Eek my avic left her egg sac!

Sana

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My A. avic apparently left her web previously completely closed web. This is the first time she's left her egg sac. I didn't expect this at all. She's had the sac for 38 days. I'm out of town on a trip for work and won't be back until Sunday so I need to instruct my spider sitting partner on whether or not he needs to pull the sac. I decided to leave the sac with mom until I got back. So now I'm a super anxious spider mom. Any thoughts or reassurances?
 

Vezon

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Usually when they abandon the sac it is a bad sign from every experience I've read about.
 

Sana

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Would she leave it if it were ready to hatch naturally? It's been 38 days since I was aiming to pull them at 1i.
 

Sana

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To make matters worse I'm going to try to explain over the phone how to pull the sac and what to do with the incubator.
 

Trenor

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To make matters worse I'm going to try to explain over the phone how to pull the sac and what to do with the incubator.
Good luck, maybe you can send them a video link on the incubator. @louise f Has some good ones to use. Pulling the sack shouldn't be too bad (I hope). Good luck, I hope it goes well.
 

louise f

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Usually when they abandon the sac it is a bad sign from every experience I've read about.
No it is not a bad sign. Since she had the sac for 38 days, it is completely normal for them to leave it.
It is at that time you are taking the sac anyway.
 

louise f

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To make matters worse I'm going to try to explain over the phone how to pull the sac and what to do with the incubator.
Hey friend i hope it works out for your spider partner, good luck. <3:)
 

8Legs8Eyes

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If spider sitter is uncertain I would wait until you get back. Not sure how much your sitter normally does (feeding/watering/less/more?). Hard to say without knowing how much this person actually interacts with spiders on a regular basis and your trust level in them. Even if they manage to pull sac without harming it or mom, what if they don't incubate them correctly or there is some other complication? Would you rather that or the consequences of it sitting there a few more days? Food for thought.
 

louise f

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If spider sitter is uncertain I would wait until you get back. Not sure how much your sitter normally does (feeding/watering/less/more?). Hard to say without knowing how much this person actually interacts with spiders on a regular basis and your trust level in them. Even if they manage to pull sac without harming it or mom, what if they don't incubate them correctly or there is some other complication? Would you rather that or the consequences of it sitting there a few more days? Food for thought.
If you are leaving a sac that mom already have left alone and you dont take it, there is still a chance that she will eat it. So it is a little 50/50 what you do.
But she could ask the sitter for pics how they are incubating them, or she could post some incubator vids of how to do it :)
 

Sana

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If spider sitter is uncertain I would wait until you get back. Not sure how much your sitter normally does (feeding/watering/less/more?). Hard to say without knowing how much this person actually interacts with spiders on a regular basis and your trust level in them. Even if they manage to pull sac without harming it or mom, what if they don't incubate them correctly or there is some other complication? Would you rather that or the consequences of it sitting there a few more days? Food for thought.
My spider sitter is my significant other so he's used to them being around and he can do the basics (feed, water) just fine. Most of the pokies in our house are considered to be his but I generally do most of the work with them since the bulk of the collection is mine. He helps with rehouses and he's been present for all the steps of this breeding project so far. The breeding setup is technically mine though and he draws the line at doing things for me in that regard. He really doesn't want to have to pull this sac. I think it's mostly concern that something will be wrong and he'll feel responsible. I think it's hilarious that he's perfectly relaxed about working with his pokies but he's scared of my egg sac.

The news (I think good) is that mommy went back to the sac late last night. We had decided to hold off for a few hours and see what she did. I'm still pretty anxious that something isn't quite right. And as @louise f reminded me, it's a 50/50 whether or not she's going to eat that sac. We're in a holding pattern this morning. This is the first time in a while that I have had a panicked keeper moment and I'm not enjoying it at all. I'm hoping that this is an instance of the tarantula knowing how to be a tarantula better then me and everything will be just fine. Unless something changes in the next few hours we're going to leave the sac with mom for the time being. I would honestly rather pull it now since I know that the incubator and actually removing the sac isn't complicated but for the moment I'm letting the other half avoid.
 

louise f

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I think it's hilarious that he's perfectly relaxed about working with his pokies but he's scared of my egg sac.
It is actually quite funny, thinking of that it is a Avicularia sac :D i could have understood if it was a Haplopelma sac:eek::D

I really hope everything goes well :)
 

Trenor

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I can understand him being apprehensive on the grounds of if things go badly he'll be at fault. If it were me I'd still pull it though. The sooner you know if something is wrong the better chance you have to try and fix/reduce the problem. If there are some bad eggs with mold the sooner you know and separate them the better.

I hope everything goes well too. I've followed this breeding thread so close I feel some suspense/apprehension in all this myself. Best of luck and I hope it goes well.
 

Sana

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Thanks guys. I'm on the same page as @louise f. I think it's hilarious that he's so afraid of an avic sac. I'm told they are one of the easiest species to work with as far as breeding. She's easy to work with anyway, always has been. I'm really hoping not to have to drive a hundred miles home to deal with things to drive a hundred miles back late tonight or super early tomorrow.
 

Sana

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So she's currently sitting next to the egg sac but not hugging it like she was before. At the moment we are proceeding with the plan of leaving it with her. Does the update on her behavior set off alarm bells with anyone? Any reassurances?
 

louise f

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So she's currently sitting next to the egg sac but not hugging it like she was before. At the moment we are proceeding with the plan of leaving it with her. Does the update on her behavior set off alarm bells with anyone? Any reassurances?
I am still a little worried that she might is going to eat it. Since she just have put it down, there is still a chance that she does it.
Well nothing is certain for sure, but still i would be worried.
I would have taken it, better than you might end up with no babies. Just IMO
 

Sana

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I'm leaning rapidly back toward pulling it. I have to see if I can get the other half to do it though.
 

Poec54

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I'm leaning rapidly back toward pulling it. I have to see if I can get the other half to do it though.

Pull it. She's doing nothing for it now. They discard/abandon sacs when a few eggs/sling start to decay, gives off a bad smell. There could still be live slings inside. You have nothing to gain by leaving it with her and everything to lose.

Put it in a 16 oz deli cup with tiny (literally) pin holes for ventilation to keep small flies out. Set it on a slightly moist paper towel in the bottom of the cup. Gently tear it open and pour out the contents to see what's going on. There could be a few dead eggs/slings that will mold and spread to others. Remove the dead ones ASAP.
 

Sana

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Pull it. She's doing nothing for it now. They discard/abandon sacs when a few eggs/sling start to decay, gives off a bad smell. There could still be live slings inside. You have nothing to gain by leaving it with her and everything to lose.

Put it in a 16 oz deli cup with tiny (literally) pin holes for ventilation to keep small flies out. Set it on a slightly moist paper towel in the bottom of the cup. Gently tear it open and pour out the contents to see what's going on. There could be a few dead eggs/slings that will mold and spread to others. Remove the dead ones ASAP.
Glad to see you here. We're in the process of setting up to video chat so I can coach my poor other half through pulling the sac and getting it set up in the incubator.
 

Sana

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So we pulled the sac. I'm going to post the pictures that I'm seeing and ask a couple questions. One picture shows a pile of shriveled looking eggs, one is any that look blackish, and the last one is five of what I believe look like good eggs but no legs. Can someone confirm for me that what I'm seeing is five eggs total that look good? I had my partner separate them into three piles that don't touch each other and leave them all in the incubator for the moment.

Edit: Oh heck I forgot to summon @YagerManJennsen to the thread
 

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