MF Rosea on her back again only 6 weeks post-molt

[Amanda]

HAH! The crazy girl read my mind or something. Not even a moment after I posted that, I heard a little commotion coming from her direction. The tank is a little more than 15 feet from me. I saw her upright and thought maybe she'd quit again. I tiptoed over and found her on her back again right next to the water dish. She had climbed out and flipped again. She's actively molting now... moving her legs quite a bit. I can see from the motion and angle of the segments that she's worked herself out of at least the tarsus of the back legs. This might be a quick one. I'm glad for that, because she seems to have been having some trouble today. She was beginning to remind me of a woman in labor pacing the halls of a hospital, lol.

---------- Post added 04-08-2013 at 11:55 PM ----------

I decided to camp out on the floor next to her tank with my laptop. This isn't the first molt I've sat and watched, but definitely the strangest circumstances. I have my camera.

 

[grayzone]

damn G. rosea ... just when you think you have them figured out :wall: hope she pulls through alright.

 

[Amanda]

Thanks... I hope so too. As much as she's working, it doesn't look like the carapace has popped yet. Watching molts up close is always so nerve-wracking.

 

[grayzone]

yeah, molts are the worst.
Wait forever and a day for them to actually happen..then when they do, you get all panicked.

I just gave up all together on caring, and when i see them flipped i just walk away and forget about it.

Your current case is quite different though. I would watch that one like a hawk

---------- Post added 04-08-2013 at 09:33 PM ----------

pour yourself a cup of coffee. Its going to be a long night haha

 

[Amanda]

Haha, sadly that's what my last few nights have been like while I studied for a hideous exam. I haven't slept in my bed in 2 nights because it would be too comfortable and I would sleep too long. That's the luxury I'm supposed to be enjoying right now. :exhausted:

 

[grayzone]

thats whats up though... get that edjumacation

 

[Amanda]

No progress.

She's still on her back, legs curled, but moving faintly. Her carapace has yet to pop. I took a two hour nap on the couch, but I have to get some sleep. I have another heinous exam tomorrow to study for. I don't know what else to do. On the one hand, you wait and see... molts take time... be patient. On the other hand, if it really isn't going to come loose, there's a narrow window of time to intervene and perform surgery (per the TKG). She is very thin, seems weak, and is likely pretty old.

 

[bliss]

I have had a rosea do this before, a small female. She would make a web, flip, and then do nothing; and after about a week of doing this, she stopped and resumed normal behavior.

 

[Amanda]

Ugh... well, she's still alive, but no progress on the molt whatsoever. She only moves her legs slightly when I make some subtle movement to the tank. I'm not sure what to do at this point. I've done surgery to help a T out of half of a leg after a molt hardened before, but I don't even know if it's possible to accomplish the entire thing for them.

 

[Amanda]

There's still no progress on the molt. I just checked on her. She's still on her back, legs curled, but moving more. Her mouth, front legs, and palps look very wet. I'm not sure what that means. Someone here probably knows, but I doubt it's good.

 

[Amanda]

Anybody? This is pretty miserable to watch.

 

[Marijan2]

I really don't think anyone can give you real advice beside waiting and see what happens

 

[grayzone]

Oh no! she is STILL attempting to molt? Is she still moving/responsive?

 

[Hobo]

I don't think these are attempts at molting, but are instead symptoms of a very sick tarantula.

Edit:
Nevermind, missed a big chunk of your post:S

Now I'm confused.
If what I'm reading is correct, she has partially molted out towards the back end, but the carapace has yet to pop?
If that is so and she's been that way since yesterday, then her fate is sealed unless you make an attempt to remove her from her molt, but even then it'll be very difficult, she will be deformed, and it'll be a miracle if she survives.

 

[Amanda]

She is STILL ALIVE. I don't even know how. It's so terrible. :cry: I thought for sure I would wake up yesterday morning and she'd be gone, and again this morning. I'm going to give this my best shot and operate. Even if there's only a 2% chance, it's more than she has now. I'll document and update.

 

[Hobo]

She is STILL ALIVE. I don't even know how. It's so terrible. :cry: I thought for sure I would wake up yesterday morning and she'd be gone, and again this morning. I'm going to give this my best shot and operate. Even if there's only a 2% chance, it's more than she has now. I'll document and update.

View attachment 115491

That's her?
Maybe it's the angle but it doesn't look like she had started to molt at all.

 

[Oreo]

If she hasn't started to molt, maybe try to see if she'll take any water?

 

[sugarsandz]

That's her?
Maybe it's the angle but it doesn't look like she had started to molt at all.

I agree. I was wondering about the whole flipping over then getting up and then flipping again thing. Could it be that she is at the end of her life and is having trouble using her legs properly? I've seen videos of spiders that lose control of their limbs and end up flipping on their backs only to get up over and over again that seem to have fallen ill. I'm no expert though it's just a thought I had.

Amanda, I'm really sorry that you and your little one are going through this and I hope she's just off a bit and can get better over time. If it is her time to go at least she had you to care for her. Again I hope it all turns out okay for both of you.

 

[Amanda]

Thanks, guys. I explored a bit with forceps to see if the carapace was loose, but no luck. I decided to try a little fluid resuscitation. It was either that or euthanasia. When I first checked on her tonight, she had a fair amount of what appeared to be hemolymph puddled in her mouth, between her fangs, and on the tips of her palps. I've noticed this on and off over the last couple days. This cleared when I flipped her a couple times during my manipulations. I began dropping water in her mouth with a pipette. As it disappeared, I placed another drop. I've continued this for a few hours now, and she's a lot more active. Her legs still haven't straightened out and she's made no effort to flip off of her back though... just much more movement of the legs and chelicerae.

It's hard to believe that she wasn't trying to molt because her behavior was so distinctive, but who knows. I'm still not holding out much hope that she's going to pull through, but I'll keep doing what I'm doing until something changes.

 

[Hobo]

It's not molting, that's fairly obvious. Popping the carapace is a prerequisite for any of the legs being able to exit, so I don't think yours was "actively molting", and it seems far too soon for such a slow species to molt again. I'll stand by my initial suggestion that she is just very ill.
Here are a couple of threads of people experiencing something similar:

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?210955-Tarantula-Dead-or-Molting/

And

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/sho...Hair-Tarantula-Is-STILL-On-Back-After-Molting!

As for what else to do, I'm not sure; you could always try an ICU in case she is dehydrated. Though, it just might be her time.

Good luck!