HELP! Sick or dying Rose Hair Chilean Tarantula!

[MissSW]

I’m new to this and don’t know where to post for advice/help…i think my 17 y/o Rose Hair Chilean Tarantula Is either sick, dying or severely dehydrated. I don’t think she’s molting (even though she hasn’t molted in over a year) and I’m not sure if she’s eaten recently. I gave her crickets last week and a couple were still in her tank.

She’s walking very weird, having trouble supporting her own weight, really wobbly and keeps falling over. Hanging in and around her water dish ALOT and and when she’s on her belly she slowly starts curling her legs in. But she keeps getting up and trying to move every so often. She Stands up, stumbles, sits down, legs slowly start curling and repeat.

This has been going on for over 2 days now.

On the first day I increased the humidity in her tank and gave her fresh water, thinking she might be extremely dehydrated. However nothing seemed to have improved by day 2.

Yesterday on Day 2, I moved her into a smaller 1 gallon critter keeper tank with dry paper towel on the floor and a very shallow water dish.

I examined her 360* when I transferred her to the smaller tank and nothing looked out of the ordinary except her butt looks a little smaller than normal.

I don’t want to move her to an ICU seeing she’s still moving around a little every so often, and I’ve read that those are a last resort. I don’t want to overly stress her out or worse.

Any helpful advice please?

 

[fcat]

Can we see some pictures?

Was she eating before this?

Have you had her 17 years or did you acquire her with that information?

It does sound like a hydraulic/cardiocasvular issue which would point to dehydration but can you rule out erratic, ataxic movements that might indicate exposure to toxins?

If she will let you, you may need to be more aggressive with watering. It helps if the water dish is about flush with the substrate, but maybe you can find something shallow to scoot under her mouth parts. If she walks away I wouldn't bug her. Keep stimuli down if she's nearing the end.

 

[Mustafa67]

I’m new to this and don’t know where to post for advice/help…i think my 17 y/o Rose Hair Chilean Tarantula Is either sick, dying or severely dehydrated. I don’t think she’s molting (even though she hasn’t molted in over a year) and I’m not sure if she’s eaten recently. I gave her crickets last week and a couple were still in her tank.

She’s walking very weird, having trouble supporting her own weight, really wobbly and keeps falling over. Hanging in and around her water dish ALOT and and when she’s on her belly she slowly starts curling her legs in. But she keeps getting up and trying to move every so often. She Stands up, stumbles, sits down, legs slowly start curling and repeat.

This has been going on for over 2 days now.

On the first day I increased the humidity in her tank and gave her fresh water, thinking she might be extremely dehydrated. However nothing seemed to have improved by day 2.

Yesterday on Day 2, I moved her into a smaller 1 gallon critter keeper tank with dry paper towel on the floor and a very shallow water dish.

I examined her 360* when I transferred her to the smaller tank and nothing looked out of the ordinary except her butt looks a little smaller than normal.

I don’t want to move her to an ICU seeing she’s still moving around a little every so often, and I’ve read that those are a last resort. I don’t want to overly stress her out or worse.

Any helpful advice please?

Can you show pics of the T and the setup?

 

[MissSW]

Can we see some pictures?

Was she eating before this?

Have you had her 17 years or did you acquire her with that information?

It does sound like a hydraulic/cardiocasvular issue which would point to dehydration but can you rule out erratic, ataxic movements that might indicate exposure to toxins?

If she will let you, you may need to be more aggressive with watering. It helps if the water dish is about flush with the substrate, but maybe you can find something shallow to scoot under her mouth parts. If she walks away I wouldn't bug her. Keep stimuli down if she's nearing the end.

I’ve had her for 16 years. I’m assuming she was a year old when I got her. She was pregnant at the time.

I did spike the humidity in her tank on day 1, but there was no difference in her on day 2.

Before I moved her to the smaller enclosure, she sat with her mouth entirely submerged in her larger/deeper water dish for quite a long time.

I have not seen her drink from this new dish yet. I have her kept in the dark at the moment to try to minimize stress.

Can you show pics of the T and the setup?

More pics above

 

[viper69]

Hard to know- leg curling isn’t always a sign of dehydration I read here.

Have you had any chemicals in the air that you’re aware of?

 

[MissSW]

Yes, the power went out recently and I had to light some candles inside.

There was also some incense and air freshener used in the home by mistake recently

 

[Ratmosphere]

That may have had an effect on your T. Always make sure to isolate them whenever using anything with fragrance.

 

[MissSW]

That may have had an effect on your T. Always make sure to isolate them whenever using anything with fragrance.

Is there any way to help her now if the fragrances were the cause of this?

 

[Ratmosphere]

That I do not know, the best you can do now is monitor her. My guess would be to use a fan to circulate the air in the room that she is in.

 

[viper69]

Is there any way to help her now if the fragrances were the cause of this?

No- wait

 

[NMTs]

I’ve had her for 16 years. I’m assuming she was a year old when I got her. She was pregnant at the time.

If she was "pregnant" when you got her, that means she was an adult. It can take this species upwards of 10-12 years to reach maturity, often longer in the wild, and this was almost certainly a wild caught specimen. This means your T could be at least 25+ years old, and very likely much older than that. It sounds to me like you have geriatric spider that is reaching the end of it's life span.

 

[MissSW]

If she was "pregnant" when you got her, that means she was an adult. It can take this species upwards of 10-12 years to reach maturity, often longer in the wild, and this was almost certainly a wild caught specimen. This means your T could be at least 25+ years old, and very likely much older than that. It sounds to me like you have geriatric spider that is reaching the end of it's life span.

I understand she’s getting old and nothing lives forever…

I just wasn’t sure if this is how they normally act when they’re dying or if it is possibly some external factor I could correct and revive her?

It’s really sad to watch. Its like watching a cat/dog/person who’s literally on their last days but still trying to hold on…


Yes she was pregnant when I got her in March 2008 (I did not know that when I purchased her). She laid an egg sack within a few weeks.

 

[NMTs]

Yes she was pregnant when I got her in March 2008 (I did not know that when I purchased her). She laid an egg sack within a few weeks.

Then she's definitely older than 17 years. This is one of the slowest growing species out there, and it can easily take over 10 years to reach sexual maturity. Heck, she could have been 20 years old when you got her...

I understand she’s getting old and nothing lives forever…

I just wasn’t sure if this is how they normally act when they’re dying or if it is possibly some external factor I could correct and revive her?

It’s really sad to watch. Its like watching a cat/dog/person who’s literally on their last days but still trying to hold on…

It does sound pretty normal to me. As they get older, their systems start to fail and result in most of the symptoms you're observing.

The best thing you can do for her now is keep her comfortable until the end. I would put her back in her regular enclosure, keep a shallow water dish full, and enjoy the time you have left with her as much as possible.

 

[MissSW]

Then she's definitely older than 17 years. This is one of the slowest growing species out there, and it can easily take over 10 years to reach sexual maturity. Heck, she could have been 20 years old when you got her...


It does sound pretty normal to me. As they get older, their systems start to fail and result in most of the symptoms you're observing.

The best thing you can do for her now is keep her comfortable until the end. I would put her back in her regular enclosure, keep a shallow water dish full, and enjoy the time you have left with her as much as possible.

Are you sure about her species taking 10 + years to reach sexual maturity?

You’re the first source I’ve come across to say that long.

Any other source I’ve found says only 3-4 years to reach sexual maturity.

Either way, yes she’s at least 20+.

Life expectancy rates also vary depending on the source. The most common I’ve found was 25 year life expectancy for females. But I’ve also come across estimates that range all the way up to 40 years??

 

[NMTs]

Are you sure about her species taking 10 + years to reach sexual maturity?

You’re the first source I’ve come across to say that long.

Any other source I’ve found says only 3-4 years to reach sexual maturity.

Either way, yes she’s at least 20+.

Life expectancy rates also vary depending on the source. The most common I’ve found was 25 year life expectancy for females. But I’ve also come across estimates that range all the way up to 40 years??

In captivity, with constant temps, a consistent water source, and regular feedings, it may be faster than 10 years. In the wild, however, where temperatures vary, and water and meals are harder to come by, 10 years isn't out of the question at all. 20 years ago this was one of the most commonly imported WC species on the market, so much so that nobody bothered to breed them in captivity because the time and effort it took to grow up a sling to a sellable size made it too financially burdensome. It has really just been in the last handful of years that captive bred spiderlings have become commonly available in the hobby, and that's only because Chile banned exports of wild caught specimens. So, I don't think it's a stretch to assume your girl is 30+ years old.

 

[fcat]

I think they hail from the coldest desert on earth and are kept much warmer in captivity than they would be in the wild, which would significantly increase their growth rate. I bet there are people here still raising 3-4 year old slings though.

I would want to see the source on this information you came across. You'd have to DM the link

 

[Gevo]

I’m so sorry to hear your tarantula seems to be at the end of her life. It’s never easy to lose one, and you have my condolences.

I don’t think the estimate you saw of 3-4 years for sexual maturity is correct. Males do mature faster than females, but I have a captive bred and raised Grammastola pulchra with a similar growth rate to Grammastola rosea, and they are slooooow growers. Like, I know my G. pulchra is at least two years old, and it’s still just a wee baby—barely 2 inches. If it ends up being male, I’d guess it’s still at least 5-6 years out from maturing, and if it’s female, I wouldn’t expect it to reach sexual maturity for at least another 8 years or so.

The lifespan estimate of up to 40 years is also something we don’t really have a clear answer to because not enough of them have been kept from birth to death in captivity for us to have really good data on that. However, when we’re talking about tarantula lifespans, I think we need to also keep in mind that there is variability. I’ve had cats live to be 24 before dying of old age, and I’ve had cats live to be 14 before dying of age-related diseases. It’s likely the same with tarantulas, where it might be possible that some species live to 40 years old but that doesn’t mean it’s abnormal or a sign of anything done wrong when they die at 20 years old.

It sounds like you gave her a good long life.

 

[darkness975]

Old age.

Also, ICU does not work.

 

[Brewser]

Rest & Relax in Old Spiders Home
Thanks for Caring all these Years, and More to come.
Legs Crossed

 

[cold blood]

Are you sure about her species taking 10 + years to reach sexual maturity?

You’re the first source I’ve come across to say that long.

Any other source I’ve found says only 3-4 years to reach sexual maturity.

Either way, yes she’s at least 20+.

Life expectancy rates also vary depending on the source. The most common I’ve found was 25 year life expectancy for females. But I’ve also come across estimates that range all the way up to 40 years??

Yes, once they get to about 3", their growth slows way down.....and just getting to that point is often more than a 5 year process.....here's an example of how slowly they grow....about 6 years ago, I acquired a pair of them at 3".....kept in a warm room with regular food, after 6 years they are now a whopping 3.5", and still no where near maturity....the person I got them from raised them from slings and they were over 5 when I got them.....so even under optimal conditions, these ts are only 3.5" and 11 years old.

Yours, being mature, as an educated guess based on known growth rates, would have almost certainly been at minimum 15 when you got her, and more likely much older than that. I'd say she over 30, or at least in that neighborhood.

As for how old they can get, it's anyone's guess, but I can tell you that 26 years ago I acquired a female that was already full grown and molting on a loooong 5 year schedule.....this tells me she was at minimum of around 20....and I've had her another 26 years, still molting on that same schedule.....do the math, there is absolutely no way she's not over 40.....and is likely many years older....perhaps she's 50? But she still acts the same as the day I acquired her.