What's Going On With My Black Widow?

[dankmemelord]

I tried to feed my spider, but it wont eat (though I am feeding it around a day early). My spider won't move around much. Could it be molting? I found black things on its web that may be parts of its exoskeleton.

 

[The Snark]

How do I feed thee, let me count the problems
1. Not hungry
2. Molting or molt issues (Absolutely nothing you can do about this. Any action you take could easily disrupt things further)
3. Bored of the same old meal.
4. Environment. Change of temperature or humidity can cause.
5. None of the above.
Latrodectus can live for months without eating. Keep environment stable and undisturbed including nocturnal-diurnal cycles. Giving her a week or two or even a month and trying different foods won't do any harm.

 

[dankmemelord]

Thank you!

 

[NYAN]

Can you add a photo of the spider and the things that you describe please? Latrodectus are generally good eaters unless something is wrong, they are absolutely full, or they are premolt.

 

[Tarantula155]

Can you add a photo of the spider and the things that you describe please? Latrodectus are generally good eaters unless something is wrong, they are absolutely full, or they are premolt.

Or old age.

 

[dankmemelord]

Can you add a photo of the spider and the things that you describe please? Latrodectus are generally good eaters unless something is wrong, they are absolutely full, or they are premolt.

I don't know how old it is. Some things happened recently (an earthquake) that rearranged the twigs inside the habitat quite a bit and damaged a few webs. Could this lead to stress for the spider? Also, the last time I fed her was last week. Thank you all for your help.

 

[Tarantula155]

Do you provide it water? Mist the sides of the enclosure ever so often or leave a large cap (as a dish) with water at all times.

If her web was messed with, she's not ready to eat. Give her a few days. Widows can go a long time without eating.

 

[NYAN]

I don’t see much of a web. Give it a week to build one. There’s no issue with it not eating for a week. Some of my widows get fed every 2-3 weeks.

 

[dankmemelord]

Do you provide it water? Mist the sides of the enclosure ever so often or leave a large cap (as a dish) with water at all times.

If her web was messed with, she's not ready to eat. Give her a few days. Widows can go a long time without eating.

Thank you! But I do mist it every other day. Or should I change how often I do it?

I don’t see much of a web. Give it a week to build one. There’s no issue with it not eating for a week. Some of my widows get fed every 2-3 weeks.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[NYAN]

Thank you! But I do mist it every other day. Or should I change how often I do it?

Way too often. I don’t mist the webs of most of my spiders. Once a month very lightly is all you would need. This is L. hesperus right?