Came home from work and my a. Avic is missing a leg?

[Amber G]

I was at work today and when I came home my baby was missing a leg! I have no idea how this happened! My husband said he has no clue what happened either! That my kids must have been messing with him/her. I know his/her leg will grow back. Ive done all the research. But is there anything I should watch for that might signal something bad? He/she is still very active and walking around I watched him/her drinking out of his/her water bowl. He/she is my first tarantula and I am very attatched to him/her. He/she hasnt molted yet as Ive only had him/her for three weeks.

 

[AngelDeVille]

Does your enclosure have a screen top?

 

[Amber G]

Yes but it's very tiny holes. Definetly nothing he/she could get a leg caught in. And I can't find the leg! I searched high and low. It is nowhere to be found. I know he/she still had it before I left for work. I always check on him/her and my bearded dragon Starfly before I leave. Im wondering if my husband wasn't paying attention and my kids maybe closed the door on it, on accident. I think I'm going to move her into my bedroom away from the kids.

 

[Greasylake]

Losing a leg isn't really a big deal, after all it does have 7 more. The leg will regrow after the next molt but it may be a little small and take one or two more molts before it's completely regenerated. Now what does matter, is figuring out how it lost the leg in the first place. If you have a screen mesh, it could have gotten its tarsal claws stuck and amputated the leg to free itself. If your kids are messing with the spider to the point where it's losing legs... you really need to figure out a way to keep the spider away from them before it ends up dead or someone gets bitten.

 

[cold blood]

Yes but it's very tiny holes. Definetly nothing he/she could get a leg caught in.

Its not the leg that can get caught, its the tiny tarsal claws that get stuck. You can see them here if you look closely...

Poecilotheria vittata

• cold blood
• Mar 14, 2017
• ghost ornamental tarantula magam tiger spider pederson's ornamental tarantula poecilotheria poecilotheria pederseni poecilotheria vittata vittata

vitatta

If you click on the pic you will see it more clearly.

I searched high and low. It is nowhere to be found.

It likely got stuck and damaged the leg....then self amputated. Its pretty normal for them to do this to a damaged leg....in dong so, they often consume the leg.

Im wondering if my husband wasn't paying attention and my kids maybe closed the door on it, on accident

I wouldn't necessarily go blaming the kids, if it wasn't self amputated, you would likely be able to find the leg....I think the kids are free and clear on this one.

 

[Amber G]

We found the leg! Turns out it was the screen top! We found a custom top for his/her tank! No more screen. My kids swear they didn't mess with him/her. (They know he/she could bite them. So I figured they wouldn't) They seem half fascinated, half terrified of him/her. They are very worried. He/she took the broken leg into his/her web. (We dont mess with the web so we didn't notice) hopefully with the screen gone, he/she will be safer now. So mad at myself for not changing the lid sooner. But he/she just ate dinner and seems lively and happy. None of my research mentioned anything about the screen lid. I only found out they were a bad idea by joining this forum.

 

[Greasylake]

We found the leg! Turns out it was the screen top! We found a custom top for his/her tank! No more screen. My kids swear they didn't mess with him/her. (They know he/she could bite them. So I figured they wouldn't) They seem half fascinated, half terrified of him/her. They are very worried. He/she took the broken leg into his/her web. (We dont mess with the web so we didn't notice) hopefully with the screen gone, he/she will be safer now. So mad at myself for not changing the lid sooner. But he/she just ate dinner and seems lively and happy. None of my research mentioned anything about the screen lid. I only found out they were a bad idea by joining this forum.

From what I know the idea of screen lids being bad is kind of a new idea, and a lot of people still use them anyway. Don't beat yourself up too bad, we all make mistakes and this one is definitely one of the better mistakes to make (better in the sense that the spider is not dead or dying).

 

[Amber G]

Thank you to everyone who responded.

 

[viper69]

I should watch for that might signal something bad?

Yes, watch size of abdomen, if it starts to get smaller in size, double up on water bowls, AND check leg for bleeding.

We found the leg! Turns out it was the screen top! We found a custom top for his/her tank! No more screen. My kids swear they didn't mess with him/her. (They know he/she could bite them. So I figured they wouldn't) They seem half fascinated, half terrified of him/her. They are very worried. He/she took the broken leg into his/her web. (We dont mess with the web so we didn't notice) hopefully with the screen gone, he/she will be safer now. So mad at myself for not changing the lid sooner. But he/she just ate dinner and seems lively and happy. None of my research mentioned anything about the screen lid. I only found out they were a bad idea by joining this forum.

This is not surprising at all. Another piece of data demonstrating their danger. When I observed my male A. sp metallica getting caught in the screen of the ExoTerra, I took care of that quick.

Another bookmark for all the people who say "this doesn't happen with arboreals"

 

[AngelDeVille]

It doesn’t happen, until it does...

 

[Amber G]

This is not surprising at all. Another piece of data demonstrating their danger. When I observed my male A. sp metallica getting caught in the screen of the ExoTerra, I took care of that quick.

Another bookmark for all the people who say "this doesn't happen with arboreals"

I am worried about Elvis. He is getting rather skinny. He is not bleeding. But he won't eat anything. He has not eaten since he lost his leg. Hes very sluggish and having trouble sticking to the walls of his tank now. We have three water bowls in his tank now. I made him an appointment at the vet, but vet said tarantulas are hard to treat... very worried.

 

[Demonclaws]

I am worried about Elvis. He is getting rather skinny. He is not bleeding. But he won't eat anything. He has not eaten since he lost his leg. Hes very sluggish and having trouble sticking to the walls of his tank now. We have three water bowls in his tank now. I made him an appointment at the vet, but vet said tarantulas are hard to treat... very worried.

Pictures... nice ones please. I don't understand why you would need 3 water dishes.

I am pretty sure 99% of vets didn't learn how to treat tarantulas. Sounds like a waste of money and potentially getting your tarantula killed.

 

[Ungoliant]

I am worried about Elvis. He is getting rather skinny. He is not bleeding. But he won't eat anything. He has not eaten since he lost his leg. Hes very sluggish and having trouble sticking to the walls of his tank now. We have three water bowls in his tank now. I made him an appointment at the vet, but vet said tarantulas are hard to treat... very worried.

Pictures of the tarantula and its enclosure would help.

However, just going from the verbal description, it's possible that he is in pre-molt. I have read cases here where traumatic injury triggered an early molt. (Both loss of appetite and losing their grip are symptoms of pre-molt in Avics, and if I had known nothing about the leg, I would have said pre-molt.)

Make sure he is drinking. If you don't think he's going to a water dish, drip water onto his web. (Sometimes Avics don't go to their water dishes even though they are thirsty.)

I doubt the vet is going to be able to do anything for him. I'd be surprised if a vet knew anything about tarantulas, to be honest.

 

[Amber G]

Pictures of the tarantula and its enclosure would help.

However, just going from the verbal description, it's possible that he is in pre-molt. I have read cases here where traumatic injury triggered an early molt. (Both loss of appetite and losing their grip are symptoms of pre-molt in Avics, and if I had known nothing about the leg, I would have said pre-molt.)

Make sure he is drinking. If you don't think he's going to a water dish, drip water onto his web. (Sometimes Avics don't go to their water dishes even though they are thirsty.)

I doubt the vet is going to be able to do anything for him. I'd be surprised if a vet knew anything about tarantulas, to be honest.

I didn't think he would molt yet. But i think you might be right. He's losing the hair on his booty, and he NEVER flicks his hair off. I didn't know injury could trigger molt. He does drink. He only stays in his web during the day. At night he creeps around his tank. I will get pictures when i get home.

 

[viper69]

Vet can't do a thing, 99.9% sure on that one. Depending upon where the leg is lost, their legs have "valves" that allow them to seal shut to stop bleeding. right around the coaxa and trochanter if memory serves.

You can read this layman's article about automy here

https://thingsbiological.wordpress....exican-red-knee-tarantula-brachypelma-smithi/

 

[Amber G]

Vet can't do a thing, 99.9% sure on that one. Depending upon where the leg is lost, their legs have "valves" that allow them to seal shut to stop bleeding. right around the coaxa and trochanter if memory serves.

You can read this layman's article about automy here

https://thingsbiological.wordpress....exican-red-knee-tarantula-brachypelma-smithi/

Its literally the whole leg. Im pretty sure he amputated it. There is a tiny little stump. Thanks for the article. I will read it now

 

[AnimalNewbie]

I didn't think he would molt yet. But i think you might be right. He's losing the hair on his booty, and he NEVER flicks his hair off. I didn't know injury could trigger molt. He does drink. He only stays in his web during the day. At night he creeps around his tank. I will get pictures when i get home.

Can we see an actual pic of the T and the setup it’ll make it easier for us to help out

 

[cold blood]

Can we see an actual pic of the T and the setup it’ll make it easier for us to help out

agree...alarmingly small abdomen and bald abdomen...not eating...this all just screams mature male.

 

[Amber G]

I dont think he is a mm. But hes the first avic ive ever been around so i could be wrong. Not great pictures, because he doesnt like being disturbed at night. He retreated to his web when i turned the light on.

Elvis this last one shows hairloss on his booty.

 

[AnimalNewbie]

Have you been handling?
The abdomen isn’t that small for an avic.