Cracked abdomen

[ShannonRiz]

Hi,

My son's tarantula has a cracked carapace after her molt last night. He said it's cracked severely enough that her abdomen is empty and she was too weak to eat. He is putting her in the freezer to euthanize her, and we just wanted to check that there was nothing we could do. Would it be worth putting petroleum jelly on it or is that futile?

Thanks
Shannon

 

[ThorsCarapace22]

If it was that bad I don't believe you could have done anything to change the outcome. But I can say I haven't ever heard of that happening.

 

[ShannonRiz]

Thanks

 

[FrDoc]

My two cents, and I am one of those here that does not get all emotional about losing a spider, is that he should post some pictures of the condition prior to deciding to euthanize. The hour or two it would take to get some additional opinions from some very experienced keepers could possibly assist in the decision. The outcome may be the same, but if the situation is that dire it won’t change things, but confirmation is always good.

 

[MainMann]

If the T really has a cracked carapace, than I'd say it's a long shot that the T will survive. But i agree with @FrDoc that you should maybe post the pics of the T. Not only will this give you confirmation, but it will also contribute to the hobby as this will be new knowledge to those who have never heard/seen things like this before

 

[viper69]

Without seeing pictures the description of the cracked carapace is unreliable. Sometimes when a T molts, the carapace doesn't come off, looks like one is cracked.

BUT, the abdomen observations is an issue.

 

[ShannonRiz]

Hi, sorry for the late reply. Here is the photo; she was a birdeater tarantula and my son (18) had her for about six years.

 

[Tuisto]

Hi, sorry for the late reply. Here is the photo; she was a birdeater tarantula and my son (18) had her for about six years.

F
she looked like a pretty girl.

 

[ShannonRiz]

Thanks, we are really sad about it. My son volunteered at an entomology lab for a while, and also has a king snake and boa constrictor, and is fairly experienced and careful - but could obviously have made a mistake somewhere along the line.

 

[cold blood]

she was a birdeater tarantula

Birdeater gives no description...its like your insurance agent asking what kind of car you drive and you saying its a 4 door.....the agent wouldn't have any more of a clue on the car than we would about this t.

Birdeater basically means a South American terrestrial that gets to or exceeds 5"...literally hundreds of species apply...which is why the term is generally not used amongst experienced keepers......just an fyi for future reference.

 

[ShannonRiz]

Thanks for that info. It's a salmon pink birdeater. My son would know other details, I was just posting and didn't realize it was such a general term.

 

[cold blood]

Thanks for that info. It's a salmon pink birdeater. My son would know other details, I was just posting and didn't realize it was such a general term.

No problem...fwiw the scientific name would be Lasiodora parayabana.

I will be honest though....the pic doesnt really look like thats the correct species.

Regardless, sorry for the loss

 

[lostbrane]

Sorry for your loss. With something like that not much could have been done.

Now, due to the severity of that injury, it might not have helped but for smaller cuts and such corn starch has been used to help clot it up. For future reference...

 

[Vanessa]

Does your son have any other tarantulas? Because shavings are not an appropriate substrate for any species.

 

[NukaMedia Exotics]

If you've had that tarantula for that long you'd think he would know not to keep it on shavings or whatever substrate that is... I learned how to keep a tarantula properly as an 18 year old with only hours of research lol.

 

[Arachnophoric]

Are you guys sure it's "cracked" because it looks more to me like her carapace got punctured by one of those wood shavings - would be all too easy with her soft and fragile on her back and pushing out of her old exuvia.

 

[Vanessa]

Are you guys sure it's "cracked" because it looks more to me like her carapace got punctured by one of those wood shavings - would be all too easy with her soft and fragile on her back and pushing out of her old exuvia.

It actually doesn't look like the carapace is what has leaked at all... at least to me. It looks as if the leak has happened elsewhere and has pooled along the carapace like that because the tarantula was on their back when the hemolymph leaked out. Then, they were flipped over once the hemolymph had already dried. I am going to suggest that the culprit was more likely the abdomen or one of the legs.

 

[Tortuga]

If your son is an entomologist you'd think he would know not to keep a tarantula on shavings or whatever substrate that is... I learned how to keep a tarantula properly as an 18 year old with a couple hours of research lol.

She never said her son was an entomologist, she said "VOLUNTEER AT AN ENTOMOLOGY LAB", what the hell man. Everyone learns at a different rate and by different means. A lot of people learn by making mistakes, especially between the ages of 12-18. Glad you were able to pick up the all basics in just a few hours at 18 yo...you must be exceptional.


*and now you edited your post after you’ve been called out...exceptional lol

 

[darkness975]

View attachment 320281 Hi, sorry for the late reply. Here is the photo; she was a birdeater tarantula and my son (18) had her for about six years.

I would be willing to bet that substrate is to blame. They should be on coco fiber or plain top soil. Wood shavings are a bad choice as they can lead to exoskeleton punctures, as you may have discovered unfortunately.

For your next Tarantula you definitely want to pick up some Top Soil or Coco Fiber.

 

[EtienneN]

I think a lot of people don’t understand how “puncturable” a tarantula’s abdomen is. They know they have an exoskeleton and then equate that to a kind of armour plating. I feel very badly for everyone in this situation. That or they don’t realise how needle sharp some of those shavings can be.