Hibernating Phidippus audax?

[Ralph]

I have a pair of adult Phidippus audax and several slings that have been doing phenomenally all summer. What I don't know is how to hibernate them... My plan is to put them somewhere cold (but not too cold) and rarely mist to keep them from drying out. I'm especially worried about the slings though, has anyone ever overwintered these?

[Herpetologyfrk]

I have a pair of adult Phidippus audax and several slings that have been doing phenomenally all summer. What I don't know is how to hibernate them... My plan is to put them somewhere cold (but not too cold) and rarely mist to keep them from drying out. I'm especially worried about the slings though, has anyone ever overwintered these?

Well being a saltid member, I wouldn't expect them to live very long regardless.

I've kept Phidippus johnsoni, which we collected from a friends property in Bakersfield Ca. I ended up with a immature male, and a mature male (Which we though was a female when we found it, it was massive for a male) They made it through the winter, and when it warmed up a bit after spring the MM died. The immature male molted out, and died shortly after. Just make sure the slings have a piece of bark/wood to hide under that can hold in a tiny bit of humidity.

Hope this helps! I'd love to see some marco's of these if possible =]

Nick

[Matt K]

I have them living in my house year 'round in a room where the average temp is 83'F. Never hibernate, and they keep reproducing. Not sure where most of them depart to... normally I just find a few mediums/adults or a dozen or so tiny ones. They feed on any roach they can grab from an open bin.... thought I posted a photo at some point.

[Ralph]

Thanks for the info! I'll just keep them normally year-round.