Jumping spider won't come out of its nest

[wazowski]

Hello,
around 2 weeks ago I finally managed to catch my first jumping spider. I put her (I think it's a female, not sure though) in a small 20cm x 20cm x 30cm terrarium with branches and she was doing great. I gave her a fly every 1-2 days, which she gladly ate. She also drank water from droplets on walls.
I'm not sure what species she is, as you might've noticed I live in Poland and I caught her here. It looks very similar to a zebra spider but her abdomen is all gray with no stripes. I haven't measured her size, but she was fairly big and I think she was about 10mm to a centimeter.
The problem is, four days ago she made a nest in a corner of the terrarium in a hidey spot under a branch and hasn't come out ever since. I thought she was going to molt but I read it takes 1 day, 2 at most. Is this behavior normal? Is she gonna starve herself to death? I tried holding a fly next to the nest for a few minutes but she didn't care.

 

[Andrea82]

Hello,
around 2 weeks ago I finally managed to catch my first jumping spider. I put her (I think it's a female, not sure though) in a small 20cm x 20cm x 30cm terrarium with branches and she was doing great. I gave her a fly every 1-2 days, which she gladly ate. She also drank water from droplets on walls.
I'm not sure what species she is, as you might've noticed I live in Poland and I caught her here. It looks very similar to a zebra spider but her abdomen is all gray with no stripes. I haven't measured her size, but she was fairly big and I think she was about 10mm to a centimeter.
The problem is, four days ago she made a nest in a corner of the terrarium in a hidey spot under a branch and hasn't come out ever since. I thought she was going to molt but I read it takes 1 day, 2 at most. Is this behavior normal? Is she gonna starve herself to death? I tried holding a fly next to the nest for a few minutes but she didn't care.

If you caught her outside, she could be getting ready to make a sac

 

[wazowski]

If you caught her outside, she could be getting ready to make a sac

Wow, I wasn't expecting this. How long does it take and will she live long after this?
If that's the case I'd like to keep a few spiderlings and release the rest, can I keep them in the same terrarium?
Aside from the sac, is there any other possible explanation? Because I'm not completely sure if this is a female.

 

[Andrea82]

Wow, I wasn't expecting this. How long does it take and will she live long after this?
If that's the case I'd like to keep a few spiderlings and release the rest, can I keep them in the same terrarium?
Aside from the sac, is there any other possible explanation? Because I'm not completely sure if this is a female.

I am just keeping my first jumping spider, I only know that there is a chance she mated before you caught her. I'd wait for others to chime in on questions regarding breeding. Don't want to give wrong info.
Another cause for her webbing could be she's getting ready to molt. The larger they get, the longer it takes to molt, including the pre-molt fase. My P.regius didn't eat for a week and hid herself in her thick webbing before actually molting.

 

[chanda]

Was she plump when you found her? If she had a large/swollen abdomen, there is a very good chance that she is making an egg sac now. Jumpers will frequently remain inside their web nests, guarding the sac, until the babies hatch - and even after the babies hatch, they will sometimes hang out near the sac for further guard duties. The babies will also stay in or near the sac for a while and will retreat into the nest when they feel threatened. Of course, as they get older there may be considerable cannibalism, both between siblings and sometimes the mother will eat some of her young. If you want to keep some of the babies, wait until you see them leave the nest - then separate those you want to keep into their own deli cups and start offering fruit flies, aphids, or other small prey. Release the rest before they eat each other. Depending on her age, the mother may live for a while yet. I've had some jumpers that have lived for up to six months or more after making a first egg sac - sometimes even hatching out a second clutch of babies.

 

[keks]

She really could make an egg sac in September? :wideyed:

 

[wazowski]

Was she plump when you found her? If she had a large/swollen abdomen, there is a very good chance that she is making an egg sac now. Jumpers will frequently remain inside their web nests, guarding the sac, until the babies hatch - and even after the babies hatch, they will sometimes hang out near the sac for further guard duties. The babies will also stay in or near the sac for a while and will retreat into the nest when they feel threatened. Of course, as they get older there may be considerable cannibalism, both between siblings and sometimes the mother will eat some of her young. If you want to keep some of the babies, wait until you see them leave the nest - then separate those you want to keep into their own deli cups and start offering fruit flies, aphids, or other small prey. Release the rest before they eat each other. Depending on her age, the mother may live for a while yet. I've had some jumpers that have lived for up to six months or more after making a first egg sac - sometimes even hatching out a second clutch of babies.

I'm not quite sure what classifies as plump since this is my first jumping spider, but I think her abdomen increased in size while I was keeping her. Whether she's molting or making an egg sac, that's good news as I was worried there was something wrong with her. So I should just wait?

 

[chanda]

Yes, just be patient. When "Pumpkin" (my female Phidippus nikites) was gravid, she got huge - more like a "waddling spider" than a jumping spider! - and then she disappeared into her little web nest for several weeks and emerged, if not exactly svelte, at least considerably slimmer and more maneuverable. After she laid her eggs she emerged a few times to eat, but she spent most of her time in the nest. Only after the babies had left the nest did she resume patrolling the enclosure and get back to her greedy, bug-munching self. (She's actually getting pretty round again - it would not surprise me in the least if she's working on a second egg sac.)

 

[wazowski]

It's been exactly 2 weeks now and she still hasn't come out. Do you think she will be okay? Maybe not the best idea, but should I try forcing her out?

 

[Duriana]

I would definitely not force her. I'd just wait.

 

[sekmet022]

I'd definitely leave her be. It sounds like she's working on a sac. Mine too worked on making one about a week ago, this would be her second one in three months or so i think. If the egg is fertile then she probably wont come out for a few more weeks yet until the eggs have hatched, if it isn't fertile, she might come out sooner and push out the egg sac.

If you're curious to see what shes up to, you could briefly shine a flashlight behind her hammock to illuminate its insides from the other side. If there is a dark bundle in there that shes hugging, its probably an egg sac. (only do this for a brief moment though, its not good for the spider Dx).

 

[wazowski]

I'd definitely leave her be. It sounds like she's working on a sac. Mine too worked on making one about a week ago, this would be her second one in three months or so i think. If the egg is fertile then she probably wont come out for a few more weeks yet until the eggs have hatched, if it isn't fertile, she might come out sooner and push out the egg sac.

If you're curious to see what shes up to, you could briefly shine a flashlight behind her hammock to illuminate its insides from the other side. If there is a dark bundle in there that shes hugging, its probably an egg sac. (only do this for a brief moment though, its not good for the spider Dx).

I did try shining a flashlight on the web but I couldn't see anything there. I looked at pictures of gravid jumping spiders and mine definitely wasn't as fat as they were.
I'm just afraid she will starve herself to death, I read that others' jumping spiders came out frequently while they were having an egg sac.
By the way I think I've identified its species, looks like Evarcha arcuata to me. They have very visible sexual dimorphism, so if it is Evarcha arcuata then she's definitely female.

 

[Ratmosphere]

Just wait and see!

 

[sekmet022]

Not all jumping spiders come out after laying an eggsac, mine stayed with hers and completely closed up her home and didn't come out for over 5 weeks, long after the eggs had hatched. It really comes down to the personality of your spider

 

[wazowski]

Update: my spider finally came out of her nest. First I saw her legs stick out of the nest and then I held a fruit fly with tweezers next to it. She spotted the fly, slowly approached it and made an attempt at jumping. Unfortunately she missed it and quickly returned to the nest. She probably missed it because my hands were very shaky as the nest is in a hardly accessible spot. Few hours later the same situation repeated.
I will try to catch a bigger fly for her tomorrow. I'm glad she's alive, I still don't see any eggs or spiderlings when shining a flashlight though. As for water, is it okay if I just leave a wet piece of cotton on the ground? She doesn't seem to care much about water droplets right now.

 

[Smokehound714]

when salticidae lay eggsacs they stay and guard them. During this period they become extremely shy and the slightest movement triggers them to defend the sac.

To get females to come out, you will need to block them from seeing you by using something opaque.

 

[wazowski]

So yesterday I accidentally dropped a fruit fly inside her terrarium and 2 hours later I saw her with the fly in her mouth away from the nest. It seems like she abandoned the nest and is back to her old self, actively exploring the terrarium. So if there aren't any eggs, why did she stay inside for a month? I don't think she molted either.

 

[Roberta]

Hi. I also have a jumping spider, I think he/she is a phidippus audax. She went inside that little house 8 days ago and I can see some web hammock in the doorway. Could she be laying eggs in there? Or perhaps molting? I had fed her 3 house flies over the previous week. (Just after I discovered she'd moved in to our patio) . I just love watching her hunt and she keeps an eye on me too. This is my first spider friend and I am learning as much as I can, but I can' seem to find the answer for how long they stay in their hammock web while molting.
Thanks for any info I can get.