my first T deaths

[Lolita]

Okay so this week seemed to be sling molt week, pretty much everybody molted and 2 of my B albo's that i got last week died, what it appeared to have happened was they had rough molts and died i did everything i was supposed to do. I gave them plenty of water before fed them but didn't over feed them where they were obese left them with peace and quiet checking on them periodically not touching or moving them not leaving any feeders in there while they molted. My friend said molt deaths and semi common with tiny slings (they were a qaurter of an inch) because they are a lot less hardy then when their big but even then that it's slightly uncommon so probably wont happen a lot. My question is, is there anything else that i'm not thinking of to do pre-molt to keep this from happening again this was both my first T death and my first rough molt, i hate molts they stress me out cause i've been paranoid that this would happen and just cried about it so please be gentle i already feel like it's all my fault.

 

[gmrpnk21]

Relax! The best thing to do for a T when it's premolt is give it water and leave it alone! If it dies during a molt, it's not your fault! Heck I got home yesterday and discovered my rose hair sling had a nice new skin, so I figured I would just not disturb it for a couple days. Don't fret over something you didn't cause!

 

[shanebp]

Lolita,

You don't mention in your post anywhere about keeping the subtrate moist. Slings aren't full developed T's yet, so even dry loving species should have moist or semi-moist substrate as slings.

You did say that you "gave them water". Can you clarify this? If you provided a water dish, it isn't necessary until the slings get bigger ( two inch - three inch ) but use your discression. Some people provide bottle water dishes for smaller slings.

 

[Lolita]

oh duh sorry i didn't think about clarifying at the time i don't give them water bottle cap water dishes until they're about 2 inches so until then i keep one corner of the substrate moist at all times depending on the species sometimes a little more for their needs my friends taught me to do that so that a little qaurter inch sling doesn't end up drowning in a bottle cap.

usually all my molts have gone well i feel like it's all my fault that two of them died on the same day all the rest of my t's were fine though with their molts so i can't imagine it was lack of humidity or anything like that my friend said it could've been caused from them molting too close to the wall of their deli cup which caused them to be unable to roll back over or something like that.

 

[JC50]

Sorry to hear about you losing two slings but sometimes things happen beyond our control.Don`t be too hard on yourself.

 

[Lolita]

Sorry to hear about you losing two slings but sometimes things happen beyond our control.Don`t be too hard on yourself.

thanks, yeah i just wish stuff like that didn't happen people think of tarantulas as these tough invincible creatures when really they're rather fragile and i just wanna learn as much as possible so that i can try my best to avoid this from ever happening again.

 

[KoriTamashii]

oh duh sorry i didn't think about clarifying at the time i don't give them water bottle cap water dishes until they're about 2 inches so until then i keep one corner of the substrate moist at all times depending on the species sometimes a little more for their needs my friends taught me to do that so that a little qaurter inch sling doesn't end up drowning in a bottle cap.

usually all my molts have gone well i feel like it's all my fault that two of them died on the same day all the rest of my t's were fine though with their molts so i can't imagine it was lack of humidity or anything like that my friend said it could've been caused from them molting too close to the wall of their deli cup which caused them to be unable to roll back over or something like that.

Sometimes, even if we do everything right, slings still die. It's a natural but disappointing part of the hobby. Don't get down on yourself.

 

[Lolita]

Sometimes, even if we do everything right, slings still die. It's a natural but disappointing part of the hobby. Don't get down on yourself.

thanks. So there isn't anything else i can do to try to help prevent it from happening? i just wanna make sure i'm doing everything right

 

[shanebp]

Yeah seems like it might of just been the luck of the draw. Natural selection at its best. RIP

 

[Lolita]

Yeah seems like it might of just been the luck of the draw. Natural selection at its best. RIP

yeah poor babies didn't make it to being any bigger than 1/4 and inch

 

[Puppet Master]

One of the few bad parts of this hobby,
But be aware if you stay in this hobby there will be more. The worst part is eventually it will be a spider that was your first, and the one you had for 10 years. Trust me I know.

Dont worry you will get through this.

 

[Lolita]

One of the few bad parts of this hobby,
But be aware if you stay in this hobby there will be more. The worst part is eventually it will be a spider that was your first, and the one you had for 10 years. Trust me I know.

Dont worry you will get through this.

yeah my first T turned out to be a female and my friend needed a female versicolor for their breeding program so i traded her out. but it turns out my large red knee might end up being male and it's my favorite so i'm kinda preparing myself for that possibility theres always that problem with any exotic pet

 

[Vespula]

Sorry for your losses. That stinks.

 

[Lolita]

thanks i appreciate it