Nephila clavipes pics

[ArachnoJoost]

2 pics of my N. clavipes. I'll post 2 posts, since I don't know how to post more pics in one message.
Here she is digesting a cricket. Note the little scuttle flie stuck in the bottom left of the pic...:)

[ArachnoJoost]

...And here's one of her web. This took some work since the background is all white so you couldn't see the web, I put a black plate in the background so it would be visible. Awesome.

[ArachnoJoost]

...And another pic. This is the 'habitat' of my nephila. I once planned to keep fish (cichlids), but then I got the chameleons, and it became a home for one of them. Now it is a bit too cold for the chameleon to be roaming free so he's in his cage again (on the left, you can see him sleeping). I put some big plants in, and it's now beginning to look like a rainforest! You can see the spider in the left of the pic.
greetz!
Joost

[chaset]

What do you feed a spider like that? Do you just throw stuff into its web and hope it sticks?

[ArachnoJoost]

You guessed it: I just throw crickets in the web, and if I throw correctly they always stick. I've fed her a large locust once, she had no problem with that. I've noticed that she reacts much quicker if a small cricket is thrown in her web. With large crickets she usually waits till they begin moving (they usually hold still for a few moments when they hit the web). With smaller crickets she goes for them immediately. Maybe that is because in the wild they catch mostly small flying insects. It's really fun watching her catch prey, first a firm bite, then entangling it with web, then taking it to her resting place in the middle of her web (not quite the middle, a bit higher, most web is below her resting place). A truely very enjoyable spider!
greetz,
Joost

[Alex S.]

Hey Joost, great pics, glad to see your clavipes specimens doing well.

Alex S.

[Tarantula Lover]

great pics!!! beutiful spider!!

James