Is my wolf spider impacted? Her abdomen keeps growing + she "wore" something on her spinnerets

[spoper]

It started mid June, I noticed she had what looked like a piece of dirt on her spinnerets:



I can't help but think her abdomen is now massive, and the dirt piece is gone since:


Is she impacted? Or just close to molting? Or too old?
I've had her since January, hasn't molted once. She previously laid eggs overnight but ate them, towards the end of May. Is the dirt piece near her spinnerets a sign of anything or just a coincidence?
Thank you

 

[fcat]

It sure looks that way.

Any chance she would tolerate a light brushing with a wet q tip?

 

[spoper]

I think she's rather shy but I can try. What do I do exactly?

 

[fcat]

Try to dislodge the hardened clump. You can be generous with the water, you won't drown her. May help to bump the soil moisture levels up a bit in advance if you have the ventilation to support it.

Until she's no longer acting normal I wouldn't get too aggressive with the attempts. If she takes a dive you can suspect impaction. Not sure if these guys are known the double clutch, she could just be premolt, but if it is impaction it will be most likely be fatal, so an attempt is justified.

 

[spoper]

Hmm. Do you mean the dirt piece by "lump"? It's no longer attached to her spinnerets, I think it was there for maybe a day or two.

She's acting totally normal by the way, walking around, climbing things, she ate 5 days ago, her appetite/aggression was the same as always.
I always make sure she has water in a lil cup, and there is a live jade plant in her enclosure where I wet the soil every now and then.

I'll keep a close eye on her! I hope she'll be okay, she's such a lively little thing.

 

[fcat]

Yes I did, the brown dried egg or poop or whatever material it was. Glad to hear it's gone...that's about the extent of what you can do. Now let's hope for a successful molt. Definitely don't feed her any more until she does.

 

[spoper]

Thank you for the advice. I hope for the best! She's my third wolfie, the previous two both died of a bad molt. It's either really bad luck or I was doing something wrong I always caught it too late, they both molted overnight (one was already dead, the other dying. Tried to rehydrate her but she died shortly after). I hope I catch her molting if that's what's coming, though not sure what I could actually do to help her through it. Fingers crossed she will be fine!

 

[fcat]

I would post pictures of your enclosure, and a quick rundown of your husbandry that you didn't already cover (without scrolling up, temperature for example)

I once read here, "two points is a line, three is a pattern," or something like that and I think about it a lot lol. But on a serious note, two bad molts would send me on a tirade looking for an answer... I'd want the pros picking apart my enclosure and husbandry to make sure it didn't happen to anyone else.

 

[spoper]

This is my enclosure. I'm in a pretty hot climate if that matters, 37C/98F these days outdoors, indoors 24C/75F and around 50% humidity.
What other info is relevant here? Thank you

 

[TheraMygale]

Do these spiders need moisture in the substrate? Or some? Your substrate looks dry.

 

[spoper]

I do not know whether they need moisture, but going off the climate here, I wouldnt think so; throughout summer here, things are so dry that the grass goes completely yellow. These days the temp here doesnt go below 25C/77F even in the night. It's very very hot and dry. Surely in such a climate they wouldnt thrive the way they do if they needed more moisture? But either way, I really don't know - can't hurt to add more moisture right? What's a good way to do that (spray?) and how do I make sure I dont overdo it?

Just as I was writing this, I saw her do something with her spinnerets, it's very hard to describe but it looked like the two little things there rubbed against each other and there was something white inside/between them. Didn't look like pooping, I saw her poop once, she shot a little ball of bright goo, but this was different. I wonder what it was (she wasnt webbing I dont think).
Thank you

 

[TheraMygale]

I do not know whether they need moisture, but going off the climate here, I wouldnt think so; throughout summer here, things are so dry that the grass goes completely yellow. These days the temp here doesnt go below 25C/77F even in the night. It's very very hot and dry. Surely in such a climate they wouldnt thrive the way they do if they needed more moisture? But either way, I really don't know - can't hurt to add more moisture right? What's a good way to do that (spray?) and how do I make sure I dont overdo it?

Just as I was writing this, I saw her do something with her spinnerets, it's very hard to describe but it looked like the two little things there rubbed against each other and there was something white inside/between them. Didn't look like pooping, I saw her poop once, she shot a little ball of bright goo, but this was different. I wonder what it was (she wasnt webbing I dont think).
Thank you

There is always moisture to be found somewhere. Dry hot days end up having cool nights. That is how they survive. They find cooling and moisture in the ground, near water, and at night.

That being said, adding some moisture doesnt mean wetting everything. Just a 1/4 of the enclosure with a bit of moist substrate. And maybe misting very lightly one wall to allow the spider to drink from the wall if it prefers that way better then the bowl. Many spiders collect their water from surfaces. The goal of the misting not being to increase moisture and humidity, just a different access to water.

Even extreme arid species, find darkness and coolness deep in burrows, tree holes etc.

Your spider is in a captive setting. I can only make do with what you give it.

In nature, if things are too dry, it will find shelter and the moisture it needs.

 

[spoper]

Thank you, that makes sense. I will try misting and hope she'll like it!

 

[fcat]

Don't mist, it does not create a stable environment, instead of causes humidity spikes for about 15 minutes. You'd be better off moistening a corner of her enclosure. You want the moisture to be where she needs it, at her book lungs.

 

[TheraMygale]

Don't mist, it does not create a stable environment, instead of causes humidity spikes for about 15 minutes. You'd be better off moistening a corner of her enclosure. You want the moisture to be where she needs it, at her book lungs.

when i say mist lightly, it is to get those tiny droplets of water on the surface. For drinking purproses. You think that, just that, would create to much instability even if its one in a while?

 

[fcat]

when i say mist lightly, it is to get those tiny droplets of water on the surface. For drinking purproses. You think that, just that, would create to much instability even if its one in a while?

As dry as it looks, probably not, but it's bad practice especially without cross ventilation and doesn't last long enough to be effective. You want the moisture to evaporate from the soil.

Edit to clarify - for watering purposes I don't mist, I use a syringe or pour water through a vent hole to target the webbing nearby/underneath. I want a little pool, not a light misting, for drinking purposes. In addition to water dish. And no webbing is off limits. My A genic just molted and hasn't left her molt mat, so I made her a little pool and she drank immediately.

 

[spoper]

I dont currently have a spray bottle I could use for misting anyway, so I just dripped some water in a few places in the enclosure. Some on the soil, some on the rocks so small water droplets formed and stayed.They dry pretty fast in this heat, makes me wonder if I should always have droplets around by doing this every couple of hours?

 

[TheraMygale]

As dry as it looks, probably not, but it's bad practice especially without cross ventilation and doesn't last long enough to be effective. You want the moisture to evaporate from the soil.

Edit to clarify - for watering purposes I don't mist, I use a syringe or pour water through a vent hole to target the webbing nearby/underneath. I want a little pool, not a light misting, for drinking purposes. In addition to water dish. And no webbing is off limits. My A genic just molted and hasn't left her molt mat, so I made her a little pool and she drank immediately.

ok. I think we have same vision. If there is webbing in an enclosure, i drop water through the vents. When no webbing, with a pipette, i try to strategicaly place water drops. Its an art, the water does not always pool as a drop.

That is why sometimes, a spray can leave droplets because of the quickness of the propulsion.

i was trying to make a point about “water droplets”. So i think we are both getting to the same point, only i have a hard time explaining it. Perhaps this way, it is clearer.

@spoper, get a bigger bowl if the water is evaporating to quickly. Dropping water every hour is not going to be a solution for you in the long run. No one has time to that. Especialy those with big collections. Use a big plastic leaf to drop water on it. I think rocks can be to porous.

lower water bowl as much as you can so lid aligns a bit with soil. If that wasnt already done, maybe it will be inviting.

 

[spoper]

I swapped out the water bowl in there for a different one and added an extra. Made sure they are both level with the ground. Hopefully this helps!

 

[spoper]

Just wanted to update this thread, she is now back to normal thank goodness, and seems to be doing well! Now that she slimmed down I fed her and she was ravenous. All is well again it seems!