Need help with my adult chaco golden knee

[Florskiee]

I noticed that my adult chaco golden knee's abdomen became really small and she would only kill her prey instead of eating it. I'm stuck with dubias and turks, and I can't buy other feeders because of the lockdown. I simply don't know what to do how can I get her back in good shape?

 

[Pepper]

Are you sure its a girl? Look up palpal bulbs and tibial hooks and see if you see that on your spider, I cant tell from those angles. One suspicion is that its a mature male, but the legs look stocky rather than spindly so not very much faith in that hypothesis.
How long ago did it molt last and how long ago did it start this behavior? It could have a broken fang or some other complication from the molt.
That substrate doesnt look very dry, which it should be for this species, so why dont you go ahead and post a picture of the whole enclosure. Stress from imperfect conditions could definitely make it not eat. Is there anything else that could possibly be causing stress, such as frequent loud noise, or direct sunlight?
It could also be preparing to molt, but if it was well taken care of it should hhave bulked up a lot before it decided to stop eating. As it is, if it does molt with that tiny abdomen, it would be dangerous.

 

[Florskiee]

Are you sure its a girl? Look up palpal bulbs and tibial hooks and see if you see that on your spider, I cant tell from those angles. One suspicion is that its a mature male, but the legs look stocky rather than spindly so not very much faith in that hypothesis.
How long ago did it molt last and how long ago did it start this behavior? It could have a broken fang or some other complication from the molt.
That substrate doesnt look very dry, which it should be for this species, so why dont you go ahead and post a picture of the whole enclosure. Stress from imperfect conditions could definitely make it not eat. Is there anything else that could possibly be causing stress, such as frequent loud noise, or direct sunlight?
It could also be preparing to molt, but if it was well taken care of it should hhave bulked up a lot before it decided to stop eating. As it is, if it does molt with that tiny abdomen, it would be dangerous.

Yep she's a confirmed female I mated her last March but she molted at may

Yep she's a confirmed female I mated her last March but she molted at may

That's the setup, I only use a diy hide and yeah, I should've dried the substrate first, and place her somewhere else cuz she's currently in our living room

 

[Pepper]

That's the setup, I only use a diy hide and yeah, I should've dried the substrate first, and place her somewhere else cuz she's currently in our living room

Looks a bit small. I would go with a container a few more inches on each side. And probably not enough substrate. It could be that she burrowed down to the bottom and found it insufficient and stressful. Plus, a stressed (or not) terrestrial will try to climb and fall, and the less distance to fall the better.
Is there a way to dry out the substrate quickly? Replace it and put the sub youre using now back in the bag? Put the spider in a temporary container and bake the substrate, spread out on a cookie tray, in small batches, and at low heat?

 

[Florskiee]

Looks a bit small. I would go with a container a few more inches on each side. And probably not enough substrate. It could be that she burrowed down to the bottom and found it insufficient and stressful. Plus, a stressed (or not) terrestrial will try to climb and fall, and the less distance to fall the better.
Is there a way to dry out the substrate quickly? Replace it and put the sub youre using now back in the bag? Put the spider in a temporary container and bake the substrate, spread out on a cookie tray, in small batches, and at low heat?

Thanks for the tip I'll definitely bake the substrate, and also rehouse her to a more spacious enclosure

 

[lazarus]

That's definitely not a mature male, they are a lot leggier.

I noticed that my adult chaco golden knee's abdomen became really small and she would only kill her prey instead of eating it.

Did she eat at all after her previous molt? I suspect she might have problems with the sucking stomach. I've had this happening a few times.
Some say that they can molt and recover however in my case all of them died probably due to desiccation.

 

[Pepper]

Thanks for the tip I'll definitely bake the substrate, and also rehouse her to a more spacious enclosure

Fantastic. Post back if you still have a problem like two weeks after getting everything set up, and dont consider my advice the best; listen to other people who are not still awake after working 11 hours.

 

[Konstantin Konstantinov]

I noticed that my adult chaco golden knee's abdomen became really small and she would only kill her prey instead of eating it. I'm stuck with dubias and turks, and I can't buy other feeders because of the lockdown. I simply don't know what to do how can I get her back in good shape? View attachment 355622 View attachment 355623

Hi
Having moisture in substrate is not ideal but it won't be that of an issue if the container is ventilated well.Also have in mind that tarantulas like tight spaces find pray easier and fill more secure in smaller enclosures.
I dont think putting it in bigger enclosure will improve things.
Also if there is sucking stomach issue it will hover the water and try to drink a lot.I will keep an eye if she does that.
Before doing anything drastic I will try increasing ventilation and keeping her somewhere quiet and dark for few days.
Regards Konstantin

 

[Florskiee]

That's definitely not a mature male, they are a lot leggier.



Did she eat at all after her previous molt? I suspect she might have problems with the sucking stomach. I've had this happening a few times.
Some say that they can molt and recover however in my case all of them died probably due to desiccation.

She took some turks but left it only chewed up

Hi
Having moisture in substrate is not ideal but it won't be that of an issue if the container is ventilated well.Also have in mind that tarantulas like tight spaces find pray easier and fill more secure in smaller enclosures.
I dont think putting it in bigger enclosure will improve things.
Also if there is sucking stomach issue it will hover the water and try to drink a lot.I will keep an eye if she does that.
Before doing anything drastic I will try increasing ventilation and keeping her somewhere quiet and dark for few days.
Regards Konstantin

Thanks for the advice I've also seen her drink water more often than she used too.

 

[Konstantin Konstantinov]

Thanks for the advice I've also seen her drink water more often than she used too.

Hi
That unfortunately may be bad news if she is very frequently on the water bowl having in mind she kills feeders but doesn't eat them as they only try but fail to drink if it is sucking stomach issue.
How often have you seen her drink?
Hoping is not that as is a horrible way for a spider to go and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it unfortunately

 

[Florskiee]

Hi
That unfortunately may be bad news if she is very frequently on the water bowl having in mind she kills feeders but doesn't eat them as they only try but fail to drink if it is sucking stomach issue.
How often have you seen her drink?
Hoping is not that as is a horrible way for a spider to go and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it unfortunately

I'm not sure how often, maybe like every 2-3 weeks I see her drink, and she drinks for like 5 minutes or more, I really hope she will go through this

 

[Konstantin Konstantinov]

Hi
Thats on the normal side tbh.
It will be few times a day for extended periods if it is the stomach issue.It is often observed thay die over it.....
Regards Konstantin

 

[Florskiee]

Hi
Thats on the normal side tbh.
It will be few times a day for extended periods if it is the stomach issue.It is often observed thay die over it.....
Regards Konstantin

Thanks for the info but I'm still quiet worried about her especially her abdomen has gone really small

 

[Konstantin Konstantinov]

I understand.
How long is been with you.Is it an old female?

 

[Florskiee]

I got her on december last year from someone online, he didn't bother telling me her age, I bet this girl is over 5 yrs old or maybe even older

 

[PidderPeets]

Do you know when she last molted? Do you have access to the molt to check for the sucking stomach? Is that a bald spot on her abdomen and if so is it as dark as it looks in the pictures?

At least from the pictures and what you've said so far, my main theories are she's either very old and suffering from age-related issues, or something went wrong with her last molt (failed to molt out sucking stomach, internal complications, etc) and she physically cannot eat or drink. Her abdomen looks dark in the photos, and that's the only reason I can think of for a tarantula with such a small abdomen going into premolt. Unless I'm seeing wrong.

The only other thing I can think of is perhaps an injury that made her bleed out quite a bit and loose that size, but that's something that would honestly be pretty hard to miss

 

[Florskiee]

Do you know when she last molted? Do you have access to the molt to check for the sucking stomach? Is that a bald spot on her abdomen and if so is it as dark as it looks in the pictures?

At least from the pictures and what you've said so far, my main theories are she's either very old and suffering from age-related issues, or something went wrong with her last molt (failed to molt out sucking stomach, internal complications, etc) and she physically cannot eat or drink. Her abdomen looks dark in the photos, and that's the only reason I can think of for a tarantula with such a small abdomen going into premolt. Unless I'm seeing wrong.

The only other thing I can think of is perhaps an injury that made her bleed out quite a bit and loose that size, but that's something that would honestly be pretty hard to miss

She molted around May, sadly I deleted the pics of her molt, and threw the molt, I should've kept it tho, her abdomen wasn't small when she molted, it was in decent size

 

[TheDarkFinder]

Could you get a picture of the fangs. I know four reasons that a tarantula will kill but not eat. 1.) Broken sucking stomach. 2.) Broken fangs, 3.) Mites around mouth. 4.) Nematode infection.

 

[NukaMedia Exotics]

Definitely too small of an enclosure. If you can get superworms I'd feed that either live if she'll take it or drop it in pre-killed and leave it.

 

[Florskiee]

Could you get a picture of the fangs. I know four reasons that a tarantula will kill but not eat. 1.) Broken sucking stomach. 2.) Broken fangs, 3.) Mites around mouth. 4.) Nematode infection.