Mysterious health problem

[BrightlyWicked]

I adopted a Grammostola pulchra from another hobbyist, confirmed female about 3-4 inches, age unknown. She has passed through several hands over the past few years. Unknown if captive bred or W/C.

When I brought her home she was in heavy premolt and had a suspicious looking raised bald patch on abdomen. I thought maybe it was a prior injury that would molt out.

She has molted in my care and has the same raised bald patch with no sign of it healing. It does not move or change. The more she eats the more raised this is from her body.

Can tarantulas have cancer? What is this?
First picture is immediately after molt. 2nd bald picture is from before molting.

 

[waynerowley]

Not sure I'm seeing any particular issue in the pictures. Looks a little overfed in the second picture (prior to moult).

Ts get bald patches on their abdomens when they kick hairs. They don't grow back until they moult again. Could be she's kicking a lot of hair around.

If there's a specific part of her abdomen could you circle it?

Wayne

 

[Smotzer]

It looks like it’s kicked setae forming a bald patch and that in areas some of the setae has clumped up a bit. Not abnormal at all.

 

[BrightlyWicked]

No guys. I'm not new to tarantulas. This isn't a normal bald patch. The pictures aren't showing that it is raised from the rest of the abdomen and it was clear tan with no hair from the minute she molted as if she cannot regenerate hair in that location, before she was firm enough to even start kicking hair.

Also in the "over fed" photo, she hadn't eaten in 4 months.

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

Are you able to get a photo more from the side (like a profile), so that the raised portion is more obvious?

 

[NMTs]

It's obvious in the freshly molted pic that there is an issue. Yes, tarantulas can get cysts and tumors, and if you search the forums you can find numerous examples. No treatment available that I'm aware of, and it seems to ultimately be fatal about half the time - the cyst will rupture or cause molting issues that end up costing the T it's life. Until that happens, all you can do is give it a good life.

 

[BrightlyWicked]

It's very difficult to get a side view, she wasn't cooperating. But these show the cyst in good contrast to the mirror patch.

I was hoping maybe it was from a burn that would heal over time. But I believe it may be a cyst or tumor.

 

[Smotzer]

It's very difficult to get a side view, she wasn't cooperating. But these show the cyst in good contrast to the mirror patch.

I was hoping maybe it was from a burn that would heal over time. But I believe it may be a cyst or tumor.

Okay this shows the issue more clearly. Okay so there is nothing you are really going to be able to do except highly reduce the amount and frequency of feeding or stop completely. You tarantula already looks pretty sufficiently plump and or very little to go until it has enough. With an injury on the abdomen you absolutely, absolutely, do not want to feed it anymore than it needs or have a overly plump tarantula. In addition to that I would make sure that all fall damage risk are mitigated and it has no more than 1.5x diagonal leg span from substrate to lid. Beyond the above two changes there is nothing else you can do but help it get to its next molts successfully.

 

[BrightlyWicked]

Alright, thank you. Her last molt shows slightly thinner carapace in this spot so I believe the issue is underneath. Hopefully she will eventually grow past it but in the meantime she will have the best life.

Her current enclosure only has about 3-4 inches of air space above substrate. I was going to upgrade it but now I think that's probably a bad idea for a while.

Thank you all!

 

[viper69]

WAIT and slow down on feeding- that's all I could do

 

[Smotzer]

WAIT and slow down on feeding- that's all I could do

Waiting is just about the only thing any of us can do! Go figure, huh