Spider not webbing???

[juggalo69]

I caught a spider outside my house the other day something in the Araneus genus I think. Question is, I put it in a tank about the same size as the web I pulled it out of, but so far all it has done is a few strands of web in between the sticks I put in there, no actual "web". I don't want to kill it but if it doesn't web soon I have no way to feed it. Why would it not be building a web isn't that like natural instinct?

[AfterTheAsylum]

Give it time. Remember, spiders are opportunistic eaters. It will happen once it finds the best way to do it.

[juggalo69]

The only thing in the tank it is able to climb is the two sticks at either side of the tank (about 8 inches apart and about 7 inches tall), is that enough for a 1/2 inch spider to make a web? Also, any suggestions on how to go about watering?

[AfterTheAsylum]

Ha. You reminded me of a funny joke comedian Mitch Hedberg said, "When I was little, I captured a frog. So I stuck it in a jar with a stick and a leaf - so I could recreate its natural habitat."

Spiders don't live in tanks with sticks. You need to put a good amount of soil and such. What I would do? Get a bunch of sticks. Make a house in the cage. Crap... okay...

Here is your cage (top and bottom only).....
_b___________c_
/_a___________d_/

_e____________f_
/_g__________ h_/

you have eight corners... the letters are each corner. Put a stick from g to c. Put a stick from h to b. Put a stick from a to f. Put a stick from d to e. Now you have a bunch of X's. This should encourage it to make a web, given that there are most sticks (and crossings)... it is a suitable place to lay webbing.

[juggalo69]

Actually it's a hexagonal 2.5 gallon fishtank.
But I think I see your point. Two sticks and some potting soil aren't enough for sutable web construction. I'll try fixing that. How much room between the sticks? I pulled it out of an 8 inch web.

[AfterTheAsylum]

You had to put it in a hexagonal tank didn't you? ha, ha. Well, you get the idea. Just kinda make a pseudo structure. Don't make any of the sticks parallel. If you "X" them all, then there is plenty of open space for it to make a web anywhere. Just put 6 or so sticks in there. Have all of them go from a near bottom corner to a diagonally opposite far top corner. You might even be able to get away with 4 sticks. Use your judgement.

[juggalo69]

Thanks, love the avitar by the way. I'm a HUGE Hellraiser fan.
So when I water I can just mist the tank right?

[Wade]

IME, Areneus sp. in general don't seem to do well in captivity. They just don't seem to want to build their webs in containers or indoors at all. I suppose if you created a HUGE cage with lots of plants and stuff they might do something, but would it be worth the effort? Out 1,500 species in the genus there are probably exceptions, all the one's I've ever tried to keep I eventually ended up releasing. They just curl up in a ball and refuse to do anything.

Argiope and Nephila are much better about building their webs in captivity.

Wade