(Probably) Gravid Female and no Web?

Embers To Ashes

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 14, 2011
Messages
269
*digs out trusty T records*

I recieved a Mature female A. versi on the morning of march 10th. I put her in her enclosure. The mature male A. versi that is set up in the enclosure next to her began drumming emidiatly. About six hours later, I came back to check on them and they where both druming. I oppened the doors to their cages and they bred. It lasted about five mins.

Since then, they have bred a total of three times, the one taking place about two weeks ago being the most succesful with a 30 min hookup and sevral succesful insertions *cursing self for losing original breeding notes with dates* and at least one sperm web has been observed.

The female has not webbed at all. Not a single strand. She apears to be getting fatter, but I am not sure if it is due to eggs in her abdomin. I have been feeding her a few times a week so she dosnt eat my male, and so if she is pregnant she is getting the nutriants she needs, so she could just be realy fat. I have tryed candal lighting but I dont think Im doing it right

Why is there no web and how do I know if shes gravid?
 

captmarga

Arachnobaron
Joined
Mar 31, 2010
Messages
339
I have a big female I've had for over 6 months, supposedly gravid. She sure looks like she should be. I tried to candle her, couldn't tell anything. She's heavy, she's fat, and still no sign of any kind of webbing. She's not in pre-molt.

I also have been in contact with the breeder that got my big A. metallica male on loan. Successful hookups in Nov, I got the male back at New Years. Still, as of last week, no sac.

I understand it can be MONTHS... and am finding it to be oh-so-true.

Marga
 

kenzie

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 9, 2009
Messages
92
Patience

Patience is definitely the key here. They don't need to web until they are ready to lay their eggs. Sometimes they will have a very fast gestation and an egg sac will be produced very soon after mating, and other times it takes months before she feels ready. Every spider is different. Good luck!
 

Embers To Ashes

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 14, 2011
Messages
269
Well, while the site was down *Caughlf, caughlf* she started spinning some web. I felt bad when I had to oppen the door (she built it on the screen) to feed her and change her water. Oh well, she will build it somewhere else now
 

LadySharon

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 27, 2006
Messages
201
Wow I had been thinking of posting a simlar question (this is twice now this has happened.)

Similar situation... but I haven't mated her yet. she is a 4" (at least) A. verci.

she lived in a tall deli cup when smaller - had a tube web in there and refused to come out when I rehoused her to a large T. cages aborial cage. So I left the deli cup in there and she webbed it to the side of the cage and used that as her "base" - she would wonder the larger cage but always be back in her home during the day or if I bugged her


Now That I've moved... she suddenly abandand her web. So I took the opertunity to take her out and throughaly clean ... new substraite everything. I figured she'd web behind the driftwood/grapevine log I have in there. But nooooo... no web.

She's content... she sits on the walls or the log and goes behind the log during the bright periods but she sits out most of the time... great display spider. She grooms herself and eats just fine... catching crix that I drop past her.

I want to mate her but it suddenly occured to me that she may not be webbing out of some weird choice... but because she can't. she has both spinnerettes clearly - just no webbing. I observed her closely last time I fed her. She grabbed the crix I put in front of her and settled on the log (which is vertical btw) and just started munching. No "happy dance" no webbing up the pray... and I have found webbed boluses in the past.

Now nothing. So... do you think I should chance it when a MM comes up or should I wait until she molts again? (not sure of her last molt... I think she shreded it. It would have been last year sometime.

remember this is a spider that should web alot.

Thanks for your time.

And EtA -- Good luck! :)

(with all the verci breedings going on... you'd think they'd drop a little in price... hint hint... ;) )

- Sharon
 

ShadowBlade

Planeswalker
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Messages
2,591
Well, the key to remember here as that the less she is disturbed, the best chance you have. If she's been mating fine, then atleast she's comfortable enough in the setup. Best thing to do is darken the back of the container where she can web her nest as much as possible..and leave her alone.

When she's ready to lay her eggsack, her webbing instincts should kick in, and she should be fine. There's not really anything else you can do to 'induce' webbing, so just try to make her as comfortable as possible.

Now nothing.
Sorry, now are you saying you're not finding any remains from her meals or something?

It sounds like there's alot of observing and watching going on, when realistically she probably just needs to be left alone.. Not saying that's necessarily the problem, just that it couldn't hurt. :)

When I had a A. avic that I bought from a petstore when I first started out, she too wouldn't web a bit.. no matter how many corkbarks and tubes I put in there.. and little did I notice how much time she was spending at night in a little fake plant in the corner. So I stopped messing with her cage for weeks.. She spun her tube web right in that corner..

When I mated her 6 months or so later, she took up residence in the cork tube to lay her sac.. instincts just said it was best I guess :)

-Sean
 

LadySharon

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 27, 2006
Messages
201
Sean, I've had this T for years. she webbed in the past... she just stopped now for some reason. All my t's are now in their own room and so most of the time they are by themselves. (all night and all day while I'm at work.. and generaly most of the evening too as I play games on Fb.) I tend to check on them in the morning and afternoon/evening. I've just gotten lucky to observe her doing things when I walk in. The room is a bit brighter... but she does have a dark courner.

to be honest I havn't found any remains... I'll have to look .. sometimes I've noticed that at certain points of the year or in their molt cycle they eat everything and don't leave remains... she may be stuffing them in a courner though.

My other Avacs are in the same conditions and have nice webs.
 

ShadowBlade

Planeswalker
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Messages
2,591
Sorry, was only going off what I read from the post..

If everything about the enclosure is working for your other avics, (and did for her in the past), then the main determining factor would be how long ago her last molt was.

If it was like last fall or winter, and there's a male open, sure I'd let 'em meet. But if it was much longer ago then that, I wouldn't push it.

-Sean
 
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