A. geniculata not doing well

[smitje]

I thought I was going insane I guess not

I count 4 on each side? Am i missing it?

 

[DeanK]

The 4th leg on the right side is definitely missing and also happens to be the skinny leg in the molt picture. If you look at the left legs you can see the symmetry is off on the right side. You might be counting a pedipalp as a leg here

 

[smitje]

So its 5 or 6 days post molt? I wouldn't expect any t larger than a sling to be active in such a short time...I see no reason for an ICU, what you describe is normal post molt behavior.

Don't measure humidity numbers, they just cause confusion, no t on the planet had a number specific humidity requirement...it should be in its home, not in an ICU.,,thats not helping, its probably hurting in fact.

Small leg=regenerated leg.

Never move a freshly molted t.

Wait 2 weeks before you feed.

I guess this T told me about patience again. I kind of got confused, my other T's where back and running in hours. This one acted like a broken Terminator for days and days. We just got these weeks ago, never had spiders before.

 

[viper69]

The only way to determine when to feed your T after a molt is by the color of the fangs. You feed when they are black. If you do before that, your T may lose 1 or both fangs. The latter is almost a death sentence by starvation.

Post molt they are white, later on turn red, then black.

I have some adult females who fangs aren't black for at least 2 weeks. The larger the T, the longer it takes to turn black.

 

[EulersK]

I have some adult females who fangs aren't black for at least 2 weeks. The larger the T, the longer it takes to turn black.

Which is exactly why my adults 4"+ don't get a meal for a month after a molt. That is excessive honestly, but they won't starve in that amount of time and it's better to be safe than sorry. Having water available is a must, of course.

 

[viper69]

Which is exactly why my adults 4"+ don't get a meal for a month after a molt. That is excessive honestly, but they won't starve in that amount of time and it's better to be safe than sorry. Having water available is a must, of course.

Agreed. I have many NW Ts that haven't taken their last (pre-molt) and first meal (post-molt) for up to 2, 2.5 months at times. They aren't interested in eating, but once they are, the cycle starts all over again

 

[KezyGLA]

Here she is just few days prior to the last molt. All legs are there.

I counted 7 legs

Edit: late to the party hah. I hope it is in better condition now

 

[smitje]

Thanks for all advice! However this leg thing kept bugging me so I checked for some of the foto's I made before on the Dutch forum, it's here about half way down:

http://www.vogelspinnenforum.nl/xen...mostola-pulchra-een-spinnen-begin.8207/page-5

Foto was made on the 2nd of August. 4 legs on each side!

I'll attach it also and a photo on how she sat this morning. She looks pretty good compared to few days ago. She still makes these little stroking moves with her front legs. Never seen any of the other T's do that. She is moving arround the enclosure again so I guess she is recovering pretty good

So it looks like something happend with her leg during my absence OR the molt went wrong. Weird. Any ideas on that? I sure hope I dont have to cut it off!?

 

[Veribug]

Thanks for all advice! However this leg thing kept bugging me so I checked for some of the foto's I made before on the Dutch forum, it's here about half way down:

http://www.vogelspinnenforum.nl/xen...mostola-pulchra-een-spinnen-begin.8207/page-5

Foto was made on the 2nd of August. 4 legs on each side!

I'll attach it also and a photo on how she sat this morning. She looks pretty good compared to few days ago. She still makes these little stroking moves with her front legs. Never seen any of the other T's do that. She is moving arround the enclosure again so I guess she is recovering pretty good

So it looks like something happend with her leg during my absence OR the molt went wrong. Weird. Any ideas on that? I sure hope I dont have to cut it off!?

Maybe I'm blind but I am confident she is missing her leg in both pictures there. [edit] sorry I really am blind, just spotted the regenerated one in the second photo

You don't need to do anything with the leg. It is a good thing she has grown it back, it is a natural process for them to regenerate a leg and will always be smaller than an average leg. If anything goes wrong she will remove it herself. 100% leave it alone.

 

[smitje]

Just sat in front of the enclosure and noticed it. I guess i am the blind one. I was counting the pedipal also. They are pretty bulky so i mistook them for legs. Feeling kind of stupid! How did I miss that to begin with!

Anyhow, she is starting to do well. Just looked at her climing some bark! Yahoo!

 

[WeightedAbyss75]

Just sat in front of the enclosure and noticed it. I guess i am the blind one. I was counting the pedipal also. They are pretty bulky so i mistook them for legs. Feeling kind of stupid! How did I miss that to begin with!

Anyhow, she is starting to do well. Just looked at her climing some bark! Yahoo!

Awesome! Looks like she's all good now, surprises me just how hardy these creatures are

 

[smitje]

Just for a short update on "the gimp"

To me she still acts a bit sluggish but its better everyday. Seems like getting her out of the ICU was the way to go. Thanks for that! She is active again, out in the open and reactive to my presence. When I open the lid she lifts her abdomen trying to outsize me Though my wife feels completely different Im kind of faling in love with the T's. Should I seek proffesional help?

Here she is now:

Best regards,

Louis

 

[smitje]

In the end, I probably was not patient enough and moved her into the ICU to fast. Though my GBB is bigger still she recoverd much faster from the molt. I expected the geniculata to be the fast one but I guess it all comes down to factors I dont even know about.

Anyway, I am a very happy T owner and Thanks again men, your help is greatly appreciated!

 

[KezyGLA]

Just for a short update on "the gimp"

To me she still acts a bit sluggish but its better everyday. Seems like getting her out of the ICU was the way to go. Thanks for that! She is active again, out in the open and reactive to my presence. When I open the lid she lifts her abdomen trying to outsize me Though my wife feels completely different Im kind of faling in love with the T's. Should I seek proffesional help?

Here she is now:

Best regards,

Louis

Glad they are doing better.

.. You can never have too many

 

[smitje]

Sadly I must say nothing much has changed. She stayed slow, I even had to feed her prekills. She tries to grab the cricket but doesnt manage. Last week I moved her to a smaller enclosure. She does walk arround but now I could just pick her up, she grabbed hold of the moss but that is it. No tempted escape or an attitude.

She was hanging from the roof of her enclosure for a while which I had to open today. Again she just grabbed on and it took me some effort to get her loose. She dropped on the moss and rolled on her back.

Really looks like she was molting. By now she is back on her feet. But still, something is badly wrong with her.

 

[smitje]

Well, she flipped on her back again. When I roll the cage she just Rolls with it..... she cant be molting again in such a short time can she? Bugging me out this tarantula.

 

[Misty Day]

When I roll the cage she just Rolls with it..

If she's molting you're only going to do her harm by disturbing her. Just leave her alone and wait and see.

 

[smitje]

I will, something else wrong with her even if she is molting. Or geniculata's are turtle slow by nature...... she looks like going into a death curl at the moment. O grief.

 

[Andrea82]

Hanging on the ceiling of her cage?Do you have a mesh screen?
It is possible sshe's molting again
I had my E.campestratus disappear for 6 months, molting, coming up again and molt again in four weeks.
But it doesn't help that you are rolling her and disturbing the enclosure or pick her up. You should be doing the opposite. Make sure she has water available and leave her in a dark warm spot. If she dies, there's nothing you can do. Give her some space.

 

[smitje]

I keep them in these critter boxes, faunarium they call them down here. Except for feeding and maintenance I disturb them very little. I have a little over 10 spiders but only for half a year or so. This particulair one hasnt been well for over 2 months, so occasionaly I check on her. It might seem like I bug them arround but that is not the case. All the others eat well and feed aggresivly, this one opposite to her reputation hasnt been any of that..

For now she is back trying to climb out of the enclosure. Her legs also bend in a strange curved way......