Bad molt? Crippled Pink Toe

[riinei]

So my little Pink Toe has always been a problem for me. My fiancé got her for me at a local Petco, she was underweight. Her abdomen has always been very teeny, but not sunken in. She has only eaten twice for me in the amount of time I
Have had her. I've tried everything that'll be okay for her to overpower and she refuses. (Small supers, mealies, crickets, wax worms, horn worms, roach nymphs, and larger feeders)
But she has molted on December 19 (I added a photo of the molt) and it was pretty well molted other than a piece stuck to her abdomen that I carefully removed. She had 7 legs before hand, now she has all 8. But one of her legs stayed really small and skinny.
After she dried she seemed okay, she was moving around fine, almost took food but dropped it..
Up until recently I noticed she sits curled into a ball. I was worried she is in the death position. I gave her a little nudge and she moved, but I noticed her legs move very odd, they tony straighten out and are stuck curled. (Shown in photo). I don't mess with her too much other than to try and feed, so this may have happened a week before I even noticed..
I try to offer her food once a week so I don't stress her with constantly trying to feed her.
I really don't know what happened, her temps and everything seem fine, she stays in the 76-77 degree range. She has access to a shallow water dish and is misted every two weeks with it being winter.
I added a video to show how she moves, I only did this for the sake of getting answers. I don't hold her at all, and it only lasted 30 seconds till she was back in her home.
If anyone anyone knows what this is, please let me know what I can do to help, or if it's too late.

 

[Chris11]

Im sorry to say but your avic is dying.... Do you kkow 100% that its female? it could be a MM and giving into his life... What was your setup like? pics would be mighty helpful... of the setup. and more of the spider at different angles.

 

[riinei]

That's what I was afraid of.. I don't know the gender, I just decided to call it a she to make it easier rather than say "it"
But I have her in an extra small critter keeper, she doesn't spin webs anymore, hasn't in a month. It's probably a bit big, i don't think she's even near the size of an older male, unless she's a severely stunted and malnourished male. Here's a few photos.

 

[BobBarley]

That's what I was afraid of.. I don't know the gender, I just decided to call it a she to make it easier rather than say "it"
But I have her in an extra small critter keeper, she doesn't spin webs anymore, hasn't in a month. It's probably a bit big, i don't think she's even near the size of an older male, unless she's a severely stunted and malnourished male. Here's a few photos.

Well ok. So that enclosure looks a little off to me. No cross ventilation. Bark for substrate(?) And looks to be in a somewhat terrestrial set-up. Also there seems to be lots of water on the bark?

First off and most importantly, cross ventilation!! Holes on the sides of the enclosure rather than the top. Substrate is fine dry! Also bark for substrate is generally frowned upon. Try coco fiber or topsoil. Also it needs a hide. I'd guess what's happening is due to there being too much humidity and not enough cross ventilation. This is a recipe for stagnant air and thus, a dead t. I would try to get it in an appropriate set-up and leave it alone. Good luck.

Looks like you've been reading caresheets or listening to PetCo employees. This is the type of set-up they use (mostly) and it will kill your t.

Take a closer picture of the abdomen of the molt. Between the top pair of booklungs, we may be able to sex it.

Dehydration may have also been a factor so I would position its mouth so that it is just touching the surface of the water.
Don't get your hopes up, but it *may* not be too late just yet.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

I agree with BobBarley (tough the enclosure pic was IMO a bit messy to "read"). "Avics" are delicate and needs an arboreal enclosure with cross ventilation. Too much humidity & stagnant air kill those.

If you can provide other pictures of the enclosure would help to understand better.
I'm sorry.

 

[riinei]

Well ok. So that enclosure looks a little off to me. No cross ventilation. Bark for substrate(?) And looks to be in a somewhat terrestrial set-up. Also there seems to be lots of water on the bark?

First off and most importantly, cross ventilation!! Holes on the sides of the enclosure rather than the top. Substrate is fine dry! Also bark for substrate is generally frowned upon. Try coco fiber or topsoil. Also it needs a hide. I'd guess what's happening is due to there being too much humidity and not enough cross ventilation. This is a recipe for stagnant air and thus, a dead t. I would try to get it in an appropriate set-up and leave it alone. Good luck.

Looks like you've been reading caresheets or listening to PetCo employees. This is the type of set-up they use (mostly) and it will kill your t.

Take a closer picture of the abdomen of the molt. Between the top pair of booklungs, we may be able to sex it.

Don't get your hopes up, but it *may* not be too late just yet.

thank you for the info. This is my first tarantula, and I do have a lot to learn. It was my mistake for moving her out of her original enclosure. I has purchased a small aboreal T enclosure for her, she always stayed at the bottom so I figured I'd give her more space in a more terrestrial set up. She will be moved back right away. I have spare coco fiber so she'll be on that right away.

 

[riinei]

I agree with BobBarley (tough the enclosure pic was IMO a bit messy to "read"). "Avics" are delicate and needs an arboreal enclosure with cross ventilation. Too much humidity & stagnant air kill those.

If you can provide other pictures of the enclosure would help to understand better.
I'm sorry.

I'm moving her back into her aboreal enclosure from Tarantulacages, it was my mistake thinking she needed more ground area. I had no idea about stagnant air, now I just feel awful putting her through this.

 

[BobBarley]

thank you for the info. This is my first tarantula, and I do have a lot to learn. It was my mistake for moving her out of her original enclosure. I has purchased a small aboreal T enclosure for her, she always stayed at the bottom so I figured I'd give her more space in a more terrestrial set up. She will be moved back right away. I have spare coco fiber so she'll be on that right away.

Thank you, right now all you can do is provide the adequate enclosure (don't forget cross-ventilation!) and perhaps position its "mouth" over the water dish.

 

[riinei]

Thank you, right now all you can do is provide the adequate enclosure (don't forget cross-ventilation!) and perhaps position its "mouth" over the water dish.

It has a vent on the top and sides of the enclosure, thank you very much for bringing cross ventilation to my attention. I'll try my best to make sure she gets water and ventilation.

 

[BobBarley]

I'm moving her back into her aboreal enclosure from Tarantulacages, it was my mistake thinking she needed more ground area. I had no idea about stagnant air, now I just feel awful putting her through this.

It's alright, everyone makes mistakes. We just have to learn from them and grow.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

I'm moving her back into her aboreal enclosure from Tarantulacages, it was my mistake thinking she needed more ground area. I had no idea about stagnant air, now I just feel awful putting her through this.

Definitely. Those arboreal enclosures are IMO class, and to think that here are very rare to find

Basically "Avics" needs a dry substrate, but a water dish, of course, should always been present. Too much humidity, if there isn't a cross ventilation (really, no NW arboreals needs a particular "eye" like "Avics") those suffer, and die.

 

[riinei]

Goes to show not all care sheets are accurate. I've been going off the first sheet I found when I first got her. I'll definitely do more research on them. Thank you both BobBarley and Chris for the help. I'll get her in the proper set up right away.

 

[BobBarley]

Goes to show not all care sheets are accurate. I've been going off the first sheet I found when I first got her. I'll definitely do more research on them. Thank you both BobBarley and Chris for the help. I'll get her in the proper set up right away.

Yup, don't blame yourself. IMO Avics aren't that delicate, just too much misleading info.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Goes to show not all care sheets are accurate. I've been going off the first sheet I found when I first got her. I'll definitely do more research on them. Thank you both BobBarley and Chris for the help. I'll get her in the proper set up right away.

You're welcome. I suggest you to don't trust care sheets too much. Here if you have doubts/questions etc is the place for.
Granted (i would not mention who is) very, very few i've read (less than the fingers of an old school carpenter) available online, weren't so bad at all, but avoiding T's care sheets is a must.
Take care.

 

[theconmacieist]

It is unfortunate you are going through this. The spider appears to be extremely malnourished. It could be out of your hands at this point.

 

[Andrea82]

Could it not be a male as well?
Maybe look for the tibial hooks?

 

[cold blood]

Goes to show not all care sheets are accurate. I've been going off the first sheet I found when I first got her. I'll definitely do more research on them. Thank you both BobBarley and Chris for the help. I'll get her in the proper set up right away.

Care sheets are garbage. I'd bet they kill far more ts, Avics especially, than any other cause. Stressing number specific humidity and temperatures, and always leaving out the most important thing, which is cross ventilation. See, nothing kills an avic faster than an improperly ventilated enclosure COMBINED with too much moisture. NEVER believe care sheets. If you have a hygrometer, which I'm guessing you do, remove it, its a useless piece of equipment in a t enclosure that pet stores insist people buy (like heat pads/lamps, please tell me you are not using one of these). You end up adding moisture until it reads some magical number you think you need, and by the time it does, its actually gone way too far as the enclosure becomes more suitable for a salamander.

Could it not be a male as well?
Maybe look for the tibial hooks?

Look for bulbus pedipalps. Why look for something that's harder to see than the obvious sex organs.

A MM would make sense, as they eat less and IME always look like that when they finally die, at least every MM avic I've had.

Drip water at the base of its fangs when its upside down and just leave it, it should eventually drink if there's a chance of survival.

 

[Dannyrsmith]

Care sheets are garbage. I'd bet they kill far more ts, Avics especially, than any other cause. Stressing number specific humidity and temperatures, and always leaving out the most important thing, which is cross ventilation. See, nothing kills an avic faster than an improperly ventilated enclosure COMBINED with too much moisture. NEVER believe care sheets. If you have a hygrometer, which I'm guessing you do, remove it, its a useless piece of equipment in a t enclosure that pet stores insist people buy (like heat pads/lamps, please tell me you are not using one of these). You end up adding moisture until it reads some magical number you think you need, and by the time it does, its actually gone way too far as the enclosure becomes more suitable for a salamander.

I'm just about to rehouse my a.avic (have it in a tank with a mesh lid in the front) to a container so I can add some cross ventilation, but now comes where I get confused - if I removed the hygro and forget about achieving the "perfect moisture", what is the proper way to make sure my a. avic is enjoying her environment? Do you mis the substrate one a week at least? or just let the water evaporate from the water bowl?

 

[z32upgrader]

Look for bulbous pedipalps. Why look for something that's harder to see than the obvious sex organs.

A MM would make sense, as they eat less and IME always look like that when they finally die, at least every MM avic I've had

From the photos it's pretty obvious it's not a MM.
Yes, please do try and hydrate the poor thing. Hopefully it'll perk back up.

 

[z32upgrader]

I'm just about to rehouse my a.avic (have it in a tank with a mesh lid in the front) to a container so I can add some cross ventilation, but now comes where I get confused - if I removed the hygro and forget about achieving the "perfect moisture", what is the proper way to make sure my a. avic is enjoying her environment? Do you mis the substrate one a week at least? or just let the water evaporate from the water bowl?

Misting is pretty much worthless. It raises the humidity for a little while before it evaporates again. A full water bowl is adequate for all its hydration needs. Make sure your prey items are well hydrated too before you send them to their death.