help! my tarantulas are dying

pitbullfk

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I need help. I have owned several tarantulas over the years, all living to be 25 yrs old, and have never had an issue with them dying prematurely until now. My female rosehair I have had for 3 years and my orange baboon for 2 yrs. They were doing great, good appetites, molted well and were active. My husband bought me a Goliath bird eater off line as a surprise. It was a young female and was doing good so I went to the site he got the goliath from and bought a curly hair, mexican red knee and a pumpkin patch. The last 2 are spiderlings. I've had these about 3 weeks. Suddenly the goliath dies, then 4 days later my baboon dies. today my rosehair and pumpkin patch are dead. What the heck is going on? We keep the house at 70-75 and they always have water and I mist occasionally. At this rate I won't have any left by Thanksgiving.
 

Chris LXXIX

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Dec 25, 2014
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I'm sorry for that.

Anyway we need to know more. If you want, please start with uploading all the pics you can (enclosures, set up, even feeders ones) because this is always helpful.
 

Mojo288

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Jun 18, 2017
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My first thought was husbandry error with the Theraphosa sp. (assuming from the goliath), but the OBT and the G. porteri (assuming) would be fine with conditions that were too dry for a Theraphosa. The first thing that comes to my mind is pesticide, did you fumigate your house? Do you live in a complex and the management sprayed?
If not pesticides then there must be a new external variable that all your T's share (new feeders, new water source, ect), what have you changed recently?

Edit: For pesticides, contact with your hands could do it, i've also read that some pet flea collars can harm your T's.
 

cold blood

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We do need pics of the set ups. Being that you are in Cali, I doubt that you have the furnace on drying the air...but I suppose you could, CA is a big state, right....

We just need the enclosure pics in case something is off....I can tell you from experience that not having ts die in forever doesn't necessarily mean they are being kept properly....The first 12 years I was in the hobby, I never saw a death....I never kept a t properly either, though...lol. I just had hardy species that survived despite me (not saying that's the case here, but we have to rule out the easest things first).

Now OBTs grow fast, and are therefore short lived, but if you have slings, and that Theraposa, well those need to be kept more specifically...slings are prone to dessication in dry conditions, and Theraposa must be kept on damp substrate as well as having access to water.

Also curious where they were bought from...some places are notorious for being bad (especially reptile specialty places). If they were improperly shipped, they could have also died from trauma related to that.

As already said, if there was spraying around your area this could be an issue as well...I lost many ts once when a neighbor sprayed the bejesus out of his lawn on a hot damp morning when I had windows open.
 

pitbullfk

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We own our home and live in the redwoods, Felton, Ca. We have a pellet stove as a heat source for the house so during the winter it doesn't go below 65. Can't send pictures at the moment so will describe the best I can. The tarantulas sit next to our snake enclosures so they stay warm nothing above 75 according to the temp gauge. The enclosures are roughly 8 in. wide x 12-16 in. long and a foot high. I use coconut fiber substrate that is 3 inches deep in case they want to burrow. They have a half dome wood hidey hole and a water dish that is always full. I also occasionally wet one corner of their enclosure for extra moisture. I do not use pesticide around my animals as I have more than just tarantulas and our closest neighbor is 75-100 ft away. Nobody has lawns up here just dirt. They are fed crickets that I get from either petco or petsmart. The spiderlings are getting either cricket legs, flies or flightless fruit flies. All but the rosehair and baboon came from backwater reptiles which I understand have a couple of locations in the US.
 

Arachnophoric

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All but the rosehair and baboon came from backwater reptiles
Sorry to hear about your Ts OP, that's really rough, especially on the T. stirmi. Just wanted to point out that Backwater Reptiles is an awful place to order from in general and they frequently ship out sick/unhealthy animals, a simple search in google and on faunaclassifieds will back this up. They're just a bad supplier all-around, and I'm curious if perhaps one of your Ts acquired from them had something that's been passed to the others... If you happen to still have any of the dead Ts, as morbid as it is, it may help to take very thorough photographs of those and post them.

I hope that its not the case and it's all just an unfortunate coincidence, but it's starting to look like there's too much smoke for there to be no fire.
 

cold blood

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We own our home and live in the redwoods, Felton, Ca.
Nice, that's beautiful up there.

We have a pellet stove as a heat source for the house so during the winter it doesn't go below 65
Wood burning stoves do dry air out a lot, which can be a concern, but really it means being a lot more diligent about keeping the enclosures from drying out (at least the ones that need moisture).

As for slings, 70 should be your target as a minimum temp...65 will be fine for most juvies and adults, but certainly not all, especially tropical...and that's a dangerous low temp for Theraposa. 70 may be a little low for them.
The tarantulas sit next to our snake enclosures so they stay warm nothing above 75 according to the temp gauge
So is there a heat lamp they are being heated by?

If that's the case, alternative measures should be taken. Lamps dry the air excessively, combine that with a furnace or your wood burning stove and things can get sketchy quick for all but the hardiest NW species.
I also occasionally wet one corner of their enclosure for extra moisture
With dry air (common in winter), you need to add more water more often, and its even good to moisten more sub as well, taking aim at getting the bottom layers of the sub damp. For the Theraposa, it should really have all its substrate damp, pretty much all the time.

Nobody has lawns up here just dirt
Still more beautiful than any manicured lawn.
The spiderlings are getting either cricket legs, flies or flightless fruit flies.
Keep in mind that flies aren't a good source of nutrition, and can cause issues with growing slings if flies are too big a part of their diet. Good alternatives are diced up cricket bodies and heads, or diiced up mealworms. These are great because they are fatty, and because they aren't alive, you can offer large meals as well, fattening them quickly and maintaining good growth rates with less effort on your part...plus you don't have to chase down uneaten mealworm pieces and they keep in the fridge for up to 6 months.

All but the rosehair and baboon came from backwater reptiles which I understand have a couple of locations in the US
Yeah, that's the worst of the worst places possibly on the planet to buy a t from. They were the specific place I had in mind when I mentioned possible trauma from shipping. They pack horribly, like with dirt, sponges and no padding...its amazing any survive. Shop anywhere but there for a new t....the classifieds here area source for dealers and breeders with excellent records of accuracy and success shipping...every seller here in the classifieds has a corresponding review page (its required), so you can shop with confidence.

And they don't have the many locations you think, they are a drop shipper, which means you are buying a t from them that they don't possess. They buy it from wherever, and have it shipped directly to you from wherever. Shady practice that explains poor shipping, inaccurate species and sexed ts, etc.
 

Draketeeth

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They are fed crickets that I get from either petco or petsmart. The spiderlings are getting either cricket legs, flies or flightless fruit flies.
Did you buy new feeders before the die-offs started happening, or were you working from a prior group of feeders you already had? Was the pumpkin patch sling fed a portion of a feeder from the same batch the other larger spiders were eating before they died?
 

pitbullfk

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I was working with feeders I already had and as for the slings I would take the legs off a cricket before feeding it to my adults. I am now down to my curly hair and red knee. Both of them seem active with no problems.

I am NEVER buying from Backwater Reptiles again. I have learned my lesson the hard way.
 

darkness975

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I am NEVER buying from Backwater Reptiles again. I have learned my lesson the hard way.
Agreed. Before I knew better I received a Pandinus imperator from them, and when it arrived I noticed it had no stinger. It died the next day.

Still post images of the set ups when you can. While the deaths are likely due to shipping trauma from the (debatable to use this term) vendor you used, it's still good to show us how they are set up in case anything needs to be corrected before you bring more home.

Also, assuming you are referring to Gammostola porteri/rosea and Brachypelma hamorii with the (minimally helpful) common names you provided, those should not be "misted" at all. Full water dish and dry substrate.


In the future it is best to use the scientific names so that we know exactly the species in question.

The Theraphosa spp. may not have even really been a true "goliath"

I've seen Lasiodora parahybana being sold as "GIANT GOLIATH BIRD EATERS" in the past.
 

pitbullfk

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Nov 18, 2017
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Keep in mind that flies aren't a good source of nutrition, and can cause issues with growing slings if flies are too big a part of their diet. Good alternatives are diced up cricket bodies and heads, or diiced up mealworms. These are great because they are fatty, and because they aren't alive, you can offer large meals as well, fattening them quickly and maintaining good growth rates with less effort on your part...plus you don't have to chase down uneaten mealworm pieces and they keep in the fridge for up to 6 months.

Thank you. I will try the meal worms again for the sling. I tried them when I first started out but my girl never liked them nor the one after her so I stuck with crickets. I have always used coconut fiber for my guys but would like to know if there is something better. I'm also wondering if that is what has caused the problem as that is the only thing that was recently changed.

Yeah, that's the worst of the worst places possibly on the planet to buy a t from. They were the specific place I had in mind when I mentioned possible trauma from shipping. They pack horribly, like with dirt, sponges and no padding...its amazing any survive. Shop anywhere but there for a new t....the classifieds here area source for dealers and breeders with excellent records of accuracy and success shipping...every seller here in the classifieds has a corresponding review page (its required), so you can shop with confidence.

And they don't have the many locations you think, they are a drop shipper, which means you are buying a t from them that they don't possess. They buy it from wherever, and have it shipped directly to you from wherever. Shady practice that explains poor shipping, inaccurate species and sexed ts, etc.[/QUOTE]

I currently do not have a camera as it took a dump on me so can't post pics. Hoping to get one for Christmas.

Agreed. Before I knew better I received a Pandinus imperator from them, and when it arrived I noticed it had no stinger. It died the next day.

Still post images of the set ups when you can. While the deaths are likely due to shipping trauma from the (debatable to use this term) vendor you used, it's still good to show us how they are set up in case anything needs to be corrected before you bring more home.

Also, assuming you are referring to Gammostola porteri/rosea and Brachypelma hamorii with the (minimally helpful) common names you provided, those should not be "misted" at all. Full water dish and dry substrate.


In the future it is best to use the scientific names so that we know exactly the species in question.

The Theraphosa spp. may not have even really been a true "goliath"

I've seen Lasiodora parahybana being sold as "GIANT GOLIATH BIRD EATERS" in the past.
I will certainly do this. I normally do not mist but the water dish didnt seem to be enough so I only did the corner where the water dish was. Everything else was dry. My enclosures look just like yours except for the sling. She has coconut fiber and a damp paper towel on one side. she is webbing and seems very happy.
 

darkness975

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I will certainly do this. I normally do not mist but the water dish didnt seem to be enough so I only did the corner where the water dish was. Everything else was dry. My enclosures look just like yours except for the sling. She has coconut fiber and a damp paper towel on one side. she is webbing and seems very happy.
The 2 species i posted are species that want it dry. The substrate is also coco fiber but i don't wet it for them at all, just keep the water dish full.
 
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