extremely strange and concerning behaviour ive never seen

[RezonantVoid]

delete this thread if its superfluous but im pretty sure this is a new one

few months ago i recieved a lovely little Selenotypus sp. juvi, and she's been doing great ever since. absolutey smashes crickets, and her setup is almost spot on perfect for her species and size. when i got her she had a damaged front left foot i assumed was caused by bad postage and she would maybe shed that leg and regrow.

today i spotted her leaning on her right side with the left side raised, she was like brushing herself with her legs, particularly her abdomen and moving her fangs around. originally i thought she was grooming but i say she had a pedipalp missing. at first i thought this was the sore leg and she had shed but i realised she still has the bad foot one left leg 1; she has shed/removed a perfectly functioning pedipalp for apparently no reason. i know that large crickets which i feed her have a tendency to bite when captured but i have supervised every feeding and confirm this has never happened to her. she also has drops and wet patches of what im assuming is blood on her abdomen and legs, meaning she has lost the water repellent property of her exoskeleton she's always had. she can move fine when disturbed and rushes into her burrow.

i dont have any photos as my phone is playing up, and im worried she will drop more legs.

has anyone had similar experience? what does it mean? any enlightenment will help

 

[antinous]

To you it could seem that there was no real reason for it to be dropped, but tarantulas will drop any appendage considered ‘dead weight’ to them. Not sure what the ‘wet patches’ are would have to wait for photos.

 

[RezonantVoid]

To you it could seem that there was no real reason for it to be dropped, but tarantulas will drop any appendage considered ‘dead weight’ to them. Not sure what the ‘wet patches’ are would have to wait for photos.

i can understand, its just the bizare tilting and biting her legs while brushing. never seen it among any of my other selenotypus specimens. the wet patches look clear theres 2 on the sore foot leg, 1 on the opposite leg and 3 on the abdomen. ill get a picture as soon as i can

 

[SuzukiSwift]

What you describe sounds like grooming, but I assume you know what that looks like. In this case pics are necessary to know what’s going on

 

[RezonantVoid]

What you describe sounds like grooming, but I assume you know what that looks like. In this case pics are necessary to know what’s going on

I will get photos as soon as I can. My fluffier species groom regularly but nothing like this, almost like she was trying to scratch underneath herself

 

[Mirandarachnid]

I've seen my T's do the belly scratch a few times, particularly after a molt. Maybe the wet patches are hemolymph from her dropping the pedipalp, and she's doing some intensive grooming to clean up?

 

[RezonantVoid]

I've seen my T's do the belly scratch a few times, particularly after a molt. Maybe the wet patches are hemolymph from her dropping the pedipalp, and she's doing some intensive grooming to clean up?

That sounds plausible, maybe the abdominal splashes were from her legs brushing against the sides. I just hope she doesn't drop any other normal legs

 

[Solsurfer]

Could've been smashed and bled between old exo and new . Gluing them together . If it was that .dropping a leg was the smart thing to do.

 

[RezonantVoid]

Is it common practice to eat the leg? I couldn't find it anywhere

 

[Mirandarachnid]

Is it common practice to eat the leg? I couldn't find it anywhere

To eat the dropped leg? I don't see why not. No reason to waste the resources.

If it looks like it's chewing on a good leg that's just part of grooming.

 

[RezonantVoid]

To eat the dropped leg? I don't see why not. No reason to waste the resources.

If it looks like it's chewing on a good leg that's just part of grooming.

I really hope it stays at just that. My main concern is her shedding more perfect legs but from what I can gather she should be alright. And the best part is it doesn't look like it's DKS or anything similar