Reptile & Amphibian Forums

As of last year (after observing a very large wolf spider in my front yard) I have become intrigued by arachnids. That is when, through my causal Internet research, I happened upon this web site. Though I have not had an inclination to become a registered member until tonight.

4 days ago my wife captured a roughly quarter sized spider (that's including legs) in the kitchen. The thing was a shinning hue of amber brown with darker brown/black highlights at its anatomical joints. Upon closer inspection, we discovered a red shape on its belly.

This may be a black widow (or a variant of one) and all things considered I am not sure how now to proceed. After caring for it (feeding it 2 black beetles, which it seemed to devour quit enthusiastically) and observing the thing for 4 days, I am not sure if I can now bring myself to crush it under foot (or dispose of it any other way for that matter). As I said, I have recently become fascinated with these creatures, but considering there are 4 people living in my home, which includes a child, I never thought twice about destroying any black widow I might happen across in or around my home.

I realize I can just release it else where, but I thought I would post this in hope that others might offer suggestions or even perhaps advice/information on the keeping of a black widow spider. Thank you.

P.s
Would these creatures emit a strange order by any chance? In less I am really mistaken, I believe there is light aroma coming from the jar she is being kept in (something like dog feces and/or rancid food). It's also possible it could be the jar.

What part of the country do you live in? If you are in a southern state, you may have found a brown widow ( Lactrodectus geometricus ). While not as dangerous as black widows, they are definitely venomous. Here is a pic of a black widow:

http://www.petbugs.com/caresheets/L-mactans.html

Versus the brown widow:

http://www.petbugs.com/caresheets/L-geometricus.html

Additional brown widow pictures:

http://www.floridanature.org/species.asp?species=Latrodectus_geometricus

Although they are venomous, they are pretty easy to keep contained. In the wild, once a female widow has a web established, it will probably not leave for the rest of it's life. This, and their usually shy, non-aggressive nature means they are not too hard to manage. Husbandry is pretty simple with these- there are keeping details on the petbugs links above. Despite their ease of care, these are not recommended as a first invertebrate pet, mostly for their venomous nature. I would particularly warn against keeping one since you have a child in your house, as the widow's bite is much more serious for kids than for a healthy adult. Lighter, weaker bodies means the venom has a MUCH greater affect on them, so I would definitely not risk it. There are plenty of interesting spiders that you can enjoy keeping, without taking on the venomous potential of a black widow. Wolf spiders for instance are a blast to keep, and are quite safe. In my opinion they are more enjoyable than any of the cobweb-weaving spiders. So my advice would be to dispose of it, or relocate it, and pick up a safer first spider. As for the odor, I kept a related species ( a Steatoda ), and it's tub exuded a pungent stink, from droppings and prey remains I think.