Black widow egg sac?

[acschuster]

Hello!
First time posting but longtime spider owner. I purchased a black widow spider a few months ago at a reptile show. She’s since made an egg sac which I need to remove but I am not sure how. She’s spun her web across the top of her enclosure so it gets disturbed when I open it, and the egg sac is hanging right off of the top. She’s protecting it pretty fiercely and I’m not sure that removing it is going to be easy. Any suggestions? I know removal of an egg sac is pretty stressful for them so if there’s an “easy” way to do it I would love to try, but i also need to protect myself.

 

[The Snark]

I know removal of an egg sac is pretty stressful for them so if there’s an “easy” way to do it I would love to try,

Not going to happen. Mom is going to have certain feelings about that. And by the way, your set up is perfect for this to happen. Like clockwork, mom heads up for the darkest area, parks her sack, and goes into protectron mode. And that probably won't be the last of the sacs. Not that she can't handle her web getting trashed regularly, they can, but if you're a serious widow keeper, side door or bottom access enclosure and a little practice sac snatching with some long forceps is in your future.

 

[darkness975]

Hello!
First time posting but longtime spider owner. I purchased a black widow spider a few months ago at a reptile show. She’s since made an egg sac which I need to remove but I am not sure how. She’s spun her web across the top of her enclosure so it gets disturbed when I open it, and the egg sac is hanging right off of the top. She’s protecting it pretty fiercely and I’m not sure that removing it is going to be easy. Any suggestions? I know removal of an egg sac is pretty stressful for them so if there’s an “easy” way to do it I would love to try, but i also need to protect myself.

I set mine up so they don't web the top.

Regarding egg sack removal, it can be annoying. What I do is get the female to retreat and then use long tongs to remove the sack. Getting the hang of using two pairs of tongs simultaneously for things like this is best as you may need to cut or rip the sack out of the web.

 

[acschuster]

I set mine up so they don't web the top.

Regarding egg sack removal, it can be annoying. What I do is get the female to retreat and then use long tongs to remove the sack. Getting the hang of using two pairs of tongs simultaneously for things like this is best as you may need to cut or rip the sack out of the web.

Thank you! That’s what i was thinking of doing but figured I would ask to see if there were any other methods!

 

[darkness975]

Thank you! That’s what i was thinking of doing but figured I would ask to see if there were any other methods!

Not really. Get her to retreat and then pull it out. By the time she gains confidence enough to come back out it'll be gone.