C. darlingi 1st instar questions

[rustym3talh3ad]

So i just pulled my first C. darlingi sack on 02/16/2011 which at the time was 7 weeks old. there were many of healthy active 1st instar nymphs that had emerged from the sack. they were all going along fine in the incubator that ive used a few times before with great success, keeping all the conditions normal for them...and now a month and a half later they havent molted to 2nd instar and ive lost several...more accurately stating ive lost close to half. so my questions are as follow....

1. Do first instar slings spin web? cuz these guys are heavy webbers, but i know they havent molted yet..they still look like 1st instar nymphs......

2. they have scattered about the incubator to which i would normally see them clustered together...is this normal behavior for this species...or normal for any species really....

3. i keep seeing them go into this weird sorta leg sprawling/twitching before they die is this a sign of DKS and if so, what could be causing it? i currently have another sack that just went from 1st to 2nd instar in this same room at the same time with NO problems what so ever....

 

[rustym3talh3ad]

really? no one has dealt with 1st instar slings before? :?

 

[ornamentalist]

1st usually web, not to say its mandatory though. Check for mould (even slight) get the old egg casings and embryo exos out asap too if you havent already done so. Other than that its all down to the individuals, some batches just go bad unfortunately, but cleanliness with them is crucial. I wish you luck!

 

[justinherran]

Have you sprayed any air freshner?

 

[Ceratogyrus]

From personal experience, I often lose 1st instars of baboon spiders.
I know its a bit late now, but I usually leave the sac with the mother till they are 2nd instars, which seems to work perfectly.
As for the reasons, I am not sure. Im obiously doing something wrong, so I have left it up to the mother from now on.
Sorry i couldn't be of more help, but have noticed the same thing.

 

[rustym3talh3ad]

Have you sprayed any air freshner?

no...i know better than to use anything like that in my house. ventilation seemed to be the culprit. as soon as i increased ventilation i stopped losing them, and the ones that were twitchy came around and are now molting to 2nd instar.

thanks to the others who helped me i appreciate your input.