I think my A. avicularia is dead

[Greg Wolfe]

Pinktoe's demise...

I have kept many avics over the years and only one died in this fashion.
I would assume (and hope) that your avic is preparing to shed.
Keep your eye on him and let us know.

 

[common spider]

She's still alive this morning, but has now moved back to the floor and is in a partial death curl. I misted a little more and I'm putting an extra water supply on the bottom of the enclosure. I guess I'll just have to wait it out.

I feel bad for ya.I hope it makes it.How long have you had it?I know how it feels I have had a string of bad luck lately with my baby T's.

I lost 2 in the last 2 months.......

 

[Garrick]

Not to argue, but if it's on the ground and starting to curl its legs until itself, it's dehydrated, no question about it. Seen PLENTY die like that, and this one will do the same unless it's given water. It may be to the point of not being able to get water on its own.
If it's the individual I'm thinking of, it is due to molt in in a couple months, maybe sooner, but for now, you need to tip its front end into a shallow dish of clean water. A peanut butter lid or something of the like will be excellent for that.

Garrick
eight

 

[common spider]

My question is this.


If it is too weak to get water on its own how do you give it water?


:?

 

[Garrick]

Take it by the carapace, or any way you can, and gently tip its chelicerae into a shallow bowl of water. Let it stay angled like that on the edge of the bowl with its "face" in the water as long as it wants. When it recovers, it'll walk off.
It's okay if the entire carapace gets submerged, but don't let the whole "half-awake" spider slide in; i.e., don't let the abdomen go in.

 

[common spider]

Wow thats good info to know.


Thank you very much.

 

[becca81]

Becca-

Is it the one from me?

In any case, lying on the ground is NOT how they molt unless she's just not established.
Go ahead and lean her carapace into a shallow dish of water, being careful to keep her booklungs out of it.
Let her drink until she leaves on her own.

Afterward, give her plenty of humidity, but keep it ventilated to keep the nasties out.

I'm noticing a trend with people declaring, "humidity's overrated. I keep mine dry with a water dish arr arr arr (insert "Tooltime" gloat here)". In between those posts, there are "my avic died and I don't know why".

I've bred. . . I don't know. . .over a thousand, and raised who knows how many from that to breed. One thing I do know is they need moisture. They need ventilation. Find a balance- it takes filling of dishes and cleaning up moist dirt, but they do well.

If it's too late, let me know and I'll send a few replacements.

Garrick
eight

Hey Garrick!

Yes, this is the one from you.

I've added an extra water dish at the bottom of the enclosure (there was one on the side) just in front of her. She was in partial death-curl this morning and I asked my husband to put her in the water a little to let her drink. I'll check with him when he gets home to find out if she drank in front of him.

Right now she has climbed back up on the screen (before she couldn't even climb). Maybe she does need an additional water supply. I'm just going to leave that one in there and make sure they are both full. There is plenty of ventilation, so mold shouldn't be too much of a problem. I've been misting daily over the past few days.

 

[Greg Wolfe]

A. avic...

That is a good sign Becca. It could be that your avic got dehydrated and weak. Keep us posted!
Greg

 

[Scott C.]

Don't know if your prob has been solved, but I've rcvd. some haplos in bad condition, and had a few similar probs with arboreals. Closed in a dark bathroom with the hot water running in the shower, and tipped into a water dish as Garrick suggested for a bit has saved some of the most serious of lost causes I've encountered. Good luck.

 

[CedrikG]

my little maculata died , on the wall ... I saw she had mot moved in the last horus and still in the same position, walking on the wall, I took a long thing and gently pushed her, she falled .. she was dead

 

[Garrick]

So what happened? Inquiring minds want to know.
Any chance of getting a description of its container?

Garrick
eight

 

[becca81]

So what happened? Inquiring minds want to know.
Any chance of getting a description of its container?

Garrick
eight

It was doing better, but now it is back in a huddle on the floor.

Here is a picture of the enclosure when I first got it:

Since then I have added some more cork bark and partioned it off so it will be a little smaller but still provide the same amount of ventilation. There is a water dish on the on the side near the top, and I added another at the bottom.

 

[Garrick]

Woah. Wow, so it's basically all screen over the top of a large aquarium on its side?
Manually get her to drink again, and while she's doing so, set her up with something that'll hold more humidity for a while. You could even carefully use clear packing tape on the inside of the screen if you want (just be sure to put the sticky side facing OUT haha. Don't want to make a flytrap).
Moisten up the substrate- it's okay for it to hold on to moisture- just be sure to clean after she eats. Ventilation is good, but she's basically living in your house.
If you have a thing to check humidity, put it up high and go ahead and let the humidity be up there (like 80%+) for a while until she acclimates.
Just keep it clean.

Let me know how it goes.

Garrick
eight

 

[Dragonhunter]

I use clear plastic wrap over my screened containers to keep the humidity up. Tape scares me because I have lost animals to it even when I was trying to be careful. Seems like they find a way into it. Whatever you do though, do something to cover screen. It wont hurt her to go without a lot of ventilation for a while, but it just might help.
Also, mist the glass sides of the container, my avics love to drink the drops off the sides. And, if the drops hang around for a couple days, then you know it's humid enough. I don't wet my substrate, but I always make sure that there are water droplets on the glass. Well, hope this helps you out.

 

[becca81]

Thanks for the tips. About 1/4 of the screen is covered with plexiglass (to hold in the substrate).

The humidity has measured around 65-70%, so I'm going to try to raise it with some plastic wrap / tape around more of the screen. I chose vermaculite because I thought it would hold moisture the best. Are there any other substrates that would help with the humidity?

 

[Blasphemy]

Thanks for the tips. About 1/4 of the screen is covered with plexiglass (to hold in the substrate).

The humidity has measured around 65-70%, so I'm going to try to raise it with some plastic wrap / tape around more of the screen. I chose vermaculite because I thought it would hold moisture the best. Are there any other substrates that would help with the humidity?

You could try moist moss like the kind used in tropical enclosures for frogs

 

[becca81]

Okay - I just covered about 90% of the screen with plastic wrap (taped on) in an attempt to raise humidity. I've misted a little more and I guess all I can do now is wait and hope for the best.

I'll check on her in the morning and see how she's doing.

I really appreciate all the help. I have 13 terresterials, but this and two other slings are my first arboreals.

 

[Blasphemy]

Well...correct me if I'm wrong but couldn't you just put more plexiglass up further? Maybe cover 3/4 of the area instead of the 1/4 you have covered now

 

[Garrick]

Could you get her to drink again?

Garrick
eight

 

[becca81]

Could you get her to drink again?

Garrick
eight

Just a little. I put a small piece of plexiglass in front of her and put some drops of water on it, then I put her on the plexiglass. I looked to me like she drank a little, then moved off the plexiglass.