Velvet Spider help!

Veno Manus

Arachnobaron
Joined
May 16, 2023
Messages
448
This is our 3rd Velvot and for some reason they keep dieing. Care is pretty on point and have been keeping the conditions pretty accurate to what I've read and been told. We have had 2 sling(ish) pass away and now our sub adult is seeming like its lifeless. Its not in a molt due to a recent molt less than a month ago. Its plump enough to not be malnourished. It gets fed well enough to not suspect any food shorting. About the end of the month my wife will spray a sprits and I mean sprits of mist. Barely enough to really do much but enough. Just struggling with keeping them and ive known them to be pretty sensitive. I hate seeing my wife sad about them having issues due to them being some of her favorite species. Any help or care info would be amazing.
 

goofyGoober99

Arachnoknight
Active Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2023
Messages
194
Aw man that sucks.
I've had mine for around 8 months or so (so still pretty tiny). She lives in a vial of sphagnum moss and eats mainly mealworm chunks and (very) occasionally fruit flies. So far I have done no additional moisture, which seems to be the prevailing recommendation these days.
Screenshot_20241107-154631_Gallery.jpg

@Charliemum you have a solid amount of experience with these guys right? Do you have any advice?
 

Charliemum

Arachnocompulsive
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Mar 5, 2021
Messages
1,376
Aw man that sucks.
I've had mine for around 8 months or so (so still pretty tiny). She lives in a vial of sphagnum moss and eats mainly mealworm chunks and (very) occasionally fruit flies. So far I have done no additional moisture, which seems to be the prevailing recommendation these days.
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@Charliemum you have a solid amount of experience with these guys right? Do you have any advice?
Yes I have kept 7 sp out of the velvets and ladybirds.
First off op I am so sorry for your loss its never nice to loose any spider n my heart goes out to you.

Right down to the spoods.
Set up is pretty simple dry sub sticks leaf litter and moss, really good air flow, I fed mine twice a week as tiny baby's and once a week as adults, I kept no water dish but would offer a droplet of water when it's been unreasonably hot or they have just moulted. I always offered this in the evening to stop the humidity spiking like it would with day heat. Apart from that I leave them alone.
They are more like widows or false widows in my case 😆, the less you faff the better they seem to do , they do stress very easy if messed with constantly, and don't do well in stuffy environments, always give them alot more room then you think they need .

Now down to your individual Lady, there unfortunately isn't much you can do for her except offer her a droplet of water and maybe some prekilled food in the hope she's just a bit dehydrated.
Don't move her or anything stress isn't good for her right now just try to offer her some water and let her be. Hopefully it will do the trick. And please don't blame your self, spiders are complicated beings and we don't truly understand them, lots of things go wrong and unfortunately we won't ever know what the cause was because we know so little about them, and how they work. I have even had a sling come myself that never ate or webbed or moved tbh, little one passed about a week after they came, I bought 5 at the time all the others matured, had np but that 1 just didn't thrive. Care was the same set up was the same, they came from the same seller even, sometimes they just have problems we can't see.
I hope your girl gets better please update us on her progress. Sending hope n well wishes for her and yous ❤
 

Wolfram1

Arachnoprince
Active Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2018
Messages
1,507
i feel like there isn't enough information in that post to answer the question.

what is the ventilation like?

the most common issue is the balance of moisture vs. ventilation and it is also the most common reason for sudden unexplained deaths.

now based on your post you seem to be aware of that and act accordingly, but you haven't included the information to let us judge the situation ourselves.

a picture of the setup and the ventilation would have sufficed.

even if thats not it, it would be important to see the setup in order to form better theories.
 
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DontFearSpiders

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 4, 2025
Messages
11
The food you feed her. Are they wild caught or bought? I'm not sure if this is relevant but it may be a cause if its continuesly. But I'm no expert, so maybe follow Charliemum advice! I hope your spider is okay! 🤞
 
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