No pedipalps?

[draconisj4]

My P. lugardi sling that lost 3 legs and a pedipalp in its last molt molted again. It came out today and now it has 6 legs and no pedipalps.

The fangs look all right but not quite hardened yet. is it going to be able to eat without pedipalps? Has anyone had experience with this?

 

[CommanderBacon]

Oh wow. Following because whoah! Let's hope that nature finds a way!

 

[cold blood]

ts dont require pedipalps to eat, or in general, survive.....palps are only critical for mature males. They should grow back with a full cycle.

 

[FrDoc]

It will be able to eat without pedipalps. A tarantula in the wild may have issues, but one in captivity has a very decent chance, as the pedipalps primarily assist in finding and grabbing prey in close proximity. I would suggest however, disabling prey for it until the next molt, e.g., removing the back legs from crickets, stunning roaches and/or worms to make it a bit easier on your spider. Unless there’s another physical issue resulting from the difficult molt, it should be fine.

 

[EtienneN]

Poor little guy! Just wanted to point out that there have been stories where people nursed back to full health a totally legless and palpless T. Your guy already has a good amount of legs so hopefully he/she can recover fully in even less time.

 

[draconisj4]

Thank you all, that makes me feel a bit better. I had planned on offering it prekilled prey as soon as its ready to eat. I just hope this isn't going to be an ongoing thing. That's 2 problem molts now and the sling is only about an inch, poor little thing.

 

[NukaMedia Exotics]

Yes it should be fine until the next molt where it'll hopefully regrow the pedipalps. Just make sure the prey items aren't too difficult for it to catch, might need to try hindering the feeders by pulling off a leg or two or just pre-killing them.