HELP! First time tarantula Keeper-- INJURY?!

[inmybootz]

Hi— I am a first time tarantula keeper. I just picked up my tarantula (an avicularia avicularia) two days ago. She’s been wandering around her enclosure and the first day she was home, I noticed a scab/blemish on her abdomen. I have posted this information to Reddit and the Tarantula Addicts Discord page and no one seems to have any information and it seems like no one has even seen this before...

I texted the person I bought her from (a very well known and reputable tarantula breeder/seller) and he said he isn't positive he knows what it is, but that he's seen certain things like that on avics before, and that it’s usually nothing to be worried about. He said it should go away in the next molt, but that he could replace her for me if I wanted. I don’t want to do that because ultimately it doesn’t change anything and I still want to take care of her and be a good tarantula mom. I just hope she's going to be okay, but I am worried because of things I’ve been reading online… He said these are imported & might have gotten an injury during transit…

Has anyone seen anything like this/ is this cause for concern? In the past few days I can't tell if it's gotten worse or if I can just see it better from different angles.

Thank you!!!

 

[fcat]

Looks like a cyst....keep her well hydrated but do not let her get fat on food! You need to keep her abdomen down.

Get some corn starch to have on hand in case it leaks hemolymph. You must be very careful not to get it on her book lungs though. It made bleed again any time and then again when she molts. She will do her best to repair the affected area by molting. It may take a few molts for a full recovery.

 

[inmybootz]

Looks like a cyst....keep her well hydrated but do not let her get fat on food! You need to keep her abdomen down.

Get some corn starch to have on hand in case it leaks hemolymph. You must be very careful not to get it on her book lungs though. It made bleed again any time and then again when she molts. She will do her best to repair the affected area by molting. It may take a few molts for a full recovery.

Thank you... I have not seen her bleed or leak anything. I have a bowl of water in her enclosure although I haven't seen her go down to drink from it. I've only had her for two days now so maybe she is still settling in. What would the cornstarch be used for? Sorry! I am a tarantula newbie...

 

[fcat]

Thank you... I have not seen her bleed or leak anything. I have a bowl of water in her enclosure although I haven't seen her go down to drink from it. I've only had her for two days now so maybe she is still settling in. What would the cornstarch be used for? Sorry! I am a tarantula newbie...

Corn starch will act like a bandaid and is the safest way to try to stop bleeding. When it makes contact with water and then dries, it becomes hard. As long as it's undisturbed. She could end up disturbing it so you have to be diligent about checking to make there is no bleeding.

Here is my post on a similar issue

B hamorii has a very ominous mark on abdomen

Hello all, This is one of 6 tarantulas I ordered by mail. I will admit I didn't inspect closely upon initial unpacking, I was looking for signs of a death curl or transit molt and was greeted by lively spiders, friendly at that...no threat poses or hairs kicked, which is not bad considering 5/6...

arachnoboards.com

 

[viper69]

You were provided a defective it seems. If you bought a car with a blown out tire, would you accept that too?

Seems like it was a cyst, hard to say, your pics are not good enough. All you can do is go low on feeding. A few of my terrestrials had them. There's a group in Europe that THINKS they know what causes this.

 

[fcat]

I would love to hear their thoughts!

There's a group in Europe that THINKS they know what causes this.

 

[viper69]

I would love to hear their thoughts!

I haven't contacted them. They are on FB, and seeking more specimens w/these cysts. It sounds to me like they have already done the important histology work on them, but that's an assumption on my part. Someone posted the link here. I saved the link, but cannot find it.

 

[fcat]

Thank you, I don't remember seeing it but I see what I can find.

I haven't contacted them. They are on FB, and seeking more specimens w/these cysts. It sounds to me like they have already done the important histology work on them, but that's an assumption on my part. Someone posted the link here. I saved the link, but cannot find it.

 

[viper69]

Thank you, I don't remember seeing it but I see what I can find.

I'm positive it was this team who posted it. They have good scientific posts here, not many, so easy to find. If you find it, let me know.

HOME

Theraphosid Research Team

www.theraphosidresearchteam.com

 

[fcat]

I found this old post

Cysts/Cancers in tarantulas. Survey/Fact gathering thread.

Every now and then, I have seen the topic arise on the boards, and never really seen the full scope of this strange occurrence checked, To see who wide spread; what species, and what areas are Effected, A recent thread made by one of my over seas counter parts Did a small bit of elaboration to...

arachnoboards.com

The link provided has a typo, should be museums plural, I tried searching on the internet archive but it's just loading (maybe because I am on mobile). It could be I didn't locate all the typos.

http://museumsvictoria.com.au(DELETE THIS IS DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO KEEP THE TEXT)
/about/media-centre/news/august-2011/bugs-in-the-surgery-literally11/


Anyway I sent an email to a department that will hopefully at least point me to the right person to ask.

 

[viper69]

I found this old post

Cysts/Cancers in tarantulas. Survey/Fact gathering thread.

Every now and then, I have seen the topic arise on the boards, and never really seen the full scope of this strange occurrence checked, To see who wide spread; what species, and what areas are Effected, A recent thread made by one of my over seas counter parts Did a small bit of elaboration to...

arachnoboards.com

The link provided has a typo, should be museums plural, I tried searching on the internet archive but it's just loading (maybe because I am on mobile). It could be I didn't locate all the typos.

http://museumsvictoria.com.au(DELETE THIS IS DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO KEEP THE TEXT)
/about/media-centre/news/august-2011/bugs-in-the-surgery-literally11/


Anyway I sent an email to a department that will hopefully at least point me to the right person to ask.

That AB link on Cysts is NOT the one I'm referencing at all. That is old. The post I read is new 2024, doubt it was 2023. It had a direct link to FB that worked.

See below I'm yapping about it.

B. klaasi with "sore" on ventral surface of abdomen

I have an almost 15 year old female Brachypelma klaasi that has a "sore" or abscess on the ventral surface of her abdomen. She hasn't molted in at least a couple of years. I also have a recently matured male B. klaasi that I hoped to breed her with. Is there anything I can do to help my...

arachnoboards.com

@fcat Just search for the posts by the Team on AB, and you should find it. I can see it visually, but cannot remember when.

I'm almost positive you will find it on FB under the Team's FB profile.

 

[fcat]

I'll read the ab posts here's what I found recently from TRT

https://www.facebook.com/100064323450667/posts/942736844547089

Which was a repost of this post

Michał Skawiński

Hey, you can EASILY contribute to the expansion of knowledge about spiders health! :) (And conveniently this weekend, at Hamm!) Together with Zwierzyniec WQE and researchers from Wrocław University...

www.facebook.com

 

[inmybootz]

You bought a defect product it seems. If you bought a car would with a blown out car, would you accept that too?

Seems like it was a cyst, hard to say, your pics are not good enough. All you can do is go low on feeding. A few of my terrestrials had them. There's a group in Europe that THINKS they know what causes this.

In your experience, did the cysts ever go away after molt? Or was this eventually a fatal issue...

 

[viper69]

I'll read the ab posts here's what I found recently from TRT

https://www.facebook.com/100064323450667/posts/942736844547089

Which was a repost of this post

Michał Skawiński

Hey, you can EASILY contribute to the expansion of knowledge about spiders health! :) (And conveniently this weekend, at Hamm!) Together with Zwierzyniec WQE and researchers from Wrocław University...

www.facebook.com

That's IT!!!!!!!! Thank you! I've been meaning to reach out to them at some point to see what their thoughts are on this. It's very puzzling to me. I bookmarked it now!

In your experience, did the cysts ever go away after molt? Or was this eventually a fatal issue...

For my Ts it took a 3-4 molts. Honestly you have to feed sparingly, but enough to get them to molt. You don't want their abdomen increasing in size so much that it may make things worse- that's the thought at least. They usually start small, get larger, T molts a few times, each molt the lesion reduces in size. BUT, some Ts do die.
Can't say for sure if your Ts has these cysts or not. It does look like the tissue is dried, hard to tell in your pics. If so, that's a good sign. Again, I'd be asking for a replacement because it may not make it, and the seller offered. If you wait and it dies later, months later etc, who knows if seller will have a replacement!!

 

[inmybootz]

That's IT!!!!!!!! Thank you! I've been meaning to reach out to them at some point to see what their thoughts are on this. It's very puzzling to me. I bookmarked it now!




For my Ts it took a 3-4 molts. Honestly you have to feed sparingly, but enough to get them to molt. You don't want their abdomen increasing in size so much that it may make things worse- that's the thought at least. They usually start small, get larger, T molts a few times, each molt the lesion reduces in size. BUT, some Ts do die.
Can't say for sure if your Ts has these cysts or not. It does look like the tissue is dried, hard to tell in your pics. If so, that's a good sign. Again, I'd be asking for a replacement because it may not make it, and the seller offered. If you wait and it dies later, months later etc, who knows if seller will have a replacement!!

Totally. I know it's well within my right to replace her, but I just feel sad doing that.

He told me that if anything happens at any point in the future he will always replace her for me. Obviously he might not have another pink toe down the line.. but eventually he will. I'm hoping this is just something that she can recover from.

 

[TheraMygale]

I texted the person I bought her from (a very well known and reputable tarantula breeder/seller) and he said he isn't positive he knows what it is, but that he's seen certain things like that on avics before,

when i read this i get upset. Because most of us, who arent breeders, know that can be bad. They sent you this tarantula and it had this on them… this is wrong.

i hope it resolves itself. Avoid overfeeding.

the fact they are willing to replace it should be used.

You risk losing this tarantula very soon.

 

[Brewser]

There seems to be a lot of this type of ailment lately.
Searching for Recent Threads may provide some Insight on this Matter.
As previously stated above, hope for a Healing Molt.
Best Regards to Pinky.