HELP with red liquid on B. smithi

julesaussies

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 15, 2007
Messages
577
Hi. i feel like a moron not having resources to look this up on my own first. i don't know if this is covered in the Tarantula Keeper's Guide as my copy won't arrive from Amazon until Wed or Thur.

i just acquired a beautiful 4" B. smithi. i was just tending to all my T's; food, water, checking on them, etc. My smithi grabbed one of two crickets as fast as they hit the ground. While it was eating i noticed a rather large drop of red liquid near the first proximal joint on it's 4th (?) right leg. i also noticed the next joint almost looked as though it is cracked and has this red liquid in the joint. Upon further inspection i found even more of this red in the crevices on the ventral surface of the cephalothorax. i realize this isn't blood but what the heck could it be. i just received and set up this T yesterday. It is in a new KK, only peat for substrate, a flower pot for hide and a water dish - that's it. There is enough substrate in the KK that there is really no fall to be had. Right now it is chowing down on crickets so i'm thinking its not sick.

i'm kind of stressed because this is a great T. i was able to get pics but have to figure out how to post them first. i don't know how to make the pic file smaller and i think that will be a problem.

Any suggestions???? Thanks.
 

Avic_Addict

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 2, 2007
Messages
84
I seem to vaguely recall a paragraph in the T keepers guide about how T's salivate/produce additional digestive fluids through the uppermost joints of their legs? Could be the answer, but have a read through the section on digestive anatomy to be sure.
 

AlainL

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 14, 2006
Messages
1,443
Hi. i feel like a moron not having resources to look this up on my own first. i don't know if this is covered in the Tarantula Keeper's Guide as my copy won't arrive from Amazon until Wed or Thur.

i just acquired a beautiful 4" B. smithi. i was just tending to all my T's; food, water, checking on them, etc. My smithi grabbed one of two crickets as fast as they hit the ground. While it was eating i noticed a rather large drop of red liquid near the first proximal joint on it's 4th (?) right leg. i also noticed the next joint almost looked as though it is cracked and has this red liquid in the joint. Upon further inspection i found even more of this red in the crevices on the ventral surface of the cephalothorax. i realize this isn't blood but what the heck could it be. i just received and set up this T yesterday. It is in a new KK, only peat for substrate, a flower pot for hide and a water dish - that's it. There is enough substrate in the KK that there is really no fall to be had. Right now it is chowing down on crickets so i'm thinking its not sick.

i'm kind of stressed because this is a great T. i was able to get pics but have to figure out how to post them first. i don't know how to make the pic file smaller and i think that will be a problem.

Any suggestions???? Thanks.
Hi!

Sorry, I can't help you for the red liquid stuff.
But I will try to help you for your pic.
Go to www.photobucket.com and register for free , upload your pictures
then to post them on arachnoboards you just have to copy the link "Img code"for that just left cick on the link.then you have to paste it on your arachnoboards post, for that you just right click where you whant the pic, go on paste and it's gonna copy the link of your pics.
Hope you understand since my english is not very good:8o
 

Talkenlate04

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 13, 2006
Messages
8,656
Red liquid is what is throwing me off. I don't mean to insult you but are you sure it's red? Not just appearing to be red?
Just a guess at this point but I don't think it's bleeding and or in any serious trouble. Maybe you were seeing color in the joint area? I really can't say for sure till you post some pictures.
 

julesaussies

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 15, 2007
Messages
577
Photos

Carpetpython - Thank you so much!!

Okay these aren't the best pics but should show exactly what i saw. i was afraid i might hurt it if i picked it up to get better pix so this is through the KK. i don't know how you guys draw circles on your pix but if you look carefully at any joint area you can see what i'm talking about. The one big drop was the only actual drop i saw but it even looked like some of this hair in that area was wet. i am absolutely clueless.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z108/julesaussies/100_8838c.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z108/julesaussies/100_8828.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z108/julesaussies/100_8813.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z108/julesaussies/100_8811a.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z108/julesaussies/100_8810.jpg
 

Talkenlate04

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 13, 2006
Messages
8,656
Ok well now that I have seen pics, it does look like she was injured somehow. Maybe kicked by the cricket? I can't say for sure how, has she fallen at all since you had her?

As long as the fluid looks like it't drying up then she should be ok. Keep an eye out. Worst case, she casts off that leg. I have never seen a T bleed to death from a minor leg wound like that one.
 

KJE

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 21, 2004
Messages
808
That's odd. I've never seen anything like that before. Can you gently touch it with a q-tip to see if it is goopy or more liquidy? You should be able to tell by how well it wicks into the q-tip.
 

julesaussies

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 15, 2007
Messages
577
Ok well now that I have seen pics, it does look like she was injured somehow. Maybe kicked by the cricket? I can't say for sure how, has she fallen at all since you had her?

As long as the fluid looks like it't drying up then she should be ok. Keep an eye out. Worst case, she casts off that leg. I have never seen a T bleed to death from a minor leg wound like that one.
But why is it red?? Absolutely no falls or anything. Ate the crickets as soon as they hit the ground - eating in pic. And its more than just that one big drop - a lot of the joints look weird and seepy...
 

julesaussies

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 15, 2007
Messages
577
That's odd. I've never seen anything like that before. Can you gently touch it with a q-tip to see if it is goopy or more liquidy? You should be able to tell by how well it wicks into the q-tip.
i swabed it with a Q-tip and did in fact get red stuff off. It was thick so didn't seep into Q-tip fast but it has been several hours since my first post when i saw this. Was definitely still wet though.

i am way stressed.... i wish i knew what this could be.
 

Talkenlate04

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 13, 2006
Messages
8,656
Just to amuse us can you take a picture of the red stuff? I am miffed now. :confused:
 

Drachenjager

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 23, 2006
Messages
3,509
i swabed it with a Q-tip and did in fact get red stuff off. It was thick so didn't seep into Q-tip fast but it has been several hours since my first post when i saw this. Was definitely still wet though.

i am way stressed.... i wish i knew what this could be.
odd never heard of red t blood ?
 

julesaussies

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 15, 2007
Messages
577
Is she favoring that leg at all?
Let me go get some hair kicked up on me and find out - LOL! This one is a hair kicker for sure. Be right back!

Does not seem to move different at all. walks both slow and fast just fine.

Okay - here are some pics of the abdomen - blurry but they show what is just saw. If T's had red blood i would say this T is severely bruised or even bleeding out but they don't so what on earth is this???

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z108/julesaussies/100_8840a.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z108/julesaussies/100_8841a.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z108/julesaussies/100_8842a.jpg
 

julesaussies

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 15, 2007
Messages
577
i've got to leave now but will return in a few hours - then i will have time to do anything else LOL
 

Talkenlate04

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 13, 2006
Messages
8,656
As blurry as those last pics are I can't see anything wrong. Can't see much of anything really :p
 

P. Novak

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 12, 2005
Messages
6,218
:? Wow. I'm completely stunned. I have no idea what this can be, but I'll try some research to find out for ya.
 

JMoran1097

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
May 14, 2007
Messages
924
to the original poster: you said that you recently acquired her. did you fully inspect her after the purchase/shipment was received to see if she had any injuries?
 

P. Novak

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 12, 2005
Messages
6,218
to the original poster: you said that you recently acquired her. did you fully inspect her after the purchase/shipment was received to see if she had any injuries?
See the thing that doesn't work with injuries is that T's don't have red blood.

Ok I have a thought now, there was a thread here a couple days ago about feeding food colored fish flakes or whatever to your crickets and then enhancing the Ts colors. What if this T ate prey that was injected or fed some kind of red food coloring product, thus turning it blood red. I know it's way out there, but it's just a thought.
 

Talkenlate04

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 13, 2006
Messages
8,656
See the thing that doesn't work with injuries is that T's don't have red blood.

Ok I have a thought now, there was a thread here a couple days ago about feeding food colored fish flakes or whatever to your crickets and then enhancing the Ts colors. What if this T ate prey that was injected or fed some kind of red food coloring product, thus turning it blood red. I know it's way out there, but it's just a thought.
Interesting theory, but that would still not explain colored liquid coming out. Color enhancers are not going to change things like that.
Me personally I am miffed to, but if you remember the photos of my recent Smithi male that had a bad molt there was much more red the I ever would have thought possible.
 

JMoran1097

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
May 14, 2007
Messages
924
See the thing that doesn't work with injuries is that T's don't have red blood.

Ok I have a thought now, there was a thread here a couple days ago about feeding food colored fish flakes or whatever to your crickets and then enhancing the Ts colors. What if this T ate prey that was injected or fed some kind of red food coloring product, thus turning it blood red. I know it's way out there, but it's just a thought.
yeah i knew that, but i was implying that perhaps the red food coloring perhaps dyed the joint lubricant. this lubricant, i was thinking, was the blood.
 
Top