11th Day on Her Back

Cuppeycake

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 24, 2020
Messages
6
Hello helpful people! A loved one reached out to me for help with her rose hair, and I have exhausted the limits of my knowledge on the subject. T in question was found on her back 11 days ago now, looked like she was trying to molt but the carapace never popped off, I expected she was going to die but her legs are still moving and there's no smell. We have tried higher humidity and bringing her in the bathroom for a shower but no luck. At this point I'm wondering if something else could be the problem. Any advice?
 

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Poonjab

Arachnoking
Active Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2019
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2,755
Looks dead to me. Just how much are the legs moving?
 

Thekla

Arachnoprince
Joined
Oct 13, 2017
Messages
1,878
I'm really surprised she's still moving, from the pictures alone I'd say she's dead for sure, especially after 11 days. :embarrassed:

Have you tried giving her water? That's the only thing I can think of right now. Try to administer water directly to her mouthparts. But I wouldn't get my hopes up, there's something seriously wrong with her and I don't think she's gonna make it. Sorry. :(
 

Cuppeycake

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 24, 2020
Messages
6
They won't work for anyone, they are Snapchat videos.
Am I unable to upload videos downloaded from snapchat? They are MP4 format so they should work fine, and the links are working for me. I will ask them to email the videos to be re-uploaded
 

RezonantVoid

Hollow Knight
Joined
Jan 7, 2018
Messages
1,354
Can we see some photos of the entire enclosure? It might help us to get a better idea of possible causes
 

Reezelbeezelbug

Arachnosquire
Joined
Apr 24, 2020
Messages
101
Looks like some yellow goo on the walls next to the abdomen in the original photos and some crustiness around the spinnerettes in the video too. Maybe an impaction she can't pass or something? This is just a guess and I'm not sure what you'd do to fix that. Little girl is a trooper, fingers crossed she pulls through whatever is going on.
 

EnigmaNyx

Arachnoknight
Joined
Oct 21, 2020
Messages
273
Am I unable to upload videos downloaded from snapchat? They are MP4 format so they should work fine, and the links are working for me. I will ask them to email the videos to be re-uploaded
The videos work fine for me. It's incredible that she's still moving that much after that long a time. I'm assuming based on the fact she was on her substrate in the pictures and then on a paper towel that she was moved, so that would essentially scratch out the idea that there was a feeder living under her and playin her like a puppet.

Any changes in husbandry in the last while? New items added to her enclosure? A full picture of her enclosure would be greatly helpful. She could've fallen, that would be a really sad death for 11 days.
 

Cuppeycake

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 24, 2020
Messages
6
Can we see some photos of the entire enclosure? It might help us to get a better idea of possible causes
I attached a photo of her enclosure, and a log that was removed after the first couple days on her back. She was left alone at first to give her time and space to molt, when that didn't work I suggested bringing her in the bathroom for a shower, when that didn't work she was placed on the paper towel and I asked her to look and see if there was any breaks in the carapace which we did not find. To my knowledge nothing has changed with her enclosure or care for quite some time. We have been dropping water on her mouth and she does appear to be drinking it.
 

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Cuppeycake

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 24, 2020
Messages
6
Looks like some yellow goo on the walls next to the abdomen in the original photos and some crustiness around the spinnerettes in the video too. Maybe an impaction she can't pass or something? This is just a guess and I'm not sure what you'd do to fix that. Little girl is a trooper, fingers crossed she pulls through whatever is going on.
I was wondering about impaction too. I asked if this was a possibilty and was sent the attached image. Sounds like she was leaking some fluid when she was found and possibly still is ((sorry if any of these are bad quality, struggling to get anything sent to me that's more visible))
 

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EnigmaNyx

Arachnoknight
Joined
Oct 21, 2020
Messages
273
I attached a photo of her enclosure, and a log that was removed after the first couple days on her back. She was left alone at first to give her time and space to molt, when that didn't work I suggested bringing her in the bathroom for a shower, when that didn't work she was placed on the paper towel and I asked her to look and see if there was any breaks in the carapace which we did not find. To my knowledge nothing has changed with her enclosure or care for quite some time. We have been dropping water on her mouth and she does appear to be drinking it.
My guess is a fall. Woodchips = bad, and she doesn't have enough substrate. They like to climb, and unfortunately lose their grip sometimes, which can be catastrophic. The recommended amount of substrate is enough so that the space above is no more than 1.5x the length of the T. Unfortunately she's probably dying slowly, but I would pass along that if your loved one decides to keep another T, that she makes an account here so we can help her create the right environment for the T so things like this are less likely to occur.

I'm sorry for her and your loss :sad: The fight isn't over but it's not looking good.
 

Cuppeycake

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 24, 2020
Messages
6
My guess is a fall. Woodchips = bad, and she doesn't have enough substrate. They like to climb, and unfortunately lose their grip sometimes, which can be catastrophic. The recommended amount of substrate is enough so that the space above is no more than 1.5x the length of the T. Unfortunately she's probably dying slowly, but I would pass along that if your loved one decides to keep another T, that she makes an account here so we can help her create the right environment for the T so things like this are less likely to occur.

I'm sorry for her and your loss :sad: The fight isn't over but it's not looking good.
I will definitely be bringing up the substrate! She has other Ts, and while I'm not sure what their enclosures look like definitely want to fix that.
 

EnigmaNyx

Arachnoknight
Joined
Oct 21, 2020
Messages
273
I will definitely be bringing up the substrate! She has other Ts, and while I'm not sure what their enclosures look like definitely want to fix that.
If you want you can start a new thread, get pics of each of her other enclosures, then number the photos in the thread. We can hop in there and help critique each photo to help her out so this sort of unfortunate event is less likely to occur. That would be my suggestion.
 

Baby T

Arachnoknight
Joined
Dec 7, 2018
Messages
266
That is an insane amount of space between sub and lid of enclosure. Very likely a fall, especially if she was climbing and close to a molt.
I'd love to say hope she pulls through... But doesn't look good 😢 sorry
 

RezonantVoid

Hollow Knight
Joined
Jan 7, 2018
Messages
1,354
Ok, a few things need addressing ASAP. First up, wood chips make for a horrible substrate. Not only are they a poor burrowing medium that holds no moisture, they are also sharp. This means the T can seriously injure itself when molting or in the most likely case in this situation, falling. The distance between the top of the enclosure and the top of the substrate is far too high for a heavy bodied terrestrial species. Basically, imagine dropping a water balloon from that height onto sharp wood chips.

Best course of action would be to get cocofibre/cocopeat and fill the tank a bit over halfway. If she is drinking drops of water at the moment, try filling a water dish and carefully place her mouth on top of it
 

Rigor Mortis

Arachnobaron
Joined
Nov 7, 2018
Messages
498
Not that this helps the T, but I don't think that's wood chips. It looks like shredded coconut fibre. My first T has it in her enclosure because I didn't know you could buy it finer than shredded.
 

RezonantVoid

Hollow Knight
Joined
Jan 7, 2018
Messages
1,354
Not that this helps the T, but I don't think that's wood chips. It looks like shredded coconut fibre. My first T has it in her enclosure because I didn't know you could buy it finer than shredded.
Even if it is shredded cocofibre, it still has large sharp chunks as seen the first few photos which pose a risk
 
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