Bad news - Wolf spider egg sac failure

[Theraphosphor]

I checked on Dorothy early this morning, and found her walking around without her egg sac and on the skinny side. Refused food items placed in front of her, which is unusual.

Substrate was way too dry, so I misted. She was incredibly relieved, and started drinking immediately.

Prior to this, my misting regimen was to spray the sides, do a couple spritzes above her burrow, and dump a little bit of water on the opposite side of her enclosure every few days. I didn't go crazy or do any rain-outs out of fear of mold.

I used to drop prey items straight into her burrow, but was afraid to do so with the eggs out of fear of stressing her out.

I did put a bluebottle spike and a couple mealworms in the enclosure to feed her, but it's unclear if she took any of them. She's eaten both in the past.

Mealworms can burrow deep, but spikes seem to ride on the surface or just under it.

I'm feeling pretty bad about this, but hoping she'll recover and be able to produce more.

 

[fcat]

Sorry to hear. Did you open the sac to see if there were any viable eggs?

 

[Theraphosphor]

I'm assuming she ate it, because her burrow looks caved in as well. It looked like a little volcano when everything was going well.

 

[SilentWidowMaker]

Did you pair her with a male or WC?

 

[Theraphosphor]

Did you pair her with a male or WC?

Wild-caught. Are you thinking they might've been unfertilized?

 

[jbooth]

If she's skinny it's likely in the burrow and she's walking around, unless it was a tiny sac. They're barely smaller than before the sac after they eat it.
Pour some water down one of the corners and boost the humidity.. Especially if she's burrowed to make a sac, she should find moisture at the bottom.

 

[Theraphosphor]

If she's skinny it's likely in the burrow and she's walking around, unless it was a tiny sac. They're barely smaller than before the sac after they eat it.
Pour some water down one of the corners and boost the humidity.. Especially if she's burrowed to make a sac, she should find moisture at the bottom.

I'll do that! Yeah, she was really skinny this morning, but was plumped up when I got home, likely from being fed.

She's still wandering around above ground, so perhaps she's still hungry. Maybe I'll drop a pinhead in just in case she wants it.

Thank you for the reassurance!

 

[jbooth]

Yeah who knows, could be good or bad or abandoned or something but a small abdomen doesn't sound like she ate it. I've always lost all or most of the sac if it completely dries out though.

 

[NMTs]

Yeah who knows, could be good or bad or abandoned or something but a small abdomen doesn't sound like she ate it. I've always lost all or most of the sac if it completely dries out though.

I had a WC Tigrosa female that made a sac for me, and just before she opened the sac, she made a web funnel all around the entrance of the burrow. I'm assuming this was both for protection and to give the slings something to climb on as they emerged, because sure enough they were all over it a couple days later. Then they all climbed on her back and rode around for a couple weeks before dispersing (out the vent holes and all over my garage). Is this web funnel/wall typical of most wolf spiders or was it unique to that species? Just curious.

 

[Theraphosphor]

I had a WC Tigrosa female that made a sac for me, and just before she opened the sac, she made a web funnel all around the entrance of the burrow. I'm assuming this was both for protection and to give the slings something to climb on as they emerged, because sure enough they were all over it a couple days later. Then they all climbed on her back and rode around for a couple weeks before dispersing (out the vent holes and all over my garage). Is this web funnel/wall typical of most wolf spiders or was it unique to that species? Just curious.

Mine appears to be Trochosa, and she did something similar, albeit with a trapdoor.

 

[jbooth]

I had a WC Tigrosa female that made a sac for me, and just before she opened the sac, she made a web funnel all around the entrance of the burrow. I'm assuming this was both for protection and to give the slings something to climb on as they emerged, because sure enough they were all over it a couple days later. Then they all climbed on her back and rode around for a couple weeks before dispersing (out the vent holes and all over my garage). Is this web funnel/wall typical of most wolf spiders or was it unique to that species? Just curious.

Typical with Hogna genus at least. They'll web all the way to the top to let them out. The pantyhose go on as soon as I see slings, but there's still usually a couple out already.

 

[NMTs]

Mine appears to be Trochosa, and she did something similar, albeit with a trapdoor.

Typical with Hogna genus at least. They'll web all the way to the top to let them out. The pantyhose go on as soon as I see slings, but there's still usually a couple out already.

Thanks! It seems like this would be an indicator that the female at least thinks the sac is still viable, then.