Lauflieberspinne - Apollophanes

Moved

… Arlo Pelegrin, 16 March, 2010 - 12:11am

Water?

It might need water. Many spiders don't or can't eat if they are parched. Wet your fingers with room temperature water and flick a few fine drops onto or around the spider. Sometimes that helps.

Also, spiders stop eating when they're getting ready to molt. That's another possibility, if this is immature.

… John Sloan, 15 March, 2010 - 11:44pm

Oh, yeah!

I forgot about that being the reason they won't eat.

… Mandy Howe, 15 March, 2010 - 11:59pm

Water, very important

I think a lack of water is probably one of the commonest reasons why captive spiders don't eat. Most are not given water on the assumption they will get it from their food, but they actually need internal water and fluids in order to be able to regurgitate digestive juices onto their prey. We're not used to thinking of spiders as needing a drink - it took me a long time before I caught on to this - and many species become parched fairly quickly without it. I've had spiders kill prey and not eat it, only to return to it a day or more later and consume it all after a drink of water.

… John Sloan, 16 March, 2010 - 1:17am

Amazing!

Thanks so much for this tip! I have to admit I fell into the "they-get-water-from-their-food" camp until I read this post.

… Eric R. Eaton, 16 March, 2010 - 11:25am

H2O

Plus (everyone probably knows this), their movement (walking, etc.) is completely dependent on their internal hydraulic system which is fueled by the hemolymph, which is made mostly of water. You can tell when they get dehydrated... they walk like they have a wedgie. I have a spray bottle strictly for my bugs which is left out and hardly ever changed in order to keep the chlorine "at bay". For small spiders I always keep their cotton ball wet and for big spiders, I just spray their whole habitat. They drink off their web and off the sides of the habitat. You can watch the droplets disappear if you hang out to watch them drink.

… Mandy Howe, 17 March, 2010 - 1:03am

Looks like a female Apollophanes sp.

I have wishy-washy luck with feeding philodromids as well. If they're hungry enough and are exposed to the possible prey item for long enough, they will sometimes eat eventually. Haha, how's that for uncertainty? As long as they are in an enclosed area with the possible prey item, that's about as much as we humans can do as far as feeding them. I've had some sit there, right next to a live cricket, for over a week before it even attacked it... and then, I don't even think it ate, it just killed it.

… Mandy Howe, 15 March, 2010 - 11:33pm