Dead p ornata

Jacobchinarian

Arachnoknight
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Aug 2, 2010
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Well my p ornata has been pretty much unresponsive for a while so I am not sure how long it's been. I can in and she wasn't moving I got her out and she just wouldn't move. She is about 3-4 inches so it might just be because of her age. I had her on a heat pad but she would hug the wall it was on so it wasn't a problem with heat. Maybe it was too dry can low humidity kill them. This sucks I was going to mate her and she was my only female and I have two males. I have her in an ICU incase she's not dead but I'm 90% sure she is. The 10% is because she doesn't smell. She molted just before this happened. What do you guys think happened.
 

Chris_Skeleton

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It definitely wasn't because of age. She was only half grown. Pokies can get between 7-9".

Did you have a water dish? And did you keep it full?
 

P. Novak

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No waterdish could have been it if you did not provide misting or anything like that. No matter how much some people disagree, they need a water source. That being said, it could of be a combination of the heat pad (which get extremely hot without thermostats and are just an all around bad idea for Ts) and the lack of water. Do you have any pictures of the T? Anyways, sorry for your loss.
 

Jacobchinarian

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I did a heavy misting maybe once a week or more. And fed them super worms which are very watery. Plus all the others are fine
 

P. Novak

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It could have been cooked then from the heat mat. Did you ever measure the temps in the cage? Or it could just be another unknown death, it happens sometimes to keepers.
 

Jacobchinarian

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Ii don't think it was cooked it always use to climb the glass the mat was on and hug the wall because my dad kept it so cold in the house. After she molted she just sat in a verges and was pretty unresponsive. I moved her away from the mat and misted more frequently
 

Chris_Skeleton

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Her abdomen isn't wrinkled. Does that mean she's alive. I have her in an ICU.
No, a wrinkled abdomen indicates dehydration. Also, it needs to ALWAYS have access to a water dish. It might have been a bad molt though. You had no moisture in there and it sounds like there was no humidity so that might have affected the molt.
 

Scorpionking20

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She probably got cooked. Get rid of the heater (use a space heater if necessary), and ensure there is a water bowl from now on. This will help avoid killing any other Ts.

Sorry for your' loss. Gorgeous spiders...
 

webbedone

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Aug 27, 2010
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i am going to go with the heat mat cooked, heating pads create a hot spot that the spider cannot sense :(
 

Shimotsukin

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Nov 22, 2010
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Like the others said I am pretty sure she got cooked alive, even more so since you said she would hug the wall it was on
 

darkavenger

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Sep 3, 2009
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P. rufilata

P. rufilata is one of the montaine species of pokies(rufilata, subfusca, smithi...) and prefer to be kept slightly cooler and more damp than the others but nothing extreme. always use a shallow water dish. ive even had pet store workers swear up and down that tarantulas dont need water dishes and dont use them but ive witnessed all my spiders, save my A. versicolor, drink directly from a dish. that is a sad loss, they are gorgeous. i dont own one..yet, but i will get one:)
 

ryancreek

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Nov 27, 2010
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What makes you think they can't sense a hot spot?
Tarantulas CAN and DO move around in their environments to regulate their temperature (see pg. 58 in tarantula keeper's guide, or numerous scientific articles on invertebrate behavioral thermoregulation). Responding to the environment to maintain homeostasis is one of the 6 characteristics of living things. T's are quite adept at sensing when something is too hot or too cool, and move to find what is more comfortable.

A big problem arises if the entire enclosure is too hot, and the T does not have a cool place to move too. In that case, it would cook. I use heating pads with my T's right now. After several months and daily temperature checks, the hottest spots are not above what is recommended for the species, and the coolest spots are at least 10 degrees cooler. I also keep hygrometers in all the enclosures and keep the humidity at levels similar to what they would experience in their natural habitats. I must admit that heating pads do have a serious downside in that they can dry out enclosures very quickly - hence my close attention to humidity levels. A space heater is a better option, but my T room is also my study office. Studying at strange hours in a warm room = sleepy.
 

Dexity

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Jul 20, 2010
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On the heat matt part, zillas get WAY to hot, I had one on the bottom of a arboreals enclosure, and if it was a ground dweller it certainly would have beek cooked, I have another brand which are 2 watters, just a little extra heat and I feel them nearly daily to make sure they do not overheat. My house is drafty and when I plug spaceheaters into the wall it likes to kick breakers. Sorry for your possible lose I hope she is ok!!!
 

Jacobchinarian

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I would trust you guys that she got cooked but she was absolutely fine and she ate like crazy and loved the warm spot of the container until she molted. After the molt she hid in one spot and pretty much died.
 
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