Help! Dehydrated P. Metallica

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Poor spider hope she gets better 8 years is short lifespan for a pokie, I lost one to dehydration once it didn’t make it in icu . Possibly it could had fell? Or no
How’s it still alive for not eating in so long .

How can basement be 60? Is the heat set to 60? I lost a n chromatis once to overly wet substrate not soaked tho & a. Cracked bedroom window put my temp from 62-67 degrees, it was a little fat but had no were to fall couldn’t had gotten injured.
Possibly it was just a victim of power feeding.

 

[boina]

60 is pretty chilly but I wouldn’t think it’d be deadly.

I disagree. 60F for a short time would likely be ok, but for a prolonged time (we are talking more than a year here!) it may very well kill a tarantula, especially a tropical species. Their metabolism slows way down, making them unable to digest anything (she hasn't been eating because at that temp she likely can't) and unable to molt and very likely regulates their immune system down, making them prone to infections.

My house can be cool in winter (between 65 and 70F) and quite a few of my tarantulas will refuse food and very few will molt. Even slings and juveniles need much longer to molt and the temps are not even that cold, usually closer to 70F.

If she is to have a chance she definitely needs to be kept 10 degrees warmer at least, getting her metabolism restarted and possibly giving her a chance to molt.

 

[Tenebrarius]

Do you think she'll get better if I move her now?

have you tried misting? but I definitely think anything below 70 is unhealthy for a P. Metallica, higher 70s and low 80s is a good range.

 

[Teal]

have you tried misting? but I definitely think anything below 70 is unhealthy for a P. Metallica, higher 70s and low 80s is a good range.

What benefit would misting provide in this situation? If the spider is dehydrated, she needs a dish of water to drink... moisture in the air/on her surroundings won't do any good.

 

[Theneil]

What benefit would misting provide in this situation? If the spider is dehydrated, she needs a dish of water to drink... moisture in the air/on her surroundings won't do any good.

She could drink water droplets that collect on the surrounding objects. I do agree that a dish should be provided though.

 

[Tenebrarius]

What benefit would misting provide in this situation? If the spider is dehydrated, she needs a dish of water to drink... moisture in the air/on her surroundings won't do any good.

i dont know, I just do that for mine and never seen it drink, and its pretty healthy, I was more trying to ask if they were misting previously. they can take the water from the sides, But I was trying to get an understanding of the Ts health, P. Metallicas need moisture.

 

[Teal]

She could drink water droplets that collect on the surrounding objects. I do agree that a dish should be provided though.

i dont know, I just do that for mine and never seen it drink, and its pretty healthy, I was more trying to ask if they were misting previously. they can take the water from the sides, But I was trying to get an understanding of the Ts health, P. Metallicas need moisture.

Don't get me wrong, I mist enclosures for providing water (though everyone will tell you NOT to)... but in the case of this spider at this moment, misting isn't going to help.

And I am not sure what you mean by "P. metallicas need moisture." Mine is kept on dry sub with a water dish and is just fine.

 

[Tenebrarius]

Don't get me wrong, I mist enclosures for providing water (though everyone will tell you NOT to)... but in the case of this spider at this moment, misting isn't going to help.

And I am not sure what you mean by "P. metallicas need moisture." Mine is kept on dry sub with a water dish and is just fine.

yeah my bad i might have sounded like they like it damp but no, i keep my substrate mostly dry. I just feel bad for the OP cause P. Metallicas are kind of expensive.(its my most expensive at least).

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

yeah my bad i might have sounded like they like it damp but no, i keep my substrate mostly dry. I just feel bad for the OP cause P. Metallicas are kind of expensive.(its my most expensive at least).

Mine was a near adult male, 1 molt from adult size it caught dks . R.I.P. miss that blue spider , a versicolor also died of bad molt.
2 Gbb my only blue Ts left.
If pokie won’t drink from waterdish something is wrong .

 

[Teal]

yeah my bad i might have sounded like they like it damp but no, i keep my substrate mostly dry. I just feel bad for the OP cause P. Metallicas are kind of expensive.(its my most expensive at least).

They've definitely come down in price, but I bet the OP paid a pretty penny for the T when they got it years and years ago. I feel bad because they have had her for so long I get really attached to animals and 8 years is a good chunk of time.

Mine was a near adult male, 1 molt from adult size it caught dks . R.I.P. miss that blue spider , a versicolor also died of bad molt.
2 Gbb my only blue Ts left.
If pokie won’t drink from waterdish something is wrong .

I don't get the "blue spider craze." Now, orange spiders on the other hand...!

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

They've definitely come down in price, but I bet the OP paid a pretty penny for the T when they got it years and years ago. I feel bad because they have had her for so long I get really attached to animals and 8 years is a good chunk of time.



I don't get the "blue spider craze." Now, orange spiders on the other hand...!

Yeah lasiodora are better display then gbb cuz you never see gbb. Everything webbed up, I like any T all of them are colorful with exception of a few.
I don’t have any pure orange Ts , t gigas was a MM R.I.P.
I’d like something colorful eventually but trying to focus on old worlds.
My last Obt died this year R.I.P. I need to buy more, can’t find a job , bad market.

 

[Colbymgeek]

Yeah, she's definitely gone. She was my dream spider for a long time before I got her as a sling (I think she was $150 then? Adult females were running for $2,000 back then!). Anyway, I'm sad to see her gone, especially realizing she might have had a couple more years had we kept her upstairs. At my house, each level has a difference of around 10 degrees. So if main level is 70, upstairs is 80 and basement is 60. My husband and I are stuck living in the basement, so that's why the tarantula ended up down here. I should have gotten a heater for her cage, but I didn't realize it was the temp causing a problem. Anyway, thanks a lot for everyone's input!

 

[MintyWood826]

I don't get the "blue spider craze."

They're just so bluetiful!!

 

[Dovey]

If you have any other spiders in the basement, there are a lot of threads on this website about how to warm up their environment without endangering them with a heating pad or heat lamp and such. We keep our house on the chilly side in the winter, and so I use a space heater in my spider room/bedroom if the temperature is going to drop below 68 or so.

 

[MintyWood826]

If you have any other spiders in the basement, there are a lot of threads on this website about how to warm up their environment without endangering them with a heating pad or heat lamp and such. We keep our house on the chilly side in the winter, and so I use a space heater in my spider room/bedroom if the temperature is going to drop below 68 or so.

I think the oil space heaters are usually recommended.

 

[Teal]

They're just so bluetiful!!

*facepalm*

I think the oil space heaters are usually recommended.

If you need to heat an entire room, yes. But if you just need to heat a few enclosures, you can use a heating pad inside something large enough to fit your enclosures (a tank, cabinet etc.)