Dead after molt?

Phobiuh

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Hey all,

Last Tuesday my B. Hamorii arrived from a snake breeder I bought it from, who revealed she got it from petco after the tarantula arrived to my house and paid for. It went into molting the following day which I found surprising, so I turned it upright and luckily, it molted successfully. After molting, it moved to a corner of the tank and has not moved from the spot since... can anyone help me? Here’s a picture of the position it’s been in for the past 3 days or so. I know I shouldn’t be touching it but I’ve slightly knudged it with a Q-tip go get some sort of movement, but no response at all.
 

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cold blood

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Does it have access to water?


Nudging it wouldn't exactly be a life threatening thing to do.
 

AnObeseHippo

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Hey all,

Last Tuesday my B. Hamorii arrived from a snake breeder I bought it from, who revealed she got it from petco after the tarantula arrived to my house and paid for. It went into molting the following day which I found surprising, so I turned it upright and luckily, it molted successfully. After molting, it moved to a corner of the tank and has not moved from the spot since... can anyone help me? Here’s a picture of the position it’s been in for the past 3 days or so. I know I shouldn’t be touching it but I’ve slightly knudged it with a Q-tip go get some sort of movement, but no response at all.
My B. hamorii just molted and mostly sat like that for a day or two. It definitely doesn’t look like death curl though
 

Phobiuh

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Does it have access to water?


Nudging it wouldn't exactly be a life threatening thing to do.
Yes, it does have access to water and today I added some water droplets directly under her fangs. Is that the death curl? What additional steps should I take? It’s my first tarantula and I’d hate to lose it after less than a week of having it.

My B. hamorii just molted and mostly sat like that for a day or two. It definitely doesn’t look like death curl though
This gives me hope. Forgot to mention that she has a bit of stuck “molt” on her rump. This Tuesday my snake is going to be fed and I wanted to pick up some super worms while I’m at the pet store, should I go on with it or wait another week or so?
 
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cold blood

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Yes, it does have access to water and today I added some water droplets directly under her fangs. Is that the death curl? What additional steps should I take? It’s my first tarantula and I’d hate to lose it after less than a week of having it.
Its more of a stress curl...but that doesn't mean its not dead. I would gently nudge or lift it to see if there is any movement...if not flip it onto its back, if there are any signs of life, you can apply a drop of water to the base of the fangs.
Ts do sit in odd positions after molting, sometimes for extended periods.
 

Phobiuh

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Its more of a stress curl...but that doesn't mean its not dead. I would gently nudge or lift it to see if there is any movement...if not flip it onto its back, if there are any signs of life, you can apply a drop of water to the base of the fangs.
Ts do sit in odd positions after molting, sometimes for extended periods.
Should I do that now or wait until tomorrow? Don’t really wanna stress her out much more as I just nudged her for a few seconds like an hour ago to see if she’d move, but I could try gently lifting her closer to her water and can post results ASAP.
 

cold blood

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Stress is an over-used and over-exaggerated term in this hobby....you will NOT stress it to death....especially if ts dead. Sooner the better to be sure.
 

Phobiuh

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I took a bottle cap and turned to into an additional water dish for its tank. I moved her body to it so that her fangs are directly over the water. I’m really not sure if it’s alive... she didn’t move at all when I picked it up and it’s abdomen looks kinda weird - the best way I could describe it would be that it sort of resembles a water balloon, with the knot part connected to her head. The abdomen also has some dimples. Here’s a pic.
 

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Ultum4Spiderz

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I took a bottle cap and turned to into an additional water dish for its tank. I moved her body to it so that her fangs are directly over the water. I’m really not sure if it’s alive... she didn’t move at all when I picked it up and it’s abdomen looks kinda weird - the best way I could describe it would be that it sort of resembles a water balloon, with the knot part connected to her head. The abdomen also has some dimples. Here’s a pic.
Looks dead to me put in a icu just see if that helps . I’ve had a Big acanthoscurria randomly die post molt it had water and stuff. I’ve had avic fall post molt, not sure what went wrong with you’r.
 

Thekla

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It went into molting the following day which I found surprising, so I turned it upright and luckily, it molted successfully.
Why would you turn her upright while she's moulting? :eek:

I'm afraid that something went wrong with her moult because that spider looks rather dead, especially when you say she isn't moving at all. Sorry. :(
You can keep her at the water dish or/and apply droplets of water like @cold blood suggested, but I'm not really hopeful.
 

Greasylake

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put in a icu just see if that helps
No do not put it in an ICU that will guarantee you're killing this spider, especially since this species prefers to be kept dry. That said, the spider doesn't look good to me, I think it might be dead. If it didn't move at all when you picked it up... then I think it might be time to start looking for a new spider.
 

Andrea82

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Why would you turn her upright while she's moulting? :eek:
.
This. Never, ever touch a molting spider. Not sure why others missed this piece of info in your post, I thought I misread it or something but apparently not.

You may have harmed it while turning it upright. Spiders molt on their backs since the new 'body' is heavier than the old exoskeleton. Some molt upright but that is more of an exception to the rule.
Why did you flip it?
 

Phobiuh

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Hey again guys,

So I checked on it again this morning and still no movement. However, the abdomen looks a little more filled up to me now, but maybe I’m just seeing things as I just nudged her again and still cannot get a response.

I only moved her because I did not expect her to molt the day after I got her as the previous owner did not relay any information about it getting ready to do so, so I assumed it had died. Additionally, I also thought that it could’ve just fell from trying to climb and couldn’t get back up like a turtle would, so I “helped it”

Regardless, I’ve learned my lesson from this experience. I’m just really bummed as she was sort of expensive ($170) and it was really hard for me to find a small female I could raise up, especially at a reasonable price. Can anyone DM me of any good breeders that have these available? I’ve been doing research on this species for years now but apparently it wasn’t enough so in the mean time, I have some more learning to do.
 

Ellenantula

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You say she moulted successfully -- meaning she left a full exo?

I can't tell if she looks dead or not.

But flipping a T during its moult would certainly nullify any warranty, written or implied.

Sorry this happened to such a lovely T. :(
 

Phobiuh

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You say she moulted successfully -- meaning she left a full exo?

I can't tell if she looks dead or not.

But flipping a T during its moult would certainly nullify any warranty, written or implied.

Sorry this happened to such a lovely T. :(
Yeah, she did molt perfectly with just a tiny bit stuck to the back of the abdomen. After molting she then moved to the spot shown in the picture, where she hasn’t moved from since. Other posters believe she’s dead so I’m thinking it won’t turn out very well.
 

Krystal Anne

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Although I agree with the others, can you smell anything? A dead T apparently reeks. Haven't had any die on me yet but I guess the smell is really prominent.

Also, just because you don't expect your T to molt, doesn't mean you should flip it over. I'm sorry this happened but I hope you learned something, and I'm glad you want to continue your research! This site is full of amazing info from great keepers so we hope you stick around! :)
 

Phobiuh

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Update:
Pretty safe to say that she's dead. I flipped her over as suggested by Cold Blood and some creamy, yellow-ish fluid started seeping from her abdomen. It has also started to smell really bad in there once the liquid started to come out. Sigh...

I assume that she may have accidentally torn her abdomen trying to remove the small piece of stuck exoskeleton from it and thus, died from it. Or maybe it was me..
 
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Ultum4Spiderz

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Poor spider, they can die molting upright more often. But I’ve seen them successfully molt upright before tho . Maybe it injured abdomen at some point, somehow.
I never touch any molting T recently had a MM get stuck in skin trying to molt after pen-ultimate molt.
 

Phobiuh

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Hey again guys,

I just got in a new female today, here she is! Got her in at almost 12 p.m and she has been hiding since, but as I was leaving for the gym she came out to say hello to me, lol. She last molted on the 10th of this month and is a confirmed female, so I guess I don’t have to worry about her molting for a while.

Anyways, I wanted to show you guys her and her enclosure for any criticism, thanks!

I will get more pics once she’s comfortable, and out and about.
 

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