Injured tarantula due to bad molt

[Danny Phantom]

So my juvenile tarantula had a really bad molt yesterday. Before I left for work, her right side seemed to be stuck already. She tried to walk but couldn't properly do so. I decided to leave her alone for the moment and let her resolve the problem herself.

However, when I returned from work, there was no improvement and it had only gotten worse. She didn't show any signs of life anymore and her entire right side was still stuck, but I managed to free her.

As a result, one leg got sacrificed, one leg got severly injured and I think there's another leg that's mildly injured. I got the back leg and the pedipalp out undamaged. All damage is right side only.

She got active again after I freed her, but I'm still really worried about her. Will she be able to live with one ripped off and two injured legs until her next molt? Is there any action I should take?

 

[cold blood]

She would be able to live with 6 legs missing...heck, people have nursed zero legged ts back to health.

Just keep a water source available.

 

[Brachyfan]

She would be able to live with 6 legs missing...heck, people have nursed zero legged ts back to health.

Just keep a water source available.

Zero legs? Worst I saw was that Tom Moran video when the t lost 7 legs in a molt. But I don't think that one made it .

 

[Asgiliath]

Zero legs? Worst I saw was that Tom Moran video when the t lost 7 legs in a molt. But I don't think that one made it .

I saw a video of a guy that did this with a Huntsman. The guy didn't know any better and was feeding it glucose but he must have kept it hydrated enough for it to survive to the next molt. It actually regenerated all eight legs at once.

I posted the video in some thread here but it's probably still on YouTube.

 

[Mister Senpai]

20% of my T's are either missing at least 1 leg or have previously lost one due to a bad molt and none ever died from it. Once my T lost 2 legs and pedipalp and still made a full recovery. You shouldn't have to worry about your tarantula losing a leg. T's usually cut off the blood(hemolymph) circulation to the leg before they pop it off, so they wouldn't bleed out. They'll grow back a small leg after one molt and on the second or third molt, it'll be good as new. Heres a pic of my P Metallica after one molt.

I saw a video of a guy that did this with a Huntsman. The guy didn't know any better and was feeding it glucose but he must have kept it hydrated enough for it to survive to the next molt. It actually regenerated all eight legs at once.

I posted the video in some thread here but it's probably still on YouTube.

Was an Aussie guy, eh? He also fed it a few insects. video

 

[Vanessa]

You should really give them time to harden up completely before assessing the damage. Sometimes wonky legs can improve with stretching. Having said that, your spider should be fine. Maybe wound the prey for now if you see that they are having difficulty catching it, but that shouldn't even be an issue.
In the future, photos are always helpful in this type of scenario, so that people can make their assessment with a full understanding of what is going on.

 

[Feral]

I'm so sorry to hear your fuzzbutt has problems. We're all pulling for her!

What species was this?
What kind of water dish and substrate moisture situation did you have going on?
Is she actively bleeding?
Is this the same T you had on a heat mat?

 

[Danny Phantom]

I'm so sorry to hear your fuzzbutt has problems. We're all pulling for her!

What species was this?
What kind of water dish and substrate moisture situation did you have going on?
Is she actively bleeding?
Is this the same T you had on a heat mat?

Thank you! It's sad to see her like this.

Species - She's a Chromatopelma Cyaneopubescens, also known as Green Bottle Blue or GBB.
Water dish - I have two bottle caps (she keeps webbing the other one) as water dish. I've tried other small plastic containers, but they were still too big for her.
Substrate - The substrate that I use is coco fiber and I keep it relatively dry. According to the care sheets I found online, the humidity should be around 50% so that's how I try to keep her.
Bleeding - She doesn't seem to be bleeding, atleast from what I can tell. The part where the leg broke off doesn't seem to be leaking at all.
Same T - Yeah, it is. I only have one currently.

Her abdomen looks kind of strange though. Not sure if this is because she needs to harden up more or if this could be an injury she suffered, which perhaps explains the bad molt. Or perhaps an injury she GOT from the bad molt. I posted a picture to give you an idea.

She would be able to live with 6 legs missing...heck, people have nursed zero legged ts back to health.

Just keep a water source available.

Alright, hoping for the best! Zero legs? That sounds insane! Respect to the person who saved it.

 

[Feral]

Substrate - The substrate that I use is coco fiber and I keep it relatively dry. According to the care sheets I found online, the humidity should be around 50% so that's how I try to keep her.

Same T - Yeah, it is. I only have one currently.

Her abdomen looks kind of strange though. Not sure if this is because she needs to harden up more or if this could be an injury she suffered, which perhaps explains the bad molt. Or perhaps an injury she GOT from the bad molt. I posted a picture to give you an idea.

Okay, I think that maybe here is the problem. There's a lot of misinformation out there. The C. cyaneopubescens should be kept on bone dry substrate with a water dish. It seems they can't handle substrate moisture/humdity in captivity because we don't provide them with enough ventilation and air flow to allow them to tolerate it. Their natural habitat has a fair bit of humdity, yes, but it has super crazy airflow, even by outdoor/nature's standards. So they can't handle humdity in captivity, moisture+enclosure=too stuffy for them. When they are in captivity with inappropriate substrate moisture levels, they often have bad molts. (Much like many Aviculariine species do.) What you're seeing with the bad molt/loss of legs/noodle legs/misshapen abdomen is typical in the case of a species who needs to be dry being kept too moist. (I suspect the humidity issues were compounded by the use of a heat pad, especially when used with direct application and without a thermostat.)

I hope he/she can pull through. I think you can increase her odds of success by refraining from adding any more moisture to the enclosure (totally let it dry out completely and just have a water dish), and also discontinue the use of the heat pad, etc. immediately. I'm crossing my fingers for her/him!

 

[Danny Phantom]

Okay, I think that maybe here is the problem. There's a lot of misinformation out there. The C. cyaneopubescens should be kept on bone dry substrate with a water dish. It seems they can't handle substrate moisture/humdity in captivity because we don't provide them with enough ventilation and air flow to allow them to tolerate it. Their natural habitat has a fair bit of humdity, yes, but it has super crazy airflow, even by outdoor/nature's standards. So they can't handle humdity in captivity, moisture+enclosure=too stuffy for them. When they are in captivity with inappropriate substrate moisture levels, they often have bad molts. (Much like many Aviculariine species do.) What you're seeing with the bad molt/loss of legs/noodle legs/misshapen abdomen is typical in the case of a species who needs to be dry being kept too moist. (I suspect the humidity issues were compounded by the use of a heat pad, especially when used with direct application and without a thermostat.)

I hope he/she can pull through. I would definitely refrain from adding any more moisture to the enclosure, just let it dry out completely and have a water dish, and also discontinue the use of the heat pad, etc.immediately. I'm crossing my fingers for her/him!

I do not add any moisture besides water dishes. The humidity in the room I keep her in is already around 50%, so I figured that was fine and kept her that way.

I stopped the use of the heating pad after all the advice I've gotten on Arachnoboards. Bought a space heater with a built in thermostat instead, that way it shouldn't use too much electricity but still do it's job. In total, I think I used the heating pad for about two weeks somewhere in mid December.

Thanks for all the advice! I'm also crossing my fingers, she HAS to surive!

 

[Feral]

Ah, when you said

The substrate that I use is coco fiber and I keep it relatively dry.

I took that to mean somewhat dry, but not entirely dry. And for GBBs it should be entirely dry.
But if I misunderstood you, and you keep her bone dry with a water dish, then good, I'm glad to be wrong.

I'm glad to hear you took the heat mat advice from AB and switched to ambient heat instead, great. It wasn't clear from the thread I read that you had definitely switched, so I'm glad to hear it now.

Fingers crossed for her!

 

[cold blood]

dish - I have two bottle caps (she keeps webbing the other one) as water dish. I've tried other small plastic containers, but they were still too big for her.

There really isnt a too big...ts float, there is zero drowning risk with large water dishes.

dry. According to the care sheets I found online, the humidity should be around 50% so that's how I try to keep her.

DO NOT READ CARE SHEETS!!

Care sheets kill tarantulas!.

This is a xeric species, they require dry dry dry. Humidity is flat out not relevant to keeping ts. Dont measure it or pay attention to it.

Bleeding - She doesn't seem to be bleeding, atleast from what I can tell. The part where the leg broke off doesn't seem to be leaking at all.

Ts dont bleed to death from leg injuries. They have a valve at the base of each leg that can be closed off to prevent such things.

Alright, hoping for the best! Zero legs? That sounds insane! Respect to the person who saved it.

I believe it was z32upgrader....there is a thread here detailing the situation.

I had a sling lose 6 legs in a molt, still survived to adulthood just fine.

Two-legged Avic

• cold blood
• Oct 15, 2016
• 8
• avicularia avicularia avicularia missing legs pinktoe tarantula sling

A. avic 2 legs is better than none. Fully recovered now.