Orb weaver not eating

[Moonfall]

I have a very large orb weaver female, she's twice the size of my black widow spider, and she has been a GREAT eater from day one. Very aggressive about her food and with a very sticky web.

But this past month she has completely stopped eating. It is mid winter here. Her web is also not sticky anymore, it is much like my widow's web (For whatever reason hers isn't very good at grabbing) and it is impossible to get things in there. I've gotten food to finally stick though at least twice and I never see it taken, it just eventually wiggles free of the web and lives on the cage floor until it dies.

She has never laid an eggsack and is certainly big enough to have one, but my widow eats more when she gets ready to lay a sack (She's looking ready now I expect one in a week or two), not starves herself. The weaver has not lost any weight at all during this.

Should I worry? And are there any ways to get her hungry again? Or do I just wait it out?

 

[Silberrücken]

What Orbweaver is it?

 

[Moonfall]

I think Genus Neoscona.

They are all quite similar I'm afraid. She's large, not hairy at all,sort of a tan. Very pretty IMO, striped legs also.

---------- Post added 01-19-2013 at 12:48 AM ----------

She died.

My baby died.

I am so upset it's not even funny.

 

[Silberrücken]

I am sorry to hear that. My condolences...

 

[Moonfall]

Thank you..she must have quit eating because she was ready to go..here they are seasonal..she must have figured out it was winter.

 

[zonbonzovi]

I'm surprised she lasted much longer after the offspring hatched. I still have a sac that I hope will hatch come spring. They are really abundant on the basalt cliffs west of where you are in case you want a future replacement

 

[Moonfall]

I definitely do, I was very attached..next year I think I will.

 

[Ciphor]

Most Orb weavers have seasonal life cycles so they don't often live over 12 months unless you feed them sparingly.

About the sticky web: Orb weavers, and black widows for this example, do not actually have sticky silk so to speak, but rather a sticky silk like protein that they can attach to prey in the case of black widows; and attach to normal silk in the case of orb weavers. As she was nearing the end, she likely didn't have the strength to produce the sticky stuff.

Sticky beads attached to silk


Black widows can release a significant amount of this sticky protein. I know with mine, I can easily get them to dispense it if I poke her with something. They never use it on the web though, just on prey.