And then there were 8... :(

[Zaire]

My N. incei hadn't made an appearance in a couple of months. As it was just a juvenile, and I hadn't had it too long, I simply removed uneaten crickets and left it alone. However, the lack of glimpsing her combined with the lack of additional webbing was too much, and I just finished deconstructing her enclosure, carefully, within a 5 gallon aquarium, with tongs and a soft paint brush. I found in her tube web, molded. I counted too many legs - it appears my little bumblebee had a bad moult at some point. This is how I lost my very first tarantula, Quill, and unknown avic species. Just like with Quill, I have no idea what went wrong. My B. hamorri, B. albiceps, B. epicureanum, C. cyaneopubescens, C. versicolor (who is half her size), and H sp. columbia "large" have all moulted just fine in my care, without issue. Her eco earth was slightly moist, but not wet - about the same moisture level that I keep my H sp. columbia at. While they have not yet moulted for me, my A. avicularia and P. sazimai appear to be doing well, eating voraciously when I offer food, with plump abdomens, and in the case of the former, webbing copiously. I did not truly expect (or may I simply hoped I would not) find her dead, so I did not take a photo of her enclosure before deconstructing it to look for her. The mold destroyed any possible clues. I know that nobody can give me answers without the photos that I did not think to take, so this is primarily a vent. Its just disheartening to lose the little one without knowing why. I KNOW I must have done something wrong. I know that slings do not simply die for no reason once they hit 1.5". I just don't know what it was and I am extremely frustrated.

 

[cold blood]

Sometimes bad molts happen, its generally not a keeper issue. Sounds like you had it set up properly.

 

[PidderPeets]

I had my first loss a few months back: a juvenile H. sp Colombia "klein". Despite her being seemingly healthy, a great eater, kept properly, and her siblings doing perfectly fine, I came home one day to see her very dead with no explanation. I had pictures and provided them on here, but no one else could see anything that could cause the death either.

My point is that even if they seem fine and we care for them properly, we can't always account for any unseen issues. For all I know, there could have been an internal cause of death for my girl, but I'll never know. In your case, sometimes bad molts just happen even if you do everything right.

I'm sorry for your loss, but don't beat yourself up over it. It's a sad fact of life, but sometimes these things just happen. Don't let it deter you from continuing the hobby or doubting your care. When you're ready, maybe you can try again with this species