Rescue Tarantula, possibly dropped.

Rebeca Van Kouwenberg

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I was at the Arlington Reptile show this weekend (2/18 to 2/19) working for a bearded dragon breeder and while going around and retrieving left behind goodies I found a Honduran curly haired tarantula in the trash from another vender. It is still alive, but barely moves. A few of the legs look a bit wrong and it was covered in the substrate from it's container.

I'm not sure what all to do or how to take care of it. It's still got a lot of dirt on its abdomen and I'm afraid to brush it off and accidentally hurt the lil guy even more. I have a paper towel that is damp in there for him to drink from, but I have no idea what else to do. Currently on the road back to NC and praying he makes it. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!
 

KezyGLA

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Place its mouth parts over a water-dish instead of soggy towel and post picks of the T here please
 

KezyGLA

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Ah thats awful!! My guess is some jackass without a care for this animals life decided that if they couldnt sell their MM Brachypelma albopilosum for the money, they might aswell throw him in the bin :mad:

Thats horrible.

He may not have much of a life left but didnt deserve to be thrown out like trash :(
 

Rebeca Van Kouwenberg

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Yeah, I've heard some not so pleasant things about that company. Another breeder I ran into after finding him said he looked like he got dropped, which is why he got tossed in the trash.

I'm at least going to give him a chance, if he makes it I'll try to find him a good home local to me with someone experienced in spiders.
 

KezyGLA

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Yeah, I've heard some not so pleasant things about that company. Another breeder I ran into after finding him said he looked like he got dropped, which is why he got tossed in the trash.

I'm at least going to give him a chance, if he makes it I'll try to find him a good home local to me with someone experienced in spiders.
He looks stressed. That would explain being curled like that and not moving much. He may not have long left anyway(naturally). Usually if dropped it would be leaking haemolymph but its not always the case as some internal injuries can not be seen.

To be fair it may have been dropped, but still doesnt mean throw it in the trash. I reckon its a MM on its last legs and the vendor was trying to sell it on to someone that doesnt know any better. Then nobody bought it and its not worth their time to care for so binned it. If someone did actually care for it they wouldnt bin it while its alive.

My guess is greedy vendor who doesnt give a crap.
 

cold blood

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Keep it warm , on damp towels and leave it alone in the dark for a while. Good luck...poor thing.:embarrassed:
 

KezyGLA

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If water dish isnt available atm then do what @cold blood mentioned. If you can find a place to put it with little to no movement too as you are travelling.
 

Rebeca Van Kouwenberg

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Best place I have to put him that has little movement. Keeping the zipper open on the darker side so he can breathe. *fingers crossed* hope it helps him stress out less.
20170220_133412.jpg 20170220_133735.jpg
 

Andrea82

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You can close the bag, their need for oxygen is low.
I think it is mighty fine you took him and are doing what you can for the little guy!
For drinking, you can dribble some water down the sides of the tub. Keep him warm but not too hot (22-25°C) and out of direct sunlight.
Poor thing, and such a beautiful specimen....some people just have no heart. :( They could have sold it for like five bucks, instead of throwing it in the bin.

(Off topic, are you Dutch by any chance? Your last name sounds Dutch)
 

Ungoliant

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I don't have anything useful to add to what has already been said, but please keep us posted on how he is doing.


I'm at least going to give him a chance, if he makes it I'll try to find him a good home local to me with someone experienced in spiders.
If he survives the initial shock, and you decide you don't want to keep him, I'm sure there is a local member who would come get him and provide a good home for his remaining days (assuming he is a mature male).

If you do decide to keep him, we'd be happy to give instructions for proper care. (This species is beginner-friendly.)
 

KezyGLA

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I forgot to add that it is good to see a genuine rescue story.. Not someone who has gone to a crappy LpS and gave them money to take it home because they thought the tarantula care was bad.
 

darkness975

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You can close the bag, their need for oxygen is low.
I think it is mighty fine you took him and are doing what you can for the little guy!
For drinking, you can dribble some water down the sides of the tub. Keep him warm but not too hot (22-25°C) and out of direct sunlight.
Poor thing, and such a beautiful specimen....some people just have no heart. :( They could have sold it for like five bucks, instead of throwing it in the bin.

(Off topic, are you Dutch by any chance? Your last name sounds Dutch)
Sounds either Dutch or German @Rebeca Van Kouwenberg

Poor spider. That is a shame that it was treated so badly.
 

TarantulaAdviser

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I recommend not touching it because it would probably get quite stressed with human contact atm and would bite or shoot hairs. For starters (couple of days till u get to a shop) pierce small holes in the lid of a medium size plastic 'tuppaware' box (like ones from Chinese takeaways) this will allow it to breathe then in the box put some compost in i recommend this over dirt for a rescue spider as it wont be in there for long until it gets a proper set up. Also the compost wont dry like the dirt would but u can sprinkle some mud in with it to for a more realistic look. For an easy hide away get a toilet roll tube and cut a third off leaving it in a loop this will create a shelter. For a quick drinking place you could fill a milk lid with water and put a fairly large pebble in it so it wont drown depending on the spiders size. You can also add leaves for decoration u should put the box in an area that isn't to warm or to cold around 15°c it can go down to 10 or up to 20 but dont let it go below 5 or over around 25.
 

Rebeca Van Kouwenberg

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@Rebeca Van Kouwenberg Any updates on how the rescued tarantula is doing?
Yeah, for some reason it stopped sending me email notifications until just now.

He did make for about a week. Started moving more, did eat a hornworm a few days later. But, he still died in the end. :'( but he lived a little bit longer and at least got a little spoiled.

For everyone asking about my name, I do have Dutch bloodlines, and my last name is Dutch. Lol
 

darkness975

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Yeah, for some reason it stopped sending me email notifications until just now.

He did make for about a week. Started moving more, did eat a hornworm a few days later. But, he still died in the end. :'( but he lived a little bit longer and at least got a little spoiled.

For everyone asking about my name, I do have Dutch bloodlines, and my last name is Dutch. Lol
Do you speak Deutsch?

Sorry for your loss.
 
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