B.boehmei ripped off 4 legs

[Myra13]

Hello,

I am new to this formum and a novice at caring for tarantula. I've had my tarantula over 2 years and have noticed he/she (I don't know the sex), has been gradually losing his legs.

He lost 3 legs about 3 months ago, and at first, I thought it may be because I did not pull all the crickets out when he first molted and/or had his cage too high that he may have fallen. I made his cage with less room to fall and there were no crickets in his cage this time he ripped his leg off.

In addition to that he hasn't been eating for a almost a month and the last molt he has was 3 months ago. There is a shallow bowl for water and the cage temperature and about 80-85 degrees on the warm side.

I am concern about his ability to thrive with only have 6 legs now and the fact he hasn't been eating. What can I do?

Thank you in advance!

 

[Greasylake]

On the warm side? That sounds like you are heating the tank, and you should immediately remove the lamp or heat mat or whatever you're using. It's unnecessary and dangerous for your T. As for the loss of legs, a T can live with few or no legs, but at some point it might need help getting to the next molt. I think someone around here had a T with 3 legs but I don't remember who it was. Can you post some pictures of the spider and setup as well?

 

[boina]

Hello,

I am new to this formum and a novice at caring for tarantula. I've had my tarantula over 2 years and have noticed he/she (I don't know the sex), has been gradually losing his legs.

He lost 3 legs about 3 months ago, and at first, I thought it may be because I did not pull all the crickets out when he first molted and/or had his cage too high that he may have fallen. I made his cage with less room to fall and there were no crickets in his cage this time he ripped his leg off.

In addition to that he hasn't been eating for a almost a month and the last molt he has was 3 months ago. There is a shallow bowl for water and the cage temperature and about 80-85 degrees on the warm side.

I am concern about his ability to thrive with only have 6 legs now and the fact he hasn't been eating. What can I do?

Thank you in advance!

That math doesn't add up. If it lost 4 how come it has 6 left?

 

[Thekla]

Okay, first of all, please post pictures of your T and its enclosure (the whole thing). It's always easier to help if we can visualise things.

Secondly, you kinda lost me with the counting. You said it lost 3 legs 3 months ago. Was that before or after its moult? And than you said it has lost another leg, but now it has 6 legs. There's is something wrong with the numbers. Or do you count its pedipalps as legs as well?

Like I said, just give us a picture of your T.

 

[Theneil]

i wonder if perhaps the pedipalps are being included in the count...

As said by others. a picture is worth a thousand words and will greatly help you get the RIGHT advise.

i also am a little worried about the Warm side having a heat pad or mat. Not generally recomended by people who keep tarantulas, only pet store salesmen.

If i was to hazard a guess, would i be right in saying you probably have a screen lid for the enclosure?

 

[Myra13]

I guess I was counting the pedipalps as well, sorry very, VERY, novice T. care taker. Couldn't take a better picture of the T he was hiding. Will take a better one once he comes out.

 

[Myra13]

i wonder if perhaps the pedipalps are being included in the count...

As said by others. a picture is worth a thousand words and will greatly help you get the RIGHT advise.

i also am a little worried about the Warm side having a heat pad or mat. Not generally recomended by people who keep tarantulas, only pet store salesmen.

If i was to hazard a guess, would i be right in saying you probably have a screen lid for the enclosure?

ye

On the warm side? That sounds like you are heating the tank, and you should immediately remove the lamp or heat mat or whatever you're using. It's unnecessary and dangerous for your T. As for the loss of legs, a T can live with few or no legs, but at some point it might need help getting to the next molt. I think someone around here had a T with 3 legs but I don't remember who it was. Can you post some pictures of the spider and setup as well?

Hi, yes, I do have a heat mat as recommended by the pet store. I do also have a screen for the lid. I posted pictures below

 

[Myra13]

Okay, first of all, please post pictures of your T and its enclosure (the whole thing). It's always easier to help if we can visualise things.

Secondly, you kinda lost me with the counting. You said it lost 3 legs 3 months ago. Was that before or after its moult? And than you said it has lost another leg, but now it has 6 legs. There's is something wrong with the numbers. Or do you count its pedipalps as legs as well?

Like I said, just give us a picture of your T.

Yes, I guess I counted the pedipalps as well. I uploaded pictures of the enclosure

 

[Scarabyte]

ye



Hi, yes, I do have a heat mat as recommended by the pet store. I do also have a screen for the lid. I posted pictures below

Remove the heatmat, they can cook Ts if they are directly against the enclosure

 

[Scarabyte]

They can also get stuck on screenlids, so I'd replace that too

 

[Greasylake]

Hi, yes, I do have a heat mat as recommended by the pet store.

Remove that heat mat immediately. Your T does not benefit from it at all and having a mat increases the chances of dessication and dehydration greatly.

 

[Myra13]

They can also get stuck on screenlids, so I'd replace that too

What do I replace the screenlid with? Or do I purchase one of those plastic enclosure with the plastic lids?

 

[Myra13]

Remove that heat mat immediately. Your T does not benefit from it at all and having a mat increases the chances of dessication and dehydration greatly.

will do thank you!

 

[Venom1080]

Sounds like a typical mature male. I've had males lose legs on those screen lids during their wandering. Never with females though.

 

[YellowBrickRoad]

I guess I was counting the pedipalps as well, sorry very, VERY, novice T. care taker. Couldn't take a better picture of the T he was hiding. Will take a better one once he comes out.

1. Not near enough substrate. Ratio should be that the T should have no more than 1 1/2 the T's size between the substrate and the top of enclosure.

2. Get rid of the heat lamp/heat mat.

3. Seriously consider getting rid of the screen lid, immediately! Having proper substrate levels will help. I'm guess it is losing legs because of the screen lid... next will be your T.

4. I feel like I see hybrid. Pictures of it will help. There is no harm in coaxing it out of hiding at this point for more pictures. As you have work to do asap.

I look forward to following this post. Keep us updated. Out of curiosity, what did you buy your tarantula as(name), from where, and how big is it (diagonal leg span measurement)?

PS, take many pictures of the T to include pics from different angles of the metatarsi (sp)- lower part of the legs, around what would be like the shin area.

Cheers,
YellowBrickRoad

 

[Theneil]

So the floor looms okay to me except that it is pretty far from the top of the enclosure. Adding a few mor inches of substrate will make it much safer. General rule of thumb is that you should have no more than 1-1.5 times the legspan of the spider from the floor to the ceiling with terrestrials.

Now to the top... Take the lamps off as well as the heat pad and sell them on craigslist (or get another pet to use them for). If the lid is the steel mesh or screen like i suspect it is, cut a peice of acrilic or similar plastic sheet, poke it full of holes, and attatch it to the inside of the lid. it is very likely that your T climed to the lid got the tarsal claws caught and fell damaging the legs.

 

[Theneil]

I got distracted mid typing so everybody else beat me to it...

 

[boina]

Ok, the temps you keep your tarantula at are quite high. Tarantulas generally do well at room temp and if a pet shop tells you otherwise it's because they want to sell you stuff.

1. That lamp really stresses your tarantula. B. boehmei and related usually never hide, however your tarantula tries to escape the light as best as it can. I'd really remove that lamp, especially since it increases the risk for dehydration.

2. Heat pads can be used - when put at the sides and not under the tank and when a thermostat is used to regulate them but they aren't necessary at all, so I'd simply get rid of it. It also increases the risk of dehydration.

3. That screen lid is where your tarantula lost it's legs - it got stuck and ripped them off or self-amputated to get lose again. I agree with @Venom1080 , though, you may have a mature male. They are more likely to lose legs and the pic looks somewhat like it.

4. People wrote about raising the substrate to decrease the risk of a deadly fall, but if it is a mature male that is not really all that necessary. They don't have the big, heavy abdomen of females and juveniles and rarely get injured in a fall.

So, post pics of your tarantulas pedipalps so we can figure out if it is a mature male

 

[Myra13]

1. Not near enough substrate. Ratio should be that the T should have no more than 1 1/2 the T's size between the substrate and the top of enclosure.

2. Get rid of the heat lamp/heat mat.

3. Seriously consider getting rid of the screen lid, immediately! Having proper substrate levels will help. I'm guess it is losing legs because of the screen lid... next will be your T.

4. I feel like I see hybrid. Pictures of it will help. There is no harm in coaxing it out of hiding at this point for more pictures. As you have work to do asap.

I look forward to following this post. Keep us updated. Out of curiosity, what did you buy your tarantula as(name), from where, and how big is it (diagonal leg span measurement)?

PS, take many pictures of the T to include pics from different angles of the metatarsi (sp)- lower part of the legs, around what would be like the shin area.

Cheers,
YellowBrickRoad

Thank you for the advice. I am currently looking at acrylic material to cut or anything similar hardware supplies sell. Is there a place I can purchase an acrylic lid for a 10 gal tank?

When I bought the tarantula the store sold him as a fire leg from East Bay Vivarium in Berkeley, CA. The diagonal leg span is about about 5-6 inches estimating.

I will take pictures of the T as soon as I can.

Thank you!

 

[tewebag]

Is there a place I can purchase an acrylic lid for a 10 gal tank?

If you have a hobby lobby near you they sell it fairly cheap.