Help!

[Dragonqueen]

I just found a bunch of webs created by tiny spiders underneath the corkbark in my pink toe's enclosure! Is this normal? Has anybody seen this? How did this happen?? We are already planning on cleaning the whole enclosure tomorrow but how do we prevent this from happening again?? She is only 6 months old so I know they aren't her spiderlings

 

[Campi95]

Well... how long has she been in that enclosure? Did you recently put any new decorations in there? Have you seen these spiders anywhere near your home?

If they’re small... I doubt they’ll be more than a nuisance (or a snack!) to the Avic.

 

[chanda]

It happens. I have free range spiders in my bug/spider room (mostly Steatoda triangulosa and Steatoda grossa) that live off escaped feeders and the flies that sometimes breed in some of the enclosures. They tend to make their nests in out-of-the-way spots like underneath tanks, the underside of shelves, even between the slats of the window blinds, or in any other small spaces they can find. While the adults are not able to get into the cages, the newly hatched spiderlings can - and they can then survive, hidden under cork bark or other decor, by poaching feeders. Sometimes they even mature, mate, and create egg sacs of their own inside the cages. (I've really had a problem with that in some of my whip spider cages, where they hide inside the cork tubes.) It's quite a shock to go to feed one of my pets - and discover hundreds of baby spiders that have suddenly materialized inside one of the tanks, necessitating an immediate cage cleanout.

I haven't really found a way to prevent it from happening, but I do try to minimize it by getting rid of the Steatoda when I find them and vacuuming up any egg sacs I find. I also go through periodically and check some of the most common hiding spots and clean those out. You can also keep an eye out for unusual webbing that might indicate that one (or more) have infiltrated your cages. Their webbing is frequently up near the tops of the cages, just below the vents or the slots where the lids slide on and off, so when I notice webbing there - or mysterious "floating crickets" - I know I need to check for stowaways.

Generally, they aren't really a problem - though I do think the extra webbing can be stressful for some of my pets, particularly the whip spiders with their delicate anteniform legs, and I have a scorpion that has vacated his hide and hung out in the open a couple of times, after the spiders moved in to his hide. (Once I cleaned out the hide, he moved right back in.)

I have not lost any mature creatures to the freeloading spiders (at least not that I know of) but they have poached a few baby whip spiders, mantises, phasmids, and even baby geckos.

 

[Dragonqueen]

Well... how long has she been in that enclosure? Did you recently put any new decorations in there? Have you seen these spiders anywhere near your home?

If they’re small... I doubt they’ll be more than a nuisance (or a snack!) to the Avic.

Shes been in there for a week and everything is new the spiders were all under and around the corkbark so we suspect that maybe they had been in there before we put it in. But it never occurred to me to spray it down before putting it in the enclosure

 

[Dragonqueen]

It happens. I have free range spiders in my bug/spider room (mostly Steatoda triangulosa and Steatoda grossa) that live off escaped feeders and the flies that sometimes breed in some of the enclosures. They tend to make their nests in out-of-the-way spots like underneath tanks, the underside of shelves, even between the slats of the window blinds, or in any other small spaces they can find. While the adults are not able to get into the cages, the newly hatched spiderlings can - and they can then survive, hidden under cork bark or other decor, by poaching feeders. Sometimes they even mature, mate, and create egg sacs of their own inside the cages. (I've really had a problem with that in some of my whip spider cages, where they hide inside the cork tubes.) It's quite a shock to go to feed one of my pets - and discover hundreds of baby spiders that have suddenly materialized inside one of the tanks, necessitating an immediate cage cleanout.

I haven't really found a way to prevent it from happening, but I do try to minimize it by getting rid of the Steatoda when I find them and vacuuming up any egg sacs I find. I also go through periodically and check some of the most common hiding spots and clean those out. You can also keep an eye out for unusual webbing that might indicate that one (or more) have infiltrated your cages. Their webbing is frequently up near the tops of the cages, just below the vents or the slots where the lids slide on and off, so when I notice webbing there - or mysterious "floating crickets" - I know I need to check for stowaways.

Generally, they aren't really a problem - though I do think the extra webbing can be stressful for some of my pets, particularly the whip spiders with their delicate anteniform legs, and I have a scorpion that has vacated his hide and hung out in the open a couple of times, after the spiders moved in to his hide. (Once I cleaned out the hide, he moved right back in.)

I have not lost any mature creatures to the freeloading spiders (at least not that I know of) but they have poached a few baby whip spiders, mantises, phasmids, and even baby geckos.

Well I'm glad to know that as small as they were, very very small they wouldn't have bothered her and yes we will be cleaning the whole enclosure tomorrow and be much more careful to clean off the decorations next time before we put them in. But it did come as quite as shock when we realized what we were seeing!

 

[Campi95]

Shes been in there for a week and everything is new the spiders were all under and around the corkbark so we suspect that maybe they had been in there before we put it in. But it never occurred to me to spray it down before putting it in the enclosure

Spray It down? Like, with water? That would be ok, but not super effective. And I’m sure you didn’t mean with an insect killer, that would spell doom for your T quite quickly.

A lot of keepers bake their terrarium decorations. That’ll help much better. I’ve nevee done it so I can’t comment on temps and times, hopefully someone else can.

 

[cold blood]

In 18 yrs i have yet to clean out any enclosure....i dont think its needed here IMO.

 

[chanda]

Well I'm glad to know that as small as they were, very very small they wouldn't have bothered her and yes we will be cleaning the whole enclosure tomorrow and be much more careful to clean off the decorations next time before we put them in. But it did come as quite as shock when we realized what we were seeing!

What I'll do with cork bark - particularly if it's been stored for awhile and is at risk for having stowaways - is give it a good soaking in hot water, then stick it in the microwave or the oven for a bit - bake out any unwanted hitchhikers.

 

[AnimalNewbie]

Yeah I wouldn’t reccomend cleaning the whole setup whenever you see a fly or small spider in there

 

[boina]

My house supports a rather large population of Pholcidae. I don't mind them because they catch mosquitoes, flies and moths coming inside, but they are also avid and very efficient spider hunters, easily overpowering the much larger house spiders (Eratigena and Amaurobius). Therefore I'm a bit weary of them getting into any sling enclosures. Luckily they like open spaces and avoid cramped quarters. Several of my large terrestrials have had an intruding Pholcus in there with them at one time or another. They catch the fungus gnats that can appear in the enclosures and I just leave them but usually the tarantulas evict them themselves by continually destroying the Pholcus webs.

I wouldn't be too worried about some small spiders appearing in an enclosure and for me it certainly wouldn't warrant cleaning out the enclosure or baking any cork bark.

 

[cold blood]

What I'll do with cork bark - particularly if it's been stored for awhile and is at risk for having stowaways - is give it a good soaking in hot water, then stick it in the microwave or the oven for a bit - bake out any unwanted hitchhikers.

water is the #1 enemy of wood....i will never understand boiling wood....whats boiling water gonna kill that an oven or even a microwave wont?? Removal of moisture is critical, which is the only reason wood needs to be baked.

 

[chanda]

Yes, it is the heat that kills the hitchhikers, not the water. I use the water for two reasons. First, to clean the wood. This is generally not fresh, new cork or wood, but stuff that has been used before, and may have substrate, webbing, waste, or other junk on it. It may also have been sitting in a bin under a table or in the garage for quite some time. A good soak and scrubbing removes most of the gunk. The other reason I like to get the wood nice and wet is to prevent scorching or charring in the microwave or oven. Maybe I'm worrying unnecessarily about that - but I'd rather be needlessly cautious than accidentally start a fire.

I can't really say that the occasional soak has noticeably weakened or damaged the wood. Sure, if this were something I routinely did as part of regular cage cleaning, there might be some gradual damage - but it's not. It's only done when setting up a new enclosure with old wood that is dirty or that I have reason to believe might contain stowaways, with wood that I've collected outdoors (I do like those hollow cholla tubes, which I can just pick up off the ground) or with wood that's infested with baby spiders. (I don't mean one or two - but when a sac hatches out and I suddenly have hundreds of baby Steatoda in with one of my whip spiders, it needs to be dealt with.)

 

[Dragonqueen]

Well we seemed to get the majority of the little pests out just by removing the corkbark, which wasn't doing her much good anyways as she's always on the glass or up on her log, now there are just one or two left that I'm no longer worried about. Thank you! I went into mass panic last night, she's my first tarantula and I was afraid they would bother her. But we're just going to replace the bark with another log and some more foliage that hopefully won't be infested

 

[cold blood]

I use the water for two reasons. First, to clean the wood

Lol, rinsing does that fine...its not general use of water I don't get, its the word "soaking"....soaking wood provides literally no positive anything...this is my issue, not a little water use....lol. I rinse the wood under water, but I don't want it soaking and absorbing that water to any degree

A good soak and scrubbing removes most of the gunk.

Again, a rinsing does this, no need to soak it, its just counter productive.

I can't really say that the occasional soak has noticeably weakened or damaged the wood.

Don't get where you are going with this random tidbit...I have never ever heard anyone say that water will weaken or damage the wood.

It's only done when setting up a new enclosure with old wood that is dirty or that I have reason to believe might contain stowaways, with wood that I've collected outdoors (I do like those hollow cholla tubes, which I can just pick up off the ground) or with wood that's infested with baby spiders. (I don't mean one or two - but when a sac hatches out and I suddenly have hundreds of baby Steatoda in with one of my whip spiders, it needs to be dealt with.)

Ok, I totally get this, but again, soaking in boiling water isn't any more effective than the baking or microwaving (that you are already doing) will do...its just a redundant act with unwanted side effects (water retention)....if you are already doing this, there's no point in soaking it in boiling water to do a job that will already be done with the drying process.