A sad day....

[NewTguy]

My Tliltocatl albopilosus sadly passed away last weekend. It was a sudden and unexpected death, as she had been very active right up until that day, climbing the walls of her habitat.

Any ideas out there of what the likely cause may have been? Here are the facts:

• I attached a picture of the body, as you can see she was not curled up and was upright -- visually I had no idea she was dead until she failed to run around as she always did when I removed the lid of her enclosure to add water. I gently sprayed water on her and still no movement, so I waited a few days before finally touching her with the brush (on the off chance she was molting) -- but nothing.
• She has a large water dish that was half full, and had been fed a cricket in the last couple weeks (she usually would only eat about 1-2 a month)
• I have had her 6 years. She was full sized when I got her, age undetermined. She has molted twice since I had her, about 5 years ago and about about 18 months ago.

I'm guessing she died of old age, but not sure that her being so active right up until the end is consistent with that. I'm a first time keeper so this is new to me.

Any wisdom you guys have would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[A guy]

Actively climbing the walls of the enclosure is never a good sign.

 

[fcat]

That long in between molts would lead me to believe she was older. Did you ever confirm the sex via molt? It wouldn't be unheard of for a male to live 18 months after maturing. Alternatively you could check for emboli on the pedipalps.

Can we see a picture of the entire enclosure?

The abdomen does look a little small compared to the carapace, this could be the angle, could just be old age/failure to thrive.

I do see the beginning of a death curl...the distal portions of the legs are slightly curled under. This could be a result of death too; they use muscles to extend their legs. The abdomen appearance could be another sign of cardiovascular collapse and not the explanation.

The climbing concerns me...I would assume that level activity from a healthy T...and sudden change to that condition I would blame a fall. And if the abdomen is leaking fluid underneath it would also explain the appearance. You want to think after years in an enclosure it wouldn't be a risk but it can happen at any time.

I'm sorry for your loss.

Sorry for your loss.

 

[viper69]

Sounds like a mature male

 

[Mustafa67]

My Tliltocatl albopilosus sadly passed away last weekend. It was a sudden and unexpected death, as she had been very active right up until that day, climbing the walls of her habitat.

Any ideas out there of what the likely cause may have been? Here are the facts:

• I attached a picture of the body, as you can see she was not curled up and was upright -- visually I had no idea she was dead until she failed to run around as she always did when I removed the lid of her enclosure to add water. I gently sprayed water on her and still no movement, so I waited a few days before finally touching her with the brush (on the off chance she was molting) -- but nothing.
• She has a large water dish that was half full, and had been fed a cricket in the last couple weeks (she usually would only eat about 1-2 a month)
• I have had her 6 years. She was full sized when I got her, age undetermined. She has molted twice since I had her, about 5 years ago and about about 18 months ago.

I'm guessing she died of old age, but not sure that her being so active right up until the end is consistent with that. I'm a first time keeper so this is new to me.

Any wisdom you guys have would be appreciated. Thanks!

RIP

Pics of setup?

 

[NewTguy]

Thanks for the replies!

Attached are the pics of the enclosure. and of the body

She climbed the walls regularly ever since I got her.

She was confirmed as a female from molt

 

[A guy]

Thanks for the replies!

Attached are the pics of the enclosure. and of the body

She climbed the walls regularly ever since I got her.

She was confirmed as a female from molt

Definitely not a mature male but the enclosure...

Rocks in the waterdish makes a great breeding place for harmful bacterias. Also, the substrate seems to be too moist for this species and the lack of side ventilation, I imagine makes it stuffy with stagnant air. That would explain why it was actively climbing the sides of the enclosure. Not to mention, it also lacks substrate so if it does climb, there wouldn't be any risks.

 

[Matt Man]

Definitely not a mature male but the enclosure...

Rocks in the waterdish makes a great breeding place for harmful bacterias. Also, the substrate seems to be too moist for this species and the lack of side ventilation, I imagine makes it stuffy with stagnant air. That would explain why it was actively climbing the sides of the enclosure. Not to mention, it also lacks substrate so if it does climb, there wouldn't be any risks.

and possibly fell, hit the edge of the hide and bled out (which would explain the skinny abdomen. (also based on position of the dead)
I always bury my bark tunnels to remove those edges.
Sorry for your loss

 

[NewTguy]

Definitely not a mature male but the enclosure...

Rocks in the waterdish makes a great breeding place for harmful bacterias. Also, the substrate seems to be too moist for this species and the lack of side ventilation, I imagine makes it stuffy with stagnant air. That would explain why it was actively climbing the sides of the enclosure. Not to mention, it also lacks substrate so if it does climb, there wouldn't be any risks.

Wow, it's a miracle she survived six years in that hellhole /s

I tend to suspect, based on all the comments, that a fall was the likely cause of death, and if I had it to do again I would remove or bury all the hard/protruding sharp objects/edges. I'm grateful for all the comments educating me on the fact that I probably underestimated the fall risk.

That said, I think your other criticisms may be a bit unrealistic. The lid of the enclosure is extremely well ventilated, and from everything I read that is more than adequate for this species -- the notion of it climbing the walls for 6 years in a desperate hunt for oxygen seems a bit silly. There is no mold in the substrate or water, despite the rocks (I would probably avoid the rocks in the future since the fall injury risk seems to outweigh the drowned cricket risk), The substrate is barely moist, and only below the surface, and although the level could have been higher, at 5.5" from the top of the enclosure it meets the 1.5x leg span rule I've seen generally recommended,

 

[A guy]

Wow, it's a miracle she survived six years in that hellhole /s

I tend to suspect, based on all the comments, that a fall was the likely cause of death, and if I had it to do again I would remove or bury all the hard/protruding sharp objects/edges. I'm grateful for all the comments educating me on the fact that I probably underestimated the fall risk.

That said, I think your other criticisms may be a bit unrealistic. The lid of the enclosure is extremely well ventilated, and from everything I read that is more than adequate for this species -- the notion of it climbing the walls for 6 years in a desperate hunt for oxygen seems a bit silly. There is no mold in the substrate or water, despite the rocks (I would probably avoid the rocks in the future since the fall injury risk seems to outweigh the drowned cricket risk), The substrate is barely moist, and only below the surface, and although the level could have been higher, at 5.5" from the top of the enclosure it meets the 1.5x leg span rule I've seen generally recommended,

I mean, this species is generally kept on bone dry substrate and there must be a reason why it's actively climbing up the sides of its enclosure.

What I pointed out is a common reason of why tarantulas try and climb the sides of their enclosures.

If you say it's dry and well ventilated then that's your point of view which is probably better than anyone else in here. We're just pointing out what we think could have gone wrong.

 

[LucN]

Could have been a fall or old age... We'll never really know. Sorry for your loss.

 

[Dppires]

My Tliltocatl albopilosus sadly passed away last weekend. It was a sudden and unexpected death, as she had been very active right up until that day, climbing the walls of her habitat.

Any ideas out there of what the likely cause may have been? Here are the facts:

• I attached a picture of the body, as you can see she was not curled up and was upright -- visually I had no idea she was dead until she failed to run around as she always did when I removed the lid of her enclosure to add water. I gently sprayed water on her and still no movement, so I waited a few days before finally touching her with the brush (on the off chance she was molting) -- but nothing.
• She has a large water dish that was half full, and had been fed a cricket in the last couple weeks (she usually would only eat about 1-2 a month)
• I have had her 6 years. She was full sized when I got her, age undetermined. She has molted twice since I had her, about 5 years ago and about about 18 months ago.

I'm guessing she died of old age, but not sure that her being so active right up until the end is consistent with that. I'm a first time keeper so this is new to me.

Any wisdom you guys have would be appreciated. Thanks!

She was already full size when you got here, spent 6 years in your care, with 2 molts, 3 years between them.
I don’t see anything pointing towards a fall, lack of ventilation or some problem with humidity. Her enclosure isn’t tall at all. Is it possible that she fell and that caused her to die? Maybe. Can we be sure? Nope.

I really think that she was an old lady when she arrived at your house and she died from some complication because of her age.

I’m sorry for your loss. As sad as it is, you’ve become a bit more experienced.

If you need anything, don’t be afraid to ask.

 

[NewTguy]

She was already full size when you got here, spent 6 years in your care, with 2 molts, 3 years between them.
I don’t see anything pointing towards a fall, lack of ventilation or some problem with humidity. Her enclosure isn’t tall at all. Is it possible that she fell and that caused her to die? Maybe. Can we be sure? Nope.

I really think that she was an old lady when she arrived at your house and she died from some complication because of her age.

I’m sorry for your loss. As sad as it is, you’ve become a bit more experienced.

If you need anything, don’t be afraid to ask.

Thanks!!