uh i got this tarantula from a customer at my store. He seems pretty sick. he was housing him in a 10 gallon tank witch i found ridiculous considering he is the size of both my hands. I'm new to the arachnid world but i want to try and help this guy before he passes. his abdomen is always shriveled even though he is mostly in his water bowl so i don't really think he is dehydrated. He gets stressed when i put his light on. He just passes his tank. my current set up isn't really the best for him either but i'm working on it. I do believe it is a male Goliath. Here is a pic. Do you think hes gunna make it?
I need some help.
- Thread starter SavageKev
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Marijan2
Arachnobaron
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i think you got the OLD male Theraphosa spp. I don't think you can do much anymore, he will die soon and you can't do much about it. Try giving food, but i doubt it will help
Whats his overall size front right leg to back left leg?
When a male matures they pretty much are on the clock for death. If they try to molt again its usually unsuccessful and does damage. From the picture it loks like his legs are wonky. If hes not old and mature then it may have been a just very bad normal molt.
Laying on his stomach pretty much curled up he is about 5 and a half inches. His legs have been progressively turning black. I acctually noticed that he is missing the end of one of his legs as well. He used to walk on his tippy toes now he just kinda walk flat footed and close to the floor. He pretty much has all the tell tail signs of death.
thespiderguy
Arachnopeon
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That looks like a very unhealthy spider (obvious, but wow). With food and water, and him apparently taking lots of both it will be interesting to see if he improves.
The hard part is if he is curling up when he is not moving. That seems like a clear sign of him possibly being on the out.
I hope he improves rather than otherwise!
The hard part is if he is curling up when he is not moving. That seems like a clear sign of him possibly being on the out.
I hope he improves rather than otherwise!
Have you tried an ICU arrangement for him? If he's sitting near his dish, that's an indication of being thirsty. Has he tanked up? You say he's eating - feeding him every day?
He does look on the way out, but I had a MM hentzi that looked that way, too, death curl and all. I ICU'd him, fed him up, and he mated with two females before finally being too slow to get away three weeks later.
Marga
He does look on the way out, but I had a MM hentzi that looked that way, too, death curl and all. I ICU'd him, fed him up, and he mated with two females before finally being too slow to get away three weeks later.
Marga
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looks like a POST ultimate male to me (could be wrong though)
I don't really see why we think it's male. I can't see anything from that photo. Are there any indications that this is a mature male?
If not, one thing that could easily be the problem is a humidity issue. We have bad molts (which is clearly the case, not debating that) when we have spiders in overly dry conditions AND with this particular genus good humidity is a key feature of their successful care in captivity anyway. Wouldn't be hard to imagine this T living in too dry of conditions in general and then having a problem with a molt as a result of it.
Can it still eat? It is really a mature male? Answers to these questions will help a lot as far as predicting the prognosis of it.
ok. its eatting very well. i feed it till it refuses the food. he eats about 6-7 crickets every other day and about 2-4 on a bad day. im not sure the age as i told you it just kinda fell in my lap. my major concern is weather he will live or not because i was going to get all of his necesities. hmidity is most definitley a problem i try and keep the tank missed but i dont spray him just the soil. i did research on him but it was unfortunatley after i aqcuired him. i curently have it in a regular 30 gallon long tank.
~pardon my spelling new phone.
~pardon my spelling new phone.
I can't see the T's pedipalps in your photo so can't say if he's a mature male or not. What I can say is your substrate looks awfully dry for Theraphosa stirmi. They like high humidity in their enclosures so just misting the sub is not really going to be sufficient. A shrivelled abdomen is a classic sign of dehydration, so I'd also suggest you transfer the T to an ICU just to see what happens. If it does show signs of improvement then you're going to have to take steps to ramp up the humidity in the tank before you put the T back in.
Good luck.
Good luck.
I agree with Londoner on the transfer to an ICU. Here is a brief video on making a ICU.
[YOUTUBE]9lAx1z6vKZE[/YOUTUBE]
If it turn out to be a mature male and if you are able to get "him" healthy again then I would try to sell him to a breeder quickly as MMs do not live very long. The classified boards here as well as local classifieds as a good way to locate a buyer.
[YOUTUBE]9lAx1z6vKZE[/YOUTUBE]
If it turn out to be a mature male and if you are able to get "him" healthy again then I would try to sell him to a breeder quickly as MMs do not live very long. The classified boards here as well as local classifieds as a good way to locate a buyer.
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You should get your tarantula into a ICU. Then try and get us some pics of his pedipalps. Then if he/she does pull through, you need to keep the substrate alot moister than just misting it. When you mist the substrate it will dry out pretty fast. Best to pour water into the substrate with a cup or bottle.
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Just use a large plastic container not much bigger than the tarantula. Line the bottom and sides with a thick layer of paper towels. Then moisten them down pretty well, and place the spider in. Good luck.
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I'd say it was unlikely.
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Take photos of the ends of the palps.
Make an icu, or just put some moist sub in a tupperwater container and only make a couple of holes - don't worry, it won't suffocate. If you insist on using an exo, fill it as high as you can without it spilling out of the doors, and block off all top ventilation with tape or saran wrap. Blocking off ventilation will help maintain humidity, so you won't be needing to mist much if at all. Don't forget the water dish.
The fact that it's eating leads me to believe it's not dying just yet, and is just in poor condition, or an old mature male.
We just need a quick shot of the palps so we can see the ends. From the side preferably.
Make an icu, or just put some moist sub in a tupperwater container and only make a couple of holes - don't worry, it won't suffocate. If you insist on using an exo, fill it as high as you can without it spilling out of the doors, and block off all top ventilation with tape or saran wrap. Blocking off ventilation will help maintain humidity, so you won't be needing to mist much if at all. Don't forget the water dish.
The fact that it's eating leads me to believe it's not dying just yet, and is just in poor condition, or an old mature male.
We just need a quick shot of the palps so we can see the ends. From the side preferably.
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any updates or pics of the palps?