- Joined
- Aug 17, 2006
- Messages
- 96
I'm afraid I'm losing my 5" female B. auratum, one of my favorite girls. I've been spidering since the 90s, but haven't come across this personally before. Posting here to document, and see if anyone else has experienced something similar, or has any suggestions.
History: Purchased June, 2020, previous owner said her last molt was around June, 2020. She has not molted in my care and is not currently in premolt.
Age: Unknown. Previous owner said he thought she was about 6-7. Don't know if he had her 6-7 years, or was guessing based on her size.
Enclosure: Lorex Plastics, 18" x 8" x 8", drilled/laser ventilation holes, no screen. 5.25" of space from the substrate to the lid. She's been in this enclosure for almost a year.
Feeders: Dubia and red runner roaches from my colonies, no outside feeders. I feed my large, slow growing species once every few months or so. She has not been fed for around 1-2 months.
Water: Tap, same as the rest of my spiders.
Leading up to the following events, nothing has changed in her environment. No new feeders, water, chemicals or sprays, no unusual activity near her enclosure or in the house. I have 500+ other spiders at the moment, and none are showing these behaviors. I live alone in a single family home, nobody sprays in or around the house for bugs. My dog is on monthly pills for flea/tick/heartworm prevention, no flea collars or topicals.
June 27, 2021: Noticed she had removed one of her pedipalps. She was still bleeding, recent amputation. She is normally a very calm spider, but when I opened the lid, she tore around the enclosure in a hair kicking frenzy. I left her alone.
June 28, 2021: She removed one of her legs. Again, she was still bleeding, recent amputation. (Both amputations clotted off normally, as expected from legs.) Later on in the day, leg 1 was sticking straight up and leg 2 was sticking straight out. She was and still is unable to bend them or use them to walk. Her back pair of legs are also mostly immobile. She is very weak and lethargic.
June 29, 2021: No change. I disabled a small roach and dropped it near her. She moved away from it as quickly as she could, which was not very quickly.
June 30, 2021: Found her crumpled in the corner of the enclosure. She responds to touch, but is very weak. Her mouth is clean and dry, no smell. I tried flipping her the rest of the way upside down to administer water droplets to her mouth, but she was strong enough to resist this and was able to right herself. Earlier today, leg 2 was sticking straight up in the air. It's gone down, but legs 1 and 2 are both still "stuck" straight out, and she's unable to bend or use them. Back pair of legs also still seem mostly paralyzed.
I will continue to document her progress, whichever way this goes.
History: Purchased June, 2020, previous owner said her last molt was around June, 2020. She has not molted in my care and is not currently in premolt.
Age: Unknown. Previous owner said he thought she was about 6-7. Don't know if he had her 6-7 years, or was guessing based on her size.
Enclosure: Lorex Plastics, 18" x 8" x 8", drilled/laser ventilation holes, no screen. 5.25" of space from the substrate to the lid. She's been in this enclosure for almost a year.
Feeders: Dubia and red runner roaches from my colonies, no outside feeders. I feed my large, slow growing species once every few months or so. She has not been fed for around 1-2 months.
Water: Tap, same as the rest of my spiders.
Leading up to the following events, nothing has changed in her environment. No new feeders, water, chemicals or sprays, no unusual activity near her enclosure or in the house. I have 500+ other spiders at the moment, and none are showing these behaviors. I live alone in a single family home, nobody sprays in or around the house for bugs. My dog is on monthly pills for flea/tick/heartworm prevention, no flea collars or topicals.
June 27, 2021: Noticed she had removed one of her pedipalps. She was still bleeding, recent amputation. She is normally a very calm spider, but when I opened the lid, she tore around the enclosure in a hair kicking frenzy. I left her alone.
June 28, 2021: She removed one of her legs. Again, she was still bleeding, recent amputation. (Both amputations clotted off normally, as expected from legs.) Later on in the day, leg 1 was sticking straight up and leg 2 was sticking straight out. She was and still is unable to bend them or use them to walk. Her back pair of legs are also mostly immobile. She is very weak and lethargic.
June 29, 2021: No change. I disabled a small roach and dropped it near her. She moved away from it as quickly as she could, which was not very quickly.
June 30, 2021: Found her crumpled in the corner of the enclosure. She responds to touch, but is very weak. Her mouth is clean and dry, no smell. I tried flipping her the rest of the way upside down to administer water droplets to her mouth, but she was strong enough to resist this and was able to right herself. Earlier today, leg 2 was sticking straight up in the air. It's gone down, but legs 1 and 2 are both still "stuck" straight out, and she's unable to bend or use them. Back pair of legs also still seem mostly paralyzed.
I will continue to document her progress, whichever way this goes.
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