A. Avic sling dying - need help

[Erik Hammock]

I messed up big guys. So yesterday i bought a a. Avic sling. She is very pretty and active.. Until earlier tonight. She was fine before i left home, and when i came back she was death curled. I immediately took her and placed her in a ICU because i saw her move a leg very slightly. Im almost 100% sure it was because i left the lamp on her. So i came to the conclusion she was severly dehydrated. I flipped her over, and started dripping purified water into her mouth, careful not to get her book lungs wet. She would slowly close her legs under her, and then slowly extend them back out. Which im sure meant she was alive. I also put her mouth down into water but angled her to where her book lungs didnt touch the water. After two hours of rinsing and repeating this process, i put her in the icu. I just went in to check on her, and her legs are twitching!! Like side to side, up and down, never seen it. Did she die? Is the twitching rigormortous? I know i spelled that wrong. Thanks

 

[miss moxie]

We need pictures of the enclosure and the tarantula to be able to help better. By lamp do you mean heat lamp?

 

[Erik Hammock]

We need pictures of the enclosure and the tarantula to be able to help better. By lamp do you mean heat lamp?

No not a heat lamp, just a reg. 70 watt lamp but it still put off some heat. Her enclosure was perfect, coconut coir substrate kept moist but not too wet. A vertical hollow tube of cork bark, and a small water dish. And a fake plant. 20+ ventilation holes. Since everything with the enclosure was fine, i believe it was the lamp?? I believe it just dried her up. I think she just died, she tried to get up but couldnt. And then her legs started twitching from side to side like ive never seen before

 

[miss moxie]

That picture isn't helpful, I need a picture of the entire enclosure. How close was this light bulb to your tarantula? Unless it was like 1" or less from the top of the enclosure then I don't see how a 70w bulb could kill a spiderling in a single day.

 

[Erik Hammock]

That picture isn't helpful, I need a picture of the entire enclosure. How close was this light bulb to your tarantula? Unless it was like 1" or less from the top of the enclosure then I don't see how a 70w bulb could kill a spiderling in a single day.

The terrarium is perfectly fine, thats not the issue. I raised two other avics the same way and they are adults now, the ONLY difference is the lamp... Or maybe it could be something i didnt do? Mortality rate, sick before i got her? Idk, all i can think of is dehydration? I dont see how a 70w lamp could either. But ive never had a T die, or a sling. The enclosure isnt the issue, infact i used the same enclosure i successfully raised two other avic slings in, set up and temp and humidity kept the exact same (with fresh substrate and new cork bark per usual.) The bulb was about 5" - 7" away.

 

[Nephila Edulis]

The terrarium is perfectly fine, thats not the issue. I raised two other avics the same way and they are adults now, the ONLY difference is the lamp... Or maybe it could be something i didnt do? Mortality rate, sick before i got her? Idk, all i can think of is dehydration? I dont see how a 70w lamp could either. But ive never had a T die, or a sling. The enclosure isnt the issue, infact i used the same enclosure i successfully raised two other avics slings in (with fresh substrate and new cork bark per usual.) The bulb was about 5" - 7" away.

If she has a water dish and the sub was slightly damp I wouldn't think that it'd be dehydration. It could very well be something else from before you got her.

 

[miss moxie]

Alright, you asked for help and I told you what I needed to make a better suggestion and you refuse to offer that so exactly how am I supposed to help you? With what you're telling me all I can offer is "sometimes tarantulas just die" and maybe that will satisfy you but if you want a more definitive answer then work with me. If not, then my hands are tied. You're the one who knows everything about this situation, I don't. I'm trying to learn everything to be of more help than "welp crap happens."

 

[Erik Hammock]

If she has a water dish and the sub was slightly damp I wouldn't think that it'd be dehydration. It could very well be something else from before you got her.

Hmmmm... I think so, actually. Do you think i could take it up with the shop i bought her from?

 

[Erik Hammock]

There are plenty more answers than " welp crap happens". I told you everything you need to know. All i was wonder is if the lamp coulda done it, and if her twitching was rigormortis and if she was alive, if there was anything else i could do. The only thing i didnt provide for you were pictures, which i cant take right now. If you are so dead set on the picture of the enclosure being the answer to these question, then i will post them in the morning. Thanks for your cooperation

Alright, you asked for help and I told you what I needed to make a better suggestion and you refuse to offer that so exactly how am I supposed to help you? With what you're telling me all I can offer is "sometimes tarantulas just die" and maybe that will satisfy you but if you want a more definitive answer then work with me. If not, then my hands are tied. You're the one who knows everything about this situation, I don't. I'm trying to learn everything to be of more help than "welp crap happens."

 

[boina]

There are plenty more answers than " welp crap happens". I told you everything you need to know. All i was wonder is if the lamp coulda done it, and if her twitching was rigormortis and if she was alive, if there was anything else i could do. The only thing i didnt provide for you were pictures, which i cant take right now. If you are so dead set on the picture of the enclosure being the answer to these question, then i will post them in the morning. Thanks for your cooperation

Rigor mortis doesn't happen in spiders - only in vertebrates.

ICUs are useless, they just kill Avics faster.

Two Avics surviving your husbandry doesn't make it good husbandry - it doesn't make it bad husbandry either, it just doesn't mean a thing. Anecdotal evidence is no evidence of anything.

If you are sure you are doing everything right, then why do you even ask around here? You are about as uncooperative as can be.

What exactly do you want to hear?

 

[miss moxie]

I mean there was a lot wrong with what you said. Time seemed to be of the essence given your urgency, so I wasn't going to sit there and nit pick all the wrong before I tried to offer my help. As mentioned above, ICUs are an awful choice for Avicularia species. "So the water wouldn't touch her book lungs" means you think that the water would get into her book lungs and drown her. That's simply not true. Tarantulas can only drown if you intentionally set out to drown them, as in if you hold them under the water for an incredibly long time. There are videos of Avicularia species walking across water. I even have a video of my .5" C. versicolor sling walking on the water in their water dish. Their substrate shouldn't be completely moist, just overfilling their water dish provides them the proper humidity they need to survive.

Asking for pictures of an enclosure is standard procedure when someone comes and tells us there is something wrong with their tarantula. I've literally never had anyone refuse to provide pictures when prompted, never even seen it happen to others. You can go ahead and dislike as many of my posts as you want but it doesn't change the fact that I was completely reasonable in asking for them and then pointing out I couldn't be as helpful as possible when you won't cooperate with me.

 

[Venom1080]

Sorry man, but that husbandry is off. Just because two spiders survived in no means makes it good.

http://arachnoboards.com/threads/avicularia-care.291340/

Here's some proper avic care for you. Basically everything j know about Avics.

I see a semi stuffy cage with a hot lamp over it. I used to use 50 watt lamps. Those things were extremely hot if I remember correctly.

Just sounds like improper husbandry to me. Buuut, there's always the chance it was just one of the weaker ones from the sac.

 

[miss moxie]

http://arachnoboards.com/threads/avicularia-care.291340/

You should just make this your signature. You have to give out the link so often.

The picture OP provided didn't even show what sort of ventilation they had in there. Poor ventilation + wet substrate + light bulb? Now that I can see killing an Avicularia quickly. It would be like those stuffy enclosures that take a while to kill an Avic, but sped up because of the extra heat.

 

[Ungoliant]

The terrarium is perfectly fine, thats not the issue.

The only thing i didnt provide for you were pictures, which i cant take right now. If you are so dead set on the picture of the enclosure being the answer to these question, then i will post them in the morning.

We like to try to rule out setup issues, as they are responsible for the majority of Avicularia deaths. The only way to do that is with photos of the setup.

Your setup might be fine; it might not be. Even keepers who are confident about their setups are sometimes mistaken, and the fact that your two other Avics survived in a similar setup does not necessarily mean there isn't an issue. (Juveniles and adults are hardier than slings.)

 

[Venom1080]

You should just make this your signature. You have to give out the link so often.

The picture OP provided didn't even show what sort of ventilation they had in there. Poor ventilation + wet substrate + light bulb? Now that I can see killing an Avicularia quickly. It would be like those stuffy enclosures that take a while to kill an Avic, but sped up because of the extra heat.

I just might

Yup, that's exactly what I think it is. I kept my first avic wrong for months before it died. They are durable animals.

 

[Eva]

If you are so dead set on the picture of the enclosure being the answer to these question, then i will post them in the morning.

What else is there to consider? Enclosures are the issue 95% of the time, so of course that the enclosure probably holds the answers! And I don't see a single vent hole in the one picture you posted, which makes the percentage of my being certain even higher than that!

 

[Venom1080]

Still want a enclosure picture.