- Joined
- Oct 10, 2006
- Messages
- 2,151
What a mess I just about got myself into. Earlier, I was going through my collection and I came across one of my A. versicolor that looked very odd. She was hanging on the side of the enclosure with and head up and hanging on by three legs. All the other legs were just dangleing. I used my brush and touched her but there was no response. I thought "oh no, what is going on here." She had not dispayed anything odd just a few days ago so I couldn't imagine what might be the problem. Since she was not around any webbing, I reached in and took her out. Still, no response. I set up an ICU to have ready but I held off on putting her in untill I could determine what might be the problem. I set up a shallow water dish and layed her on the side so she could get a drink. Still, nothing. So my last option to revive her was to turn her on her back, in the palm of my hand and put a couple of drops of water on her mouth. Right after I did that, she started to move and twitch. I couldn't imagine her being dehydated as I keep all my arboreals enclosures misted at least once a week and I've seen all of them drink. But, I suppose it was possible. As she was twitching and squirming around in my hand, I started to look closer and I recognized what she was doing. She was MOLTING. 
I sat there for the next thirty minutes mad at myself for messing with her but she was in an awfully strange possition before I pulled her out. Then I thought, how am I going to get her back in there unharmed. Then I remembered the ICU I had just set up so I figured that would the my best option untill she recovers from the molt. Finally, when she flipped back over on her feet, I tilted the ICU cup on it's side and coaxed her in. I'm happy to say, the molt was successful and she was unharmed in all of this and recovering nicely. The lesson here is, when you see something odd, don't jump in and try to do something then and there. Wait a bit and assess the situation so you can make a good decision that won't possibly cause more problems, and always be prepared. There was no way I could have set up an ICU with her in mid molt in the palm of my hand so always have one ready to go, just in case.
I sat there for the next thirty minutes mad at myself for messing with her but she was in an awfully strange possition before I pulled her out. Then I thought, how am I going to get her back in there unharmed. Then I remembered the ICU I had just set up so I figured that would the my best option untill she recovers from the molt. Finally, when she flipped back over on her feet, I tilted the ICU cup on it's side and coaxed her in. I'm happy to say, the molt was successful and she was unharmed in all of this and recovering nicely. The lesson here is, when you see something odd, don't jump in and try to do something then and there. Wait a bit and assess the situation so you can make a good decision that won't possibly cause more problems, and always be prepared. There was no way I could have set up an ICU with her in mid molt in the palm of my hand so always have one ready to go, just in case.
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