Is my tarantula dead?

Inarius1

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 9, 2019
Messages
2
Question A: Is the tarantula in the photograph dead or molting? (I'm pretty sure it is dead)
Question B: If it is, in fact, dead; can you be so kind as to identify the species?

Additional information: The spider in the photo is adolescent, no more than a few months old. It has been in this state for a few days. It is has been properly fed, stored, and given all the care required. It is not mine and if it is dead a new one must be purchased to replace it.

Thank you for your time and have a great day
 

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TriMac33

Arachnoknight
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Joined
Aug 21, 2019
Messages
230
Question A: Is the tarantula in the photograph dead or molting? (I'm pretty sure it is dead)
Question B: If it is, in fact, dead; can you be so kind as to identify the species?

Additional information: The spider in the photo is adolescent, no more than a few months old. It has been in this state for a few days. It is has been properly fed, stored, and given all the care required. It is not mine and if it is dead a new one must be purchased to replace it.

Thank you for your time and have a great day
That's a death curl. It looks to be an Avicularia sp. Why is its water dish bone dry?? It probably died or is dying from dehydration.
 

lostbrane

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jul 8, 2018
Messages
517
Dead.

I’m not so sure about proper husbandry from the photo. Plenty of times people are misinformed/got bad advice on how to take care of a tarantula. It happens and it is unfortunate. Pictures of the enclosure would help a ton.

How was the age of this tarantula determined? It could very well be a lot older than thought.
 

Inarius1

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 9, 2019
Messages
2
The "water dish" is actually behind the boel the spuder is in. It sort of claimed that one so i added a new one. As far as the age, my friend who is the owner bought it from a pet store. The clerk told him it was an adolescent a couple months old. Thank you all for your quick answers
 

lostbrane

Arachnobaron
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Jul 8, 2018
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517
Pet stores are notoriously unreliable when it comes to age of tarantulas. The only way to know for sure is knowing when it hatched from an egg. Otherwise it is guess work. You can make a rudimentary guess at best based on size.

With it being a pet store t, it could very well have been in sore shape to begin with/maybe near the end of its life already.

Also a chance it could be a mature male. If possible flip it, and check the pedipalps (the leg like things on each side of the fangs/chelicerae) for two red orbs essentially. If it has those, those are emboli and it would indeed be a mature male, which then means it had a limited amount of time to live after it’s final
molt.
 

Thekla

Arachnoprince
Joined
Oct 13, 2017
Messages
1,878
Question A: Is the tarantula in the photograph dead or molting? (I'm pretty sure it is dead)
I'm sorry, that spider looks indeed dead or at least on its way out. :( It's in a death curl. Can you check if it's still reacting to any stimuli? If there's any life in it left I'd turn it on its back and try to administer some drops of water to its mouthparts and see if they disappear (that will take some time). If so, repeat the process.
Question B: If it is, in fact, dead; can you be so kind as to identify the species?

Additional information: The spider in the photo is adolescent, no more than a few months old. It has been in this state for a few days. It is has been properly fed, stored, and given all the care required.
That spider is most definitely not "a few months old". And how can you be sure it has been properly cared for if you don't know the species? :confused:
If this is indeed an Avicularia species the setup seems to be all wrong. Could you post a picture of the whole enclosure?

As @lostbrane said it could also be a mature male that is very old and just dying of natural causes.

It is not mine and if it is dead a new one must be purchased to replace it.
If it's indeed dead don't just buy another unless you can be sure the owner of the current one knows how to really care for it.
 

cold blood

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13,223
The "water dish" is actually behind the boel the spuder is in. It sort of claimed that one so i added a new one. As far as the age, my friend who is the owner bought it from a pet store. The clerk told him it was an adolescent a couple months old. Thank you all for your quick answers
Well you were lied to about the age...or someone was...this avic is about 5 months old (I breed them so I know the age...that's about the only way to actually know).

This would be a couple months old


Note the patterns on the abdomen and the reverse color patterns.....this is what all A. avics look like as slings....

Juvies retain the rump pattern, but have the adult blue color.

These are adults (note, they look like the one in your pic)
Avics require very specific care...they need very good ventilation.
 
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TriMac33

Arachnoknight
Active Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2019
Messages
230
if it is dead a new one must be purchased to replace it
Please don't purchase another one until husbandry is ruled out here as a potential cause of death. Avics, as mentioned above, are sensitive to husbandry mistakes. Mainly lack of ventilation, coupled with overly moist enclosures. Second being dehydration.
 

PidderPeets

Arachnoprince
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If that was not a mature male, I'm unfortunately a bit skeptical that it was properly cared for. That abdomen looks absolutely miniscule.

I'm hoping it's just the angle that makes it look smaller than it is, but if the abdomen really is that small, then I strongly suggest that proper care be learned before getting a new one. From your wording, it kinda sounds like you're watching it for a friend and are trying to replace it before they notice?
 

esa space station

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jun 3, 2018
Messages
252
The "water dish" is actually behind the boel the spuder is in. It sort of claimed that one so i added a new one. As far as the age, my friend who is the owner bought it from a pet store. The clerk told him it was an adolescent a couple months old. Thank you all for your quick answers
Dehydrated legs in death curl /fill what it is in immediately to top with water now!2)it looks to be recent molted 3)its not a ground dweller its a tree dweller and looks like its come down to find water .
 

Tenebrarius

Arachnoangel
Joined
Sep 8, 2018
Messages
912
Dead.
here is a helpful way you can check.
take your hand, and make a fist, if the legs are like that it is a death curl. if the T has been in a death curl for that long IT IS BEYONG REPAIR. SAD.
yes sad.
does NOT look a few months old, and could have been an MM, check its pedipalps.
also looks Avic.
The "water dish" is actually behind the boel the spuder is in. It sort of claimed that one so i added a new one. As far as the age, my friend who is the owner bought it from a pet store. The clerk told him it was an adolescent a couple months old. Thank you all for your quick answers
THEY BE LYING MY MAN
Dem pet sto's don' 'no' nuffin
 
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