Masochist Tarantula?!?

[BatGirl]

OK - this is too weird even for me.

I've caught one of my tarantulas dangling from the screen on top of her cage by one leg, more than once in the middle of the night. Then I found one of her legs that had apparently broken off last night during her weird masochistic manchinations. :barf:

She seems all right - just offed a cricket and nothing is leaking or anything - but anybody else have one of their babies doing this self-obliteration stuff?!?

 

[Julia]

Considering that tarantulas have a memory span of about a second long, she has no way to equate a broken leg with her wandering shenanigans. Time to replace that screen with plexiglass.

 

[xhexdx]

Considering that tarantulas have a memory span of about a second long, she has no way to equate a broken leg with her wandering shenanigans. Time to replace that screen with plexiglass.

Actually, it's time to decrease the amount of space between the substrate and lid.

Not that BatGirl will read this...she likes to ignore people who know what they're talking about.

 

[malevolentrobot]

Actually, it's time to decrease the amount of space between the substrate and lid.

i'm going to quote since someone beat me to replying faster.

there, now she'll see it

 

[Julia]

Actually, it's time to decrease the amount of space between the substrate and lid.

Well, she didn't mention if the tarantula in question was arboreal or terrestrial. If it's arboreal, then there's no need to add substrate. Either way though, great suggestion.

 

[Hobo]

OK - this is too weird even for me.

I've caught one of my tarantulas dangling from the screen on top of her cage by one leg, more than once in the middle of the night. Then I found one of her legs that had apparently broken off last night during her weird masochistic manchinations. :barf:

She seems all right - just offed a cricket and nothing is leaking or anything - but anybody else have one of their babies doing this self-obliteration stuff?!?

This is sort of unrelated but...

I remember reading a thread about an OBT that slowly started eating it's own legs for seemingly no reason. It kept going until it only had 3, then died. There was another user that linked his thread to that thread where he experienced the same thing with his OBT. It kinda fits in with your self-obliteration thing. I can't find that thread anywhere... anyone know what I'm talking about?

 

[xhexdx]

Well, she didn't mention if the tarantula in question was arboreal or terrestrial. If it's arboreal, then there's no need to add substrate. Either way though, great suggestion.

Good point I hadn't thought of. Maybe the OP would be kind enough to tell us what species this is.

From her profile:

---------------------------------
My Inverts & Other Pets
Current:
--------
Lady Romana: Chilean Rose Hair - Mature Female
Ahsoka: Guyana Pink Toe - Mature Female
Maid Marian - Honduras Curly Hair - Mature Female

*Old World Tarantulas:
Leela: Burmese Cobalt Blue - Mature Female


*crise: une tarentule vieux monde peut entraîner la mort dans de rares cas.

---------------------------------
75% chance it's terrestrial.

Gotta love how she puts the whole 'death in rare cases' in French to try and fool us.

 

[Shell]

Good point I hadn't thought of. Maybe the OP would be kind enough to tell us what species this is.

From her profile:

---------------------------------
My Inverts & Other Pets
Current:
--------
Lady Romana: Chilean Rose Hair - Mature Female
Ahsoka: Guyana Pink Toe - Mature Female
Maid Marian - Honduras Curly Hair - Mature Female

*Old World Tarantulas:
Leela: Burmese Cobalt Blue - Mature Female


*crise: une tarentule vieux monde peut entraîner la mort dans de rares cas.

---------------------------------
75% chance it's terrestrial.

Gotta love how she puts the whole 'death in rare cases' in French to try and fool us.

I wonder if it was the Brumese Cobalt Blue? Would having 7 legs make it more or less hella deadly?

 

[rustym3talh3ad]

I wonder if it was the Brumese Cobalt Blue? Would having 7 legs make it more or less hella deadly?

i dont know how that was a stab so i will leave this thread alone. but before i do i will raise my hand and say Haplopelma lividum is from Burma. so it in theory would be a Burmese Cobalt Blue.

 

[Shell]

so it in theory would be a Burmese Cobalt Blue.

Yes I know, it was a reference to an older thread, where it was mis-spelled.

 

[xhexdx]

Yes I know, it was a reference to an older thread, where it was mis-spelled.

Regardless of location, the common name for H. lividum is Cobalt Blue, not Burmese (or Brumese) Cobalt Blue.

I need to correct myself above where I said there's a 75% chance it's terrestrial...H. lividum is an obligate burrower. :wall:

I should have said there's a 25% chance it's arboreal.

Anyway.

 

[Jmugleston]

This is sort of unrelated but...

I remember reading a thread about an OBT that slowly started eating it's own legs for seemingly no reason. It kept going until it only had 3, then died. There was another user that linked his thread to that thread where he experienced the same thing with his OBT. It kinda fits in with your self-obliteration thing. I can't find that thread anywhere... anyone know what I'm talking about?

I know which thread you are talking about since it was my older male OBT that was doing this. He only started this behavior after he'd been mature for some time before he started doing any sort of autotomy.

In this case it sounds as though the spider was trapped and dropped a leg. As mentioned above, the gap between the screen and the substrate may need to be reduced as well as switching the screen for plexiglass.

I'd remedy the possibly causes as soon as possible in order to reduce the chance if happening again.

 

[BatGirl]

Well, she didn't mention if the tarantula in question was arboreal or terrestrial. If it's arboreal, then there's no need to add substrate. Either way though, great suggestion.

Terrestrial, burrower... and yes she's from Burma.

None of my others of this same species ever did this peculiar 'meditating' thing, and they used the same type of cage. When I've caught her doing the dangle thing, all I ever had to do was tap the screen and she'd reach up with her other legs and grab the screen and just walk back down. And she never did it before this last molt, just for the past month or so. Maybe the leg was bothering her, because I was having problems getting her to eat, but after the loss of the leg she suddenly seems to have an appetite again (hopefully it lasts, too). Finally, she was missing three legs when I rescued her from Pet Company...

Like I said, weird...:wall:

 

[xhexdx]

Just in case others are wondering, H. lividum isn't terrestrial, it's an obligate burrower.

 

[BatGirl]

...Burmese Cobalt Blue.

I think I've also been incorrectly using capitalization on the name (besides my typical typo stuff) - I understand from the TKG that all words should be lower case except for any location names (i.e. Burmese cobalt blue, Mexican red knee, Chilean rose hair, etc.). Just thought I'd say that before anyone elase beat me to it

 

[Sleazoid]

Batgirl, is the only person not on your ignore list me and Smallara98 by any chance? If so I am kind of worried I am not on the ignore list.

 

[PhobeToPhile]

Some (or rather, many) of those people on your ignore list are some of the most knwoeldgable from what I've observed. You are shutting yourself off from alot of good advice. As foor your problem...I remember reading somewhere you can avoid the whole "claws caught on mesh" problem by using a different kind of mesh. Had something to do with the way the mesh was fused together or something.

 

[Vespula]

I've heard of other tarantulas doing that. Thank goodness none of mine do that...

 

[smallara98]

I bet after I tell her some good advice , she will ignore me This happened to my rosea before , but she fell to her substrate unharmed .

 

[cacoseraph]

it's pretty obvious the spider is not in a good cage setup. increase sub.


not every spider will hurt itself in the variety of known bad setups... but you have just seen how a small percentage can and will.