Widow feeding techniques????

[arachnofreaks]

I was wondering for those of you whom own widows, what do you feed them and what is your technique?
I'm not sure if my girl isn't making a strong enough web or what but i can't seem to get feeders stuck. I have tried several crickets small, med. but they keep falling right through the web to the bottom. Then they just hide out at the bottom because the widow never leaves her web. Just looking for others methods and experiences. Thanks.

[Malhavoc's]

Widows, as far as hunting goes 'usualy' make strands going to the ground, it is these strands that entrap the pray not always her 'path' or tangly mess at the top, she will activly come down to get food, I usualy just set them up with paper towel substrate, two or three sticks crossing each other going to the top and one widow, she will web from these and crix usualy go up to her anyway, Give her time have patience She'll get em'

[Windchaser]

I have mine widows in clear storage containers with no substrate. I simply toss a cricket in there and the widows will usually get them.

[dirtborder4life]

I have done the same as malhavoc in that i just have a few sticks going up and the widow webs these,but i use peat for substrate just for looks.

[Malhavoc's]

Peat looks good, but widows are good for something else then being black-their white poop globs, And they do this ALOT-NEarly as much as my new Cockatiel-chuckle- Household flies do the work if crix arn't apatizing, I regularly Catch these near dumpsters or sun bathin on walls, And widows enjoy them as much as crix.

[arachnofreaks]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I have it set up just like that, maybe she just isn't hungry enough to care about food right now

[ScorpDemon]

could be pre-molt too.. or a couple days away from laying a sac.. crickets work fine, flies, mealworms, even the occasional wasp.. just be prepared.. the wasp could get the better of your widow.. but its a good fight

[cacoseraph]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I have it set up just like that, maybe she just isn't hungry enough to care about food right now

my longest term captive, an L. hesperus whom i caught as a mature adult, lived for ~3-3.5 years in my care... she ate once every month or three... basically when her abdomen got a little shriveled i'd pitch some random bug in for her to eat :)

widows are brutal predators... they are the ONLY thing i have seen eat in Iron-clad beetle. (not even a full grown african sphrodomantis could do it!). the only thing i don't feed them is wild caught roaches, cuz i am afraid of the rediculous levels of pesticides roaches can carry.

if she's not eating it's cuz she doesn't want/need to :)

no worries, widows are insanely tough

[Empi]

I have never had a problem with mine eating. I keep her in a big jar with some sand in the bottom and a couple sticks. She eats anything that I put in the jar andI put pretty much anything I can find in there. Even if the bugs are on the bottom of the jar she will go down and catch them. :wicked:

[WidowMaker]

I've never had a problem with any of mine eating. They don' seem picky... the more the prey squirms the more the widow drools :drool: At least that's what it looks like. :) I feed mine from crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, etc. All captive grown of course. I too have many sticks in with them and they design all kinds of interesting webbings. One thing I've noticed is that none of them have a problem with traveling to get a bite to eat. Best wishes.