GBB Sling Refusing Food, Shrinking Abdomen

[betademascenone]

hi everybody!

Nugget is still kickin and hanging out near/in his water. I dont see any signs of molt, but he also doesn't seem any worse for wear. We're still offering food with no luck but going to keep trying and hope a molt happens quick!

 

[Dorifto]

the peninsula where GBBs live is arid. So keep them far drier (you have already responded to this) Perhaps it is unwell due to the humidity levels. Let it dry out and offer food, it doesn't look emaciated so don't panic

Soil is xeric, the climate is humid, very humid, this is something a lot of people tend to mistake, even if it sounds contradictory their habitat it's an humid desert.

There is a lot of humidity in the air, but very very low precipitations towards the soil, so the soil remains extremely dry due to the amount of moisture that thei air draws from it surpases the amount that it receives from the rain, as simple as that.



Looking at it's behaviour, it looks like it has some kind of issues adquiring moisture, so likely it has some kind of issue related to food absorbtion, it could be due to a bad sucking stomach or not. A T that constantly tries to hydrate denotes that.

If drinking doesn't solve the dehydration issue, then you should focus your husbandry on stopping further dehydration. To do that, just make it loose less moisture, aka raising the humidity levels. Just keep a spot quite moist, while remaining the rest quite dry, it should be enough to raise the overall humidity levels to acceptable levels and prevent/slow down further dehydration.

Misting the wall is a very good option to provide hydration, specially with GBB's since in the nature they rely mostly on dew formation, along with the moisture from the food. Simply do not overdo it, just a small spritz here and there.

 

[betademascenone]

Soil is xeric, the climate is humid, very humid, this is something a lot of people tend to mistake, even if it sounds contradictory their habitat it's an humid desert.

There is a lot of humidity in the air, but very very low precipitations towards the soil, so the soil remains extremely dry due to the amount of moisture that thei air draws from it surpases the amount that it receives from the rain, as simple as that.



Looking at it's behaviour, it looks like it has some kind of issues adquiring moisture, so likely it has some kind of issue related to food absorbtion, it could be due to a bad sucking stomach or not. A T that constantly tries to hydrate denotes that.

If drinking doesn't solve the dehydration issue, then you should focus your husbandry on stopping further dehydration. To do that, just make it loose less moisture, aka raising the humidity levels. Just keep a spot quite moist, while remaining the rest quite dry, it should be enough to raise the overall humidity levels to acceptable levels and prevent/slow down further dehydration.

Misting the wall is a very good option to provide hydration, specially with GBB's since in the nature they rely mostly on dew formation, along with the moisture from the food. Simply do not overdo it, just a small spritz here and there.

Thank you so much!

 

[betademascenone]

Thank you so much!

Nugget started his death curl this morning and he is very weak and losing control of his legs. I had my son give him a final handle to say goodbye as it was his first T and our gateway into the hobby we’ve come to love. If I thought there was anything left we could do I wouldn’t have handled, but it’s safe to say at this point there is not.
Thank you all for your wonderful advice and support. We are very sad but it was a good introduction to the care and love of T’s.

 

[Dorifto]

Nugget started his death curl this morning and he is very weak and losing control of his legs. I had my son give him a final handle to say goodbye as it was his first T and our gateway into the hobby we’ve come to love. If I thought there was anything left we could do I wouldn’t have handled, but it’s safe to say at this point there is not.
Thank you all for your wonderful advice and support. We are very sad but it was a good introduction to the care and love of T’s.

Sorry to heard that, it sucks when you can do anything but wait...

My geniculata was/is showing same simptoms after her past molt (sucking stomach was intact in both cases) so I could only keep her in optimal conditions to prevent further dehydration. During this time she molted once again but still doesn't gain weight like usually does. It's frustrating, but at least I know I adjusted the conditions good enough so she isn't dehydrating, at least not fast enough.

I hope that it doesn't discourage you from keeping those awesome animals!

 

[betademascenone]

Sorry to heard that, it sucks when you can do anything but wait...

My geniculata was/is showing same simptoms after her past molt (sucking stomach was intact in both cases) so I could only keep her in optimal conditions to prevent further dehydration. During this time she molted once again but still doesn't gain weight like usually does. It's frustrating, but at least I know I adjusted the conditions good enough so she isn't dehydrating, at least not fast enough.

I hope that it doesn't discourage you from keeping those awesome animals!

Im so sorry you’re going through something similar! I hope things start to look up for her. Sounds like you are doing a great job!

And this hasn’t discouraged me at all. It helped me learn a lot to make sure to give them the best husbandry possible. We have a collection of 10 so far and they really are awesome! The spider squad grew quick

 

[cold blood]

Just wanted to give you guys a quick update. Still no luck on food Nugget didn't go for the bug soup yet, however he is still drinking water pretty significantly. I hope he molts sooner rather than later if it is a sucking stomach issue. He looks so skinny

I definitely think it was a sucking stomach issue....the red flags are right in your quote above......A healthy t, one than can actually drink, won't do so with any frequency at all.....one drink for a healthy t would suffice for weeks, if not many months.....the fact that it kept trying over and over again is a clear sign to me that it wasn't getting water when it tried to drink, which is why it kept trying to do so repeatedly.

It's really a freak occurrence, and there is nothing that can be done but cross your fingers and hope it can make it through the next molt....most can't.....so don't beat yourself up over it, just consider it a learning experience.

 

[betademascenone]

I definitely think it was a sucking stomach issue....the red flags are right in your quote above......A healthy t, one than can actually drink, won't do so with any frequency at all.....one drink for a healthy t would suffice for weeks, if not many months.....the fact that it kept trying over and over again is a clear sign to me that it wasn't getting water when it tried to drink, which is why it kept trying to do so repeatedly.

It's really a freak occurrence, and there is nothing that can be done but cross your fingers and hope it can make it through the next molt....most can't.....so don't beat yourself up over it, just consider it a learning experience.

Thanks so much! It was definitely very educational and now I feel far more knowledgeable than I did before. Hopefully he's the only one in our current collection that has that issue.

 

[TheraMygale]

Nugget started his death curl this morning and he is very weak and losing control of his legs. I had my son give him a final handle to say goodbye as it was his first T and our gateway into the hobby we’ve come to love. If I thought there was anything left we could do I wouldn’t have handled, but it’s safe to say at this point there is not.
Thank you all for your wonderful advice and support. We are very sad but it was a good introduction to the care and love of T’s.

This is sort of like when a person has a dog, and its too ill, nothing you can do. Usualy we put them down at that point.

i think it sucks. Its sad and it hurts. I would be bummed too. I would feel real bad because its a loved pet.

its something that can happen with tarantulas and im sorry this is how the journey started.

its not always like this. Its not something that happens all the time.

i hope your family finds solace and looks forward to a new spider friend.

its not your fault and you will find a nee adventure that is positive.