Black Widow shipping

[Darkchrist31]

Dear all,
I'm getting some widows from overseas (1 adult, 4 sub adults, 5 slings), and right now it has been 7 days, and it will probably take another 5 days to reach my house.
Will they be ok? They are fed before shipping, however I'm worried about them getting dehydrated since its going to take approx 12 days for the entire trip.
Temperature wise should be no problem as both there and my country are 22-30°C.
Any opinions and experience sharing are welcome and appreciated.
Thank you for reading and have a nice day! ^_^

 

[SilentWidowMaker]

That's awesome what kind of widows are you getting? They are my favorite species of spiders. I breed and raise L. hesperus. I think they will be fine , I wouldn't worry about dehydration as much as air. Hopefully everything goes smooth.

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

That's awesome what kind of widows are you getting? They are my favorite species of spiders. I breed and raise L. hesperus. I think they will be fine , I wouldn't worry about dehydration as much as air. Hopefully everything goes smooth.

They require amazingly little air. Dehydration is definitely the bigger danger here. 12 days is a long time, but hopefully the shipper packed them in a bit of moist paper towel.

 

[SilentWidowMaker]

Normally when shipped the container is small packed with cushion such as toilet paper or paper towels which reduces air. If the spiders were feed before shipped as mentioned they should have gotten fluids from prey to reduce chances of dehydration unless exposed to extreme hot temperatures.

 

[Darkchrist31]

That's awesome what kind of widows are you getting? They are my favorite species of spiders. I breed and raise L. hesperus. I think they will be fine , I wouldn't worry about dehydration as much as air. Hopefully everything goes smooth.

Hiya, I'm getting 2 species, L.hasselti, and L.spp Laos (sus L.elegans). I'm not too worried about the adults and sub adults, but I'm afraid the slings won't make it, (previously had one experience where a sling died while the other subadults survived).
Anyways, fingers crossed, I really hope I'll get them soon and they can arrive safe and sound. They are cool and I really want them to be thriving in my enclosure.

They require amazingly little air. Dehydration is definitely the bigger danger here. 12 days is a long time, but hopefully the shipper packed them in a bit of moist paper towel.

Fingers crossed!

Normally when shipped the container is small packed with cushion such as toilet paper or paper towels which reduces air. If the spiders were feed before shipped as mentioned they should have gotten fluids from prey to reduce chances of dehydration unless exposed to extreme hot temperatures.

I'm not too worried about the temperature, its kinda chilly and cool these days. Dehydration is definitely my main concern. But anyways, fingers crossed! Hope they'll be strong and survive the trip!

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

Normally when shipped the container is small packed with cushion such as toilet paper or paper towels which reduces air. If the spiders were feed before shipped as mentioned they should have gotten fluids from prey to reduce chances of dehydration unless exposed to extreme hot temperatures.

True for the adults, but slings dessicate more readily. They also have higher metabolic rates, though, so might use slightly more air per mg of body mass. Regardless, even with paper towel stuffing, there is a lot of oxygen in a typical vial for their needs, especially since they wouldn't be moving around much. Transpiration rates for spiders are astonishingly low - some use as little as half the air as mammals, adjusted for body mass.

 

[Darkchrist31]

Ooh, additional info, temps there is 21 °C avg at day and 14 °C avg at night. Think they'll do fine? Weather is fine according to forecast, (cloudy for the whole week)

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

Ooh, additional info, temps there is 21 °C avg at day and 14 °C avg at night. Think they'll do fine? Weather is fine according to forecast, (cloudy for the whole week)

These temperatures aren't concerning. Better than if it was 30ºC, from a dehydration risk perspective, and their temperature will be buffered a bit by the packaging.

 

[Darkchrist31]

These temperatures aren't concerning. Better than if it was 30ºC, from a dehydration risk perspective, and their temperature will be buffered a bit by the packaging.

True, if the widows survive this trip, I'll probably be getting a couple of Sicarius again from there. Sicarius should do better since they don't really need water, and from what I know, they can survive extreme temps gradient.

 

[SilentWidowMaker]

Wow yeah definitely send some pics when you receive them please.

 

[Jonathan6303]

Do you have a lag

 

[Darkchrist31]

Wow yeah definitely send some pics when you receive them please.

Sure, will do!

Do you have a lag

Nahh, I'm getting from overseas, so no LAG. Even my local sellers here don't provide LAG anymore, too much problems...

 

[viper69]

That's awesome what kind of widows are you getting? They are my favorite species of spiders. I breed and raise L. hesperus. I think they will be fine , I wouldn't worry about dehydration as much as air. Hopefully everything goes smooth.

oxygen required is very very low

 

[SilentWidowMaker]

oxygen required is very very low

Yes agreed

 

[Darkchrist31]

Updates, seemed like its gonna take about a week more since there's a delay there. (Probably 16-18 days in total)
Seller said they should still be fine if its still delivered within 20 days.
So, fingers crossed.

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

Updates, seemed like its gonna take about a week more since there's a delay there. (Probably 16-18 days in total)
Seller said they should still be fine if its still delivered within 20 days.
So, fingers crossed.

Yikes. The older ones have a decent chance, but that's a heck of a long time for slings.

 

[Darkchrist31]

Yikes. The older ones have a decent chance, but that's a heck of a long time for slings.

Yea, I would'nt ask too much, just hope that the subadults and adults can survive, let the slings decide their own fate. XD

 

[Jonathan6303]

Updates, seemed like its gonna take about a week more since there's a delay there. (Probably 16-18 days in total)
Seller said they should still be fine if its still delivered within 20 days.
So, fingers crossed.

I think that’s waaaaaaayyyyyyyy to long for any live animal but I have really never experienced this so I do not have experience.

 

[xmasol]

Dear all,
I'm getting some widows from overseas (1 adult, 4 sub adults, 5 slings), and right now it has been 7 days, and it will probably take another 5 days to reach my house.
Will they be ok? They are fed before shipping, however I'm worried about them getting dehydrated since its going to take approx 12 days for the entire trip.
Temperature wise should be no problem as both there and my country are 22-30°C.
Any opinions and experience sharing are welcome and appreciated.
Thank you for reading and have a nice day! ^_^

nah I live in Southern California and they live in the desert. They can not see rain for months. They should be fine, a bad molt would be more worrisome.

 

[darkness975]

nah I live in Southern California and they live in the desert. They can not see rain for months. They should be fine, a bad molt would be more worrisome.

I agree with this. They can live on little air but they do need some eventually.
Seems like an awful long time for anything to be in the box.

Clint Laidlaw had a Kukulcania hibernalis that survived for a great deal longer in a box, though it was not airtight.