My T broke her leg!!

Tatarita

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Please help!! Ive been noticing for weeks that my T has been bending her back leg deeper than the other back leg. Today I noticed she's not even walking on her foot but on her joint (like our knee) where it was bending, so it looks like it might break off. She's a Euathlus Sp. Red, so she's small. I don't know how she broke it but she likes to walk & climb a lot in her enclosure.

Does anyone know if there's a way to patch her leg? I'm afraid to touch it because she's tiny and it could break off. If she loses her leg, she'll still live, right? Also, is she in pain & is there something I can give her for pain?
 

edesign

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No, no pain treatment but that's not really an issue for them. Is it leaking or just broken? The T can amputate it itself, safely, if it's bad enough.
 

Tatarita

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She molted around 3 months ago. I had gotten her a few weeks after she molted. Does anyone know approximately when she's due for another molt? And I guess this means once it breaks off, she'll be legless until her next molt.
 

edesign

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I haven't had to do it myself but I've seen corn starch recommended by people who know what they're doing.
 

edesign

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She molted around 3 months ago. I had gotten her a few weeks after she molted. Does anyone know approximately when she's due for another molt?
You'd have to tell us how small it is. I'm not personally familiar with that particular spider though.
 

cold blood

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Just broken. But what to do if it leaks?
A t has a valve at the base of its leg that allows it to shut off the flow to the leg....a damaged or missing leg is like you breaking a nail...irritating, but not any real concern. Do nothing...if the t needs, it will remove the limb its self.

she'll be legless until her next molt.
No, if I know my spiders, it should have 7 more....they can do fine with just 4 legs, with 7 it won't miss a beat.
 

Tatarita

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She's sleeping in her cave right now. I don't wanna disturb her, but when i get a chance I'll try to take a pic.
 

Vanessa

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Also, is she in pain & is there something I can give her for pain?
No, they don't have the same type of nerve endings like we do. She probably isn't in pain. Unfortunately, there is nothing that you could give her if she is in pain, but she probably isn't in pain.
Just check to ensure that she isn't leaking fluid from the injury. If she has cut off flow to the leg, then it won't work anymore. If she is still using it, there is fluid going to the leg. She'll know if, and when, she needs to remove it if necessary.
 

Jon B

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I own a 4 inch Euathlus Sp. Red too and yes they certainly are very active, and love to climb and then fall on their cute little butts, mine does that a lot too. Yours could have hurt itself from a nasty fall, how tall is your enclosure? They need several inches of substrate to avoid nasty falls. My enclosure is 10 inches tall, and I have 6 inches of substrate and I haven't had any injuries to mine.
Just thought I'd drop this here just in case.
 

Tatarita

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I own a 4 inch Euathlus Sp. Red too and yes they certainly are very active, and love to climb and then fall on their cute little butts, mine does that a lot too. Yours could have hurt itself from a nasty fall, how tall is your enclosure? They need several inches of substrate to avoid nasty falls. My enclosure is 10 inches tall, and I have 6 inches of substrate and I haven't had any injuries to mine.
Just thought I'd drop this here just in

I thought about that as Ive heard a thump here & there, although she's pretty good about holding on. I thought I had enough substrate but she seems to enjoy climbing more than walking, so I thought I would give her more space to climb.
 

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Tatarita

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No, they don't have the same type of nerve endings like we do. She probably isn't in pain. Unfortunately, there is nothing that you could give her if she is in pain, but she probably isn't in pain.
Just check to ensure that she isn't leaking fluid from the injury. If she has cut off flow to the leg, then it won't work anymore. If she is still using it, there is fluid going to the leg. She'll know if, and when, she needs to remove it if necessary.
So they actually bite it off rather than let it break off? That's interesting.
 

Vanessa

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So they actually bite it off rather than let it break off? That's interesting.
She will use her fangs, or whatever she can, to pull it off if need be. But first, she will stop the flow of fluid to the limb to avoid dangerous fluid loss. It is a very complicated process.
This is a good article that explains how spiders move, the hydraulic system that they use to extend their legs, and what happens when they lose a limb.
http://infinitespider.com/spider-legs-work/
 

Estein

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Feb 11, 2016
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She will use her fangs, or whatever she can, to pull it off if need be. But first, she will stop the flow of fluid to the limb to avoid dangerous fluid loss. It is a very complicated process.
This is a good article that explains how spiders move, the hydraulic system that they use to extend their legs, and what happens when they lose a limb.
http://infinitespider.com/spider-legs-work/
Thank you for this resource! Can't wait to apply since of the info from this blog to my outdoor ed. classes!
 
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