7 Rescued from tarantula hawk... Help!

[Dman]

To feed me will require a slurry of steak and lobster and the occasional slurry of apple pie and vanilla bean ice cream.

 

[Arthroverts]

No no no no no, it's veggies for you! Just because you can't move doesn't mean you shouldn't try to stay healthy! Maybe frozen yogurt slurry...

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[NukaMedia Exotics]

I say this with all sincerity... I really hope this experience has taught you a new way to deal with that feeling. Nature does not operate on our personal feelings.



We have Pepsis wasps in California, but they are smaller. There are tarantulas only in the central and southern part of the state. No one reputable will give you exact locations... you don't reveal animal locations online, for the safety of the native flora and fauna of that area.

I would think its public info and easy to figure out anyways? But probably smart I'm sure.

 

[Teal]

apple pie and vanilla bean ice cream.

Ohh, that reminds me I have an apple pie to bake. YUM.

I would think its public info and easy to figure out anyways? But probably smart I'm sure.

The range where Ts are found in California is public information, yes. But specific locations where people have found specimens is generally sacred knowledge in the hobby.

 

[NoviceAO]

The magnificent 7 are doing well!!! Two are able to walk slowly, and I've seen all of them wiggle their limbs. They each drink about 3 drops of water ever other day or so. Tomorrow marks 3 weeks since their stings by the tarantula hawks. So far, so good.

 

[Cherri]

I used to save a hentzis from being run over. I usually released them after giving them food and water. But I kept one male and bred him to my friend's female, so he still got laid. I actually found him in my basement.

 

[NoviceAO]

We hit 1 month and 1 day! All 7 still alive, tonight we celebrated with grasshopper juice instead of water. Mobility status is as follows: 2 cruisers, 1 crawler, 2 leg wigglers, and 2 toe wigglers. Changed the towel twice up to this point, theyre pooping so that has to be a good sign. Maybe its just pee? I dont know what their excrement look like, but this is brown liquid. Anyway, it will be interesting to see who makes it, hopefully all of them. Im still VERY open to housing, feeding, watering, and physical therapy suggestions, etc.

 

[Ungoliant]

Changed the towel twice up to this point, theyre pooping so that has to be a good sign. Maybe its just pee? I dont know what their excrement look like, but this is brown liquid.

Their poop comes out as a liquid.

 

[aarachnid]

I admire your dedication!

 

[NoviceAO]

weekly update... all 7 are going stonger than ever! last week i only had 2 walkers... now I have 4 that are fairly quick and another 1 that is "crawling". the last guy crawls about 2 inches in 10 minutes. but every last one is making big improvements. they tolerated the grasshopper juice last week we'll, this week wil be cricket juice. I was astoniahed how many more are walking this week. we are at the 1.5 month mark. I have noticed a few injuries now that they are moving, 1 missing leg, 1 stiff leg, and 1 that drags (you can see front left leg in the photo, bottom part drags)(on 3 separate T's). I wish i could post videos to this forum but will post on youtube and share the link later thos evening. they are otherwise doing SO well. im astonished they have made it this long,
BIG FAT THANK YOU to those of you who were supportive and offered constructive advise and support. I am in contact with a few entomologists who have verified I have a mix of mature males (2) young males (2) and females (3). they will stay with me as we continue their rehab. if they reach a point where they can feed on their own, I am in contact with the butterfly pavillion who is interested in keeping them and sharing their story with the kiddos and adults who go there. so far so good. I continue to be open to all CONSTRUCTIVE suggestions. thanks again to thouse of you who offered positive input, links, suggestions, etc. you've really helped me help these little guys. hoping for more progress in the weeks to come.

 

[aarachnid]

I’m so glad things are turning out as okay as they can so far!!

 

[Brachyfan]

This thread is really inspiring! Awesome to hear of keepers going above and beyond the call of duty! I am eagerly awaiting the next update. Good job and good luck with the tarantulas!

 

[NoviceAO]

https://www.youtube.com/user/olsonolie

there is the link to all the videos up to this point. I still have to load the watering video. here are the pics of the grasshoppers we used for the bug juice night. food processes didn't work well. next round well be mortar and pestle. open to suggestions to find them liquid nutrition!

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

https://www.youtube.com/user/olsonolie

there is the link to all the videos up to this point. I still have to load the watering video. here are the pics of the grasshoppers we used for the bug juice night. food processes didn't work well. next round well be mortar and pestle. open to suggestions to find them liquid nutrition!

The videos are very interesting. They all seem to be alert and make attempts to find shelter. My suggestion at this point is to house them all in individual opaque containers with a bit of slightly damp paper towel, with a few air holes of course, to let them finish their recovery undisturbed. All seven are really fat and healthy looking for wild tarantulas so the area you found them in must be ripe with all sorts of insects for them to eat. An area with a large population of large fat tarantulas is an indicator of a very healthy ecosystem.

I would also suggest forgoing the attempt to feed them by dropper. Tarantulas can go months without feeding just fine and given how fat these all are means they have enough energy reserves to last a good long time. It would be a good experiment to buy a small scale, such as those used to weigh envelopes for the mail, and weigh each one of them once a week to find out if they are dropping weight. Only if they start dropping weight would I suggest attempting to feed them ground up grasshopper, otherwise, I think they should be left alone to recover in peace and quiet.

 

[NoviceAO]

The videos are very interesting. They all seem to be alert and make attempts to find shelter. My suggestion at this point is to house them all in individual opaque containers with a bit of slightly damp paper towel, with a few air holes of course, to let them finish their recovery undisturbed. All seven are really fat and healthy looking for wild tarantulas so the area you found them in must be ripe with all sorts of insects for them to eat. An area with a large population of large fat tarantulas is an indicator of a very healthy ecosystem.

I would also suggest forgoing the attempt to feed them by dropper. Tarantulas can go months without feeding just fine and given how fat these all are means they have enough energy reserves to last a good long time. It would be a good experiment to buy a small scale, such as those used to weigh envelopes for the mail, and weigh each one of them once a week to find out if they are dropping weight. Only if they start dropping weight would I suggest attempting to feed them ground up grasshopper, otherwise, I think they should be left alone to recover in peace and quiet.

thank you SO much for the advice. I will start looking for enclosures. I'm concerned if they don't get out and move a bit they will have contractures. I'll look for a scale, I had a digital one for my chem class, I'll look... I like that idea a lot!
what about water? we've been doing the dropper, I don't want then dehydrating too much! is the moist paper towel sufficient? very happy to hear they look fat. we have so many different sizes. thank you again!

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

thank you SO much for the advice. I will start looking for enclosures. I'm concerned if they don't get out and move a bit they will have contractures. I'll look for a scale, I had a digital one for my chem class, I'll look... I like that idea a lot!
what about water? we've been doing the dropper, I don't want then dehydrating too much! is the moist paper towel sufficient? very happy to hear they look fat. we have so many different sizes. thank you again!

We must be on the site at the same time.

You don't have to spend too much time and effort looking for enclosures. All you need is any plastic container that is opaque or you could even use a translucent tupperware container and put them in a dark room. One tarantula per container of course! The idea of adding a bit of slightly damp paper towel is to not only give it a source of drinking water, but to add some humidity to the containers so the tarantulas don't desiccate. The paper towel will need to be changed regularly to prevent mold, bacteria growth, etc. You will be essentially making an artificial burrow chamber for each of the tarantulas to recover in.

The species you found, Aphonopelma hentzi, is built to withstand long periods without food and water. These "recovery chambers" I am describing are a means to prevent desiccation and to keep it from burning off too many calories by constantly moving. Out there in Colorado, the tarantulas are spending half of the year or more sealed up in their burrows not moving so they don't need to stretch their legs to recover properly.

By all means though, keep an eye on them and I hope you can find your digital scale. For full disclosure, I have never rehabilitated a tarantula from a tarantula hawk's sting. These suggestions are what I would do if in your situation so please don't hold me responsible if they all take a turn for the worse. What I do know is that tarantulas fair better by being left completely alone to let their bodies fight off any ailments. The progress these tarantulas have made thus far given their current care regiment is undeniable though. I just wonder if the treatment is being effective, or it really hasn't had any effect at all and they would recover the same without a constant supply of food and water by eyedropper.

 

[ThatsUnpossible]

I love those videos, it’s fascinating to see them all together like that. I think you’ve done a great job so far, well done.

 

[NoviceAO]

We must be on the site at the same time.

You don't have to spend too much time and effort looking for enclosures. All you need is any plastic container that is opaque or you could even use a translucent tupperware container and put them in a dark room. One tarantula per container of course! The idea of adding a bit of slightly damp paper towel is to not only give it a source of drinking water, but to add some humidity to the containers so the tarantulas don't desiccate. The paper towel will need to be changed regularly to prevent mold, bacteria growth, etc. You will be essentially making an artificial burrow chamber for each of the tarantulas to recover in.

The species you found, Aphonopelma hentzi, is built to withstand long periods without food and water. These "recovery chambers" I am describing are a means to prevent desiccation and to keep it from burning off too many calories by constantly moving. Out there in Colorado, the tarantulas are spending half of the year or more sealed up in their burrows not moving so they don't need to stretch their legs to recover properly.

By all means though, keep an eye on them and I hope you can find your digital scale. For full disclosure, I have never rehabilitated a tarantula from a tarantula hawk's sting. These suggestions are what I would do if in your situation so please don't hold me responsible if they all take a turn for the worse. What I do know is that tarantulas fair better by being left completely alone to let their bodies fight off any ailments. The progress these tarantulas have made thus far given their current care regiment is undeniable though. I just wonder if the treatment is being effective, or it really hasn't had any effect at all and they would recover the same without a constant supply of food and water by eyedropper.

excellent!! thank you! it's great to know a but more about their normal activity. I didn't think about them burning more than normal calories. I thought they we're ruining around like hooligans out there catching prey.
it was suggested to me to use moistened coconut husk and use something like a solo cup half way buried on its side for a hiding area. is this something that sounds reasonable?
thanks again for all the info and advice.
so far so good, we will see what comes in the weeks to follow. I'll give another update on Monday.

 

[Vanessa]

I thought they we're ruining around like hooligans out there catching prey.

While they might venture out for short distances to find food, tarantulas are primarily ambush predators. They construct a burrow, lay down a thin layer of webbing extending out from their burrow, and then basically sit just inside the entrance and wait until an insect crosses over the webbing. They don't really like to be out and about exposed for long periods, although it is sometimes necessary.
The mature males were definitely roaming around, though. Those boys are at the end of their life and are just looking to reproduce before they're gone.

 

[NoviceAO]

While they might venture out for short distances to find food, tarantulas are primarily ambush predators. They construct a burrow, lay down a thin layer of webbing extending out from their burrow, and then basically sit just inside the entrance and wait until an insect crosses over the webbing. They don't really like to be out and about exposed for long periods, although it is sometimes necessary.
The mature males were definitely roaming around, though. Those boys are at the end of their life and are just looking to reproduce before they're gone.

Thanks for the info. ive been told we have both boys and girls, so maybe they still could ??

I used to save a hentzis from being run over. I usually released them after giving them food and water. But I kept one male and bred him to my friend's female, so he still got laid. I actually found him in my basement.

How do you go about facilitating that? Obviously these tarantulas are nowhere near ready for that, but maybe once they recover I like to think I can still get them laid haha!