what to feed

[arachnophobespiderkeeper]

So I own a Eratigena Atrica, or a "giant house spider" And I was looking for what to feed it. I cant really buy crickets, and would rather find things outside to feed it.

so far i've found pretty small milipedes, sow bugs, and worms. I know they'll eat flying insects so I've fed him crane flies and lacewings, which he loved, but as for creepy crawlies, which can he eat? I heard ladybugs are poisonous to spiders, so I haven't fed him any, not that I can find any anyways. But I was wondering. I found TONS of milipedes (NOT centipedes, i know those bite)

I heard milipedes can give off a liquid from their sides that may be poisonous to spiders, so I am hesitant to give him them, but somebody confirming that for me would be nice. Or telling me if they can eat sowbugs (since we have TONS of those) and worms.

I have tons of ants around as well, but they're carpenter ants and would likely bite him, so I haven't given him any of those

anyways! help is appreciated !

 

[schmiggle]

There are lots of kinds of millipedes, and I believe only some of them are toxic. With carpenter ants, if you go for smaller ones, you'll probably be fine. Eratigena atrica webs look pretty solid, so that should make quick works of even large prey anyway.

You're bigger concern is that wild-caught food often has accumulated pesticides.

 

[Ungoliant]

So I own a Eratigena Atrica, or a "giant house spider" And I was looking for what to feed it. I cant really buy crickets, and would rather find things outside to feed it.

Assuming you are reasonably sure that they have not been exposed to pesticides, anything that flies or jumps makes excellent prey for web-dwelling spiders. I try to avoid hard-shelled insects like beetles, anything that is likely to bite or sting (ants, bees, and wasps), and anything that gives off an acrid odor when threatened (stink bugs and millipedes). I don't know if the odor indicates anything harmful, but I don't like to stink up my enclosures.

Small roaches can work, though I would be concerned about pesticide exposure, as roaches eat a lot of different things. At the very least, I would try to avoid the pest species associated with people.

 

[Lucashank]

So I own a Eratigena Atrica, or a "giant house spider" And I was looking for what to feed it. I cant really buy crickets, and would rather find things outside to feed it.

so far i've found pretty small milipedes, sow bugs, and worms. I know they'll eat flying insects so I've fed him crane flies and lacewings, which he loved, but as for creepy crawlies, which can he eat? I heard ladybugs are poisonous to spiders, so I haven't fed him any, not that I can find any anyways. But I was wondering. I found TONS of milipedes (NOT centipedes, i know those bite)

I heard milipedes can give off a liquid from their sides that may be poisonous to spiders, so I am hesitant to give him them, but somebody confirming that for me would be nice. Or telling me if they can eat sowbugs (since we have TONS of those) and worms.

I have tons of ants around as well, but they're carpenter ants and would likely bite him, so I haven't given him any of those

anyways! help is appreciated !

I've never heard of anyone having an issue with isopods, so I would give those "sowbugs" a try. I mean, if you can't/won't obtain clean feeders, I would try them. Isopods can be used as cleaners, and if they are a good size relative to the spider, they could be prey if you threw a couple into the web.

Also, you could make a fly trap by getting a liter bottle, cutting the top of it off right where it starts turning into a cone, take the cap off, and insert the cone upside down into the other half of the bottle. You can put fruit pieces or whatever inside of it as bait and set it outside. (or inside if you have flies) Most insects I know of are incapable of finding the escape in this trap.
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[arachnophobespiderkeeper]

I've never heard of anyone having an issue with isopods, so I would give those "sowbugs" a try. I mean, if you can't/won't obtain clean feeders, I would try them. Isopods can be used as cleaners, and if they are a good size relative to the spider, they could be prey if you threw a couple into the web.

Also, you could make a fly trap by getting a liter bottle, cutting the top of it off right where it starts turning into a cone, take the cap off, and insert the cone upside down into the other half of the bottle. You can put fruit pieces or whatever inside of it as bait and set it outside. (or inside if you have flies) Most insects I know of are incapable of finding the escape in this trap.
.....___
....|___|
.../.......\
./...........\
|.............|
|.............|
|.............|
|.............|
|_______|

To

|\.........../|
|..\......./..|
|...|......|...|
|...............|
|___Bait__|

hey thanks a lot! Its not that i REFUSE to get clean feeder, its just that I am sort of on the poor side, so even paying the few cents for crickets is hard considering i have nothing to keep them alive in and would need to get them quite often, and the nearest petstore is a bit far from me.

i'll give him a few isopods and maybe buy myself a cheap butterfly net from the dollarstore and use it to catch flies, which may be a good idea.

 

[schmiggle]

You could probably set up an isopod colony super easily, take a little tupperware, put in some dirt and logs, I think they'll basically eat anything so you can use food scraps.

I'm sure there's someone with more specific info on how to do this.