H. pulchripes Concerning Behavior

[Samuska]

I posted here several weeks ago about a 1/3” H pulchripes sling that was acting strange, not webbing or eating (while not in premoult) and it wound up dead. Still have no idea what I did wrong.

Decided it was bad luck and bought a 2” H. pulchripes to replace them, hoping the larger/older sling would be more hardy. And now I am dealing with the same issues. I’ve had this new one for about 2 weeks, and granted I didn’t expect it to cover the enclosure in webs immediately, it never seemed to settle in. I have 48 Ts including this one, half of which are OW as well, so I use the same kinds of substrate for them all and they all eat the from the same colonies of crickets/mealworms.

At first I assumed this T was just stressed from the move and rehousing, but it has been in awkward stress poses the entire time, even climbing on top of the corkbark to hang precariously off of it half curled up. It is currently in a very clear death curl and is unresponsive.

The substrate is dry and it has a water source. Theres something really strange going on that I can’t keep this species specifically alive and I can’t figure it out and I’m very distressed by the fact I’m apparently just killing these off one at a time.

 

[HOITrance]

I posted here several weeks ago about a 1/3” H pulchripes sling that was acting strange, not webbing or eating (while not in premoult) and it wound up dead. Still have no idea what I did wrong.

Decided it was bad luck and bought a 2” H. pulchripes to replace them, hoping the larger/older sling would be more hardy. And now I am dealing with the same issues. I’ve had this new one for about 2 weeks, and granted I didn’t expect it to cover the enclosure in webs immediately, it never seemed to settle in. I have 48 Ts including this one, half of which are OW as well, so I use the same kinds of substrate for them all and they all eat the from the same colonies of crickets/mealworms.

At first I assumed this T was just stressed from the move and rehousing, but it has been in awkward stress poses the entire time, even climbing on top of the corkbark to hang precariously off of it half curled up. It is currently in a very clear death curl and is unresponsive.

The substrate is dry and it has a water source. Theres something really strange going on that I can’t keep this species specifically alive and I can’t figure it out and I’m very distressed by the fact I’m apparently just killing these off one at a time.

While slings appreciate a bit of moisture, afaik H.pulchripes like it mostly dry...similar to OBTs. From what I can see in that second pic it appears too most. Both of my HPs HATE moisture so I'd let it dry out and just have a water dish that you over flow a bit. As for webbing? Not all the heavy webbing species will web. I have a female GBB who webbed up a small part of her enclosure and that's it and the male has webbed the snot out of it. Same with my C.fimbriatus...I have one that looks like a curtain web enclosure and the other a hole in the center. You'll get the oddball from time to time.

 

[viper69]

They don’t all web, same applies to GBB

 

[Samuska]

While slings appreciate a bit of moisture, afaik H.pulchripes like it mostly dry...similar to OBTs. From what I can see in that second pic it appears too most. Both of my HPs HATE moisture so I'd let it dry out and just have a water dish that you over flow a bit. As for webbing? Not all the heavy webbing species will web. I have a female GBB who webbed up a small part of her enclosure and that's it and the male has webbed the snot out of it. Same with my C.fimbriatus...I have one that looks like a curtain web enclosure and the other a hole in the center. You'll get the oddball from time to time.

The lack of webbing wasn’t really the main concern so much as the weird stress posing it had been doing all over the enclosure and refusing to touch the ground - I had it bare bones dry for the first 2 weeks up until last night I thought “okay maybe that’s overkill” and overflowed some water, some directly in front of the T itself. It’s in the same position this morning and I really think it has passed.

what am I meant to use as substrate? I have other arid species on the same mixture of coconut fibre and soft aquarium sand. Is there anything other than moisture level I should be looking at?

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

Even though it is kept dry, I still put vent holes at substrate level for air exchange. Don’t know if this is a factor here, but I really don’t see anything else other than too much moisture (which you addressed).

 

[Samuska]

Even though it is kept dry, I still put vent holes at substrate level for air exchange. Don’t know if this is a factor here, but I really don’t see anything else other than too much moisture (which you addressed).

I had vents along the substrate line as well

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

What about the enclosure itself? Any chance any cleaner was left in it or on any of the pieces inside? Maybe try moving it to a smaller, barren enclosure for observation? Have you tried water droplets on the mouth (if she allows you to do that)? You said there is always a water dish, right? That’s all I got, unfortunately. I’m sorry to hear these beauties are giving you such trouble.

 

[HOITrance]

what am I meant to use as substrate? I have other arid species on the same mixture of coconut fibre and soft aquarium sand.

I keep mine on a mix of peat, coco, and topsoil with a handful of play sand thrown in. It could just be that it doesn’t like the “fluffiness” of coco fiber.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Could be dehydration maybe it’s having trouble finding the water dish with all that bark in there ? What’s it look like directly above the tank with lid off ?

 

[Samuska]

What about the enclosure itself? Any chance any cleaner was left in it or on any of the pieces inside? Maybe try moving it to a smaller, barren enclosure for observation? Have you tried water droplets on the mouth (if she allows you to do that)? You said there is always a water dish, right? That’s all I got, unfortunately. I’m sorry to hear these beauties are giving you such trouble.

I typically only wash my enclosure containers with white vinegar and baking soda, and they’re food-safe plastics as well. I did put her back in the transport deli container she came in, with just the bare substrate and everything that came with her (I hadn’t gotten around to dumping it thankfully) and tried water droplet on her fangs in the am, but it looked the same 12 hrs later. At that point she had a slight “pulse” movement to her legs while on her back. Then overnight I tried to just position her entire front end in a new water dish with the abdomen outside of it to see if that worked. Her abdomen was small, but didn’t look at all deflated. Today she hadn’t moved and her legs looked even more curled. I don’t think hydration was the issue… certainly appears like poisoning and I can’t figure out how. The only difference is the sand I used came from a new bag, same brand as the old ones had been for other arid species. She’s the only one who had been rehoused with it, so maybe the sand was contaminated somehow before I bought it. I don’t know.. I threw the rest out but still nothing definite. As of now the T no longer has the “pulse” movement and is entirely unresponsive.

thank you for your suggestions to look into and consider

 

[Samuska]

I keep mine on a mix of peat, coco, and topsoil with a handful of play sand thrown in. It could just be that it doesn’t like the “fluffiness” of coco fiber.

certainly possible- most of my terrestrials hate when I don’t pack it down as well. I thought my ratio of sand to fibre was fairly decent but now I don’t know. The sand is the same brand I’ve used before, but came from a new bag I had just bought, and is the only “different” thing used that the other enclosures don’t have. Could be a stretch but maybe the sand was contaminated in this batch. The T doesn’t appear dehydrated via the abdomen.. not shrivelled, just small but holding a healthy shape. I’m starting to suspect some kind of poison exposure but I can’t figure out what else other than the sand it could be. The other T I received at the same time went in the same car and was housed the same day, but didn’t get any sand (Euathlus sp) and is doing fine.

 

[Samuska]

Could be dehydration maybe it’s having trouble finding the water dish with all that bark in there ? What’s it look like directly above the tank with lid off ?

The abdomen shape certainly didn’t suggest dehydration, but I had the T on her back yesterday in the deli container with dry sub that she arrived in, put a bead of water on her fangs. 12 hrs later none of it appeared to have been ingested, but her slight “pulse” movement was still present. Put her face/fangs into a new water dish in that container now with her right-side up and left her there overnight. Her abdomen was clear of the water to breathe. This morning she was still there but the pulse-like movement to the legs was gone. She’s on the substrate again on her back without the water, but it doesn’t look like she’s going to make it.

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

I’m so sorry for the loss of your spider. It’s frustrating to not know why for certain. Wishing you the best with your others and hope you can raise a H pulchripes again.

 

[Samuska]

I’m so sorry for the loss of your spider. It’s frustrating to not know why for certain. Wishing you the best with your others and hope you can raise a H pulchripes again.

Thank you for your help

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

The abdomen shape certainly didn’t suggest dehydration, but I had the T on her back yesterday in the deli container with dry sub that she arrived in, put a bead of water on her fangs. 12 hrs later none of it appeared to have been ingested, but her slight “pulse” movement was still present. Put her face/fangs into a new water dish in that container now with her right-side up and left her there overnight. Her abdomen was clear of the water to breathe. This morning she was still there but the pulse-like movement to the legs was gone. She’s on the substrate again on her back without the water, but it doesn’t look like she’s going to make it.

Sorry for your loss I haven’t kept this species . Wish I knew what went wrong .

 

[HOITrance]

The abdomen shape certainly didn’t suggest dehydration, but I had the T on her back yesterday in the deli container with dry sub that she arrived in, put a bead of water on her fangs. 12 hrs later none of it appeared to have been ingested, but her slight “pulse” movement was still present. Put her face/fangs into a new water dish in that container now with her right-side up and left her there overnight. Her abdomen was clear of the water to breathe. This morning she was still there but the pulse-like movement to the legs was gone. She’s on the substrate again on her back without the water, but it doesn’t look like she’s going to make it.

So sorry, bud. I wish we could be of more help. I absolutely adore this species, and genus, as a whole. I hope you can figure out the cause so you to can enjoy them