Elderly Mexican Red Rump

[alyssaermmarino]

Hello everyone. I am extremely new to the forum, and would appreciate any suggestions or comments that you can give on the behavior of my very old mexican red rump. I am 20 years old and she has been alive longer than me. My father first inherited her care after he found out that she, in adult size, was being kept in a small mason jar with only a twig by an acquaintance that he had. He swiftly took her into our care, and she has been mine ever since I was a child. She is now roughly 23 years old, and I have the sad suspicion she may be nearing the end of her spidey life. Her last molt was around 2 months ago, and since then she has been acting perfectly normal. Climbing on the glass, hiding in her burrow. walking around her tank. Ever since yesterday, things seemed to go a little bit down hill. I peaked into her tank and noticed her water getting low, so I filled it the amount I usually do. While doing so, I noticed how frail she looked. The ends of her legs seemed to be bending underneath her, almost resembling the death curl. She could barely move her limbs, and as soon as I put enough water in the bowl, she hobbled over and lowered herself down into the bowl, something I usually don't ever see her do. This worried me a lot, having me thinking that it was my fault because she seemed to be acting dehydrated, even though I always ensure she has water in her tank. Could it be because she is getting older and the water level was not high enough to drink directly as she was recently? She also did this a second time later on in the night, lowering her mouth into the water so as to drink. The last feeding session occurred about 2 weeks ago, so I went directly to the store to pick up her favorite, crickets, to see if she had an appetite. I only got 3 to ensure that I would be able to take them out if she was not hungry and to ensure they would not pick or bite at her in the vulnerable state she is in. Today, after she drank her water and I put the crickets in, her legs look much better and more spread out, however she is still moving much more sluggish than before. I can see her stalking the crickets, but have not seen her eat any yet. She is moving after them much slower than she did before, which worries me. Her tank is almost due for a cleaning, and I thought of doing so to help her condition, however I'm unsure if this will just stress her more. I want to do everything I can for her because I love her, she has been around longer than any of my other pets. Is this because of something that I have done, or is her time just coming? Is there anything I can do to make her comfortable? Thank you to all my spider-loving friends for any insight.

 

[coolnweird]

Post a photo of the full enclosure and the spider if possible, but from what you've said it sounds like she may be reaching the end of her life. I recently lost a tarantula to old age and things were similar to your situation, one day she started looking frail and slow, not as interested in food, etc. and a few weeks after that she passed. It may be dehydration, if she becomes lethargic to the point of being unresponsive you can attempt to move her over a water dish, or flip her over and drip water directly of the mouthparts.

If this is the end of her natural life, I hope you and your family can find comfort in having given her a long, happy life

One quick note, in case you get any other tarantulas; their enclosures don't need to be cleaned out. At most you need to pluck out leftover food, they don't need a full substrate change hardly ever. If that's what you meant by her being due for a cleaning, my apologies for misunderstanding, I just want to make sure there's no unnecessary disturbance to the spider!

 

[alyssaermmarino]

Unfortunately, today she passed on into spider heaven. RIP Freddie. I appreciate your kind words, and of course only a quick grabbing of old wings, legs and body parts.

 

[coolnweird]

I hope Freddie is catching crickets in spider heaven These little critters have big homes in our hearts, especially after so many years. My sincere condolences

 

[viper69]

23 nice!!

 

[LucN]

Let's not miss the detail that by the time his father acquired the spider, it was already adult-sized, so it could've been already 10+ years old. Was this spider wild-caught ? Or was it a captive-bred animal his father's friend first purchased ? We'll probably never know. There is a possibility that your spider could have easily exceeded 30 years in its lifespan.

Your family has provided this animal a safe home for 20+ years. That's more than a great percentage of people today. Too many get into these because they look "cool", get a few and tire of them months later. Thank you for not making that mistake and sticking with the long-term responsibility.

My condolences for the passing of your Red Rump, I have no doubt that she was well cared for and you've enjoyed her silent company over the years. Do you plan on getting another one ? If so, it would be especially interesting if you'd get another Red Rump ( it was most likely Tlitlocatl vagans) and you could monitor its growth. That way, you'd get a better estimate of how long your first spider really lived. It's not uncommon for these to reach 25+, which is impressive when compared to typical True Spiders that usually only live a year or less.

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

I'm so sorry for your loss. It's really amazing that your father was able to save her and that you took over her care. Don't even want to imagine how awful that poor spider's existence would have been with 23+ years in a mason jar. Sounds like you both benefited greatly from your time together, and she will be sorely missed.

 

[Smotzer]

Her tank is almost due for a cleaning, and I thought of doing so to help her condition,

Do you mean spot clean? Or do you completely cleaned out? If the latter this never needs to actually be done.

And sorry for your loss, it never is easy