Help - What does dying of old age look like with a tarantula?

[GBeeWild]

I have had my B. hamorii for 18 years, but in the last 6 months she has not been doing well and I’m not sure how to help her so I am coming to all of you for suggestions. I’m hoping it is not her age getting to her and there’s something concrete I can try…

Symptoms (she has not done these things in the 18 years I’ve had her):

- Refusal to eat despite varying options (super worms, hornworms, crickets). She has not eaten in 6 months.

- Is letting herself dehydrate to the point that I have to step in and place her carapace in her water dish (I’ve had to do so twice now, and she has thankfully re-plumped both times). She always has access to fresh water in an appropriate dish. She is at a point again where I will have to set her in her water dish tonight because I am worried she might not make it otherwise…

- She looks like she's starting a death curl from time to time, she is very sluggish and clumsy, but she is still moving around her home daily.

- She is never annoyed by me anymore. She is so weak that she could care less when I pick her up to put her in her water dish. Such little movement… she used to be so spry…

She lives in a well-ventilated acrylic enclosure with “lots” of substrate, a hide, a fake succulent, and a water dish. Temperature in the room where she’s held doesn’t drop below 20.5C in the coldest months (living in Canada) and doesn’t go above 24C on the hottest of days. Humidity stays at or around 70% and substrate is dry, except when I flood the corner where her water dish is about every couple of weeks, depending on the season here.

I can’t find anything physically wrong with her; no signs of a fall, nematodes, mold in her book lungs, mites, etc. she has not molted in about 2.5 years but never had any issues molting in the past.

Any thoughts? I hate the idea that she is suffering to death… it keeps me up at night…

 

[pandaking]

I think that these could be symptoms of old age, but they might be symptoms of something else. I’m not sure if there’s enough information.

 

[GBeeWild]

I think that these could be symptoms of old age, but they might be symptoms of something else. I’m not sure if there’s enough information.

Thanks so much for replying. Is there more information I can give that might be helpful?

 

[spideyspinneret78]

These spiders can live well into their twenties. Was she an adult when you got her? Or a sling? Generally when they get old they start slowing down, looking haggard since they may not groom themselves as much, and eating less often. Old tarantulas will sometimes just die of no directly apparent cause, but may also die of starvation/ dehydration. All you can really do is keep a close watch on her, keep offering prekilled or maimed prey, and making sure she has access to fresh water. If you feel in your gut that she is suffering and doesn't have a good quality of life, then it may be time to consider euthanasia. Hard to say what exactly could be going on without photos of her or the setup. Could she have been exposed to pesticides?