I have a baby orb weaver spider and can't figure how to feed it!?

Question

It's just a baby, it's smaller than a grain of rice and I can't really figure out how to feed it. I've been trying to catch small ants and other bugs, but they're mostly all too big. I'd like to know how to trap sugar ants or fruit flies maybe, and any ideas of how to get them into the web without wreck it would help too!

Answer 1

It's easy to attract fruitflies. Just keep a tiny fragment of banana or cherry tomato near its web. You won't even have to put the flies into the web. They'll blunder into it on their own accord.(BTW, if you need fruit flies, I've got a CRAPload of them at my house. You are more than welcome to them!) Good luck!

Answer 2

Orb weavers spin webs to catch their food. They are not like any type of pet you can feed by hand. They are extremely independent and will find their own quiet place that is not disturbed by animals and people to build their webs — that's why you'll find them in corners or under ledges (or in the middle of the dining room after you've come home from work). Their webs are ultra-sensitive and pick up vibrations that we cannot hear at all. Throwing any bug into their web is like the feeling you get when you're sitting in traffic and someone around you has an annoying car stereo playing extra thumping bass so bad that you can feel the vibration three cars away, and much worse if they're right beside you! If they are hungry and the vibration is right, they might be interested; if not, they feel they are being threatened and will run for cover. I've seen Argiopes (one type of an orb weaver) actually go to the caught insect and release them because it made too much of a disruption in their tranquil home. The spider will most likely try to find another reclusive spot to build her web if annoyed. Also, some orb weavers spin the beautiful webs, others aren't as artistic and make the cobweb structures.



Personally, the spider would fare off much better if it was on it's own, meaning: let her go. If it's the size of a piece of rice, she's still young. However, depending on the type of orb weaver, her lifespan may be very short. I had a Shamrock Spider (also known as a Leaf-curling Spider) in a corner of my mother's garden. They only live one life from spring to fall here in the northeast U.S. I'd throw her a japanese beetle or a small grasshopper just to watch her come out from her leaf, but otherwise I left her completely alone and only observed her.

I mentioned type: I can't tell where you are at, but keep in mind that the orb weaver family contains poisonous ones, like the Black Widow here in the U.S., Redbacks in Australia. Note: No, not all spiders bite maliciously and have an undeniable desire to bite any human in sight. And no, not every bite is a spider bite. House flies, mosquitoes and horse flies are more likely the culprit than that spider that's been sitting in the cobweb in the corner for the past few days waiting patiently for something to land in her web. Blaming a spider for an unknown bite is about as useless as claiming that your catfish jumped out of it's fish tank one night, hopped to your bedroom down the hall, up a flight of stairs and sucked your blood while you slept. Just ain't happening. Just had to get that posted for those randomly reading this and I'll stop right there.

Anyways, I personally do not have any as pets — I only observe ones I happen to find. If I do find one in the house, and it isn't bothering my husband (or hasn't decorated the dining room with a big web), she's allowed to stay where she is. I'm sure there's plenty of big and little bugs I don't want to know about that are creeping around the place, so it means I don't have to spend any money on any harmful chemicals or get sick using them. If I do have to remove one and the husband is threatening to kill it, I'll scoop her up and put her outside if it's warm, or just relocate her somewhere else.

I know this is long but I hope it answered your question!

Answer 3

trap the sugar ants with sugar and water...doesn't work?

Ask a vet or someone who's an expert at bugs!

Can't solve your problem but those are the only suggestions i have!

Answer 4

i hate spiders, but i always feel bad when they never catch anuything, so i take another bug (which, of course, i feel bad for him, too) and i kinda throw it at the web so that they get caught, and the spider can just start that whole process.

Answer 5

feed it pinhead crickets,which you can buy from bigappleherp.com