"I have a question."

EulersK

Arachnonomicon
Staff member
Joined
Feb 22, 2013
Messages
3,292
Alright, so here's a story.

I have been excited lately, because my subadult P. striata recently molted. She's sitting at a comfortable 6.5", has a scleritized spermatheca, and is ready to pair with the mature male. They molted within 5 days of each other, and things were just dandy.

And then I come home to this.
IMG_0841.JPG

Note that her front left leg is not touching anything, or is even close to anything. It was just hanging there. I budged the enclosure to get her to move, and she did so completely ignoring that leg. It was definitely broken - it wasn't like that this morning (two days after the molt), so it wasn't from the molt. She must have fell and broke it.

Stories of spiders molting early to heal a wound and aesthetics tapped at me. She could still pair with this male (after she removes the leg), but I don't need her molting before laying a sac. She held this position for over an hour, and I checked on her several times during that difference. So I check on my spider room one last time before bed, and she's 100% normal. A fresh, beautifully molted P. striata. A slight teasing with a dried grass blade to simulate prey reveals her to be perfectly normal, ready to eat.

I'm beginning to think she was asking for food. I came home from vacation to her having already molted, so she could have gone legs up over a week ago for all I know. By default, I'm assuming that she molted the night before I got back, but it could very well be close to two weeks since her molt. She might just be hungry.
Sarcasm on the last paragraph, in case it wasn't obvious.
 

Toxoderidae

Arachnoprince
Joined
Nov 16, 2015
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1,008
I would wait if you can. She might make an emergency molt within a month or two. BUT, I have never had a spider lose a limb, so I can't really be sure.
 

magicmed

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jun 4, 2016
Messages
404
Wow sorry to hear about that :( I hope everything works out for you bud. Sorry I can't help.
 

shining

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 15, 2011
Messages
755
I have no experience with this situation but if I were in that situation I would wait and see how she deals with her leg. Meanwhile, I'd keep the male cooler?

*awaits the wise voice of the great old ones*
 

magicmed

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jun 4, 2016
Messages
404
I have no experience with this situation but if I were in that situation I would wait and see how she deals with her leg. Meanwhile, I'd keep the male cooler?

*awaits the wise voice of the great old ones*
You forgot the summoning chant, duh...
 

petkokc

Arachnosquire
Joined
Apr 13, 2015
Messages
79
I have similar situation with my P. murinus. 2 molts ago she somehow damaged one of her legs and has been just dragging it ever since. She even molted once but her leg still seems to be without a function.
 

Thistles

Arachnobroad
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 21, 2012
Messages
624
I'd go forward with the pairing if she drops the leg. If it just dangles, it might get in the way. Be careful with the male so you'll still have him on hand if she molts out.
 

EulersK

Arachnonomicon
Staff member
Joined
Feb 22, 2013
Messages
3,292
Well, this morning she's still moving around just fine. Caught her webbing along the outside of her cork tube without a care in the world. Her leg seems perfectly fine, so I can't say I'm too worried. It's still very, very strange, though. We've all seen spiders contort themselves into strange positions after a molt, but that's a whole new level.
 

Trenor

Arachnoprince
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Jan 28, 2016
Messages
1,896
Well, this morning she's still moving around just fine. Caught her webbing along the outside of her cork tube without a care in the world. Her leg seems perfectly fine, so I can't say I'm too worried. It's still very, very strange, though. We've all seen spiders contort themselves into strange positions after a molt, but that's a whole new level.
She was reaching out for you to take her hand. :D
 

Ellenantula

Arachnoking
Joined
Sep 14, 2014
Messages
2,009
My thinking (if you could protect your male) was to breed anyway; and then re-breed if she moulted early over leg. Best of luck, however you decide to proceed.
 

EulersK

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Staff member
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Feb 22, 2013
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My thinking (if you could protect your male) was to breed anyway; and then re-breed if she moulted early over leg. Best of luck, however you decide to proceed.
Of course I'm going to observe her for a few days, but I don't really plan on changing my schedule for the pairing unless I see something way out of the ordinary. I'm going to feed her a nice big meal in about a week, same goes for the male, and then attempt a pairing by late July.
 

MrsHaas

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
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Nov 1, 2012
Messages
875
She might just chew it off if it's a nuisance - don't freak out too bad as long as she's not bleeding.
 

SausageinaNet

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 26, 2015
Messages
33
Never had a spider loose a leg so far. My approach in situations like this is to wait and observe and only interfere if I see no other solution. T's aren't guinea pigs or something similar. I think they are quite capable of dealing with most problems by themselfs otherwise they would be extinct. In the end one might only cause more damage because one is overreacting.
 
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