Sad Day

[jakethegamer]

I found my T this morning in a corner of her cage curled into a ball. It think that she is dying since she has not eaten for over 5 months and is loosing lots of weight. Do any of you know why she would refuse to eat for so long even when I offered her food every two weeks? She did have a damaged leg but last month she looked completely healthy.

 

[pelo]

What kind of T?..how old?..how are you housing it?..substrate?...access to water?...temps?Need a little more info...more info(as much as you can) and someone just maybe able to help you save it....peace..

 

[jakethegamer]

She is a Rosy and I have had her for about 9 months now. She is housed in large critter keeper with shredded bark as her base. The bark is kept damp and I have water at the bottom (about 3 inches down from the surface) so she can drink that as well as she has access to some jelled watter. She did not have any cover other than a small burrow that she would somtimes hide in. I tried to feed her last three weeks ago and she ignored the food.

I belive that she was several years old as when I got her she had a damaged pad and she seemed a bit frail. She was also full grown when I purchased her.

She would try crawling out of her cage every now and again so she did have energy, just the last two months her abdomin was becoming wrinkled though with a fine spray of water she looked normal. These last few weeks she seemed to be sluggish and I assumed it to be from moving.

 

[G_Wright]

Originally posted by jakethegamer
She is a Rosy and I have had her for about 9 months now. She is housed in large critter keeper with shredded bark as her base. The bark is very wet so she can drink that as well as she has access to some jelled watter. She did not have any cover other than a small burrow that she would somtimes hide in. I tried to feed her last three weeks ago and she ignored the food.

I belive that she was several years old as when I got her she had a damaged pad and she seemed a bit frail. She was also full grown when I purchased her.

She would try crawling out of her cage every now and again so she did have energy, just the last two months her abdomin was becoming wrinkled though with a fine spray of water she looked normal. These last few weeks she seemed to be sluggish and I assumed it to be from moving.

It coulld be possable that it is dehydrated. Well that's what it sounds like to me since you say her abdomen is wrinkled. Try placing her in a box with a few mm's of water in it. If she is dehydrated then she will start to drink. But keep an eye on her so the she doesn't drown herself.

 

[pelo]

She just may not be a happy camper.Some T's when stressed will not eat or drink.Most rosies detest a wet substrate...and shredded bark?Try a different substrate...straight peat moss or potting soil and keep it dry.Offer a dish of water for drinking at all times.She may not be getting enough moisture from the jellied water.Keep temps anywhere from low 70's to low 80's.Give her ample substrate to give her the opportunity to burrow if she likes and also give her a shelter to hide in if she prefers.Try some changes and see if it works...peace..

 

[jakethegamer]

Thanks for the suggestions, I will try that as soon as I get home from work.

 

[Bjorgly]

Is the bark Cedar by any chance? The natural oils in cedar are poisonous to tarantulas. Also like others said dont worry too much about food if it chooses not to eat and make it has constant access to a shallow, wide water dish full of fresh water at all times.

Mark

 

[da_illest]

i think it's the substrate and the humidity... it's true, rosies do like it on the dry side. plus, give it a hide

 

[Code Monkey]

Others have touched on all the possibilities as well as the corrections, just wanted to address a few points:

• I have seen petstores provide Ts with the water gel but I really don't know that Ts can "drink" from it. Nothing solid can pass through a T's mouth nor do the physical properties of this stuff really seem to be something a tarantula can manipulate well. I would never use this stuff with my tarantulas; it's strictly for the feeder insects with mouth parts that let them consume it.
• From your description, it sounds like you didn't have a water dish but just a depression in the wood chips for water to gather in. This is bad on a lot of fronts. (1) As has been mentioned, that leads to a far too moist environment for a species that likes things pretty much bone dry. (2) Others have speculated that you might be using pine or cedar and the oils and other aromatics in those woods are possibly harmful but almost certainly repellent - the T would have been unlikely to drink water filtered into such a tea of wood chemicals.
• Listen to G Wright and Pelo. First try the emergency treatment to see if she's dehydrated. A small ice cream tub or something with paper towels and a few mm of water is often called an ICU in one of those overstated ways of the hobby. Alternatively, you can do something as simple as submerse the first part of the cephalothorax in a shallow water dish and see if she drinks. Either way, make sure she gets access to clean water ASAP.
  
  When that's done, if she's looking better, give her a better substrate and a real water dish with real water. Unless she's just diseased or dying of old age, hopefully you'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

[xanadu1015]

I agree with what everyone has said. I noticed our rosie likes her cage prety much bone dry.




Laura

 

[eleven_68]

My thoughts...

I have a G. rosea, which is in excellent health. I got her dehydrated, overheated, and improperly caged. Since I have taken "custody" of her and helped her to a healthy recovery she has shown similar signs.

Every so often I will check in on her and she will have her legs partially underneath her in the "dead Tarantula" position. The first time I saw this I freaked out. I thought that all of my efforts to save her were in vein.

In desperation I blew a puff of air in her direction. Although I know that this is not recommended, it satisfied my question. As soon as the air hit her hairs she jumped up off of her "knees" and took off for the other side of the cage.

I discovered that this is a position in which she likes to rest for one reason or another. I have found her sitting like that more and more but she has no apparent health problems.

I will admit that she has not eaten since I got her two months ago. That is why I did not put malnourished as a problem she had when I received her. Her bare spot on her back reveals a dark streak which appears to be the beginnings of a molt.

You might check for the signs that your T is getting ready to molt, or that something else is medically wrong with it. Missing a limb can be devastating for a Tarantula, but it does not mean an end. Since regeneration is possible, there is a chance of recovery.

In the end, your T might not be dying at all. I've got my fingers crossed that it has just adapted the same sitting style as my rosea has. If your T does die, then I am sorry for your loss.

People think I'm crazy for gaining an attachment to a spider which only sees me as an enemy or a log. But, as with any other pet, all four of my Tarantulas mean something to me and it would not be fun to lose one. The monetary losses aside, I would be losing something that I have watched grow and helped along the way. That is something more than a bug, in my opinion. It is a pet, just like a cat or a dog.

I'll leave you with that. Best of wishes for yourself and your Tarantula.

 

[eleven_68]

(con't)

After reading a later post by you, I realized that the others are probably right. I would bet that your Tarantula would respond very well to a "repti-rock" water dish. There are many other things that you can use which will work just as well. The dish just needs to be shallow enough that the Tarantula won't drown in it but deep enough to hold considerable amounts of water. I have found that with one of these dishes, I have to refill it at least once a week. The dish helps maintain humidity as well as giving the Tarantula a source of water to drink from.

If you are in the city, it has been recommended to me that you allow 24-hours for the water to evaporate any chemicals which might be present. (chloride, etc.)

I wouldn't wait that long in this instance since your Tarantula is potentially on its last limb.

I also agree that the wood chips are potentially hazardous. As others have mentioned above, pine and cedar woods are EXTREMELY poisonous to arthropods in general. Wood shavings are not really an ideal substrate anyways. I would prefer to see you go with some plain old peat moss, or something of that sort. I'm sure that others on here have plenty of ideas for substrates.

I would recommend that you read "The Tarantula Keepers Guide" by the Shultz's. I don't know the authors first names, but they cover everything in that book including the poisonous properties of cedar and pine wood shavings.

I hope that this helps. Best wishes.

 

[manville]

awww that sucks...i am sorry for your loss

 

[Bjorgly]

Two months of not eating is nothing to a G.rosea. In the wild they can go a year or more without food with few problems, and a several month fast in captivity is nothing to raise eye brows at either. My tarantulas occasionally sit with their legs partially curled under but they just are sitting like that they aren't dieing. I would think it is their way of resting or something similar, or perhaps something to do with grooming.

Mark

 

[jakethegamer]

Home now and trying to see if my T will drink. What is the best way to tell if she is doing so. Sorry to be such a newb with this.

 

[eleven_68]

First off, no need to apologize. I think we have all been to a point where we needed a large amount of help, which is why this board is here in the first place.

In reguards to your last post...You won't really be able to tell, persay, that your Tarantula has drank unless you watch it in the act. If it is drinking, it will appear as though it is hoovering over the water. Remember that the lungs are on it's backside so there is not a fear of drowning from a T having it's mouth submersed for several minutes.

There will be signs that the introduction of the water has helped, as you could imagine. Your T might become less wrinkled, more active, it might stop sitting in the "dying" position. If nothing else, the water will improve the relative humidity of the cage, and give your T a possible food source.

The only question that I would have relating to this issue is, wouldn't the Tarantula benefit, hydration wise, by eating? Isn't the Tartantulas diet the main source of their water? I was kind of surprised that the Tarantula wouldn't eat if it was in need of water. If anyone has a possible explanation, I would appreciate it.

If there are any other ideas on this, I'm sure they will be listed below.

Hope this helps.

 

[Code Monkey]

Originally posted by eleven_68
There will be signs that the introduction of the water has helped, as you could imagine. Your T might become less wrinkled, more active, it might stop sitting in the "dying" position. If nothing else, the water will improve the relative humidity of the cage, and give your T a possible food source.

Well, rosea fast for years sometimes for no apparent reason (to us), so I wouln't necessarily assume that just because it's dehydrated it would eat.

As for your comment about improving the humidity, from the description it sounds like the tank was a swamp to begin with. Although it probably desperately needs water now, in the future what it needs is a much drier tank with a real water dish.

 

[eleven_68]

I must have missed the part describing the tank as being flooded. I apologize for the oversight.

 

[Bjorgly]

When drinking the tarantula will usually crawl a little ways over the water dish then lower it's mouth parts into the water for a while. Keep in mind they also absorb humidity through their skin and get moisture from prey.

Mark

 

[jakethegamer]

Thank you all for the suggestions. As of now she is almost completely better. She just was very dehydrated. Now she is moving more than I remember her move in a long time. Thanks you all!!