OBT molt - not so good...

julesaussies

Arachnobaron
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Apr 15, 2007
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i had posted earlier in announcements that my recently acquired, shabby looking OBT was on her back preparing to molt. It seemed to all go pretty smoothly - and better yet, she is a confirmed FEMALE!!! {D

However, i'm a little concerned about one of her legs. She was previously missing two legs from before i got her. One of them looks perfect, just smaller as i would expect. The other one looked like it was pinched up near the joint where it attaches to her body. She was moving it from the base of the leg while molting but it was so pinched looking - almost like it got twisted in there or something. Anyway, now that she's out and flipped over that particular leg is just laying flat like a dead worm. :(

i'm a little concerned what will happen when she hardens. i realize there isn't much i can likely do to fix it. i'm just not sure if this is going to cause a problem. i mean, you can't just leave a leg with no nerve response on other animals as they just get dragged around and wounded from rubbing on the ground. i also don't know if it will make her next molt even more difficult.

The good news is she is a SHE and... she has a new hubby (who just molted out a week ago) coming all the way from RI to CA next week!! i'm really excited about that.

Any ideas or thoughts about her bum leg??? i'd appreciate any advice. Thanks!
 
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cacoseraph

ArachnoGod
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Jan 5, 2005
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you can always pinch it off later if you think it is a problem, so you have some time to decide, to sort of set your mind at ease.

if you are worried a lot you can always bring her with on Saturday and have the other ppl take a look at it. i'm always down to try stuff out if you are like, apprehensive about something too. i just don't make housecalls hehehe

for a leg to be nonresponsive there could be a number of things wrong. t's extend their legs by virtue of hemolymph ("blood") pressure so her pneumatics might be busted in that leg.

tarantulas, especially obts, are hardy little creatures, typically. if it really is best to shuck the leg she might even save you the trouble and do it herself. tarantulas have a sealing valve kind of thing in their coxa (the sort of shoulder joint type of area) so they can lose a leg at that point with basically just the loss of the protein and nutrient resource investment of the leg... compared to say, me. heh. and typically they will eat the leg afterwards, to minimize losses. dang, i love these guys!
 

julesaussies

Arachnobaron
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Joined
Apr 15, 2007
Messages
577
you can always pinch it off later if you think it is a problem, so you have some time to decide, to sort of set your mind at ease.

if you are worried a lot you can always bring her with on Saturday and have the other ppl take a look at it. i'm always down to try stuff out if you are like, apprehensive about something too. i just don't make housecalls hehehe

tarantulas, especially obts, are hardy little creatures, typically. if it really is best to shuck the leg she might even save you the trouble and do it herself. tarantulas have a sealing valve kind of thing in their coxa (the sort of shoulder joint type of area) so they can lose a leg at that point with basically just the loss of the protein and nutrient resource investment of the leg... compared to say, me. heh. and typically they will eat the leg afterwards, to minimize losses. dang, i love these guys!
Thank you - knowing all this definitely sets my mind at ease. i think i will leave her home this weekend but may take you up on your offer by the next hike depending on how everything turns out. A few years back i spent $500 having a leg amputated on a tiny bird that weighs less than an ounce - she cost me $500 herself to begin with. She is a way cool bird. i felt so bad she had to have that done because she actually used to run in a hamster wheel that was attached to the side of her flight. It was hysterical and she loved it. My friend actually took my bird to a specialist over an hour away because that very same day i was busy with my Aussie. My poor dog was having major orthopedic knee surgery that cost $3,000! Did i mention both of those fees included a professional discount as i worked in the vet field at the time. LOL Its all good because they are both worth it. i wouldn't even want this T to suffer in any way. Yeah, T's are pretty darn great - lose a leg - just grow a new one!! Wish my poor bird could have done that!

Well, i'm definitely looking forward to the hike this weekend and meeting some of the great people from AB.
 

IdahoBiteyThing

Arachnobaron
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Mar 2, 2007
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legs

Yikes!, it's not funny to have spent $500 on a bird leg and $3k on a dog leg; we're in the same boat with my family spending $3K on a radius/ulna fracture on our dog. I'm so thankful that dogs and birds don't have 8 legs like T's. I SO wish that Daisy the dog could just cast off her bad leg and molt a new one. That would be $3000.00 cool! Definitely follow up on this thread with the outcome of your OBT leg. And hey, if you do end up taking the leg off, some photos of the process would be awesome for those of us who've never had to do a "legectomy". I don't ever want to be in the position of having to take a leg off an OBT (or any T!) , but with 8 legs per T x 13 T's (plus palps = 130 appendages!) it just seems inevitable at some point in time. Tony
 

julesaussies

Arachnobaron
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Apr 15, 2007
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Update

Well, its been about 48 hours since she finished her molt. i don't want to bug her so i can't get a good look at her where that one bad leg attaches. However, when she moved a little i did see what looked like part of the leg separated from her body on her webbing. It looks shorter than her leg if it came off where it attaches to the body but maybe she ate part of it. i will be curious to see when i can get a better look when she is strong again. i love my OBT's!!
 
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