers crossed your Tetchy doesn't try and eat it yellow is usually a warning colour.

 

[Caveternal]

Fingers crossed your Tetchy doesn't try and eat it yellow is usually a warning colour.

I've been adding mealworms. Instead of crushing the heads I've been squeezing them with the pichers then dropping them in. He seems to be getting some. I put one in whole without the head crushed. So they have a bad bite or something? Is that the main reason to crush the head?

 

[Charliemum]

I've been adding mealworms. Instead of crushing the heads I've been squeezing them with the pichers then dropping them in. He seems to be getting some. I put one in whole without the head crushed. So they have a bad bite or something? Is that the main reason to crush the head?

Yes they bite n they will try and eat a fresh moulted spider so heads come off before worms go in , better safe then sorry.

 

[Caveternal]

Yes they bite n they will try and eat a fresh moulted spider so heads come off before worms go in , better safe then sorry.

Someone said earlier that wouldn't usually in nature eat flies but crawly things. I thought techies were the same as barn funnel weavers which have webs up high often?

 

[Charliemum]

Someone said earlier that wouldn't usually in nature eat flies but crawly things. I thought techies were the same as barn funnel weavers which have webs up high often?

I am from the UK, here they have low webs and will eat anything that falls into it but because the web is low that's mostly crawling stuff n other spiders.
I haven't watched them in the USA so idk maybe they would eat flys there if they make high webs, the flys we get in the uk wouldn't be worth catching most are small n the ones that arent small sting or bite.
I can only give you info from my own experiences with this genus and I am not a boffin just a fan mealworms is what I have always fed odd crickets here n there but mostly worms, they do really well on this diet but I always take the heads off the worms because they do bite and its not worth injury to the spider.
I was told always eating flys is like a person living off cornflakes, yes we can do it but no it isn't good for us, but worms are like burrito its the same wrapper everytime but you can choose 100 things to go in it so its more balanced.
You can't choose what a fly eats n if wild caught you have no idea what they have eaten but worms will eat alsorts making them have differen vitamins and minerals inside when you feed them, and depending on what you feed them that way you can very your Tetchy's diet through the food eg. One day feed carrotthe next apple ect ect. Idk if I am explaining that well but it's what I was told
Ooo idea, you can be the USA watcher! will be interesting to see the difference between the same sp in different countries
Already got one difference your Tetchy web high ours web low. It will be interesting to see what other differences we could find

 

[Caveternal]

I am from the UK, here they have low webs and will eat anything that falls into it but because the web is low that's mostly crawling stuff n other spiders.
I haven't watched them in the USA so idk maybe they would eat flys there if they make high webs, the flys we get in the uk wouldn't be worth catching most are small n the ones that arent small sting or bite.
I can only give you info from my own experiences with this genus and I am not a boffin just a fan mealworms is what I have always fed odd crickets here n there but mostly worms, they do really well on this diet but I always take the heads off the worms because they do bite and its not worth injury to the spider.
I was told always eating flys is like a person living off cornflakes, yes we can do it but no it isn't good for us, but worms are like burrito its the same wrapper everytime but you can choose 100 things to go in it so its more balanced.
You can't choose what a fly eats n if wild caught you have no idea what they have eaten but worms will eat alsorts making them have differen vitamins and minerals inside when you feed them, and depending on what you feed them that way you can very your Tetchy's diet through the food eg. One day feed carrotthe next apple ect ect. Idk if I am explaining that well but it's what I was told
Ooo idea, you can be the USA watcher! will be interesting to see the difference between the same sp in different countries
Already got one difference your Tetchy web high ours web low. It will be interesting to see what other differences we could find

Yes that makes alot of sense. There was a guy on you tube that has a massive and rare true spider collection but I can't find his channel anymore. He said that he feeds his spiders gecko liquid diet in a dish at times. I thought that was interesting.
I will post about techy characteristics here in the us sounds good.
I can't usually find them except for recently. We have in many areas big large wood houses. I work at a property with three mansions on it. I'm the painter so I always come across spiders I have too much going on to keep multiple just a techy.
There is a spider often found only in the red woods oark in Cali but I can't remember the name. There my second fav sp. Lives in the trees there.

 

[Caveternal]

I am from the UK, here they have low webs and will eat anything that falls into it but because the web is low that's mostly crawling stuff n other spiders.
I haven't watched them in the USA so idk maybe they would eat flys there if they make high webs, the flys we get in the uk wouldn't be worth catching most are small n the ones that arent small sting or bite.
I can only give you info from my own experiences with this genus and I am not a boffin just a fan mealworms is what I have always fed odd crickets here n there but mostly worms, they do really well on this diet but I always take the heads off the worms because they do bite and its not worth injury to the spider.
I was told always eating flys is like a person living off cornflakes, yes we can do it but no it isn't good for us, but worms are like burrito its the same wrapper everytime but you can choose 100 things to go in it so its more balanced.
You can't choose what a fly eats n if wild caught you have no idea what they have eaten but worms will eat alsorts making them have differen vitamins and minerals inside when you feed them, and depending on what you feed them that way you can very your Tetchy's diet through the food eg. One day feed carrotthe next apple ect ect. Idk if I am explaining that well but it's what I was told
Ooo idea, you can be the USA watcher! will be interesting to see the difference between the same sp in different countries
Already got one difference your Tetchy web high ours web low. It will be interesting to see what other differences we could find

Ok I crushed the head out instantly died , no movement, I dropped the dead mealworms in and the techy came out checked it out and then went back in his cave.
I have been careful to not observe him too much I am rarely in the room. But maybe because I was working on something on the other side of the room. I'm thinking of putting a maggot in that way there won't be issue of killing the maggot. There is a chicken yard here so it's always easy to manage to find a maggot somewhere in the chicken yard with flies here.

 

[Caveternal]

I am from the UK, here they have low webs and will eat anything that falls into it but because the web is low that's mostly crawling stuff n other spiders.
I haven't watched them in the USA so idk maybe they would eat flys there if they make high webs, the flys we get in the uk wouldn't be worth catching most are small n the ones that arent small sting or bite.
I can only give you info from my own experiences with this genus and I am not a boffin just a fan mealworms is what I have always fed odd crickets here n there but mostly worms, they do really well on this diet but I always take the heads off the worms because they do bite and its not worth injury to the spider.
I was told always eating flys is like a person living off cornflakes, yes we can do it but no it isn't good for us, but worms are like burrito its the same wrapper everytime but you can choose 100 things to go in it so its more balanced.
You can't choose what a fly eats n if wild caught you have no idea what they have eaten but worms will eat alsorts making them have differen vitamins and minerals inside when you feed them, and depending on what you feed them that way you can very your Tetchy's diet through the food eg. One day feed carrotthe next apple ect ect. Idk if I am explaining that well but it's what I was told
Ooo idea, you can be the USA watcher! will be interesting to see the difference between the same sp in different countries
Already got one difference your Tetchy web high ours web low. It will be interesting to see what other differences we could find

And they never give small enough crickets here only at the pet store across out in the suburbs.

 

[Charliemum]

Sounds like an idyllic life chickens, painting, big wood houses
Maggots should be OK , not sure why your Tetchy would refuse a mealworm though maybe just because it's something they have never come across before try the Maggots like you said maybe your Tetchy is used to the movement or maybe we just weren't hungry .
Doing the best you can though n that's all the Tetchy can ask for

I never use crickets anymore bloody things keep laying eggs in my tarantulas enclosures n I end up with baby crickets everywhere so my lot live of just mealworms n locust now .

 

[Caveternal]

Sounds like an idyllic life chickens, painting, big wood houses
Maggots should be OK , not sure why your Tetchy would refuse a mealworm though maybe just because it's something they have never come across before try the Maggots like you said maybe your Tetchy is used to the movement or maybe we just weren't hungry .
Doing the best you can though n that's all the Tetchy can ask for

I never use crickets anymore bloody things keep laying eggs in my tarantulas enclosures n I end up with baby crickets everywhere so my lot live of just mealworms n locust now .

Where do you get locust from? I just got back, I think he ate the maggot because he was out circling and active before I left and now he's not. He's inside and the maggot doesnt appear anywhere. I think that if it's dead he doesn't want it that's why he could care less about the meal worm.
Crickets and maggots it is for a while.
I heard once on here that someone was thinking about trying to feed with butter worms. You don't have to crush their head either.

 

[Charliemum]

No idea what a butter worm is.
I don't think u can get locust in the USA but here in the uk we can buy them in pet shops or on line
Great news! at least he has eaten, live pray it is then haha.