Bought a 5th Instar Phidippus Audax, hasn't left her nest in two days

[LordAnon]

What the thread title says. Bought a (hopefully) female P. Audax (Bold Jumping Spider) from a breeder. I've been worried because she shipped for three days in ~90° f weather (in an insul.box with cold pack), and she's spent her first two days in the hammock she made on her driftwood. She moves inside, at one point I caught her working on it from inside, but she doesn't leave. I messed with her a bit, just because I needed to drop some fruitflies and mist a bit in case she's molting. While my first instinct is that she's molting, I'm also concerned the natural light in my room is not enough (but moving her during a molt might be stressful). The only other threads on this issue that I've seen involve wild caught specimens and eggsacs, which is unlikely in this case because she still has her orange coloration. Has anyone else dealt with this in their phids? Should I leave her alone and hope for the best, or should I move her to a better lit room?

 

[pannaking22]

I wouldn't worry about it, I'm sure it'll be fine. After shipping they tend to need a few days-week or two to settle in and get comfy in their new home. As long as some natural light is getting in it should be fine.

 

[LordAnon]

Bump

 

[WildSpider]

I noticed also when mine molted before it seemed to molt in its hammock. Another possibility is that she might also be hiding out until she gets more comfortable.

 

[LordAnon]

At this point I'm sort of hoping it's not a molt, and she's just trying to get used to her environment. She still just chilling in her hammock almost a week later. Unfortunately, she had some mold growing in the corner of her enclosure, probably due to some light misting I've been doing in case she was molting. I had to open her enclosure and just spot clean the substrate, since her actual nest is on the piece of wood that's in there. She actually left her hammock for a couple of minutes, probably due to the commotion, even though I tried my best to not touch the piece of wood. she didn't look like she lost any weight, so I'm just going to leave for now, and hopefully I won't have to spot clean anymore mold. The last thing I want to do is have to tear apart everything and clean it.

 

[WildSpider]

At this point I'm sort of hoping it's not a molt, and she's just trying to get used to her environment. She still just chilling in her hammock almost a week later. Unfortunately, she had some mold growing in the corner of her enclosure, probably due to some light misting I've been doing in case she was molting. I had to open her enclosure and just spot clean the substrate, since her actual nest is on the piece of wood that's in there. She actually left her hammock for a couple of minutes, probably due to the commotion, even though I tried my best to not touch the piece of wood. she didn't look like she lost any weight, so I'm just going to leave for now, and hopefully I won't have to spot clean anymore mold. The last thing I want to do is have to tear apart everything and clean it.

That's good you're cleaning it out. Mold is a real killer for our friendly neighborhood jumping spiders.

 

[LordAnon]

That's good you're cleaning it out. Mold is a real killer for our friendly neighborhood jumping spiders.

There's still some mold on the driftwood that she built her hammock on. I don't want to disturb it in case she's in premolt but I'm concerned it could hurt her.

 

[WildSpider]

There's still some mold on the driftwood that she built her hammock on. I don't want to disturb it in case she's in premolt but I'm concerned it could hurt her.

Someone might think differently but personally, I would try to remove that mold as well before it gets out of hand. In my personal opinion, mold is a bigger problem than disturbances. Is it possible to remove the mold without taking the driftwood out?

 

[LordAnon]

Someone might think differently but personally, I would try to remove that mold as well before it gets out of hand. In my personal opinion, mold is a bigger problem than disturbances. Is it possible to remove the mold without taking the driftwood out?

I think I agree, but now I have to decide how to go about it. I definitely have to either really clean that wood or toss it. Either way means destroying her hammock, and she hasn't left it voluntarily since I got her last Wednesday. Now I'm really hoping I'm not going to interrupt a molt.

 

[LordAnon]

Some point yesterday in the evening she molted. I decided that this morning was a better time than any, since she had just mold it, and the mold was getting worse. Cuz she just molted, I didn't really want to run her out of her hammock, so instead I removed all the substrate. I cleaned the whole enclosure with isopropyl and hot water. I took a little bit of isopropyl on a napkin, and I wiped down anywhere I saw mold on the wood. I tried cutting some bark off, but I felt it that was just stressing her out too much. Hopefully with all the substrate gone and more sunlight the mold won't return.

 

[WildSpider]

Awesome! Glad to hear it went well. I might also mention that I keep my jumping spiders in dry containers and they do well (I actually find they do well without substrate altogether. Although, it doesn't look as nice). I usually just give them a drop of water on part of the plastic, but you could always try a bottle cap as a water dish that way you can leave the substrate dry. I would put just a little water in the bottom to try it and see if it works for her. One last idea, how's the ventilation? Hope some of these might help prevent future mold.

 

[pannaking22]

Mold is definitely a killer for captive salticids, they need it kept pretty dry with good ventilation. Glad to hear yours molted and is doing well!