Bringing it back from the brink of death?

[Tropical T's]

I've brought many a T back from a death curl, but never when I first received them or shortly after. Seems that in those cases, it was something more serious and there was nothing that COULD be done. If water and food and a proper enclosure don't fix em up, nothing will. (We don't really have vets for Ts)

I am working on that.

I have a few first aid techniques for T's and am always looking for input on other methods
http://www.tropicaltarantulas.com.au/first aid.htm
Cheers

 

[lpw]

I have a few first aid techniques for T's and am always looking for input on other methods
http://www.tropicaltarantulas.com.au/first aid.htm
Cheers

Good idea. I just wanted to suggest a small modification. You suggest that for dehydrated spiders, "the best method is to float them upright in a shallow dish of water." Careful here. To prevent drowning, the book lungs must stay above the surface of the water. So instead of "floating" the spider, I would suggest to immerse the prosoma in a shallow water dish, while keeping the abdomen elevated and out of the water. This technique helped me bring two tarantulas back from the curl.

Just my $0.02

 

[aliceinwl]

I've had a couple of mine go into death curls. They were still somewhat mobile when I found them. To minimize stress, I decided to leave them in their enclosures. I misted them heavily on a daily basis and kept their water bowls full. I also dragged them over to the bowls and positioned them so that their chelicerae were in contact with the water, but their abdomens were still on the substrate. With the misting, I made sure that it was heavy enough to leave droplets on the sides and all the furnishings. With both a I noticed dramatic improvent in terms of posture and mobility within a week, but it took them about a month to fully recover. I believe that dehydration was the culprit in both cases. One had molted about a month prior and had been refusing food and walled herself in her hide before emerging and curling. The other was a very thin wc that had only been feeding sporadically and had also walled herself in for an extended period before emerging and curling.

-Alice

 

[Tropical T's]

Good idea. I just wanted to suggest a small modification. You suggest that for dehydrated spiders, "the best method is to float them upright in a shallow dish of water." Careful here. To prevent drowning, the book lungs must stay above the surface of the water. So instead of "floating" the spider, I would suggest to immerse the prosoma in a shallow water dish, while keeping the abdomen elevated and out of the water. This technique helped me bring two tarantulas back from the curl.

Just my $0.02

Thanks
I will mention it for New World T's but with the aussie ones they trap air with the hairs on their body and can actually survive many hours submerged so it isn't really a problem.