Meet Ethel Webster! (spider pics)

Miss Lily said:
OMG! Well, she's in her new home (a large faunarium)! I put her old tub in there and she came out on her own for a nosey. All was ok until I took the lid off to show a couple who had come to buy a baby gecko. Ethel Webster was hiding at the top inside the lid (why, oh, why did I forget they do this?!) and she dropped out onto the worktop!! Cue, me squealing like a big girl's blouse and breaking out into a hot sweat, lol! Luckily she jumped back on the side of her cage (where she pooped on my worktop) and I encouraged her back up and over the top to the safety of her cage. You have all this to look forward to Twitchett! I bet you are wetting yourself laughing at this!
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I think I like you even more right now :D
 
Well, I'm still alive and so is Ethel! I took the lid off this morning to feed and mist her cage. She was up in the corner of the lid and she stayed where she was whilst I did what I had to then I put the lid back on again! She's rather cute, but I'm still not sure if I shall be able to have her out. I really want to though as I want photos of that cute face with my proper camera! Here's a pic of Ethel sitting on her plastic flower pot! <3

 
Hi Tiff, really nice picture, she's like a little fluffy teddy - bless! Soo sweet.
I didn't get an alert on my watched threads so only found this by change, glad I did I though.
You said she tackled a mealworm, what kind of things/size does she / can she eat?
( question from someone who's babies can only eat fruit flies at the moment!:mad::rolleyes::) )
 
It was a normal sized mealworm, not a morio/super worm. Items slightly smaller than them, especially with crickets as they can fight back. She would eat meal worms crickets, moths, etc. I will try her on a roach next I think. I've put a plastic pot in there to put food in or it'll just hide at the bottom. I put some little cardboard tubes in at the top to discourage her making her web on the lid and it worked! Yesterday she found one and has made her silk sleeping bag inside!
 

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Next time I find a web I'll try and remember your sweet description of it as a little sleepy bag, makes it seem nicer! She looks quite at home with her new bed.
That's an impressive list of things she would eat. :)
 
So, today, on advise from a few people I moved her into a smaller, simpler more natural home. It's a lot smaller and it's like having a bit of the garden indoors! I love it, and hope she will too.
 

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A sad update from me - yesterday afternoon Ethel Webster went to spider heaven. She had stayed in that tube the whole time, actually only leaving it twice and defending it from all offers of food. I learnt that she has laid an egg sac inside, and she was looking after her eggs. Well, a couple of days ago I could see the little spiders moving about in the nest inside the tube. I knew I had to relocate it to a sling proof container, so when she left the tube I took my chance and removed it. I thought her dying was my fault for taking her brood away, but in hindsight she suddenly looked very elderly and I was told that the clutch and caring for them had probably taken it's toll, especially where she was wild caught and I had no idea how old she actually was when I got her. Anyhow, she died yesterday afternoon despite my attempts to rally her round. So, I now have a couple of pots of melangoster fruit flies awaiting the dispersal of possibly a couple of hundred tiny baby Ethels! How on earth am I gonna cope? I have absolutely no idea! But I owe it to Ethel to give it my best shot, after all she could have laid those eggs whilst she was in the shop but she saved them for when I brought her home.
 
You are very lucky actually, that she laid her egg sac for you, it showed she felt safe and laying the egg sac could have easily killed her (wouldn't have been your fault at all) because females very rarely eat right after laying and often will wait until hatching. Take care of those babies well, and then look for some good homes if you want to sell them/give them up. She and they are so worth it
 
Andee said:
You are very lucky actually, that she laid her egg sac for you, it showed she felt safe and laying the egg sac could have easily killed her (wouldn't have been your fault at all) because females very rarely eat right after laying and often will wait until hatching. Take care of those babies well, and then look for some good homes if you want to sell them/give them up. She and they are so worth it
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Thanks! Yeah, I'm sure they must need somewhere that feels safe to lay, just like chams do. She was in captivity and certainly in the shop since 1st Dec 16. Until I brought her home on 1st March she hadn't laid. I presumed (wrongly!!) that she wouldn't lay since she hadn't done in the past couple of months. I feel honoured that she felt safe to lay them here with me. She only ate the one mealworm 2 days after I got her and once I gave her the tube to build a hammock in she just stayed in there doing her thing. She gave it her all and I now need to do the same for her. I can't believe how sad I was yesterday though! I finally held her this afternoon before burying her under a plant in the garden.
 
Tiff, I'm really sorry to hear this. I know I give you a hard time about your new-found addiction, but I was looking forward to spider stories like everyone else. Best of luck with the egg sack.
 
Tiff- I know we've been pm-ing but again I wanted to say how sorry I am and that you cared for her so well and yes I believe she felt secure with you enough to finally lay her eggs- It's a nice thing that she's in the garden and that you can remember her when you see the plant.
 
In a strange way I loved her, like you love any pet that you care for. If you'd told me a year ago that I'd get attached to a spider and cry over one when it died, I would have laughed! But these little characters are really lovely, especially the cute females.
 
I don't think it's weird to get attached to them. I have had several insects that have been in my life that when they left (whether they died or not considering some were wild ones I was taking care of until they were healthy enough to be released) that have made me sob. The sad thing is, they don't have the longest life spans. But they can be so amazing. <3
 
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