To feed, or not to feed

[rknralf]

It appears as though my Pterinchilus murinus (Usambara) has laid eggs and has webbed herself and the egg sac fully in. There doesn't appear to be any entry/exit, and the webbing is fully closed.
My question is whether or not to introduce food into the tank? I don't want her to go hungry, but at the same time, I don't want to introduce any stress.
Also concerning water. I keep her water dish full and mist away from the web to keep the humidity up, but what should be done for water.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Ralph

 

[Immortal_sin]

I think I put one cricket in, the whole time mine was incubating her eggs.
I don't think she even ate it, but I can't remember.
Just make sure there is a full water dish, she will be fine.
Mine was quite thin afterwards, so I gave her a thawed mouse, and she's looking quite plump (for an Usambara anyway!) again.

 

[rknralf]

Holley,
Did you mist the webbing/tank at all? I've heard the incubation period is around 70 days and that seems like a long time to go without water.

 

[Immortal_sin]

no, if she wants water, she'll come out and get it from her water bowl
Misting will just piss her off
And believe me, she can come out of that webbing so fast it will make your head spin!
If you mist, then stay away from the webbing, you don't want water on the eggs. And it only takes about 30 days to first instar (at least that was my experience)
Once they are out and crawling on the web, you probably want to separate them out. They *probably* won't disperse for awhile, but I'd rather be safe than have a bunch of them running loose!
I covered the KK top with saran wrap to keep humidity in a bit more while she was with her egg sac.

 

[JacenBeers]

Do Usumbaras always have that skinny look? Mine doesnt look unhealthy but it never really seems to fatten up no matter how many crickets it eats.