Help! Is it dying
He was placed in a small plastic tub by pet shop and wrapped the tub in newspaper but when I got him home he didn’t look good. He hasn’t walked but keeps looking like he he trying to get up. What has happened?
 
Was it exposed to cold for a long time? Did it look good when it was at the shop? Its abdomen does look a little on the small side which makes me think maybe dehydration or a rupture.
 
It was very active in the pet shop. Looked great actually. But was in my car boot for like 2 hours. I’m thinking he didn’t package it well enough. Anyway I put it in a tub with wet paper towels on a heat pad as well and it seems to be recovering. Well it’s legs are working again and it’s moving around a bit. Oh and the abdomen was small at the store I just thought maybe it’s a male. Is that a wrong assessment?
 
@Greasylake @KezyGLA I can’t see anything leaking from him anywhere if that’s what you mean by rupture. No obvious signs of damage. I’m praying he’s ok and that I’ve stepped in on time to save him.
 
Sounds like it was probably cold. Take it off the heat mat, you could dehydrate it make the situation worse. A small abdomen doesn't mean its Male, it just means it hasn't eaten in a while or hasn't had a good drink. If there's no damage and it seems to be recovering I'll bet itll be okay. Take it out of the ICU as they usually just do more harm than good. Put it in the enclosure with a full waterdish close by, and make sure the room is around 70 to 80 degrees. It should continue recovering like that.
 
@Trincess "Oh and the abdomen was small at the store I just thought maybe it’s a male. Is that a wrong assessment?"

Yes, that is a wrong assessment. A small abdomen means it hasn't been fed properly and is possibly dehydrated - or it has molted very recently. Mature males look different and juvenile males look like any other female.
Take it out of the ICU. Moisture is good, but a water bowl in easy reach is much better than moist towels. You may even just place the whole front end of the tarantula in a shallow water dish. It won't drown.
 
Ok so Laverne (that’s it’s new name) went from being almost dead earlier to playing obsessively in his water dish. But now I’m worried he might drown if he stays in there. @boina
 

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