greenbottle blue fangs stuck in molt

malinbjorg

Arachnopeon
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Apr 3, 2017
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my Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens sling molted five days ago. since then it has been incredibly weak (i know that a molt takes a lot of their energy and that they are weak after but i am still worried because when he moves a bit he just drags his body slowly around, and i think some of its legs is deforemd...) three days ago i saw that some of the old molt is stuck around both of the fangs, and it is really tight. I've tried to moisten the area with some water drops. but it dont seem to work ... then i put it in an ICU in a dark room with a little heat, he's been there for 2 days without progress ... I've read that one can help a tarantula out of a molt with the right equipment...but im scared to help it that way bacause the molt is really tight and he's really skittish. is there anyone who has any advice on this? this is my first of two tarantulas...so i really dont want to lose this little guy
 

Moakmeister

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Get it out of that ICU. ICU's are only good for dehydration. You did the right thing by dripping a little bit of water on it, though. Not much you can really do.
 

viper69

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There's not much you can do. As for removing the old exoskeleton, that would be pretty difficult to do with any T, esp one that small. You'll need excellent microsurgical skills and patience IMO. I'm not saying don't do it, but don't expect much out of it.

The new exoskeleton is already hardened up quite a bit by now as well.
 

Leila

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That baby looks so sad in the second photo...:(
Aw, man..I hope everything turns out okay:shy:
 

Arachnophoric

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What's that white stuff coming off of its side? Poor thing looks to be in a real bad way, definitely seems that more than just the fangs are experiencing some issues.

I sincerely hope for the best, but I wouldn't get your hopes up. I hate to say that, but it really doesn't seem like there's much you can do. Any "bad molt" case I've seen where it's been serious enough to need human intervention (outside of removing a leg) hasn't had good results. :(

Please, do keep us updated.
 
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Arachnophoric

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I think @cold blood removed a T from a bad molt, but I don't recall the results. I want to say the T survived.
Really? If so, that's something else. I haven't seen many cases where someone had to remove their T from a bad molt (thankfully), but any case I have seen tended to be pretty bad. But alas, where there's a will there's a way! Didn't mean to sound like such a downer, but I try not to get my hopes up in situations such as this.
 

viper69

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Really? If so, that's something else. I haven't seen many cases where someone had to remove their T from a bad molt (thankfully), but any case I have seen tended to be pretty bad. But alas, where there's a will there's a way! Didn't mean to sound like such a downer, but I try not to get my hopes up in situations such as this.
I never rule out Mother Nature, always an exception, but on this GBB, based on pictures, I'm pretty sure it will die...but there's always that 1 in a million chance.
 

cold blood

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I think @cold blood removed a T from a bad molt, but I don't recall the results. I want to say the T survived.
Several actually...some just don't make it though...this one doesn't look good. Removal of molt parts pretty much needs to be done quickly, before things harden back up.

How big is this, it doesn't look like a sling, if I had to guess I would say its around 3"...which would be a juvie.
 

cold blood

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This did not make it
This one did...
 

viper69

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Several actually...some just don't make it though...this one doesn't look good. Removal of molt parts pretty much needs to be done quickly, before things harden back up.

How big is this, it doesn't look like a sling, if I had to guess I would say its around 3"...which would be a juvie.
Agreed, 5 days post-molt...not too good I would think.
 

viper69

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This did not make it
This one did...
I'm still surprised that Avic survived. Good genes in that one for sure!
 

Arachnophoric

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This did not make it
This one did...
Oh yikes... coming from a guy who loves gore and horror movies, that first picture genuinely makes my gut churn. That looks so horribly wrong. :(
 

cold blood

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Oh yikes... coming from a guy who loves gore and horror movies, that first picture genuinely makes my gut churn. That looks so horribly wrong. :(
She rolled off her elevated mat mid molt, and rolled down the wood piece...it was quite sad.
 

cold blood

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Arachnophoric

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Ungoliant

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I sincerely hope for the best, but I wouldn't get your hopes up. I hate to say that, but it really doesn't seem like there's much you can do. Any "bad molt" case I've seen where it's been serious enough to need human intervention (outside of removing a leg) hasn't had good results. :(
Since the condition it's in is basically a death sentence, I would probably still try the surgery, even if the prognosis is poor. When I lost my first tarantula to a horrifically bad molt last month, it made me feel better knowing that I had done everything I could to save her.

The only other option besides letting it die on its own is euthanizing it (in the freezer).


Yes...P. cam...this is her replacement...she gave me a sac end of last summer.
All of these beautiful Psalmopoeus cambridgei pictures you keep posting are helping me make up my mind on my next arboreal.
 

Arachnophoric

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Since the condition it's in is basically a death sentence, I would probably still try the surgery, even if the prognosis is poor. When I lost my first tarantula to a horrifically bad molt last month, it made me feel better knowing that I had done everything I could to save her.

The only other option besides letting it die on its own is euthanizing it (in the freezer).
Good point. Worst case scenario, it still dies. Best case scenario, it survives and maybe even recovers. But unfortunately OP seems nervous to try surgically removing the molt, and rightly so. In the event it doesn't work, it could cause the T some unnecessary pain/stress before death. Not sure how well the poor thing can still move, but OP said it was a skittish specimen. But besides letting things pass naturally or euthanization, it really seems to be the only other option.

I'm still quite curious as to what that white substance is on the left legs though.
 
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