cyst ? on booklung

[handfulofspiders]

this is my female b.smithi, i’ve had her for 2-3 years and never had any issues with her until recently

on 5-4-24 she molted during the night, as far as i could tell it went smoothly. i only noticed it when i got up for work. i took it out later that evening to make sure the sucking stomach was there (it was) and then threw it in the pile with my other molts

2 weeks later i tried to offer her food, she wasn’t interested. i figured she just wasn’t hungry and took the worm out. a few days later i tried again, this time she seemed interested .. she put her paws (?) on the worm and acted like she was gonna bite, but she never did and eventually moved away from it. this time i thought it was kinda strange but i tried not to jump to conclusions and just took the worm out again. ever since then i’ve gotten either one of those 2 reactions, i offer her something about every 4 days to a week, she still has not eaten

and then tonight, she was sitting on the acrylic and i noticed a bump on her booklung, i’m assuming it’s a cyst or some kind of injury? i’m really not sure, i included a picture of her enclosure just incase. 12x12 herpcult cube with reptisoil (it’s hard to see, but she does have water, it’s over half full. she always has water to drink)

i’m happy to answer any questions of course, i don’t have the slightest clue where that bump came from or why she’s acting so strange

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

I’d keep an eye on it but it’s a rather small cyst could get better or not in next molts. You won’t know until then.

 

[Charliemum]

Try smaller meals pre killed if necessary, make sure she's always got clean fresh water , give her another week n try again if she refuses another week n try again.
If she does eventually take food try not to over feed her that spot is a weak point and you do not want her to pop.
Maybe try putting in some extra sub so there is less of a space from the ceiling, again if she climbs n falls you don't want her to pop.
Apart from that there is nothing else you can do except watch her, closely.
I am sorry I can't help more, I haven't had this happen but my SO has just had a blondi with the same issue so I repeat what he did with his girl. Hopefully it will at least help a little

If you can check the moult to see if there are any issues with it? Missing sucking stomach or issues with the lungs? Might not be anything there n it might be perfect but worth a look imo.


@The Spider House anything to add was your girl so did I miss anything?

 

[jennywallace]

I had something very similar on a Davus pentaloris a while ago. It didn't seem to bother her, but it didn't moult out on her next moult. She lived to a good age, so it didn't seem to affect her lifespan.

 

[viper69]

Could be either

 

[handfulofspiders]

Try smaller meals pre killed if necessary, make sure she's always got clean fresh water , give her another week n try again if she refuses another week n try again.
If she does eventually take food try not to over feed her that spot is a weak point and you do not want her to pop.
Maybe try putting in some extra sub so there is less of a space from the ceiling, again if she climbs n falls you don't want her to pop.
Apart from that there is nothing else you can do except watch her, closely.
I am sorry I can't help more, I haven't had this happen but my SO has just had a blondi with the same issue so I repeat what he did with his girl. Hopefully it will at least help a little

If you can check the moult to see if there are any issues with it? Missing sucking stomach or issues with the lungs? Might not be anything there n it might be perfect but worth a look imo.


@The Spider House anything to add was your girl so did I miss anything?

i will add some extra sub after work and give her a prekilled worm before i leave. here’s some pictures of the molt, i think i might’ve ripped the abdomen a little trying to open it again when it was dry ..

 

[Charliemum]

i will add some extra sub after work and give her a prekilled worm before i leave. here’s some pictures of the molt, i think i might’ve ripped the abdomen a little trying to open it again when it was dry ..

Try soaking it in some hot water n dish soap n it should open back up you want to see if you can see where the spot has come up , there may be nothing there but worth a shot. But sucking stomach is in the first pic so that's a good sign, hopefully she's just taking her time after the moult

 

[Smotzer]

Unfortunately there’s not much else you can do besides feeding less than normal and hoping it molts out of the issue on the next molt!

 

[herpetogeorgie]

Based on the fact that the problem is on the bottom of the tarantula abdomen where it likely to abrade more, I'm hoping that this is just a cyst/abscess rather than a tumour so fingers crossed for you that a molt will improve things

 

[TheraMygale]

If ever you get more chances to take pictures, do it. As this progresses, it would be something insightful for all of us. We can not have enough documention on these things. More people getting more tarantulas, means more of these things popping up.

the more we get familiar around these, the more chances we will get to avoid or solve them one day.

all this said, i hope your tarantula pulls through and that thing disappears. Until then, my approach would be to avoid feeding too much. Not saying you did. But to limit obsesity and rubbing on the ufo.

@Charliemum said Maybe try putting in some extra sub so there is less of a space from the ceiling, again if she climbs n falls you don't want her to pop.

I strongly agree and suggest this as well. Make sure your enclosure is safer then ever. To avoid any bad lucks.

 

[Brewser]

Here's to a Successful Future Molt ...
And Healthy 'Cyst' Free Brachy

 

[The Spider House]

To @handfulofspiders , as @Charliemum said, I have a big AF T blondi who had a cyst PRIOR to any moult on her abdomen. Assume she had it for a while. The cyst was a lot larger than the one on yours and was very pronounced and protruding.
I didn't over feed her as didn't want to give any excessive pressure to the abdomen even though she would always take food without any hesitation.
She moulted recently with no issues and the cyst at this moment seems to look less 'angry'
Key message: I think once developed, cysts tend to stay in some way, but as long as they are eating, drinking, moving and moulting OK, then there is little we can do and we should try not to worry.

And as I said when I posted a pic of My T blondi post moult on my picture thread, there's nowt wrong with a few lumps or bumps anyway
Here is the T blondi post moult. Unfortunately I can't find any pics pre moult for a comparison.