Help! Chilean rose appears to be dying

[nicodimus22]

If it dies, or maybe has already, please dont let it deter you from this hobby.

I'd like to echo this sentiment. A tarantula dying after a few months is far from the normal experience with them. Some of them can last 20+ years.

 

[Jeff23]

Sadly, I am 99% certain she has died. There has been literally no response in the last 48hrs. The weird thing is she looks in such good condition and when you touch her she feels firm and springy as opposed to thin and wispy. ( see pics attached)
I read that the only way of knowing they are truly dead is if their abdomens shrink and they start to smell pretty soon afterwards but there are neither of these signs, even though I think she died on Sunday.
My son is pretty inconsolable as you can imagine but just want to thank you for all your help over the weekend. Even though we only had her since August she was a magnificent pet and has left a terrible void

I'm sorry for the pain you are dealing with.
Since you already have the enclosure and knowledge I would look at getting a replacement. Tarantulas live quite a few years and are easy on the care. It is very unlikely that the right species (LB) will die soon and that might help your son get over his grief faster.

 

[dopamine]

Hi there, I think it was old age, just no way of knowing. So sad she has left us but thanks for all your help.

I'm sorry to hear that
I'm sure it doesn't happen very often so don't let this discourage you from getting another spider.

 

[Alicedarling]

I'm sorry to hear that
I'm sure it doesn't happen very often so don't let this discourage you from getting another spider.[/QU

 

[Alicedarling]

It's funny, I didn't care about spiders at all until my son started pestering us for months to get one. When we finally caved in, I realized from the first day what fascinating and enchanting creatures these are and am so happy our T taught us that. We will definitely get another spider.

 

[Alicedarling]

I'm sorry for the pain you are dealing with.
Since you already have the enclosure and knowledge I would look at getting a replacement. Tarantulas live quite a few years and are easy on the care. It is very unlikely that the right species (LB) will die soon and that might help your son get over his grief faster.

 

[Alicedarling]

Thank you for the kind words. For sure we will get a replacement to soften the blow.
I see it's a genuine passion for him and hopefully the next one will give him many years of contentment.

 

[Alicedarling]

Thank you!

I'd like to echo this sentiment. A tarantula dying after a few months is far from the normal experience with them. Some of them can last 20+ years.

 

[Alicedarling]

Just to be sure I would leave her be for another day or two just to be sure. Sometimes Ts are very good at playing dead. They seem to switch off sometimes.

If it dies, or maybe has already, please dont let it deter you from this hobby. For at the beginning it is all a learning curve.

I still give you hope that she may come well again. If not, I give you my condolences.

Just to be sure I would leave her be for another day or two just to be sure. Sometimes Ts are very good at playing dead. They seem to switch off sometimes.

If it dies, or maybe has already, please dont let it deter you from this hobby. For at the beginning it is all a learning curve.

I still give you hope that she may come well again. If not, I give you my condolences.

Thank you for the lovely words. I showed the threads to my son and he was so comforted.
We are treating it as the end but at the same time, of course we dare to hope she will somehow prove us wrong.
Earlier this evening, as we had nothing to lose, we carefully turned her over onto her back and drip fed her some water with a syringe. We were stunned to see how much water went in. Also, a small piece of vermiculite seemed to appear in her mouth area, so I took a photo. Do you think it was possibly causing a block?
We have left her on her back tonight. If there's any movement tomorrow I'll let you know.
As for my son, he has learnt a lot from this experience and wants to get another spider that he can care for with his new found knowledge.

 

[KezyGLA]

Thank you for the lovely words. I showed the threads to my son and he was so comforted.

Earlier this evening, as we had nothing to lose, we carefully turned her over onto her back and drip fed her some water with a syringe. We were stunned to see how much water went in. Also, a small piece of vermiculite seemed to appear in her mouth area, so I took a photo. Do you think it was possibly causing a block?

We are glad to help. Its what we are here for.

As for the vermiculite it does look like a small piece has been lodged into the mouthparts. This is why it is not a suitable substrate but at this stage I think it is a case of lesson learned.

I wouldnt give up hope just yet. If it seems that the water is disappearing when you place it on the mouthparts then keep it up. She may recover and somehow get the vermiculite out.

If she stays on her back another couple of days I would unfortunately assume the worst.

I wish you the best of luck! Please keep us updated please

 

[KezyGLA]

Her legs look less curled and she doesnt look dead to be perfectly honest. And her abdomen is still plump. Continue the water with syringe every now and then. Dont give up yet.

 

[Alicedarling]

if she is barely responsive, flip her over. Drip water on her mouth. She will flip on her own. Repeat until either she molts out of it or just stops.
IF there is any "jerky" movement, that means she got into something toxic. 50/50 chance she will be fine.

Thank you, we did this when we got home tonight and she took in a lot of water. Still no movement whatsoever though. I took a picture, should we leave her on her back like this?
We are sure she is dead, but if there is the slightest chance she may be alive, I dont want to cause her any undue stress.

 

[KezyGLA]

Are the white specs on her moving?

 

[Ghost56]

Is the substrate dry? If not, get her off the wet sub into something else with dry sub. That should aid in her recovery if she's still alive.

 

[Alicedarling]

Her legs look less curled and she doesnt look dead to be perfectly honest. And her abdomen is still plump. Continue the water with syringe every now and then. Dont give up yet.

Thanks for replying so quickly. She is in good condition, that's the thing.
The legs, well, my son unfurled them a bit with his paintbrush, so they didn't naturally come to be in that position, but even so, it wouldn't be possible for him to do that if they were in a rigid curl, right? I attach a pic of what she looked like before we put her on her back.
I won't hold my breath but it's good it can't be proven that she's died yet..

 

[KezyGLA]

The legs can be manipulated after death without curling back. After seeing this last photo of her I would say that she had probably passed.

Were the white specs on her in the previous 2 photos moving? She seemed to have a damaged booklung and the white specs could possibly have been mites.

 

[Alicedarling]

We are glad to help. Its what we are here for.

As for the vermiculite it does look like a small piece has been lodged into the mouthparts. This is why it is not a suitable substrate but at this stage I think it is a case of lesson learned.

I wouldnt give up hope just yet. If it seems that the water is disappearing when you place it on the mouthparts then keep it up. She may recover and somehow get the vermiculite out.

If she stays on her back another couple of days I would unfortunately assume the worst.

I wish you the best of luck! Please keep us updated please

Lesson learned with vermiculite. Thanks for looking at the photo of her mouthparts, I'll keep you informed!
Really appreciate the feedback...

 

[Alicedarling]

Are the white specs on her moving?

Just checking now.....

 

[Alicedarling]

The legs can be manipulated after death without curling back. After seeing this last photo of her I would say that she had probably passed.

Were the white specs on her in the previous 2 photos moving? She seemed to have a damaged booklung and the white specs could possibly have been mites.

Bummer about the legs
She always had a book lung like that since we got her. I never noticed any mites on top of her but let me take a close look now with new eyes.....

 

[Alicedarling]

Just checking now.....

No, not moving, they appear to be traces of vermiculite. I will take a close up pic in the morning...