1. How often and how much do you feed?
Feeding frequency varies with species, individual size and temperature, and there are several principles:
(1) don't need to feed them for a period of time after shelling, because their exoskeletons haven't hardened yet. Feeding live feed at this time may cause harm to spiders. Similarly, if spiders stop eating, they must remove the remaining live feed from the feeding box to prevent spiders from being hurt during molting.
② The smaller the spider, the higher the feeding frequency, and the larger the spider, the lower the feeding frequency.
You can judge whether the spider is full by observing whether it is still grabbing food. If you find that the spider feels the movement of the feed but doesn't catch it or runs away instead, it means that you don't need to feed it anymore. At the same time, the size of the abdomen is also an important basis for judgment.
Generally speaking, young birds in two molting weeks will catch spiders until they are full, then stop eating, wait for molting, and repeat this process.
Why don't they eat for a long time?
Many friends who have just started to keep pet birds and spiders will be nervous and ask questions when their spiders don't eat. In fact, it is completely normal for arthropods like spiders not to eat for a long time. Because they are all cold-blooded animals, their metabolism is very slow. In the artificial environment, the chances of eating are far greater than their level in nature, so sometimes they need to digest a lot of things at once. For larvae, once they are full, they just need to wait until they molt and grow up.
In addition, some kinds of large individuals (mainly Chilean red roses or domestic Hainan bird spiders) sold in the market are almost all wild individuals, and some don't eat them for personal health reasons. Therefore, it is generally recommended to buy artificially propagated larvae for breeding, and it takes some experience to buy wild individuals. (You can refer to the article "About buying pet birds and spiders")
3. How much food do you usually feed?
Generally, live food with the size of 1/4- 1/3 is used to feed pet bird-catching spiders. Too much food is easy for spiders to feel powerless to catch.
Guyana pink toes and a group of cockroaches.
Abandon, too small is not conducive to Okumo to grab. In addition, it is also noteworthy to prevent spiders from being hurt by live food. For example, it is generally not recommended to feed rats and spiders to large pets to avoid their resistance and the risk of biting spiders.
4. Can I feed other insects?
As far as wildlife feed is concerned, most experts suggest that food should be as diverse as possible, especially for higher animals. But as far as pet birds and spiders are concerned, this is unnecessary. Just feeding crickets can basically meet the basic needs of healthy feeding and provide enough protein. Moreover, most of the insects caught in the wild belong to Orthoptera, and their nutritional value is not essentially different from that of crickets. At the same time, it is worth noting that insects caught in the wild cannot know whether they are contaminated by pesticides, but are bioaccumulated.
It tells us that chemicals will gather everywhere in higher animals through the food chain. So it is not recommended to feed them with insects of unknown origin.
5. How much feeding space is needed?
The pet tarantula is not an active animal, so the feeding box need not be too big. 1-3cm larvae can be put in a circular box with a diameter of 5cm, 4-6cm individuals can be put in a small portable aquarium, and adult or sub-adult fish over 10cm can be put in a 30x20x20 (cm) box or fish tank. Both arboreal and crypt types need as high a feeding box as possible.
The feeding space does not need to be too large, and the risk of spiders escaping and the probability of catching food should also be considered. Too large, too complicated and unrealistic feeding environment not only leads to feed organisms hiding everywhere without being caught by spiders, but also makes it very troublesome to deteriorate their health once problems occur.
6. How to arrange the feeding box?
Generally speaking, pet bird-catching spiders are divided into three types: arboreal, terrestrial and burrowing. The difficulty in arranging arboreal species is that the openings of general feeding containers are all on it, and they prefer to nest on it. In this way, once the lid is opened, their nests will be destroyed, and they may suddenly be frightened and run away (generally speaking, arboreal bird-catching spiders run very fast, especially larvae). Some solutions are to put the feeding box on the side and let the opening move to the side to avoid feeding and cleaning because of opening the box.
Reason disturbs spiders. Terrestrial bird spiders are easier to arrange the environment, usually 3-5 cm matrix, and then provide a shelter. The cave type tries to provide it with a thick enough base for burrowing and nesting. In short, the feeding box is easy to observe and arrange, and unnecessary decorations should not be put in as much as possible.
7. What substrates are commonly used?
Usually, spiders can choose soil, vermiculite and some artificial materials, and choose the appropriate substrate according to the specific type. The general idea is that it is best to keep the substrate at a certain humidity, and it is best not to be invaded by any external pests. It can be heated in a microwave oven to kill pests and harmful bacteria. It is strongly recommended to use a kind called "coconut brick"
Simple and simple arrangement of land pet birds and spiders
Materials. It is also important to note that sand, organic fertilizer and broken bark should not be used as substrates.
8. What is the size and number of air holes in the feeding box?
Spiders can escape beyond our imagination, especially larvae. The vent is as small as the spider's head and chest 1/3 is safer. As for the number of ventilation holes to be opened, it must be decided according to the specific breeding box, the specific spider species and the specific environmental layout, and according to experience. Generally speaking, ventilation is inversely proportional to humidity. You can know the general humidity of the room with a hygrometer, and then adjust the humidity by adjusting the humidity of the substrate or installing a basin. In general, it is better to control the relative humidity of the air in the feeding box at 60%-70%.
9. How often does the feeding box need to be sprayed with water?
Usually, instead of spraying water with a water sprayer, the substrate is wetted by dripping water in a corner of the feed box, which has three advantages:
(1) won't scare your spider by spraying water.
② There will be dry and wet soil in the feeding box for spiders to choose from.
③ The air humidity in the feeding box will not change much in a short time.
Usually, according to the humidity of the substrate, dripping water is to maintain the humidity of the substrate, and then to maintain the air humidity of the whole feeding environment, so it has to be done according to the specific situation.
10. How often do birds and spiders molt?
The growth rate of each variety is different, and the frequency of peeling is also different. Generally speaking, if the larva of the same bird spider is compared with the adult, then the larva molts about once a month, and the adult may need about half a year or a year. As far as men and women are concerned, males are faster than females, because male spiders generally grow faster.
1 1. What are the symptoms before peeling?
① Cave-dwelling and arboreal bird-catching spiders will seal the hole with silk.
2 stop eating for a while.
(3) The color of the body and feet of the larvae will become darker, and there will be some bright feeling.
(4) Some kinds of kicking hair will turn black.
⑤ Some normally docile species will suddenly become very aggressive.
For a more intuitive introduction, please click here.
12. Bird-catching spiders are about to molt. What should I pay attention to during molting?
Generally speaking, if spiders have signs before molting, please put them in a relatively quiet, dark and undisturbed environment. And pay attention to the environmental humidity, if the humidity is too low, it may affect their molting.
Besides, they usually molt at night. If you happen to observe them, don't disturb them, because a golden gray bird-eating spider in the Caribbean that has just shed its skin is the most vulnerable time.
When spiders show signs of molting, they should clear the field once and take away the live feed that has not been eaten, such as crickets. The best sentence is "there is only one kind of creature in your breeding box-your bird spider."
13. How to care after peeling?
Bird-catching spiders will not eat for a period of time after skinning, usually 1-3 weeks, and the larval time is shorter and the older time is longer. Before the exoskeleton is completely hardened, it is best not to touch or disturb them to avoid self-cutting or deformation of the exoskeleton before it is completely hardened.
14. If the spider's foot is broken, will it grow back?
Yes, generally speaking, a bird-catching spider will grow once it breaks its foot and molts, but it will look much smaller than other feet. Then after molting again, it will recover a little. Generally speaking, because the molting frequency of larvae is much higher than that of large individuals, it is felt that larvae can grow broken feet quickly, while large individuals recover slowly. But in fact, it only takes 2-3 molts to restore its original shape. Usually, the reason for breaking a foot is that a spider is threatened and cuts itself, which is a self-protection mechanism. It is worth noting that the bigger an individual is, the greater the chance of infection after a broken foot, and infection can easily lead to death.
15. What is the white bug in the feeding box?
Commonly known as mites, they mainly feed on corpses. Generally speaking, mites are usually brought in by feed crickets, and the dry environment will inhibit their production. Too high humidity or too wet substrate may lead to an outbreak of mites, even on spiders. According to some data, mites will cause great interference to bird spiders, causing health problems and even death of spiders. Usually, it is necessary to remove the food residue left by bird spiders as soon as possible. In addition, the appearance of mites is also a signal that it is time to change a cleaner environment.