I came home to horror

Shampain88

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IMG_0563.JPG My 1" (dls) H.Pulchripes has lot a pedipalp and a significant number of legs 4 I think... No crickets inside or any other feeders and always access to water... It might have moulted when I was away for two days, any advice please? It's been fumbling about through its enclosure since... :(
 

darkness975

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Yeah but it's picked them up walking/fumbling around its enclosure :( I gave a good spray on the webbing15 min ago
Sounds like a bad molt that left it missing a few legs. If its fangs are intact then it will be able to feed. Keep the temperatures up to hopefully trigger the next molt faster.
 

Shampain88

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Sounds like a bad molt that left it missing a few legs. If its fangs are intact then it will be able to feed. Keep the temperatures up to hopefully trigger the next molt faster.
Should I keep it wetter than usual?
 

Chris LXXIX

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If my eyes aren't wrong I see five legs and one pedipalp.

If the chelicerae are ok and there aren't internal issues etc I think the spider will recover with more molts, but I'm not 100% sure, because we need to hope that no internal damage happened.
 

darkness975

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Should I keep it wetter than usual?
They come from South Africa. Keeping the Enclosure too moist will not help, especially a species that is Arid.

If it is awkward but still able to get about, and if its fangs are intact, you can offer it crippled prey to minimize resistance and bump up the Temperature to increase its metabolic rate and trigger a molt faster.

You will have to "baby" it a bit until the next molt, but as long as there is no internal damage you won't even be able to tell there was an issue a couple molts from now.
 

Shampain88

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If my eyes aren't wrong I see five legs and one pedipalp.

If the chelicerae are ok and there aren't internal issues etc I think the spider will recover with more molts, but I'm not 100% sure, because we need to hope that no internal damage happened.
I think you're right but it's hard to tell, thanks for your advice bro :)
 

Shampain88

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They come from South Africa. Keeping the Enclosure too moist will not help, especially a species that is Arid.

If it is awkward but still able to get about, and if its fangs are intact, you can offer it crippled prey to minimize resistance and bump up the Temperature to increase its metabolic rate and trigger a molt faster.

You will have to "baby" it a bit until the next molt, but as long as there is no internal damage you won't even be able to tell there was an issue a couple molts from now.
Thanks for your help, really appreciate it... Is this common?
 

darkness975

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Thanks for your help, really appreciate it... Is this common?
Bad molts don't happen often enough to be considered "common" in the traditional sense of the word. But they happen enough to definitely be a factor in Tarantula keeping. I always get nervous during molts because I am one of those "be prepared for the worst but hope for the best" type people and I know that molting complications can possibly happen.

To minimize the chances of it happening, make sure they stay hydrated with a full water dish and make sure that their enclosures are set up so that they won't fall and acquire internal injuries and such. Avoid using sharp objects as decorations and don't use feeders that could cause noteworthy injuries (some people try feeding their spiders Stenopelmatus, for example, which is a bad idea). Also, don't feed them mice.

Give this thread a read. The chances of the Spider surviving seemed remote. But the end result was surprising. Although ultimately it may have killed the spider, the fact it survived so long with such a blatant injury (insides spilling out) shows that they are incredibly resilient.
http://arachnoboards.com/threads/white-blob-on-her-fang-rose-hair.282311/


As long as there are no internal injuries and the fangs are intact yours should come through alright.
 

Mila

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May 7, 2017
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if you think about the process of moulting then it makes a lot of sense why its dangerous and can really cripple the animal
 
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