Wolf Spiderling care for Dummies?

[LadyNai]

I've searched already and I need some help.

I've been teaching Forest Ecology here at camp for the past two days -- caught some very pretty centipedes (and released) and some cool millipedes (I've still not gotten the hang of caring for those, but fun for the kids to see) -- anyway I caught what looks to be a juvenile wolf spider. Small but with all the right markings.

In our Nature center we have the book entitled "They Don't Have to Die" and all they talk about in there is the care of adults. They talk about feeding crickets twice a week and all that.

From what I've read on here, these guys grow up well, are voracious predators and don't hide as much as the T's do. They also for what I do have the advantage of being native. Also someone here said if you raised them right from a young size they could be tamed like tarantulas are (or used to being handled)

What I need to know is: Do I need to feed a spiderling more then twice a week? Can this one (dubbed Aragog) be handled eventually? How long do they take to grow up and molt and all that?

Thanks!
Naomi -- Naturalist at Flat Rock River YMCA Camp -- St. Paul, Indiana

 

[spydrhunter1]

Also someone here said if you raised them right from a young size they could be tamed like tarantulas are (or used to being handled)

Tarantulas, scorpions, pedes, etc. are really never tamed. The may be accustomed to handling but they will still bite, My A.seemani has been used in kid talks for years and one day tried to bite during a talk for no reason. I would still feed the sling a couple of times a week. Keep it warm and fed and it'll grow fast.

 

[LadyNai]

Ok.

But they can become accustomed to being handled?

Warm and fed is not a huge problem -- we have heat lamps in the nature center -- and I can hunt crickets easily.

I'm glad I found this one and that I read that they maul their prey -- in short a VERY good trait for an OE (Outdoor Education) animal to have

Any other advice?

Nai

 

[gunslinger]

Lady,

Wolf Spiders can be hard to handle, mine are all very fast and very skittish, and wont be handled easily. None of the ones I ever have had even become accustomed to me opening the lid or cleaning their enclosure. Also I find them to be more fragile then say T's due to smaller size, and more prone to being hurt by mishandling. I dont really advocate trying to handle them too much, but thats just IMO. It can be done if you do it right.

As for feeding, what size is it? It should not need fed more than twice a week I dont think. I make sure mine stay rounded out but not fat, and I feed them once every few days, for the adults. Very small ones I just leave with a slightly large prey piece and pull the prey after a few days or if it molds. I use prekilled prey for my slings, as suggested by others on the boards, and it works wonderfully.

As for the growth and molting, it depends on how old it is already how fast the molts will come. The very young molt quicker, later molts usually getting farther apart that I have seen.

Post a pic of it if you can get one. Maybe get more info on it if it can be ID'd to more than just a family.