INJURED P.VITTATA

[milkytokes]

Hello guys, i bought a P.Vitatta from an expo 2 days ago, i didnt notice anything wrong with it as far as i know i fed it a cricket the day i got it to calm it down.


The vitatta is about 2inches maybe slightly more but it took the cricket down with ease and ate it up. that was the only time i ever opened the lid because the way i got it is actually a decent set up untill i figure out how i want it laid out...

anyway today she was in her classic "pokie stance" and i noticed her one pedipalp was literally stuck like all way up totally straight with no bends this is the first time i noticed and i bought from a very reputable breeder... they would have never ever sold me an injured t on purpose but they did travel a loong way to get to this expo.. like very long. and its a very small looking injury, you would need to actually stare at her to notice her 1 small broken pedipalp so im thinking maybe something happened in travel? or is there a chance the cricket i gave my vitatta that ive had for 2 days bit her pedipalp and that is the cause? i only opened it once to throw that 1 cricket in and never opened again... i need help trying to figure out what could be the reason for this broken pedipalp? or if it could be something else?

and also i want to know if there is anything i should do for my new pokie? help please. is there a chance that i may have caused this by throwing the cricket in? the cricket did not seem to big... she took it down with ease and ate it up no issues that i could see im worried because none of my Ts have ever had an injured pedipalp im also very worried it might fall off.

 

[Arachnophoric]

That sounds like a very odd injury. Can you get a picture of it for reference?

Injured limbs are actually not really a problem. If it's truly hindering your T, it's likely she'll self amputate (assuming they treat pedipalps the same way they treat the rest of their legs). She'll start growing it back next molt, and within a couple molts you won't even be able to tell she lost it in the first place. I'd imagine she may have a slightly harder time catching prey, but ultimately it's rather a non-issue and there's nothing you really need to do. Ts are pretty self-sufficient when it comes to leg injuries.

 

[milkytokes]

That sounds like a very odd injury. Can you get a picture of it for reference?

Injured limbs are actually not really a problem. If it's truly hindering your T, it's likely she'll self amputate (assuming they treat pedipalps the same way they treat the rest of their legs). She'll start growing it back next molt, and within a couple molts you won't even be able to tell she lost it in the first place. I'd imagine she may have a slightly harder time catching prey, but ultimately it's rather a non-issue and there's nothing you really need to do. Ts are pretty self-sufficient when it comes to leg injuries.

Yes i know its odd i really didnt think anything was wrong untill i saw a pedipalp sticking up like 90 degrees especially when ive only had for 2 days and only time i opened lid was to throw 1 single cricket in... and she took it down! also the person i bought at expo would never sell me an injured T on purpose... i dont understand why or how this happened and i really want to get to the bottom of it. The guy said a bite from a cricket could have possibly caused it. and i cant get a picture right now shes hidden deep and i really dont wanna stress her out so i cannot get a good pic. but basically picture this. its a p.vitatta about 2 inches and the 1 single pedipalp is totally straight absolutely no bends basically pointed all the way up from the beggining of it. she cannot move it. its stuck totally up. i have no idea why this happened i want to know why it happened so i can make sure it never happens again!

 

[lostbrane]

At this point it’s anyones guess. Sure a prey item could have done this, but you have nothing tangible to go on. It should be fine by next molt.

If anything just observe it when you can to try and figure it out but at this point you’re causing yourself undue stress.

 

[Arachnophoric]

Yes i know its odd i really didnt think anything was wrong untill i saw a pedipalp sticking up like 90 degrees especially when ive only had for 2 days and only time i opened lid was to throw 1 single cricket in... and she took it down! also the person i bought at expo would never sell me an injured T on purpose... i dont understand why or how this happened and i really want to get to the bottom of it. The guy said a bite from a cricket could have possibly caused it. and i cant get a picture right now shes hidden deep and i really dont wanna stress her out so i cannot get a good pic. but basically picture this. its a p.vitatta about 2 inches and the 1 single pedipalp is totally straight absolutely no bends basically pointed all the way up from the beggining of it. she cannot move it. its stuck totally up. i have no idea why this happened i want to know why it happened so i can make sure it never happens again!

Personally doubt it was from the cricket biting the T unless you threw a particularly large one in there. If the cricket struggled hard enough, I could see it happening though. Possibly did it on something in the cage or while in transit/being housed in her enclosure... Are you entirely certain she can't move it? Sometimes Ts like to sit in silly positions.

 

[lostbrane]

Just as an added anecdote my C. versicolor sling has an injured leg and is also completely missing a pedipalp (it was my fault and I still feel terribly about it) but it gets water and eats just fine so...

 

[Greasylake]

I wouldn't worry about a pedipalp. At that size you should be expecting a molt in around 2 months anyway.

 

[Jayk]

It could just be doing that itself, I've noticed my t's legs resting in some really bizarre ways, some of which look rather painful, however they tend to sort them selves out after a while.

 

[milkytokes]

Personally doubt it was from the cricket biting the T unless you threw a particularly large one in there. If the cricket struggled hard enough, I could see it happening though. Possibly did it on something in the cage or while in transit/being housed in her enclosure... Are you entirely certain she can't move it? Sometimes Ts like to sit in silly positions.

no its been stuck the same for over a week, no matter what position its in its always stuck upright

 

[Venom1080]

Well, you'll be happy to know it doesn't matter at all. I wouldn't worry if it had no pedipalps and 4 legs. They grow quickly, and problems like that are fixed within months.

I've had something similar with a C versicolor. Didn't use one of the legs, it just stuck straight out. All good now.