Golden Orb Weaver “ICU”??

[Randi]

Help!
Last night’s Hurricane Nate decimated “our” backyard orb weaver’s web.
I finally spotted her, huddled in a corner on our back porch.

I noticed later that she was beginning to
list to the side & looked like she was about to just fall.

I couldn’t find anything about how to help a traumatized spider. I did see information for the tarantula ICU... would that work for my
backyard friend??

I think she needs a nice quiet place torecuperate.... and she may need sustenance too, but she doesn’t look interested in prey.

Any ideas?

 

[chanda]

She is beautiful! I hope you are able to save her.

I don't think a tarantula ICU will help, though. The purpose of the ICU is to rehydrate a dehydrated spider, but I doubt that's her problem. A small, stuffy enclosure is probably the last thing she needs right now.

It is possible, in a large storm, that she suffered physical trauma from getting banged around by the wind or pounded by rain, in which case there really isn't much that can be done for her. If she's just a little waterlogged and shaken up, time and peace and quiet are the best things for her. While it would be nice to feed her, she probably won't eat until she's had the chance to relax a bit and rebuild her web. Orb weavers tend not to take prey unless it is caught in their webs - and many species that make the larger webs will not make functional webs in captivity, either because the enclosures are too small or don't have the correct air flow and attachment points or just because the spiders are too stressed. I've brought various orb weavers into my classroom and the majority of them (particularly the Eriophora and Araneus species) just sit in a corner of the enclosure and sulk, so I release them back into the wild after a day or two.

The best thing you can do for her right now is probably just to leave her alone while she recovers from the storm.

 

[Randi]

Oh dear.
I would at least like to give her a “safe space” so that she can rest & get her strength back.... if at all possible. (But I don’t want to traumatize her more than she already had been )

So is it most advisable that I just leave her alone? (I so want to help her)

 

[chanda]

Oh dear.
I would at least like to give her a “safe space” so that she can rest & get her strength back.... if at all possible. (But I don’t want to traumatize her more than she already had been )

So is it most advisable that I just leave her alone? (I so want to help her)

As long as the place she is currently huddling is out-of-the-way where she won't be stepped on or otherwise disturbed by people or pets, your best bet is to just leave her there and spare her the added trauma of being caught and relocated. If she's in a high-activity location, of course, it's better to move her than to allow her to be accidentally squished.

 

[The Snark]

And keep in mind, it's the end of the year. She may abandon the web soon and go lay an egg sac, real or phantom. But as @chanda said, the very last thing she want is to be disturbed. End of year + traumatized then dusturbed=give up the ghost.

BTW, it's unlikely she will build a new web this late in the year, or even repair what's there. Her energy is directed to other things.

 

[Ungoliant]

BTW, it's unlikely she will build a new web this late in the year, or even repair what's there. Her energy is directed to other things.

It really depends on the local climate. In the tropical parts of their range, Nephila clavipes can live for 2-3 years. It's freezing weather that kills them farther north.

Still, there is not much you can do but wait and hope.

 

[The Snark]

It really depends on the local climate.

Yes. Thanks for the reminder. We have so damn many myna's around here right now, what nephs there are rarely make it into the second year. Myna's, the sewer rat of birds.

 

[Ungoliant]

Yes. Thanks for the reminder. We have so damn many myna's around here right now, what nephs there are rarely make it into the second year. Myna's, the sewer rat of birds.

Our "winters" get cold enough to kill them, but I have noticed a drastic decline in the local population since they began spraying for mosquitoes.

 

[Randi]

It really depends on the local climate. In the tropical parts of their range, Nephila clavipes can live for 2-3 years. It's freezing weather that kills them farther north.

Still, there is not much you can do but wait and hope.

Well it’s still in the 80’s and muggy here. It’s often in the 70’s on Christmas!

If she doesn’t build another web, what other things will she be focusing on?

She made it through the night.... but she’s just sitting up under an eave. It’s storming again today. I’d imagine she’d hungry, but now she’s got no web to catch a meal.

 

[The Snark]

Nephs can go for weeks without food. They dial down the metabolism to near entropy automatically. Can go several months during the winter without food.

This is about the time of year, now through December, when the females abandon their webs, lay eggs (or phantom sacs) then find a secluded spot and go dormant.
The gal in that pic has one bulging abdomen. Either porked out or full of eggs. She might end up looking for a secluded patch of dirt to lay the eggs.

 

[Ungoliant]

If she doesn’t build another web, what other things will she be focusing on?

As long as the weather is warm, she will likely eventually build a web, but there is no guarantee she will rebuild in the same place.

Also keep an eye peeled for egg sacs. Sometimes they attach them to protected spots on porches. (In nature, you generally find them hidden not far from the web. The ones I've seen have been under leaves.)