My Phidippus audax passed away this morning,, and I don't know why :(

[utahraptor9000]

My Phidippus audax passed away this morning,, and I don't know why . Any advice, help, etc. is much appreciated.

So my poor jumping spider, Boethia, has passed away. I'm pretty devastated as I was/still am quite attached to her. I got her in late September 2023 so I hadn't had her for very long at all.

She seemed fine yesterday when I checked on her to mist her enclosure, she seemed to be energetic and was hopping around. I'm gonna post how I took care of her because I'm assuming she died because of husbandry errors.

She was housed in a 4" x 4" x 7" enclosure that had coco fiber as the substrate as well as leaves, small sticks, and a little tiny magnetic hide that I bought at a reptile expo to give her things to climb on, hide in, and jump on. She was a very active spider during the day and I really enjoyed watching her explore her enclosure. The leaves and sticks had been purchased at my local pet store.

I fed her fruit flies on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Usually about three fruit flies, and I would remove any she didn't eat.

I lightly misted her enclosure with a small spray bottle every morning so she could drink off the sides of the enclosure.

The temperature was about 68-70°F, there was a bad cold snap a few days ago but my house hasn't lost heat or power or anything.

If there's any other information I need to provide, please let me know. I'm feeling pretty awful about this, so I'm hoping at least I know what to correct if I get another jumping spider in the future.

 

[fcat]

I would post a picture of the enclosure, might be a waste of your time but Im not reading anything that stands out. The cold snap maybe but you probably wouldve seen lethargy at least? I'll wait for someone experienced to confirm (I don't keep them because I can't maintain their husbandry requirements).

And...a big and...because they don't live very long. How large was she when you got her? Full grown? If so it may have been nothing but old age.

I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[utahraptor9000]

I would post a picture of the enclosure, might be a waste of your time but Im not reading anything that stands out. The cold snap maybe but you probably wouldve seen lethargy at least? I'll wait for someone experienced to confirm (I don't keep them because I can't maintain their husbandry requirements).

And...a big and...because they don't live very long. How large was she when you got her? Full grown? If so it may have been nothing but old age.

I'm sorry for your loss.

Thank you so much for your response, I appreciate it. She wasn't fully grown (and honestly, I wasn't sure what sex she was, I ended up just defaulting to calling her a she), she was less than a quarter of inch in size including the legs... I'm not the best at judging size, sorry! If I recall correctly, the breeder at the expo I got her at said she was maybe a month old, so she would've been five months or so when she passed.

The cold snap has made the outside temperatures in the 0°F to -10°F range, but the inside of my house is 68°F because I turned the heat on. My A. hentzi doesn't have any excess heat source and seems to be doing fine, although I understand that their needs are different.

 

[jbooth]

Doubt you did anything wrong.Their temp range in the wild is 80F-30F sometimes in the same day, it was probably hydrated fine if you saw it that often and it was eating. Sometimes it just happens. Pics are still good if you want us to really look for something, but honestly it was probably just one that would have not made it in the wild.

 

[Smotzer]

I agree nothing stands out and the a lot of jumping spiders for new folks are WC so it may have just died natural end-of-life cycle death. Sorry for your loss!

 

[radiomace]

She wasn't fully grown (and honestly, I wasn't sure what sex she was, I ended up just defaulting to calling her a she), she was less than a quarter of inch in size including the legs... I'm not the best at judging size, sorry! If I recall correctly, the breeder at the expo I got her at said she was maybe a month old, so she would've been five months or so when she passed.

A month old! That’s really little for them to have given her to you I believe. So kudos on making it that far with her. My only thought could be a lack of moisture with the heat being on?