A. chalcodes Death Curl

[spookyvibes]

Do you have an eyedropper/pipette/syringe? Maybe you could try flipping the tarantula over and dropping water droplets at the base of the chelicerae (mouth). That will essentially force the tarantula to drink and if it is dehydrated, hopefully rehydrate it. I really hope it pulls through for you

 

[scott99]

Do you have an eyedropper/pipette/syringe? Maybe you could try flipping the tarantula over and dropping water droplets at the base of the chelicerae (mouth). That will essentially force the tarantula to drink and if it is dehydrated, hopefully rehydrate it. I really hope it pulls through for you

+1

 

[scott99]

I didn’t initially know how to create a thread but then also I couldn’t upload a picture to the thread once created without adding new media which had to go in a gallery. Hence the mess and confusion. Ps: the tarantula is now on dry towels but still doesn’t look good.

How's your T doing? Has he gotten better or worse.

 

[Trincess]

How's your T doing? Has he gotten better or worse.

Just finished work and going home to check on him. If he is alive I may try the pipette thing although I’m scared to stress him any further

 

[Trincess]

I merged these two threads.

Thank you

 

[scott99]

Just finished work and going home to check on him. If he is alive I may try the pipette thing although I’m scared to stress him any further

Ok, hope it go well.

 

[Trincess]

Ok so an update on laverne. He was in a death curl when I got home. Still alive but barely moving. As a last resort I turned him over and did the dropper thing in his mouth. He reacted a little. Definitely alive but only just so. I’ve left him propped with his mouth in his water dish and just waiting to see now whether he makes it. It’s not looking too good to be honest. I think I really messed up yesterday taking him out of his water dish when he was probably rehydrating himself

 

[EulersK]

Ok so an update on laverne. He was in a death curl when I got home. Still alive but barely moving. As a last resort I turned him over and did the dropper thing in his mouth. He reacted a little. Definitely alive but only just so. I’ve left him propped with his mouth in his water dish and just waiting to see now whether he makes it. It’s not looking too good to be honest. I think I really messed up yesterday taking him out of his water dish when he was probably rehydrating himself

Try dropping water into her mouth again. Not sure why, but dehydrated tarantulas seem to take that better than drinking on their own. Just make sure you're dropping it onto the right spot - directly below the fangs where the sucking stomach is. Do a drop, leave for half and hour to an hour, and see if the drop has gone away. Rinse and repeat. If the drop hasn't gone away, then that's not the best of signs.

At this point, don't worry about stressing it out. Dehydration will kill the spider far faster than any amount of stress would.

 

[Trincess]

Try dropping water into her mouth again. Not sure why, but dehydrated tarantulas seem to take that better than drinking on their own. Just make sure you're dropping it onto the right spot - directly below the fangs where the sucking stomach is. Do a drop, leave for half and hour to an hour, and see if the drop has gone away. Rinse and repeat. If the drop hasn't gone away, then that's not the best of signs.

At this point, don't worry about stressing it out. Dehydration will kill the spider far faster than any amount of stress would.

Thank you so much for the advice about trying with the dripper. I think my tarantula looks like it’s starting to revive a little so I’ve got my fingers crossed for the little guy.

 

[scott99]

Thank you so much for the advice about trying with the dripper. I think my tarantula looks like it’s starting to revive a little so I’ve got my fingers crossed for the little guy.

Better or worse?

 

[Trincess]

Better or worse?

Just checked him this morning. He is still face down in his water dish. But definitely moving a bit more. I’d say a 10% improvement overnight. That gives me hope.

 

[Deb60]

Just checked him this morning. He is still face down in his water dish. But definitely moving a bit more. I’d say a 10% improvement overnight. That gives me hope.

Hope he makes it .

 

[Trincess]

Good news I think. I’ve cone home from work and found him sitting in his water bowl so he moved himself forward a little. He is a bit more active now moving his fangs and limbs more than earlier. So I’m optimistic but I have one concern. Is there any chance that he can drown by sitting fully in his water bowl? Because of his booklungs? I really don’t want to move him out at all with the progress he’s making in there! The picture is of the way I left him this morning but now he is fully sitting in the water

 

[Deb60]

Good news I think. I’ve cone home from work and found him sitting in his water bowl so he moved himself forward a little. He is a bit more active now moving his fangs and limbs more than earlier. So I’m optimistic but I have one concern. Is there any chance that he can drown by sitting fully in his water bowl? Because of his booklungs? I really don’t want to move him out at all with the progress he’s making in there! The picture is of the way I left him this morning but now he is fully sitting in the water

I would just leave in the bowl , he won’t drown .

 

[Dovey]

Nope no drowning. Spiders are excellent at dealing with water. Especially this species. When it rains here, we get flash floods in under 5 minutes. Those guys down their holes have got to be prepared for dealing with a whole lot of water coming at them really fast. I've never heard of an adult spider drowning under any circumstances, not even a sick one.

 

[EulersK]

Healthy spiders don't drown. They don't have gills, people. If it climbs into the water dish and doesn't have the strength to get itself back out, then it absolutely can drown.

Personally, I'd ditch the water bowl entirely. Get yourself a much smaller bowl, one that it physically can't get it's abdomen into. The caps of milk jugs work amazing for this. The downside is that you'll have to keep a close eye on it to ensure it stays full.

 

[Dovey]

True.

Have you taken a good look at this spider's chelicerae to make sure it doesn't have some other issue like possibly nematodes? I mean, we are assuming that it got cold in the trunk, and that's most likely right. But it should have rehydrated by now. I'm wondering about all that drinking or water seeking.

 

[Trincess]

True.

Have you taken a good look at this spider's chelicerae to make sure it doesn't have some other issue like possibly nematodes? I mean, we are assuming that it got cold in the trunk, and that's most likely right. But it should have rehydrated by now. I'm wondering about all that drinking or water seeking.

Nope I haven’t really looked for nematodes, would not know what to look for. Spider is still alive so there is hope am I right. I feel like if he was gonna die he would have by now right. ?

 

[Tryinhardbutstillfailin]

Nope I haven’t really looked for nematodes, would not know what to look for. Spider is still alive so there is hope am I right. I feel like if he was gonna die he would have by now right. ?

If he was just suffering from dehydration then he'll likely pull through. It's still a good idea to monitor his health for now. If he has no other problems other than the dehydration and you stay diligent in making sure he has water until he's back to full health, it's likely he'll be okay.

I think you would have noticed nematodes by now if you've flipped him over at any point to look at his chelicerae. A quick google search can be very helpful but I've attached two pictures, one of a b. vagans with a bunch of nasty nematodes and one of a b. vagans sans nematodes. Not the same species as your little guy but I think it'll give you more of an idea of what to look for.





Also these aren't my pictures and likely not of the same tarantula.

If it ends up being nematodes then there are other forums on here that can help with getting rid of them. You can search directly on the sight or a quick google search of "nematodes in tarantulas" will bring up arachnoboards forums as the first result.

Hope he's doing well and gets better real fast!

 

[Trincess]

A few pics I took when drip feeding him water. I think it looks normal but I’m not an expert at all. Btw can anyone tell me the sex of my spider from these pics?

As you can see from the pictures I posted above I couldn’t see any nematodes. Here is laverne as of right now. Still not walking but definitely alive. Front legs are uncurled now too

Edit: he has left the water bowl but still can’t really walk. Should I put him back in or just leave him alone. I removed the head of a super worm and left it in there in case he needs something easy to eat. Any advice?