I need help

[m0urningl0ry]

I purchased my first A. Versicolor nearly 24 hours ago from a vendor at repticon.

now before I finish this story I would like to say that I have done sufficient research on T care before I decided to buy him, as a matter of fact I have wanted to get a T since the last repticon I went to (Colombia, SC) in June.

Now from what I have read it isn't a bad idea to use moist paper towels for slings less than 2" so this is the exact setup I have a 5 g kritter keeper, moist paper towels, a stick to web on, room temp of 75-80 degrees (I have reptiles also so I keep it warm) and 3-4 pinhead crickets.

now I know my setup isn't perfect but I awoke to find my brand new A Versicolor under the paper towels not moving. It looks like its in a death curl to me, but this is my first T so I am not sure. any advice on what the difference is between a death curl and a molting position? also if the more morbid of the two turns out to be what could have cause my day old T to die. I can assure you that after he came into my possession he was handled once for a few seconds while being transfered from the tiny package he came in to his new home.

any help or advice is greatly appreciated. thank you

 

[xhexdx]

Where did you read moist paper towels were ok?

Why do you have a 2" sling in such a large enclosure?

Where did you get the stick?

Tarantulas generally molt upside down and on web mats; Avicularia species tend to make web hammocks up high and are more likely to molt in an upright position than a terrestrial species is.

Also, spiders usually perform upright molts with their legs extended. A spider in a death curl has its legs curled underneath it.

My initial questions are not meant in a derogatory or rude manner, for the record.

--Joe

 

[m0urningl0ry]

dont worry I didn't take them in a rude manner.

I read a book on T and scorpion care that said that paper towels where a good substrate for both beginners to keeping T's and for slings. It is kind of old but the writer claimed he was a very successful breeder and his prized spiders where of the genus Avicularia. also a few care sheets.

sorry I over exaggerated a little on the size its actually a small or medium kritter keeper. I have no idea why I said five. my appologies

I got the stick from outside, but before I put it in there I baked it at 350 degrees for about 15 - 20 minutes (which according to the reptile forums I belong to should kill anything that is harmful for the most part). and then let it cool for about an hour or two.

its definitely a death curl.

 

[xhexdx]

Alright, well, I have never heard of paper towels being good substrate for any spider of any size, ever. That doesn't mean it hasn't been done successfully, I've just never heard of it.

What book, by what author, if I may ask?

Care sheets are (generally) not very good; we keep talking about making some accurate sheets, but I don't know that anyone ever got around to it.

Sorry for your loss...you might want to try sticking it in an ICU, just to be sure.

EDIT: Here's a good thread about ICU use, etc.:

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=171487

--Joe

 

[Jilly1337]

Try to think of any and all changes that you've made to the environment in the last 24 hours and eliminate them. You can try an ICU, as detailed in link in this post:

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=171487&highlight=intensive+care

 

[m0urningl0ry]

Arachnomania: The General Care and Maintenance of Tarantulas and Scorpions

by philippe de vosjoli.

how does one prep an icu?

also I appreciate the interest in my problem.

 

[nhdjoseywales]

just a theory, but i am always wary of wood from unknown sources. it could be possible that the wood was from a tree that was sprayed with pesticides and cooking it caused chemicals absorbed in the wood to outgas and affect the spider. this is only a theory and i am neither a botanist nor a chemist so i dont know if the theory hold any water but its something to think about.

 

[xhexdx]

I'm not particularly fond of outside materials, either.

 

[m0urningl0ry]

I knew I should have just bought some ornamental wood while at repticon but I didn't think about it until we were already half an hour from home. anyway I got the ICU setup and it is a few inches away from my uromastyx's lamp so it stays warm but not too hot

 

[xhexdx]

Arachnomania: The General Care and Maintenance of Tarantulas and Scorpions

by philippe de vosjoli.

how does one prep an icu?

also I appreciate the interest in my problem.

Copyright 1991? Ugh! Throw the book away. :}

http://www.amazon.com/Arachnomania-Maintenance-Tarantulas-Scorpions/dp/1882770102#reader_1882770102

The link I posted earlier should help with the ICU question.

--Joe

 

[m0urningl0ry]

Thats what I though but when he claimed that they took well to it, I thought that the information can't be that off and it worked for him then (supposedly extremely well) so why shouldn't it work now? but thank you guys very much for the help. I have it in an ICU I'm hoping he pulls through.

 

[Jilly1337]

Arachnomania: The General Care and Maintenance of Tarantulas and Scorpions

by philippe de vosjoli.

how does one prep an icu?

also I appreciate the interest in my problem.

Wow....I used to have that book. It's hard to get good information for beginners about caring for T's. I recently tried to find a good G. rosea care sheet for my boyfriend's daughters new first spider. Even at the ATS website it said to use a sponge in the water dish. There is a lot of outdated info out there.

Keep us posted.

 

[curiousme]

That book uses the old name for B. smithi. It calls it a Euathlus smithi......

Good luck with the ICU and I hope it pulls through.

 

[jbm150]

Its interesting that the T would already be dying. If so, its probably not from keeping it on paper towels. Not that thats a good idea. Unless it was already sick, it sounds like it might have been from your stick (pesticides/chemicals). Or something that was in/on your paper towels, KK, or in the water you used to dampen the towels.

Another consideration: could the amount of space/lack of cover cause a T to be stressed to the point of death? Especially an avic sling, which would normally be in the nooks and crannies of trees.

You found it underneath the paper towels, perhaps looking for cover. Maybe, in there, chlorines and chloramines from the water poisoned it? Unless you were using bottled water, that is.

I dunno, just throwing things out there. Its a learning experience, we all lose Ts. Take heart that the next one will have the benefit of a more learned keeper