Sick Spider

DJGinger

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 18, 2018
Messages
3
I have a cute little spider, i think it was same one that was in a small handful in my mint garden. If I am not mistaken she is a red spotted orb weaver. Translucent pastel green with white flowers and a few red dots. Fat cute abdomen. I don't want to handle her too much to ID her. She was dropped on my chest by the icky mud dauber (local weird wasps are blue wing non native and a large yellow jacket style heavy body wasp that build tubes) that came in my window I swatted. I still can't identify these wasps, but they are picking on my huge honeybee tourist business (I suspect someones colony ran away and lives near). Her first four legs are not in her control. But her smaller legs move some.
For now she is in a styrofoam egg crate so I can keep her from drying out the cup next to her has some soaked cotton. My home is normally kept temperate (70-80). She may be a goner but I have spare time so it won't hurt me to try and giver her some hand up. But she made me think about how I'd like to have INVITED houseguests to evict riff raff. I saw on this forum that allowing a small bead of water near on occasion can maintain her while she fights? When would she need to eat? What kind of bug is in her digestive preference?
 

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
11,048
Very loosely, your spider has a problem. Essentially, neuroaxonal dystrophy caused by phospholipase enzymes in the wasp venom. It is roughly analogous to muscular dystrophy in humans. This cannot be reversed. Recovery would be a question of how much of the cells in the spider are unaffected. I would leave this to better minds than mine to expound on this. @boina @schmiggle ?
 
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Mork

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 1, 2018
Messages
15
About how big is the spider? Could you give an estimate to the wasp, too? (I’m just curious about the wasp) If it’s a juvenile, I’m almost certain they won’t make it. Right now, I don’t think they would eat even if you did offer it to them. The temperature seems pretty good, I’d just make sure too keep track of the humidity and maybe give them something to hide under.
 

Ungoliant

Malleus Aranearum
Staff member
Joined
Mar 7, 2012
Messages
4,096
I know of one story where a woman nursed a tarantula back to health after it had suffered a paralyzing sting from a tarantula hawk wasp. However, it took months.

Orbweavers generally only live for 1-2 years, so it might not actually have time to recover.

The best you can do for it is try to make it comfortable and periodically turn it over onto its back to drip water into its mouth. (She won't drown, as spiders don't breathe through their mouths.)
 

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
11,048
I know of one story where a woman nursed a tarantula back to health after it had suffered a paralyzing sting from a tarantula hawk wasp. However, it took months.
Neurological regeneration is s l o w. This is why reimplantation of severed body parts always failed. It wasn't until Dr. Buncke invented micro-surgical techniques to reimplant and reattach nerves that patients were able to recover the full use of their extremities.
 
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