Sick Pink Toe?

[Azarath]

I have a MM pink toe that has recently started slowing way down. He can't grip the walls to climb and I always find him with his legs curled over him (not under him like a death curl) as if he's hiding from the world. He won't eat, and I keep giving him fresh water, but I'm not sure if he's drinking it (I never see him near it), or if it's just evaporating. It's been about a year/year and a half since his mature molt, and when I did research on his strange behavior, everything pointed to it just being his time to pass, since males don't live much longer after a mature molt. I thought they at least lived longer than that, though.

Anyway, this is my first spider, as I am new to the hobby, and I did get him from PetCo, which I now know to never do again. But I've had him for a little over three years now, and I simply kept giving him clean water and offering food once a week just trying to make him comfortable as I thought he was passing away due to natural causes, but today I noticed him on the side of the tank (a miracle, since he usually can't climb it anymore). So, I brought a flashlight to take a better look at his underside (I do this on every opportunity I get to make sure all's well), and I noticed a yellow spot on the side of his abdomen behind the last right leg. Does this mean he's sick? Or is this just from old age? What should I do? There are no tarantula vets within hours of where I live that I know of. I'll attach a photo or two.





Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

 

[EulersK]

I can't quite see what it is that you're talking about, but as you already know, he's on borrowed time as it is. I wouldn't bother him, just let him live out his remaining days in peace.

For the record, depending on the species, mature males can live as little as a couple months all the way up to two years or more. I had a MM P. murinus that lived a mere 6 weeks before dying.

 

[Flexzone]

That yellow spot is one of its 4 pairs of book lungs, looks like the hairs got rubbed off on that particular one, doesn't seem like anything to cause concern over to me. Once mature males only interest is to find a female to breed with so not eating as freq. as before isn't to much cause to be worried about.

 

[Hellblazer]

There are no tarantula vets within hours of where I live that I know of. I'll attach a photo or two.

I wouldn't take it to a vet even if there was one in your area willing to deal with T's. You would most likely be throwing your money away on someone who really didn't know what they were doing.

 

[Vanessa]

You're doing all you can for him. Just continue doing what you're doing and providing fresh water and offering food now and then. As mentioned above, that is just his booklung with the hairs rubbed off. Anything that might be wrong with him at this point won't catch up to the fact that he is passing away already.
It is very sad, and I am sorry, but you're doing everything you can at this point. It is not fun watching them get to the end of their life like this.

 

[8Legs8Eyes]

That yellow spot is one of its 4 pairs of book lungs

The spot I see looks like a book lung as well...unless you are talking about a different spot that my eyes are not settling onto.

 

[Azarath]

Thank you, everyone. It's a relief to know he is just nearing the end of his life and that I didn't cause him to get sick or anything, though very sad that he is indeed dying. I was actually finally able to see his other side due to his crawling around, and the other side is yellow, too. Thanks for understanding my novice concerns and questions and not judging me for them. I enjoyed having him, so I'll probably get a female next time and order her from a breeder instead of getting her at a pet store.

By the way... If it's not too painful of a subject, I'm curious to know what you do for tarantulas that have passed? I was told to wait for a tarantula to start to smell before disturbing it, that way you know it is truly dead and you don't end up burying one alive, but what do you all do with your passed Ts?

 

[Ellenantula]

By the way... If it's not too painful of a subject, I'm curious to know what you do for tarantulas that have passed? I was told to wait for a tarantula to start to smell before disturbing it, that way you know it is truly dead and you don't end up burying one alive, but what do you all do with your passed Ts?

I have a few in my freezer, still deciding what to do with them. May just toss one day. But some folks do preserve them in alcohol solutions in jars, dessicated &stuffed and mounted, or even inside clear lucite-type material, etc..

 

[EulersK]

Thank you, everyone. It's a relief to know he is just nearing the end of his life and that I didn't cause him to get sick or anything, though very sad that he is indeed dying. I was actually finally able to see his other side due to his crawling around, and the other side is yellow, too. Thanks for understanding my novice concerns and questions and not judging me for them. I enjoyed having him, so I'll probably get a female next time and order her from a breeder instead of getting her at a pet store.

By the way... If it's not too painful of a subject, I'm curious to know what you do for tarantulas that have passed? I was told to wait for a tarantula to start to smell before disturbing it, that way you know it is truly dead and you don't end up burying one alive, but what do you all do with your passed Ts?

I can't say that I'm too ceremonious with them. Most of the time, they go into my compost pile in the back yard. If it were a particularly important spider (my first one, for instance), then my illogical brain may bury it.

 

[Sana]

I've heard previously of folks working on various projects that need specimens for study or comparison. I'm not sure how to find out about that though I should probably look for that information myself as I have a couple MMs right now. I remember seeing somewhere that there are particular methods used to preserve them and probably if there is a researcher out there that can use them they will have specific instructions on preserving and shipping a specimen.

 

[Ellenantula]

I would add ... if you think you want to preserve your guy -- don't let him decay. Freeze him early to buy yourself time to decide what course to take.