Caring for an Octoplegic

[edgeofthefreak]

She did it! Charlotte molted!
[video]https://youtube.com/watch?v=AkEi89_GeoE[/video]

Thank you for the terrific update! She looks like she's doing much much better.

 

[TsunamiSpike]

Great to hear shes still going strong

 

[Ellenantula]

Amazed and delighted at the moult! What a survivor!

 

[MrCrackerpants]

Awesome!!

 

[Hopeful T Owner]

Just read this entire thread and I am so pleased to read and watch Charlotte doing well. Congratulations on your patience and kindness with her and well done to your friend who brought her to you.

Julia xx

 

[z32upgrader]

Thank you Julia! She's just a joy to own.

 

[mmfh]

Awesome! Love this thread.

 

[armyangel93]

Wow, what an amazing story! This was so inspiring to read. Charlotte is beautiful, glad you're keeping her and that she's feeling herself again!

 

[Sana]

Congratulations from our household! We still watch like hawks for Charlotte updates and couldn't be happier for you both!

 

[z32upgrader]

Well, thank you Sana. I just uploaded a new feeding video where Charlotte was featured. Click my YouTube channel link. ↓

 

[lalberts9310]

I'm glad she's doing so good, who would have ever thought? She looks great! Lucky little girl she is

 

[awiec]

It was very amusing to see her non-chalantly stroll over and grab the roach; I have normal spiders who do this so I imagine her muscles are almost back up to snuff.

 

[CJL]

I read your story for help with my little girl. I am not a T keeper, but rescued a Juvie from a wasp after dragged from her hole, lost a leg & paralyzed. That was mid July. She is now starting to walk and even climb the side of her home, but will not eat. I have dropped water into her "mouth" along the way, spritzed her and dampened paper towel below her. I have given her many disabled but alive crickets, roaches & flies, but she must not be able to eat yet. Please instruct me on your roach soup so I can get her sustenance. I was planning on setting her free, but some of the feedback in your thread advises against it. Thanks in advance. I am certainly doing things that I never thought I would....

 

[z32upgrader]

I read your story for help with my little girl. I am not a T keeper, but rescued a Juvie from a wasp after dragged from her hole, lost a leg & paralyzed. That was mid July. She is now starting to walk and even climb the side of her home, but will not eat. I have dropped water into her "mouth" along the way, spritzed her and dampened paper towel below her. I have given her many disabled but alive crickets, roaches & flies, but she must not be able to eat yet. Please instruct me on your roach soup so I can get her sustenance. I was planning on setting her free, but some of the feedback in your thread advises against it. Thanks in advance. I am certainly doing things that I never thought I would....

What I did was buy a small container of mealworms snip off the head with scissors, and squeeze the guts out like a tube of toothpaste onto the spider's mouth while she's laying on her back. Drip water onto the guts to thin it out a bit so she can drink it. You can see in this video at 14:26 exactly what's described above:

 

[CJL]

Thanks very much. I will give it a try. How is Charlotte these days? Do you have any videos of her eating on her own? I need to get Tiny in shape so she will make it through a molt and get her 8th leg back. When I set her down outside in the dirt for some fresh air, she turns around and heads back towards me every time. I think she knows she is safe with me, if they have that much cognizance.

 

[z32upgrader]

Thanks very much. I will give it a try. How is Charlotte these days? Do you have any videos of her eating on her own? I need to get Tiny in shape so she will make it through a molt and get her 8th leg back. When I set her down outside in the dirt for some fresh air, she turns around and heads back towards me every time. I think she knows she is safe with me, if they have that much cognizance.

She's in later feeding videos of mine, but not the last two. She's too fat to keep feeding.
There's no need to take "Tiny" outside. She's probably much happier inside away from wind, rain, and heat. How big is she? How mobile is she now? As long as her abdomen is plump and she has been drinking, there's little to worry about. She can probably molt without eating again. Damage, such as a lost limb accelerates their molting schedule.

 

[CJL]

So thrilled with your results, I hope to get there. She is under 2 inches , I will try to up load a pic here. She is slowly mobile, very sleepy, passive. But has climbed up the side 2x, altho one of those 2 I had to rescue her from falling on her her back. She hasn't tried that again since, although it was only a few days ago. The disabled bugs I gave her seemed more like company as I kept after them to be close to her mouth, so they started hiding under her, which was comical albeit futile.
I took her out 2x to see what she would do,if she desired freedom. But she walked back to me & went under my shoe. I have not handled her yet, but she did touch my finger with a front leg. I have spent much more time doing awful things to other insects that I am not proud of, but will continue to do more. I hope to find a good competent home for her as I have to be away for awhile in the future. I hope a kind
Arizonian will volunteer and give her a proper home. Until then, she is my girl and I will nurse her back to health.
By the way, I first found her in my closet and gave her a home in a rock wall outside the front door. Days later I found one maybe half her size, or smaller in the house. Thus, they are Tiny & Teeny.

 

[Estein]

Just read this emotional roller coaster of a thread. What a happy ending--way to go!

 

[CJL]

Z32upgrader, I have done the "toothpaste" deed 2x now, but am wondering how long you left Charlotte on her back to ingest her food. I turned Tiny over right away the 1st time, and left her just a minute or 2 the 2nd. I could not tell if she was able to take it in or not, there was no change in the clump while i watched. But i didn't see it on the floor later either. She stayed very still after ward but has been climbing around since. Thanks for the help.

 

[z32upgrader]

Z32upgrader, I have done the "toothpaste" deed 2x now, but am wondering how long you left Charlotte on her back to ingest her food. I turned Tiny over right away the 1st time, and left her just a minute or 2 the 2nd. I could not tell if she was able to take it in or not, there was no change in the clump while i watched. But i didn't see it on the floor later either. She stayed very still after ward but has been climbing around since. Thanks for the help.

If I recall correctly, one helping of mealworm guts took forty to sixty minutes to disappear. Charlotte couldn't roll herself back over without my help, so I stayed and watched until it was all gone. She always ate it. Sounds like your spider is recovering nicely. Keep up the good work! Has anyone offered to take her? Have you asked? I know some people in Phoenix that may be able to help.