Another Impaction Fear

IntermittentSygnal

Arachnotic
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Aug 7, 2022
Messages
654
My genic is a “Jupiter”, I know. She got too large of a piece of hornworm 2 months ago and has only had one small cricket since.
She is also fairly molt imminent.
I saw she has poop near her anus, but I’m not sure if it’s a plug or just a dirty bum. She cleans herself fairly often and did her legs a few nights ago and now her butt and spinnerets last night. You can see the poop at times in the video during her cleaning. She is still feisty enough I’m reasonably certain she would attack the Q-tip/paintbrush if I attempted to clean her anus. While I have seen her drink before, I haven’t seen her do that in awhile (doesn’t mean she not for certain..just I haven’t seen it). She does have springtails in her water which may be annoying her? I’m really hoping that molt will happen soon, but am looking for advice for what to do in the meantime.
View attachment trim_F682199A-195B-4960-85E6-45D92C572534_MOV_AdobeExpress.mp4
 

coolnweird

Arachnobaron
Joined
Oct 20, 2019
Messages
512
Looks like normal grooming behavior, I definitely wouldn't feed any more until her abdomen shrinks or she molts. Impaction is fairly rare, most likely she's just a chubby T washing her booty. I have springtails in most of my enclosures, and I've never noticed them bothering my spiders. All you can really do is keep part of the enclosure moist and the water dish full!
 

spideyspinneret78

Arachnoprince
Joined
Jul 19, 2019
Messages
1,253
Your spider looks normal, just fat. No need to give her any more food until after she molts. Impaction in tarantulas is often talked about but actually quite rare. I've only had it happen once, and it was because the sling had a difficult molt and there was a tiny piece of the old exoskeleton obstructing the spider's anus. It can also happen due to internal issues, but again, this is rather rare. Your spider appears healthy and is showing normal behavior.
 

IntermittentSygnal

Arachnotic
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Aug 7, 2022
Messages
654
Thank you all for your replies! I wasn't planning on feeding her again until after the molt (much to her chagrin, lol). I couldn't get a good picture of the white spot on her anus that I initially saw when she was grooming (and she is an avid groomer!). That spot I was concerned that may be a poop plug shows a couple of times in that grooming video when her leg pushes down her spinneret. Sorry for the confusion! But, she, or rather I suspect "he" now having seen the brown spot of hairs at his epigastric furrow, is acting normal otherwise, so I'll keep an eye on him. I never see his poop anywhere, but as there are springtails, maybe they are feasting on it?
 
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