# Tarantula ICU



## DratzKennedy (Dec 6, 2017)

Im just curious as to what your guy's opinion is on putting a tarantula in an ICU (when done correctly) versus attempting to rehydrate a tarantula in its enclosure.


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## KezyGLA (Dec 6, 2017)

You will have completely mixed reaction. 

I can see it working with tropical specimens in some situations but personally it would be a very last resort for me.

Reactions: Agree 6


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## Nightstalker47 (Dec 6, 2017)

Contrary to popular belief, ICUs aren't completely useless.The main issue is that some keepers assume it's the go to solution for every problem they might encounter. 

ICUs should only ever be used in extreme instances, with severely dehydrated specimens. The species type (arid, subtropical) needs to be taken into account as well.

And most importantly, don't leave the spider inside for prolonged periods, just long enough to rehydrate. A couple of hours at most, if not your doing more harm then good.

Reactions: Agree 2 | Informative 1


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## DratzKennedy (Dec 6, 2017)

In reality, my oen reaction to the question is a mixed one. Like you said i feel an ICU is only last resort for me. I personally have seen a tarantula sling go from death curl and presumably dead, to being able to crawl the walls of the icu and support its own weight overnight. Said tarantula is still alive and well. I have also seen an ICU almost seem to make matters worse and that T was lost in the process. Thankfully i have onky had to put a spider in an ICU once and it was the possitive result, but it was last resort and if im being honest i thought the spider was vone already, i was just not willing to give up on the little guy, and im glad i made that decision. I can agree that the process of taking an ill specimen out of its enclosure and into an ICU is probably alot more stressful, and in return could be detrimental to the T, but im curious what ways you could go about reviving an ill T while still in its enclosure. ???

Reactions: Informative 1


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## DratzKennedy (Dec 6, 2017)

Thank you for the info Nightstalker! At what time do you feel it to be proper ro introduce the spider back into its original enclosure?


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## KezyGLA (Dec 6, 2017)

DratzKennedy said:


> but im curious what ways you could go about reviving an ill T while still in its enclosure. ???


For dehydrated specimens placing moutparts over water dish usually does the trick.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## DratzKennedy (Dec 6, 2017)

KezyGLA said:


> For dehydrated specimens placing moutparts over water dish usually does the trick.



This sounds like a good tactic, similar to what i had thought of. Have you tried this with small slings? What did you use as a waterbowl? Do you find that bringing the humidity up in the enclosure makes a difference as well or is it mainly getting the T to an actual water sourse and seeing that it is able to physically drink the water?


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## cold blood (Dec 6, 2017)

I think the times where an ICU would help are exceedingly rare.   Im not at all a believer in them for the most part.  I personally think 90% of ts that get put in an ICU, wont be helped....and many of those could actually be harmed.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Nightstalker47 (Dec 6, 2017)

DratzKennedy said:


> Thank you for the info Nightstalker! At what time do you feel it to be proper ro introduce the spider back into its original enclosure?


 Anytime man, it really depends on each individual situation. Some may take longer then others, you do need to observe the spiders body language(posture) regularly, for dehydrated slings it could take as little as an hour.

I recently saved one of my P.fortis this way. I hadn't noticed but the enclosure had dried out. My fault completely, found it partially curled and looking grim. I instantly knew that dehydration was the culprit, so I acted quickly. 

I prepared an ICU, slightly moistened(emphasis on that) some paper towels and added a bottle cap with fresh water. Placed the P.fortis chelicerae on the cap and took my leave. 

Returned to check on it an hour later and it was lively as hell, completely bounced back and drank all the water I had provided. I made sure the enclosure was spick and span before re-introducing the sling. Fed it that same night and it's still doing great to this day. This is the little guy right here, has molted once since the incident.

Reactions: Like 1


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## cold blood (Dec 6, 2017)

Nightstalker47 said:


> Anytime man, it really depends on each individual situation. Some may take longer then others, you do need to observe the spiders body language(posture) regularly, for dehydrated slings it could take as little as an hour.
> 
> I recently saved one of my P.fortis this way. I hadn't noticed but the enclosure had dried out. My fault completely, found it partially curled and looking grim. I instantly knew that dehydration was the culprit, so I acted quickly.
> 
> ...


Yeah, but the same thing would have probably occurred had you just moistened the enclosure and put it by the water dish.  I'm not saying it didn't help, and it _certainly_ didn't hurt....but you can't say with any certainty that the outcome would have been any different had you just dampened the enclosure and added water to the dish.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## miss moxie (Dec 6, 2017)

I'm with cold blood on this. I personally feel like you can recreate the beneficial conditions of an ICU in their enclosure, without stressing them out by moving them. Adding a handful of wet sphagnum moss to a corner of the enclosure will add humidity to the enclosure, for example. Maybe if an arid species needed to dry out, putting them in a dry ICU while you dry out the substrate or whatever but typically that's not the case.


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## Nightstalker47 (Dec 6, 2017)

cold blood said:


> Yeah, but the same thing would have probably occurred had you just moistened the enclosure and put it by the water dish.  I'm not saying it didn't help, and it _certainly_ didn't hurt....but you can't say with any certainty that the outcome would have been any different had you just dampened the enclosure and added water to the dish.


Your probably right, but the main point here was that the ICU can be very helpful if done properly.

Another thing I forgot to mention was that the deli cup I used had ample ventilation. The real killer with ICUs are the lack of ventilation, ultimately leading to stuffy stagnating air. If you keep it well ventilated, and make access to water easy, it works.


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## DratzKennedy (Dec 17, 2017)

I wanted to do an update on this thread as i have been away for a bit....

The sling mentioned in my previous comments is the sling involved in the situation that sparked my wanting to create the thread. The sling is in great condition now and jist molted last week. Accepted its first post-molt meal today, and seems to be thriving! 

I cant say 100% wether it was putting it in the icu that revived it, i can however say i feel the outcome would have been similar had i kept the sling in its enclosure and simulated the conditions of an icu within. 

Hopefully i will not have to make the decision again for a very long time if not ever


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