P irminia missing legs

[Pyrelitha]

Ok so I received an 12x12x18 with a claimed adult female P irminia, All for free off of a dude on Craigslist. I was ecstatic, it's been about 3weeks and I've finally seen the spider come out and to my absolute surprise.... She is missing 3legs and a pedipalps, 2on the left side 1 on the right, and the right pedipalps... Is there anything I should do for the T? She doesn't seem to be bleeding(hemolymph?) Should I give her a smaller enclosure, I know she's arboreal but I fear she can't climb as well without her legs! And finally how long would it take this girl to regrow them, she seems about 4-5 inches I couldn't measure her, it was also late and when I turned my flashlight on she retreated before I could get a photo.

 

[chanda]

If she is having difficulty catching prey with the missing appendages, you might have to slow the prey down for her, by crushing the heads of roaches or removing the back legs of crickets. Other than that, she should be ok as long as she is otherwise healthy. Missing limbs are fairly common among spiders, and they usually adapt just fine.

If she really is female, she should regrow the missing limbs - but it will take a while. (If the previous owner was mistaken and "she" is really a mature male, then he will not molt again and will not regrow the limbs. If he is male - but not yet mature - then he'll regrow them with his molts, like a female would.)

How long it takes will depend on where she is in her molt cycle - and how long ago she lost the limbs. Between molts, you will not see any limb regrowth or repair - but "behind the scenes" her body will be attempting to construct the new limbs underneath her current exoskeleton. When she does molt, the new limbs will be exposed. They may be quite a bit smaller than the undamaged limbs, and it may take several molts for them to reach full size. Because she is already adult, those molts will be few and far between - perhaps once a year or so. Also, if she is very close to a molt - and has only recently lost the limbs - you may not see any limb regrowth with her first molt, because she may not have had sufficient time for them to begin regrowing.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

House in a nano tall or something similar (you don't need a mini tall for anything under 6"). The legs will take 2-3 moults to fully regenerate (assuming it's female, if it's male it'll probably hook out before then).

 

[viper69]

Ok so I received an 12x12x18 with a claimed adult female P irminia, All for free off of a dude on Craigslist. I was ecstatic, it's been about 3weeks and I've finally seen the spider come out and to my absolute surprise.... She is missing 3legs and a pedipalps, 2on the left side 1 on the right, and the right pedipalps... Is there anything I should do for the T? She doesn't seem to be bleeding(hemolymph?) Should I give her a smaller enclosure, I know she's arboreal but I fear she can't climb as well without her legs! And finally how long would it take this girl to regrow them, she seems about 4-5 inches I couldn't measure her, it was also late and when I turned my flashlight on she retreated before I could get a photo.

The missing legs, not an issue. Had irminia with less after a molt. Can be hard for them to walk depending location of legs missing etc.

Give your T the option to burrow at the base of cork, and go up "high" if it wants to.

 

[Pyrelitha]

Good to know he said it's lived in this container for a year, when I got it, she burrows with a web tunnel at the base of a large amount of cork

 

[Pyrelitha]

She's refused food even prekilled that I've dropped into the web.. I wish I could get a photo of her

 

[Pyrelitha]

I'll try for another photo when I get home from work around 6am