Caribena versicolor webbing?

[bryangottalara]

I got my caribena versicolor about a month ago and I'm almost positive it was a female due to the epigastric furrow that was on her abdomen. She's made a web tunnel this past month so it's kind of hard of hard to see, but I noticed this morning that she got a lot skinnier, so I thought she had molted and the molt was just somewhere at the bottom of the enclosure. But then I come home a few hours later and she has attached her mouth a huge ball of web... is she mature enough to be gravid? She's only about 3.5 inches in diameter. Or is this something that this species do sometimes? This is my first time seeing something like this and I have no idea what to make of it. Here's a few pictures of how big she looks and what she's holding on her mouth, sorry if I couldn't get the best one with all the webbing that's in the way.

 

[Danalemp1216]

One of my versicolors laid a sac when she was about that size last year, without mating. It is not uncommon for them to lay unfertilized eggs. If she definitely wasnt bred before you got her, I would take it away, as she won't do anything but gaurd it for a while.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

is she mature enough to be gravid?

Apparently so, if she wasn't paired then it's a phantom sac and she'll either dump it or eat it at some point.

 

[Nightstalker47]

If she definitely wasnt bred before you got her, I would take it away, as she won't do anything but gaurd it for a while.

No need to take it away, she will eat the sac if its a phantom on her own time, have had this happen many times now. Taking the sac from her is just wasteful, prevents her from recycling all her lost nutrients from the egg laying process.

 

[Danalemp1216]

Taking the sac from her is just wasteful, prevents her from recycling all her lost nutrients from the egg laying process.

My perspective was that I want my young females to put energy towards growth, so that I could pair her with a mate. I rather expedite the time to her next molt than brooding a phantom sac. If breeding is not a priority then it doesn't matter. I also don't feel that nutrient loss is much of a concern in captivity, mine fattened right up after I took her sac from her. Just my opinion, based on just 1 phantom sac. How long do your females hold on to phantom sacs for? And do they ever rot while she's carrying them?

 

[bryangottalara]

Apparently so, if she wasn't paired then it's a phantom sac and she'll either dump it or eat it at some point.

I got her from a pet shop, and the owners there have a respectable amount of knowledge with tarantulas. They didn't tell me anything about a breeding attempt when they got her, but I'm not sure if that was the case when the shop got her from the owner previous to them

 

[Nightstalker47]

How long do your females hold on to phantom sacs for? And do they ever rot while she's carrying them?

They held onto the sacs for a few days before consuming them, two weeks was the longest IIRC...never had any rot. They can recognize if the sack is bad, some just take longer then others.

 

[Danalemp1216]

I doubt anyone would breed her than sell her, but if you really don't know no harm in waiting to see what happens