I found a wolf spider in my back yard about 2 months ago. I caught it and kept it as a pet. I found out it's the largest variety of wolf spider in missouri, it's about 2.5 inches long, I think it's a "Ribita" variety?? I've been feeding it crickets and it's been a blast! Yesterday I noticed it was carrying an egg sack in it's mouth and started building a barrier of web of about 3" x 3" around its body in the cage. I looked it up on the net and found that when babys hatch, they will attach to the mothers abdomen.
1. How long is the incubation period?
2. Should I feed her while she's carrying the egg sack? (live crikets)
3. How many babies should I expect her to have?
4. How long will the babys stay on her abdomen? I don't want to find thousands of baby wolf spiders all around the house one day.
Please help... and serious answers only. Thank you in advance!
2007-02-02 12:16:46 · 8 answers · asked by JT 4 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
Guys, I'm not looking for advice on whether I should keep it or not... I'm wanting some numbers here. Surely someone out there knows the incubation time and how long the babies will stay attached to the mothers body?? If not, I'll leave this message up for voting and I encourage anyone reading to vote "NO BEST ANSWER" if the question is not properly answered. Someone out there knows the answer and I want the points to go to that person... Not just someone who says, "A lot! Get rid of it!" LOL
2007-02-05 22:50:23 · update #1
I think that since the female you have is carrying the egg sac in her chelicerae (mouth) and is building this tent-like structure, you probably don't have a wolf spider at all. The spider you have is probably a variety of fishing spider, or dock spider, most likely a Dolomedes from that part of north America. True wolf spiders carry the egg sac below the abdomen, that is the quickest and easiest way to tell the two families apart.
If the spider you have is a dock spider (Dolomedes) which I believe it is, then you should expect her to eventually attach the eggs somewhere in her enclosure and she will then proceed to stand guard over them.
You will be looking at anywhere from 50-100 spiderlings, however, after having raised this species before in captivity, I can tell you that often, they have more than just one egg sac per year.
So it is possible that she could possibly produce 300-500 spiderlings.
Here are two pages that I think might be useful for you to identify your cool little pet
Wolf spiders (Lycosidae)
http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=wolf+spider&search=Search
Dock spiders or nursery-web spiders (Pisauridae)
http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=dolomedes
Hope this helps!
2007-02-06 04:20:43 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Wolf Spider Missouri
2016-12-12 11:05:11 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Missouri Wolf Spider
2016-10-30 04:34:37 · answer #3 · answered by bugayong 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If your pet is a wolf spider, she will carry the egg sac around behind her. If you want the spiderlings to hatch, just leave her be. in fact, if you have been handling her, she may now turn aggressive to protect her brood. After the eggs hatch, the spiderlings will ride around on the mothers back, when they are ready to molt the first time, they will leave the mother to make a life of their own. after this, you need to remove any independent spiderlings and keep them separated. in their competition for food, they are cannibalistic, and will kill each other. Rearing spiderlings is dificult,mainly as they wont be able to eat anything larger than mites or maybe tiny fruit flies and aphids. Wolf spiders on average live about 3 to 4 years and can lay many egg sacs in this time. Without knowing your pets age,I can't predict when she may die. There could be anywhere from 50 to 150 spiderlings, so it is your call if you want to deal with them. Hope this helps.
2016-03-29 02:12:20 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can feed it, but wolf spiders get huge. If they bite, they can make you sick. You can expect hundreds of babies. That is an understatment. You wouldn't believe the amount of babies that will come out. The answer to number 4......................you WILL find thousands of babies if you don't get rid of it or put it outside. They will multiply, multiply, multiply. I wouldn't recommend leaving it in the house. Even an aquarium with a "screen," the babies can get out of that and move out...........it's terrible. Get rid of it. Careful touching it.........you can actually "bust" the egg sack and the babies will come out all over you!
2007-02-05 17:43:44 · answer #5 · answered by cathy c 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Those wolf spiders get HUGE! I saw one the size of a golf ball
2007-02-02 12:24:57 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
I only know some of the answers:
3. Probably 50-400
4. Probably not long
2007-02-02 13:03:48 · answer #7 · answered by i_am_bee2 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
thats not good. usually spiders have a ton of baby spiders so. alot. cant help u on the others though
2007-02-02 12:24:44 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋