Spider Keeping Troubles

Flurff

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 21, 2019
Messages
25
So I posted some time ago, asking about T. domestica care, since I had caught one in my living room, but unfortunately the spider (I named her Ella) died within a few days from a bad molt.

Now, I caught another spider, (and named her Harlequinn) an American House Spider (Parasteatoda tepidariorum) and she did a lot better, webbing up the place and everything. I spent an evening watching her, fascinated, as she drank the water I had misted in the enclosure. But one night I found her dead. I got really discouraged, but I figured that since they were small, they were more fragile, and that my enclosure (a glass jar with a mesh top) wasn't the best. So I went to the dollar store and got a plastic enclosure, punched some holes in it, and was ready to try again with another spider.

Finally we come to a few weeks ago, when I found and adult female T. domestica (who I named Muffet) in my cupboards. I put her in the enclosure with food, water, and some anchor points for webs. She ate a waxworm and was doing great, though she didn't web up very much. Then on Saturday morning, I found her dead at the bottom of the enclosure.
What am I doing wrong? Is this common for wild caught spiders?
 

Flurff

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 21, 2019
Messages
25
One can only speculate. It's possible each of the spiders you found just happened to have issues unrelated to your care, though that seems unlikely unless there are pesticides in use around the home.




Not in my experience.
The perimeter of my house was sprayed with Sevin last fall, but other than that I don't know of any pesticides being sprayed.

Essentially, you're saying that it's impossible to really tell if it's my keeping or something else that's killing them?
 

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
11,044
The perimeter of my house was sprayed with Sevin last fall, but other than that I don't know of any pesticides being sprayed.
Look no further. Carbaryl is a highly persistent environmentally invasive toxin. It will be in the local spiders food supply chair.
 

ArachoRanch

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 13, 2020
Messages
5
Don't give up. Think of it as protective care rather than captive care. I have many rescued Parasteatoda tepidariorum females in boxes without lids where they prefer to stay for their entire lives, some bred in boxes, though free to go whenever they want. Not only do they stay and thrive but males come INTO the boxes to mate. Make sure your water is clean and fresh. Use a spray bottle that is kept very clean and is not repurposed, as chemicals from prior contents can have leached into the plastic and out again into your water. I use glass bottles dedicated to this purpose. Following Snark's caution, you can purchase a food supply online like ladybugs or dubia roaches. They will keep in the fridge for months, which sure beats having to go out and capture bugs, though a steady diet of these bugs could be unwholesome depending on what they have been fed and how appropriate they are for the age and species you are feeding them to. You will learn what works. "My" spiders have very assertive individual preferences and markedly different behaviors. Learn what you can from reading and asking but also learn from your spiders. Keeping a log can help here so that you can compare facts when memory fails. I have a log with daily remarks about events, behaviors, questions, and the occasional indulgence in anthropomorphism. I also keep quick reference charts with feeding, watering, mating, egg sacs, hatching, etc. so I can compare and update without having to ransack the ramblings of my daily log.
 

Veles

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jul 20, 2017
Messages
404
So I posted some time ago, asking about T. domestica care, since I had caught one in my living room, but unfortunately the spider (I named her Ella) died within a few days from a bad molt.

Now, I caught another spider, (and named her Harlequinn) an American House Spider (Parasteatoda tepidariorum) and she did a lot better, webbing up the place and everything. I spent an evening watching her, fascinated, as she drank the water I had misted in the enclosure. But one night I found her dead. I got really discouraged, but I figured that since they were small, they were more fragile, and that my enclosure (a glass jar with a mesh top) wasn't the best. So I went to the dollar store and got a plastic enclosure, punched some holes in it, and was ready to try again with another spider.

Finally we come to a few weeks ago, when I found and adult female T. domestica (who I named Muffet) in my cupboards. I put her in the enclosure with food, water, and some anchor points for webs. She ate a waxworm and was doing great, though she didn't web up very much. Then on Saturday morning, I found her dead at the bottom of the enclosure.
What am I doing wrong? Is this common for wild caught spiders?
it is quite likely that the place you are keeping your spider in, or even the whole house is compromised by some sort of toxic chemical substance.
One of my wolf spiders died like that because of window cleaning liquid being sprayed near her enclosure.


wild-caught food can also be hazardous sometimes.
 

ArachoRanch

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 13, 2020
Messages
5
Veles, thank you posting for your caution about window spray specifically and other chemicals in general. What have you learned about the potential hazards of wild-caught food?
 

Veles

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jul 20, 2017
Messages
404
Veles, thank you posting for your caution about window spray specifically and other chemicals in general. What have you learned about the potential hazards of wild-caught food?
In theory it is a simple concept. Wild caught food can carry both internal and external parasites (like mites). And can even be contaminated by pesticides. As some wild caught insects might have had developed a level of immunity to the toxins and still carry them in their body.

Your spider sadly has no such immunity and could very much die from consuming them.
 

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
11,044
The perimeter of my house was sprayed with Sevin
Sevin, Carbaryl, is a perimeter persistent barrier. That's why it was formulated. It is used as a long term pest killer for any invert coming into the house. Persistent enough to be suspect in hive collapse. It keeps on killing for a long time, allowing it to have a broad effect on the at large environment. This is why it is banned in many European countries.
 

Crone Returns

Arachnoangel
Joined
Mar 22, 2016
Messages
990
Sevin, Carbaryl, is a perimeter persistent barrier. That's why it was formulated. It is used as a long term pest killer for any invert coming into the house. Persistent enough to be suspect in hive collapse. It keeps on killing for a long time, allowing it to have a broad effect on the at large environment. This is why it is banned in many European countries.
Nasty crap.
 

Flurff

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 21, 2019
Messages
25
Sevin, Carbaryl, is a perimeter persistent barrier. That's why it was formulated. It is used as a long term pest killer for any invert coming into the house. Persistent enough to be suspect in hive collapse. It keeps on killing for a long time, allowing it to have a broad effect on the at large environment. This is why it is banned in many European countries.
That's nasty stuff...
Ugh, if I had known that, I wouldn't have let them spray it. :( That's what I get for just blindly trusting without doing research.
 
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