A.avic killing but not eating after molt. How can I keep him from starving?

[TheSanguineSaint]

To make a long story short I have been consulting folks on this site regarding my T's odd behaviour after a molt. He is able to climb the glass but not eating or drinking, small abdomen as it was burrowed up in substrate for 12 days and then in a hammock web for almost 8 days.We noticed weird twitching and opened up his web and examined him molt was in several pieces but the T looked clean and free of the entire molt. Wondered if it was dks. Husbandry is good but some suggested too much moisture. We tried to feed him as he was doing his hunting behaviour!He quickly chased down and killed both crickets but then just went back and forth to each cricket rolled it around near fangs and then retreated back into its hide.He left them all night and today.I am wondering if it is a stomach /sucking issue. Is this a death sentence for him? I am so worried. He is in a 'safety' box with extra substrate to hopefully prevent injury from climbing and falling in case it starts again, he is also going to the water dish, stopping, putting his feet in and pacing back and forth...Can I do anything to help him please..off to google it. I appreciate any help

 

[Blue Jaye]

How long ago did it molt. How big is the T. It sounds to me like the twitching you saw was the t actually molting. They take time to harden their exoskeleton before they will resume eating. Chasing and killing the cricket just migh be the t keeping itself safe till it’s fully hardened. Can you post pics?

 

[boina]

There is always the possibility that the sucking stomach didn't molt properly. If the tarantula has still at least some reserves in its abdomen it is possible to survive until the next molt. I had that with one of my Pamphos - it didn't eat or drink anything for a whole instar but somehow made it through the next molt and was fine again. I've heard of other tarantulas who were simply too thin after the molt and died from dehydration before the next molt.

 

[miss moxie]

Agreed. Sounds like a sucking stomach problem. I'd increase the ambient temperature if you could to try and trigger a molt.

 

[TheSanguineSaint]

How long ago did it molt. How big is the T. It sounds to me like the twitching you saw was the t actually molting. They take time to harden their exoskeleton before they will resume eating. Chasing and killing the cricket just migh be the t keeping itself safe till it’s fully hardened. Can you post pics?

I am looking for pics and trying to upload the pic/video. He is around 4-5" but his abdomen is smaller than its ever been.
It was 8 days after it finished molting but he stayed webbed into his hammock. We always give our T's around 10 days to harden before disturbing or feeding. We one day noticed him doing this trying to crawl up the side of the inside of the web and stumbling, took him out, examined him in the cup. He continuously tried climbing up the sides but couldn't. He looked as though someone was almost blowing him down and also having random twitching fits. He was free of all of the molt. The molt was in over 9 pieces and hes always done it in 2 pieces. He has now stopped twitching and is able to stay on the side of the container. He killed the crickets which we left all night and today but he didn't eat them. We have been go-pro-ing him 24/7 and in the video he is just pacing back and forth to the dead crickets and water. He picks up the crickets, rolls them and then goes to the other then back to his hide. It is sad! The pic/video are him in his "safety tub"

 

[chanda]

I am looking for pics and trying to upload the pic/video. He is around 4-5" but his abdomen is smaller than its ever been.
It was 8 days after it finished molting but he stayed webbed into his hammock. We always give our T's around 10 days to harden before disturbing or feeding. We one day noticed him doing this trying to crawl up the side of the inside of the web and stumbling, took him out, examined him in the cup. He continuously tried climbing up the sides but couldn't. He looked as though someone was almost blowing him down and also having random twitching fits. He was free of all of the molt. The molt was in over 9 pieces and hes always done it in 2 pieces. He has now stopped twitching and is able to stay on the side of the container. He killed the crickets which we left all night and today but he didn't eat them. We have been go-pro-ing him 24/7 and in the video he is just pacing back and forth to the dead crickets and water. He picks up the crickets, rolls them and then goes to the other then back to his hide. It is sad! The pic/video are him in his "safety tub"

Is there any possibility that it was a mature male before that last molt, and it is one of those rare tarantulas that goes on to to attempt a post-ultimate molt? That could explain the molt being in multiple pieces, the small abdomen, and the difficulty feeding and walking. If so, then it will not live for much longer.

Have you removed the molt from the enclosure - or can you do so without disturbing him too much? If so, take a hand lens and examine the pedipalps to check for emboli. During a post-ultimate molt, the emboli may become trapped in the old exoskeleton and be torn free of the pedipalps.

 

[TheSanguineSaint]

This was Beastie before the above pic is him now...his abdomen is half of the size of his carapace. He's almost frantic hunting around and going back to his crickets....if only there were a way I could feed him. He was so webbed up and burrowed before that for a total of 20 days. Bah he has such a beautiful temperament and is a gorgeous webber and just a lovely T

 

[TheSanguineSaint]

Is there any possibility that it was a mature male before that last molt, and it is one of those rare tarantulas that goes on to to attempt a post-ultimate molt? That could explain the molt being in multiple pieces, the small abdomen, and the difficulty feeding and walking. If so, then it will not live for much longer.

Have you removed the molt from the enclosure - or can you do so without disturbing him too much? If so, take a hand lens and examine the pedipalps to check for emboli. During a post-ultimate molt, the emboli may become trapped in the old exoskeleton and be torn free of the pedipalps.

It was addressed earlier when I was explaining my husbandry trying to find out what might be causing dks if he was possibly a MM. We have never been able to properly sex a molt due to it always being torn or macerated into 2 pieces right at the epigastric furrow. Plus hes a fast bugger and trying to get him to get a clear pic has been a challenge. We took the molt out when we examined the T to see if he had indeed fully molted. I found 9 pieces and it was a mess. but i just looked and didn't see any emboli in the molt or hooks on him. Great thinking though ty for the suggestion. I want to rule out everything I can. I am messaging spider experts to see if they have any suggestions and they say so sorry nothing you can do...I wish there was a way I could give him a sub-q injection or force feed him like I have been able to do with my guinea pigs. Poor thing.Thanks again for your suggestion.

 

[Blue Jaye]

It was addressed earlier when I was explaining my husbandry trying to find out what might be causing dks if he was possibly a MM. We have never been able to properly sex a molt due to it always being torn or macerated into 2 pieces right at the epigastric furrow. Plus hes a fast bugger and trying to get him to get a clear pic has been a challenge. We took the molt out when we examined the T to see if he had indeed fully molted. I found 9 pieces and it was a mess. but i just looked and didn't see any emboli in the molt or hooks on him. Great thinking though ty for the suggestion. I want to rule out everything I can. I am messaging spider experts to see if they have any suggestions and they say so sorry nothing you can do...I wish there was a way I could give him a sub-q injection or force feed him like I have been able to do with my guinea pigs. Poor thing.Thanks again for your suggestion.

Try smashing some crickets up and add a bit of water. Cricket soup. If there is something wrong with his fangs or sucking stomach this might help get him nutrition and water. I too was going to ask about molting after maturing. If there’s any way you can get pics of his under side it might be helpful. He could still be recovering from the molt though. Sometimes bigger Ts just need more time after the molt. Also have you sprayed anything in the house or scented candles? This could be a possible cause. Just shooting out some thoughts trying to help.

 

[ediblepain]

Are his fangs intact? Broken fangs can interfere with a Ts ability to eat.

 

[TheSanguineSaint]

Bitter-sweet news!!! Last night I spent ages piecing together the 9 chunks of molt. I saw that there were tiny bulbs on his legs. He was holed up in his web and a burrow for almost 20 days which was odd for him but also explains why we didnt see the tiny bulbs. So it looks like all his issues are related to a rare MM molt (that was a tough one for him) after his last final molt. I read and was told that this can happen. So he had been pacing back and forth from dead cricket to dead cricket to his water dish but just picking the cricket up then dropping it again. Well after a full day and night I removed the crickets. Around 2 am I found him finally able to climb and so I thoughId try to feed him again. Well he snatched that cricket up and scarfed it and did a happy dance!! Maybe he will survive this episode!! It stinks if he is a MM but at least hes not suffering. Also lesson learned here. We were told that he was a juvenile when we bought him. I have been keeping T's for years but always had slings that grew. I learned so much and that you dont age a T by years you age it by size and physical properties if possible. For eg. Does the T have bulbs and hooks(we were told that he was a suspect female)...anyway I hope this means hes out of the woods and the twitching wont come back. He can just live out the rest of his days doing a happy dance and sitting on his plants.Thanks again. I am so greatful for these boards

 

[Ungoliant]

Bitter-sweet news!!! Last night I spent ages piecing together the 9 chunks of molt. I saw that there were tiny bulbs on his legs. He was holed up in his web and a burrow for almost 20 days which was odd for him but also explains why we didnt see the tiny bulbs. So it looks like all his issues are related to a rare MM molt (that was a tough one for him) after his last final molt.

Are you saying he was a mature male and then molted? To survive that is a rare gift. Enjoy your old man; he deserves to live on easy street after that.

 

[TheSanguineSaint]

Are you saying he was a mature male and then molted? To survive that is a rare gift. Enjoy your old man; he deserves to live on easy street after that.

I have kept T's for over 8 years and never had a bad molt or any other problems so this was a shocker and very rough for him. I honestly didnt even know this could happen. Good learning experience for sure!!!! He is atm sitting on top of his favorite plant digesting! He gave us a happy dance too which thrilled us. Poor old guy has had a rough go...so glad he looks to be resting.

 

[Ungoliant]

I have kept T's for over 8 years and never had a bad molt or any other problems so this was a shocker and very rough for him. I honestly didnt even know this could happen.

Most mature males, if they attempt a post-ultimate molt, die in the process.

 

[Blue Jaye]

I’ve got a bit of experience with post ultimate molts. It’s happened to 6 males so far over the years. Last year I hade two G.porteri males do it at the same time. All died during or shortly after the molt. Except one he lived another year and a half. It was the strangest experience. He was missing a pedipalp and was a bit deformed but he ate like crazy and had lots of energy all the time. He literally ate twice a week till he passed.

 

[TheSanguineSaint]

Well in all my years, I know 8 years is nothing compared to some, Ive never had a T have a bad molt or experienced dks etc. This has been such a learning process. I now know that I cant go by years for age that I need to go by size. I also now know as much as I think I can about dks as info is so limited and school of thought on the subject is varied. I also now know there is such a thing as a post ultimate molt. I hope like you Beastie will be able to have a good chunk of time before he goes. He was our first arboreal and a real delight to keep. Such a nice temperment really. He ate another 2 crickets tonight. He wouldnt stop his "hunting" so I tried and he scarfed 2 more and even did another happy dance lol. He amazes me. He also has taught my 16 year old daughter a world of info. He was her first T, I just oversaw everything. She intro'ed him to all her friends and a Grandma who now thinks T's arent so bad. She kept excellent records and conditions and didnt miss a beat in our 1 1/2 years with him. Who knew a T could do so much in such little time. I have loved T's a very long time but admire this fellow more than any! I hope his remaining time with us will be a little bit longer. Having any time in this post ultimate molt situation is a gift!