4 Deformed legs following a molt

[Stacy Welker]

Hi , im new to this site and am really needing some help. Ive had my tarantula for 17 years. She molted a week ago, and it was her first ever bad molt. I've never seen my spider anything but perfect and beautiful, but now she has 4 badly deformed legs. I thought she had completed the molt successfully, but she was up against the glass on one side, and I failed to completely view her from all angles. Having thought the molt went fine, I left for the night. 12 hours later and she was still sitting on her molt. I spun the cage around and saw that she wasn't even all the way out on her left side . The legs were curled up against the glass in such a way that she was unable to pull straight out of it. So, the back 3 legs on her left side, and the back leg on her right side are totally not right, and she hasn't moved or accepted food more than a week later. I feel as tho these legs need to go in order to have any kind of mobility. But I can't do it. I can't. Plz see the pics and tell me what i should do!

 

[Vanessa]

For what it is worth, I have had a similar situation, but with a much younger girl.
My Aphonopelma seemanni came to me with three legs on one side completely useless, probably a bad moulting scenario as well. She had a very difficult time getting around and would flip over constantly whenever she tried to move with any speed. She had three very difficult moults following me getting her, one where she was stuck after moulting upright, because she just couldn't use those three legs at all... they were completely useless. She did have difficulty catching her food, but I wounded it for her and placed it close by to her. She still isn't okay, but she has improved slowly with each moult.
I guess my purpose of telling this story is that it isn't an automatic death sentence, although your girl is much older. You will need to ensure that she has a water dish that is flush with the substrate, so that she doesn't have to climb to get water, but is not so deep that she goes in and can't get back out again. You will need to help her eat as well, depending on how badly damaged they are and how much use she has of them.
You will need to give her a few days, to a couple of weeks, to let her harden up and assess the damage properly. There could be a chance that her legs might improve a bit. Ensure that she has plenty of fresh water and lots of room to stretch out.
That substrate that you have her on is really not appropriate. She needs to have a soft substrate like the coco fiber or soil. Wood shavings and gravel is the worst substrate that she could have. I wouldn't go moving her into a new enclosure in her current state, but, if she recovers, she will need to have a better setup put together for her.

 

[Stacy Welker]

!

For what it is worth, I have had a similar situation, but with a much younger girl.
My Aphonopelma seemanni came to me with three legs on one side completely useless, probably a bad moulting scenario as well. She had a very difficult time getting around and would flip over constantly whenever she tried to move with any speed. She had three very difficult moults following me getting her, one where she was stuck after moulting upright, because she just couldn't use those three legs at all... they were completely useless. She did have difficulty catching her food, but I wounded it for her and placed it close by to her. She still isn't okay, but she has improved slowly with each moult.
I guess my purpose of telling this story is that it isn't an automatic death sentence, although your girl is much older. You will need to ensure that she has a water dish that is flush with the substrate, so that she doesn't have to climb to get water, but is not so deep that she goes in and can't get back out again. You will need to help her eat as well, depending on how badly damaged they are and how much use she has of them.
You will need to give her a few days, to a couple of weeks, to let her harden up and assess the damage properly. There could be a chance that her legs might improve a bit. Ensure that she has plenty of fresh water and lots of room to stretch out.
That substrate that you have her on is really not appropriate. She needs to have a soft substrate like the coco fiber or soil. Wood shavings and gravel is the worst substrate that she could have. I wouldn't go moving her into a new enclosure in her current state, but, if she recovers, she will need to have a better setup put together for her.

That was super helpful, thank u so so much. I saw this video where a guy amputated his tarantulas legs. I was terrified of having to do that. I know they can drop legs, but I'm not sure it can be done unless they feel threatened or shortly after a molt . The shallow water dish advice is amazing. I've been worrying about that. I know she's quite old and have been preparing myself for the possibility that this could be her last go. It saddens me to think it would be in such a miserable way. I will definitely change her substrate in about a week or so. A friend of mine brought the tank for me and set it up that way. I just never got around to fixing it, regretfully. Thank u. U really appreciate ur thoughtful advice.