# Black Widow Spiders



## madzombieguy (Jul 27, 2007)

Is it possible to keep them?
Random question, I know. But i was just curious as it is late at night and i'm sleepy/bored!

I'll never own a species that requires a DWA most likely, but they are interesting!


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## Declan123 (Dec 29, 2007)

yes it is..... and yes they are on dwa


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## Lucifus (Aug 30, 2007)

Yeh few people sell em but they are fast and boring.


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## Arachnoking (May 21, 2005)

Fast? lol i must have been keeping a different species then:lol2::bash:

Seriously though very easy to keep and relatively non aggresive but yup they are covered by DWA


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## nocturnalbynature (Oct 24, 2008)

I was told by a guy in a pet shop near me that the female can hold the males sperm for quite some time and use it at her will... not too sure how true that is but I'm so glad that isn't the case for humans! Child support would ruin me! 

Yeah I wanted one of these when I get my dwa but if that is true I would have to reconsider!


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## Arachnoking (May 21, 2005)

if they lay eggsacs it wouldnt be a major problem. either freeze the eggs before they get to develop or place the eggsac in a sealed container, let tham hatch and canibalize until you have just a few large spiders which then would be easy to manage


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## nocturnalbynature (Oct 24, 2008)

lol that sounds so brutal! would the mother let you near egg sack? theyre said to be reall fast when on their web (slower on ground im told)... i wouldnt take my chances! lol


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## 118-118 (Dec 16, 2008)

Nah there not that bad iv handled them before (not bragging, its not clever to mess with dangerous animals unless you know its safe) their none aggresive n speed isnt a problem, although they are small so you gotta watch what your doing. Dont wanna look away n find its not where it was lol. Its good to watch them catching prey. I wouldnt say they were boring, not anymore than most inverts, they arnt that active unles theirs food on the go, but that goes for most arachnids


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## paulrimmer69 (Oct 26, 2008)

jus take a trip to tecso and have a good look through the bananas and u mite find 1 lol, they found a few when i was working there


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## 118-118 (Dec 16, 2008)

Yep thats where the breeder i know goy his first from. hopefully i will be a proud BW owner soon. Shh


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## johndavidwoods (Nov 18, 2008)

paulrimmer69 said:


> jus take a trip to tecso and have a good look through the bananas and u mite find 1 lol, they found a few when i was working there


You are kidding, aren't you?

Anybody know why they are quite so dangerous? What is the evolutionary reason why their venom is so potent, if all they need it for is killing flies?


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## Lucifus (Aug 30, 2007)

johndavidwoods said:


> You are kidding, aren't you?
> 
> Anybody know why they are quite so dangerous? What is the evolutionary reason why their venom is so potent, if all they need it for is killing flies?


They are known as Natures cruel joke. Cant kill most animals with their venom but can kill a human or at least put them in hospital. It seems the venom was designed to kill Primates and only Primates.


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## johndavidwoods (Nov 18, 2008)

Fascinating, thanks for the information. Very strange though isn't it.


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## maybrick (May 20, 2005)

Lucifus said:


> They are known as Natures cruel joke. Cant kill most animals with their venom but can kill a human or at least put them in hospital. It seems the venom was designed to kill Primates and only Primates.


 
I remember reading in a medical book a few years back about Widow bites.

Apparently the bite is more or less painless, and the venom can take a while to have an effect.

In addition the symptons are very similar to cardiac arrest.

Nasty combination.

If the docs aren't on the ball you have real problems, especially because you might not know you have been bitten.


Gotta love Mother Nature.


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## paulrimmer69 (Oct 26, 2008)

johndavidwoods said:


> You are kidding, aren't you?
> 
> Anybody know why they are quite so dangerous? What is the evolutionary reason why their venom is so potent, if all they need it for is killing flies?


nope not kidding, they found a few while i was there, had to call environmental health or sum1 like that to come and collect them


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