No! Its Dead!!!

Tarantula Lover

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My A.avicularia just died after a moult! (on 1/6/03 when it moulted/ dieing on 1/9/03

I am very mad, my mom is actually CRYING! And said I can get more~!

James
 

The_Phantom

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Oh! I am soooo sorry for you and your mom and your Avic. :(:(:(
 

jwb121377

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Sorry for your loss James. Molting can really suck sometimes.:(
 
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Bjorgly

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Avics like high humidity and high ventilation, if conditions wern't perfect id bet that is why it died.

Mark
 

chid

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James
Sorry to hear about your Avic.
Chid
 

MrT

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James,
Thats tough luck buddy. Sorry:(

Ernie
 

Code Monkey

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James, very sorry to hear this, but do not take Bjorgly's advice. Avic's need high humidity almost as much as a Brachypelma (which is to say they don't). This has been covered ad nauseam on this forum by me and others but the short answer is that they live in trees where humidity ranges wildly day in day out.

No one knows what causes moults to go bad, but I do not believe for an instant that humidity has anything to do with it. Stan Shultz covers this same thing in the TKG and if more people would actually read it versus the abominable caresheets on the net, this unsupported "wive's tale" wouldn't be repeated so often as advice.
 

Bjorgly

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CM, i read that out of the tarantula keepers guide, so i assumed it to be true. It mentions that they live in rainforests just like you said with humidity ranging, which would mean it gets very humid at times as well as quite dry, so it would get the water it needed at the up times. If they are kept dry all the time, it would not experience the same as it would in the wild. It also says that they need alot of ventilation because air stagnation claims the life of many in captivity. I'm just telling you what I read, perhaps its time for Stan to update his book. Hope you have better luck with another avic, sorry if i confused anyone.


Mark
 
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Gillian

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James,
God, hon..I'm so, VERY sorry. God, you're such a sweetie, who really cares about your t's. Damn...(sorry to swear) I had a sling B. emilia, that I was especially attached to. It was so damn sweet and calm. It would come out and just chill. One day, it molted, and died. I'm still not over it, and am not sure I'll get another emilia. ( It passed in May of last year)
Perhaps, its part of life....My suggestion to you, is get another A. avic. I have one myself, and I love it. (Its the one who's legs were inadvertantly chopped off) The really cool thing? They are really cheap. IMO, a vastly underappreciated species.
*hugs*
 

Tarantula Lover

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Originally posted by Gillian
James,
God, hon..I'm so, VERY sorry. God, you're such a sweetie, who really cares about your t's. Damn...(sorry to swear) I had a sling B. emilia, that I was especially attached to. It was so damn sweet and calm. It would come out and just chill. One day, it molted, and died. I'm still not over it, and am not sure I'll get another emilia. ( It passed in May of last year)
Perhaps, its part of life....My suggestion to you, is get another A. avic. I have one myself, and I love it. (Its the one who's legs were inadvertantly chopped off) The really cool thing? They are really cheap. IMO, a vastly underappreciated species.
*hugs*
Thanx Gillian! I am going to replace it! I am sorry to hear about your B.emilia!:( , This is the 2nd spider death in my care,:( ! And it really bugs me!

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

James:(
 

Steve Nunn

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Originally posted by Code Monkey
No one knows what causes moults to go bad, but I do not believe for an instant that humidity has anything to do with it.
Firstly, to James, I'm sorry to hear about your Avic, but don't let it stop you mate, same thing happens in nature all the time. If it didn't the world would be overrun by tarantulas (there's a nice thought). Even the most experienced keeper has suffered the same problem and I can promise you on more than one occasion too. So, whatever you do, don't beat yourself up over it!!!

And CM is so right about humidity and molting. Humidity really has nothing to do with it at all. When a T molts, it secretes a liquid between the old exoskeleton and the new, anything outside the old exoskeleton will play virtually nil role in the process. The only role humidity plays in a T's life is related to breathing and more than likely capillary drinking by spiderlings and some arboreals.

Cheers,
Steve
 

Bjorgly

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Although the topic of the thread is molting, i never once mentioned a single thing about humidity being a factor during the molt. I know it doesnt matter, i've read the TKG through like 10 times. I meant to suggest that if the air was stagnant or something then perhaps the tarantula did not have the strength to go through with the molt. Once again i apoligize for the confusion. I frequently assume everyone knows what i am talking about when i post when they clearly dont lol. I do that when im talking too sometimes. Sorry guys:D

Mark
 

Tarantula Lover

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i hope you guys understand that he had a succesful moult but then died 3 days later.
 

Steve Nunn

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Originally posted by Bjorgly
Although the topic of the thread is molting, i never once mentioned a single thing about humidity being a factor during the molt.

Mark
Hi Bjorgly,
No, you didn't mention anything regarding humidity playing a part in a molt, CM did.

CM is right and so are you, Avics come from one of the most humid places on Earth and if any keeper is to have any success rearing spiders, then they need to understand the environment the tarantula came from. I think a lot of problems in keeping occur when the keeper tries to change the spiders known habits, after all, that's why a certain species has evolved the way it has. I know of a few of the more experienced keepers trying to alter the habits of CB spiders and if you ask me, it's a total waste of time that causes nothing but stress on the spiders concerned.

Just my not even close to humble opinion ;)

Steve
 

Steve Nunn

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Originally posted by Tarantula Lover
i hope you guys understand that he had a succesful moult but then died 3 days later.
Hi James,
Your spider was in post molt and died. It's death would probably be related to the molting procedure which is without doubt the toughest time for a tarantula.

Cheers,
Steve
 

Tarantula Lover

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Originally posted by Steve Nunn
Hi James,
Your spider was in post molt and died. It's death would probably be related to the molting procedure which is without doubt the toughest time for a tarantula.

Cheers,
Steve
ohh, thanks steve, I watched it die, it started moving its legs only his pedipalps and front legs like something was happening, then I got so worried he is curled up.

Thanks Steve again!

James
 

Henry Kane

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Sorry to hear about your pink toe James. :(
Well, it's part of the hobby unfortunately. Doesn't mean you have to like it though, only that we must accept it.
Hope you feel better soon.

Atrax
 

petitegreeneyes

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Hey James, am very sorry to hear about your pinktoe. I had a New Guineau black femur that did the same thing. It molted successfully and then a week later we found him dead. I really liked that little guy. Not once when I tended to him did he not try to get me. He always kept me on my toes. Like the others said, molting can really suck but don't give up on yourself and get bummed if yours molted alright it wasn't your fault:D
 

Code Monkey

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Bjorgly, sorry if I misunderstood what you were saying but you mentioned needing humidity and then said that its death may have been related to not meeting those conditions. Since it was a moulting related death. I put 1 & 1 together... You get the idea.

Avics in the wild experience a wide range of RH conditions depending on season, wind, etc. My personal experience is that it's unecessary to stress the humidity and concern yourself more with good ventilation and housing that lets them build their tube webs to their contentment. People trying to make it more humid usually do far more harm than good in my opinion. If you really do want it to be more humid for your spiders the only good solution is a room humidifier.
 

conipto

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James,

As others have said, and though I'm a bit late, sorry to hear about your pinktoe. Is this the first you've lost? I recently lost my first spider, an H. lividum sling, mostly I think due to my own over-paranoia. I was sure it was starving, being so small. I wouldn't have thought it would take a month for a 1/2 inch sling to go from stop eating to moult, but apparently I was incorrect, at the worst possible time. As others have said, don't assume it was under-humidity that killed your A. Avic. As I understand it, a good deal of moult-related deaths occur after the spider frees itself. Getting stuck in skin, or getting eaten while in moult are the only two I can think of that happen during the moult process. If nature intended every offspring to grow to adulthood.. they'd only produce a single offspring, I'd imagine.

As for how I keep my Avic (though a versicolor) sling, It stays moderately humid. I've got so much air ventilation in the container, that I worry about it drying up to near-desert conditions all the time. I think I am misting (when I'm home) about every other day on that one. It just moulted successfully, but it has acted sluggish since the moult. A week later, it still won't eat, but will kill appropriately sized crickets, if that makes any sense.

I guess what I'm trying to say here, all in all, is that none of us really knows exactly what is best. Even if we left them in their home environments, or let the sacs hatch atop a rainforest canopy, well.. half would still probably die. One of the reasons I think spiders, as well as other insects are so successful is not only their adaptability, but the multitude of offspring they produce.

You got into this hobby not too terribly long after I did, and you are just as hooked as I am. At half my age, you're keeping up with me. I think in time, you'll be the one of the experienced people telling people how to keep their T's on this forum or another, and wish you and your bugs the best.

Bill

Edit - Yes, I know spiders are not technically insects.. It's hard to think of them as otherwise sometimes though.
 
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