babykaiju
Arachnopeon
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2022
- Messages
- 2
Hello! Longtime lurker, first time poster.
tl;dr: I have an egg sac, what do I do now?
Long story short, I have found myself with a mama Araneus gemmoides (cat-faced orb weaver) and her egg sac. I tracked and studied this mama outdoors from May (when she was just a tiny sling, along with dozens of her siblings) to November, when I thought she had passed and I brought her in to preserve her. Upon finding her very alive the next morning, I put her in the largest extra arboreal enclosure I could find, where she proceeded to produce a very large, healthy looking sac a few weeks later (December 11, 2022).
I believe this to be a viable egg sac, as I saw her pair with a male a few months ago, and never found a sac outdoors. The entire enclosure has been temporarily relocated into a mesh butterfly enclosure to put my arachnophobic partner's mind at ease regarding loose baby spiders in the house, but besides giving Mama Spider some sugar water on a qtip, I've mostly just left them alone.
I am in Minnesota, and while I have been instructed that the egg sac would be just fine if I put it outside, these spiders (and this adult female in particular) mean quite a lot to me and I'd be heartbroken if they died because of me. Just wondering if there is a proper protocol to follow for hatching out this clutch; I have plenty of space in my spider room, hundreds of deli cups at the ready, and fruit fly cultures already going strong, as well as several local connections who are interested in slings - I just need to get them there first! Most of the info I've found has been for Ts or jumping spiders, and while it's been helpful, I'm curious about the care differences and requirements.
Apologies in advance if this is a silly question, or if it has already been answered! Beautiful mama Matilda resting on her fresh egg sac for tax.
tl;dr: I have an egg sac, what do I do now?
Long story short, I have found myself with a mama Araneus gemmoides (cat-faced orb weaver) and her egg sac. I tracked and studied this mama outdoors from May (when she was just a tiny sling, along with dozens of her siblings) to November, when I thought she had passed and I brought her in to preserve her. Upon finding her very alive the next morning, I put her in the largest extra arboreal enclosure I could find, where she proceeded to produce a very large, healthy looking sac a few weeks later (December 11, 2022).
I believe this to be a viable egg sac, as I saw her pair with a male a few months ago, and never found a sac outdoors. The entire enclosure has been temporarily relocated into a mesh butterfly enclosure to put my arachnophobic partner's mind at ease regarding loose baby spiders in the house, but besides giving Mama Spider some sugar water on a qtip, I've mostly just left them alone.
I am in Minnesota, and while I have been instructed that the egg sac would be just fine if I put it outside, these spiders (and this adult female in particular) mean quite a lot to me and I'd be heartbroken if they died because of me. Just wondering if there is a proper protocol to follow for hatching out this clutch; I have plenty of space in my spider room, hundreds of deli cups at the ready, and fruit fly cultures already going strong, as well as several local connections who are interested in slings - I just need to get them there first! Most of the info I've found has been for Ts or jumping spiders, and while it's been helpful, I'm curious about the care differences and requirements.
Apologies in advance if this is a silly question, or if it has already been answered! Beautiful mama Matilda resting on her fresh egg sac for tax.
