Anyone know what a heat mat burn looks like on a tarantula?

SpiderInTheBath

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We were at the Northern Invertebrate show on Sunday and bought a large female B. albopilosum - having gotten her home and looked at her ventral view, she has a strange black spot there that I've never seen before. We have no idea how she's been kept up to now, but a burn is my best guess?? Has anyone seen this before?

She was in a pretty wet tupperware type container when purchased. We don't use heat mats so don't even start, we've had her 48 hours! :p

Any advice or anecdotes of similar occurrences would be appreciated.

I'm having trouble uploading a pic on my phone so please accept this google drive link to one: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0Bnaa1eJsnHZThNRENLN0RobHM/view?usp=drivesdk.

Thanks!
 

ledzeppelin

Arachnobaron
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Is it flat or is there a bump? Because black spot could also denote a fall injury or something like that.. Whatever it is it might sadly pose a problem during the next molt..
 

SpiderInTheBath

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Best we can tell it's flat and maybe puckered very slightly on one side, but not raised or protruding in any way :/
 

Nightstalker47

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Best we can tell it's flat and maybe puckered very slightly on one side, but not raised or protruding in any way :/
It's suspiciously right under the Ts abdomen. I think your right, looks like a burn from a heat pad. Most LPS are notorious for their terrible care methods. Especially for tarantulas. Keep her well hydrated and hope she pulls through her next molt.
 

ledzeppelin

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Although I think that Ts get out of a burn easier than out of the internal injury.. Idk it seems logical to me.. When theres internal damage due to a fall the Ts may bleed out during the molt because the internal soft skeleton had been damaged so the molt opens the wound.. I dont imagine that happening with a burn but i can be dead wrong here.. I think that if that is a burn, the T might just well come out alright.
 

Red Eunice

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For myself, I wouldn't be overly concerned about it. When it nears time to molt I'd check on it more frequently. As long as its moving about and eating/drinking normally it should be ok.
If, in fact, this is a burn spot it will more than likely molt sooner. At her size it could be a year or more down the road before a molt though.
It may also be a cyst of sorts, not much can be done if this is the case. I've a male P. striata w/h a cyst on his abdomen and successfully molted 3 times since being discovered. Its quite noticeable, black in color, but hasn't hindered him whatsoever.
Anyway I hope the best for your T, nice looking gal btw.
 

ledzeppelin

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I've a male P. striata w/h a cyst on his abdomen and successfully molted 3 times since being discovered. Its quite noticeable, black in color, but hasn't hindered him whatsoever.
Lucky! My 12 year old G rosea had a cyst and molted twice fine, but the third time the cyst opened up mid molt and she bled out :\
 

Red Eunice

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Lucky! My 12 year old G rosea had a cyst and molted twice fine, but the third time the cyst opened up mid molt and she bled out :\
So sad, sorry you lost her.
He's MM, made sperm webs a couple of weeks back, will pass in my care. Not sending him out unless a local needs him for breeding. Not going to risk shipping.
 

SpiderInTheBath

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Thanks for your input guys! She is eating and drinking fine, though we've decided to feed her sparingly to avoid p utting unnecessary pressure on her abdomen. I know handling is frowned upon and I normally never pick my tarantulas up, but I did pinch her today to get a clear look at it and photograph it so we can check if it changes shape.

As you can see it is puckered on one side but is otherwise flat and dry and there is no physical response from touching the area... whatever it is, I'm satisfied that it's not a new blemish.
 

Nightstalker47

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Thanks for your input guys! She is eating and drinking fine, though we've decided to feed her sparingly to avoid p utting unnecessary pressure on her abdomen. I know handling is frowned upon and I normally never pick my tarantulas up, but I did pinch her today to get a clear look at it and photograph it so we can check if it changes shape.

As you can see it is puckered on one side but is otherwise flat and dry and there is no physical response from touching the area... whatever it is, I'm satisfied that it's not a new blemish.
Good to hear she is still active and feeding. That's definitely a burn, and if it isn't bothering her too much she should recover.

Personally I would feed her more often in order to hopefully accelerate her molt cycle. Nice full water bowl, regular feedings and patience is the best you can do for her now. Good luck!
 

SpiderInTheBath

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Thanks buddy, we'll play it by ear! I can see the logic in what you're saying, but the skin there is not stretchy any more (it's hard, but not raised like a scab) so I'd be concerned that sudden weight gain could cause a rupture around it just because there's no give in that area. She's definitely behaving normally if the face full of hair I received was anything to go by when I put her back down, so as long as she isn't suffering I think slow and steady should win the race... hopefully!

I'm curious now though if anyone has any confirmed pictures of burns? Our best theory is that she was sitting in her flat Tupperware container on top of a heat mat while in transit at some point and couldn't lift herself off.
 

bryverine

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Thanks buddy, we'll play it by ear! I can see the logic in what you're saying, but the skin there is not stretchy any more (it's hard, but not raised like a scab) so I'd be concerned that sudden weight gain could cause a rupture around it just because there's no give in that area. She's definitely behaving normally if the face full of hair I received was anything to go by when I put her back down, so as long as she isn't suffering I think slow and steady should win the race... hopefully!

I'm curious now though if anyone has any confirmed pictures of burns? Our best theory is that she was sitting in her flat Tupperware container on top of a heat mat while in transit at some point and couldn't lift herself off.
I feel like a heat mat would just desiccate a tarantula UNLESS it was touching directly or it was one of those stupid heat rocks.
 

SpiderInTheBath

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I feel like a heat mat would just desiccate a tarantula UNLESS it was touching directly or it was one of those stupid heat rocks.
This is what I'm wondering! It resembles a burn to me, but since I don't know what a burnt actually tarantula *looks* like I'm aware I'm potentially just equating it with that because it's blackened. I've heard a great many cautionary tales about heat mats etc, but I've never seen the direct results so I don't feel confident confirming it's a burn, it's just the best idea we have given the information we know: that she was in a container with a lid so close to the top of her she couldn't have climbed up and that she has a black mark on her belly.

It doesn't look recent enough to have even happened at the convention; the container she was in was flat but full of soaking wet coir. So it's all just speculation, which is why I'm reluctant to feed her up quickly. I wonder if it's possible she did have a rupture once and someone super glued it, even.

I'll update if and when there are changes.
 
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