If you are thinking about getting a pet spider, or you have recently gotten your hands on one, then you might be wondering do spiders drink water? The diet of a spider is really important, as they will rely on this to keep healthy and hydrated. Without the correct amount of water, things are going to go terribly wrong.
You will need to make sure that you are providing your pet spider with the right amount of water, and this is really important for their health and growth. We are going to explain everything that you need to know about the hydration needs of a spider in this article.
Knowing what you need to provide your spider with is the key to keeping them alive for as long as they should be, and the information that we are going to provide you with will allow you to do just that.
Do Spiders Drink Water?
Yes, spiders do drink water, and they will drink when they need to, which will work to keep them hydrated. A spider will get a great source of water from its prey, but they will also drink from other sources of water, like morning and evening dew, puddles of water, and more. Drinking water allows the spider to stay both healthy and hydrated, and without access to water, a spider can become easily dehydrated and then die.
Every spider will need to drink water in order to survive, but the amount of water that they need will vary depending on the type of spider and the conditions that they live in. Most of the time, spiders do not need to drink much water, especially those that are bigger in size.
You will need to make sure that your spider has access to a water dish that is clean and contains fresh water. Ideally, you should change this water around once a day. As long as you have a water bowl, your spider will be able to take care of their own hydration. They will simply go to drink from the water bowl when they become thirsty.
Every spider should have access to clean water, and it is your responsibility to provide them with this, as it is one of their basic needs. If you do not currently have a suitable water dish, you can use something like a small container or a water bottle lid until you can get your hands on something more permanent. As long as it can hold water efficiently without leaking, and it isn’t too deep, it will suffice for the time being.
In the wild, spiders will often drink water from puddles that have formed after it has rained, or from dew that has formed on the ground. They may also find a source of water in their webs,
And they can sometimes get water from the humidity in the air. There are some desert spiders that will cover their burrows with a web, and this web will work to catch and keep low amounts of water for them to drink from.
As well as this, there are some spiders that will eat nectar, and others that will eat their webbing in the morning, so they can consume the moisture that has been caught in it. The source of the water will depend on the spider and their environment.
Do Spiders Get Fluid From the Bugs They Eat?
Spiders get the majority of their required water intake from their prey, but this might not always be enough to keep them hydrated. This is why they will often look for an additional source of water to ensure that they remain hydrated. Both spiders in the wild and those that are kept as pets will be able to get water from their prey.
Most spiders that are being kept as pets will be fed around once or twice a week, which will provide them with a great source of water. However, even if this is the case for your spider, they will still need a water bowl to ensure that they always have water available to them for when they need it. Keeping your spider hydrated is really important for their health and survival, and without it, they could become unwell or even die.
How Do Spiders Drink Water?
On the occasion that a spider needs a drink, it will make its way over to a water source and put its legs and pedipalps near or in the water bowl. The front parts that are where the mouth is will be placed down and continue to drink the water. These front parts are called the chelicerae and fangs. Spiders will be able to drink the water by using their muscles to suck up the fluid. This is similar to how a person would suck up water through the use of a straw.
A spider will actually drink water quite slowly, and the process of drinking water can last for several minutes. For bigger species, like tarantulas, the water drinking process can even last for multiple hours. The more dehydrated a spider is, the longer they will drink for. It might look slightly unsettling, like your tarantula has died in their water bowl, but it isn’t always as it seems.
Sometimes, parts of their body will be in the water, and the spider will not move at all, but this is often totally normal and is nothing for you to worry about. It is quite unlikely for a tarantula to drown, given their size, but we will give you more information on this in the next section.
Can a Spider Drown in Its Water Bowl?
A spider can drown in its water bowl in certain circumstances, which is why you will need to know exactly how much water is too much. One of the best ways to decide what kind of water bowl to use is to ensure that it is not bigger than the leg span of the spider. This is due to the fact that smaller spiders can drown in their water bowls.
It is quite unlikely for a tarantula to drown in their water bowl, unless it is much too big for them. This is due to the fact that tarantulas have a hydrophobic cuticle that floats on top of the surface of the water, as they do not break the surface tension. If the water is not deep enough so that it submerges the book lungs of the spider in the water, then your tarantula is probably not in any danger.
So, a tarantula can drown, but it is a highly unlikely occurrence. In the wild, this could happen if they were swept away in a current or got themselves in a similar tricky situation. Though, in a tank, this will not be the case. The spider would have to be either really unwell or somehow unable to escape from the water while their book lungs remained submerged for an extended period of time. Interestingly, tarantulas use very little oxygen, so it would take quite a while for them to drown.
How Long Can a Spider Live Without Water?
A spider can usually go anywhere from a week to 3 weeks without water, though the length of time that they can survive without water will vary from species to species. Some types of spiders will be able to survive for longer periods of time without water than others. For some species, the length of time can be no more than a day without water.
A species like the brown recluse spider will be able to survive for one of the longest periods of time without water. They are typically kept in bigger tanks, and they can go for up to ten months without water and food before they die. Other tarantulas are not as fortunate as this, and will only survive from 1 day to 3 weeks before the end of their lives nears.
Some other things that can affect the length of time that a spider is able to go without water are the temperature and humidity of their environment, the species of spider, how old the spider is, and how well it has been fed. The most important time for a spider to have access to drinking water is when it becomes time for them to molt.
How to Tell if Your Spider is Dehydrated
If your spider does not have any access to water, they will become dehydrated and eventually die. Some of the signs that your spider is dehydrated is if they are undersized and skinny, or if their abdomen has shrunk in size and become shrivelled. A dehydrated spider can also curl up and be very lethargic. Dehydration can become very dangerous, just as with people, which is why it is so important to keep an eye on how much water your spider has. Don’t forget that higher temperatures in the summer can make the water evaporate faster, so you may need to top it up more frequently.
