Wild caught Hogna Carolinesis wolf spider

JulieBeans

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 12, 2019
Messages
2
Hi,

I caught a Hogna carolinensis about a month ago and he is spending all of his time trying to get out of the cage. He's in a tank that should hold around 10 gal or so and has soil from outside as his substrate. I've decorated his cage many different ways (rocks, loose dried leaves, barren, made several types of caves and even dug a burrow for him) and he seems to just want to leave..

He follows the light from the window next to his enclosure and attempts to crawl "though" the glass. I tried putting a reptile light on his cage and he seems to enjoy that at night but when there is daylight he continues chasing the sunlight. I've gone as far in my experimenting as blocking out all sunlight and leaving the light on above his cage, dead center facing straight down, and he just picks a corner and tries to crawl up the glass.

He eats about 1 to 2 crickets a week. I just put a plant heat mat under his cage as it has been cold with winter approaching; hopefully that helps..?

Another thing I noticed, is he's balding on his butt and a little bit on the tops of his legs.. when I caught him he had hair, but was starving and extremely skinny. I fed him as many bugs as he wanted and he gained his weight back and he became a lot more active.. then about 2.5 weeks ago he started the balding. He eats mainly crickets.

I have no idea how to upload pictures to this thread as I just joined. If I am able to figure it out I'll try to put them in the comments. Any suggestions on how to make him happier? I love having him, but don't want him to feel like a prisoner! Help!

Thanks for your time

-Julia
 

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Liquifin

Arachnoking
Active Member
Joined
May 30, 2017
Messages
2,110
Sounds like he is a mature male and is searching for a mate this time around since it is breeding season. He doesn't sound like he's going to live much longer based on how you describe him. Mature male spiders technically don't live long after maturity with their main focus is finding a mate for their legacy before death. If it is truly a mature male I would release him to make sure he gets a chance to breed before he passes.
 

JulieBeans

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 12, 2019
Messages
2
Wow I had no idea. Thank you. That really sucks, I'm super bummed out but I'll release him in the morning. Maybe I'll be able to buy one online? It's a bummer but I'd rather release him than hold him hostage considering that. Thank you.
Sounds like he is a mature male and is searching for a mate this time around since it is breeding season. He doesn't sound like he's going to live much longer based on how you describe him. Mature male spiders technically don't live long after maturity with their main focus is finding a mate for their legacy before death. If it is truly a mature male I would release him to make sure he gets a chance to breed before he passes.
 

loxoscelesfear

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 13, 2006
Messages
1,096
If it is a mature male, it only has one goal in mind: seek out a mate. Once mature, males will wander about until they find a female or die trying. Your set-up is fine. Look for a female caro. They live longer.
 

wolfs79

Arachnolord
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 24, 2012
Messages
645
I agree he's going to just continue to roam find him a female:)
 
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