Survivability Rate of Post-Molt Sucking Stomach Issue

[zeeman]

My G actaeon molted 3 weeks ago now to a 2-2 1/4" beauty and her carapace now has actual hairs on it as opposed to being glossy.

Molt looked fine to the naked eye and it appeared big enough I was excited to take it to a local breeder to see if he could sex it for me.

The first feeding day was a little too close to her molt so I waited til the following week to offer a cricket, which she enthusiastically tackled. I assumed she'd eaten it but the following week when feeding time came i found that she had been sitting on top of it all week. Removed it, offered another cricket, enthusiastic take-down and here i am this week to feed again and I find the same situation, dead cricket under the T.

My only and best guess is the sucking stomach didn't molt properly. Before anyone asks I'm not going to be able to get a clear pic of such a small molt to help identify whether the stomach is there or not. Based on this, what are the odds the T will survive without food til her next molt? I've read people say they can rush their next molt, but how "rushed" is it?

 

[Liquifin]

Did you check the molt for the sucking stomach? You didn't mention it so that would be a help for starters. Also if it is a sucking stomach issue it's really a variable thing as it's usually dependent on how much weight it has to go on until the next molt. Usually the T.s that retain a lot of its mass post-molt are the ones to survive to molt out the sucking stomach the next molt. Better offer a water dish to allow drinking if possible and keep it a bit warmer to encourage a shorter molt cycle. But I wish you luck and hope you the best.

 

[Jess S]

Have you checked ithat it didn't lose its fangs in the moult as that could present the same behaviour?

If it does turn out to be sucking stomach it won't be able to eat nor drink. So it's not starvation that's the problem, it's dehydration. I would recommend making the substrate moist so that it doesn't lose too much water through its book lungs and then hoping it'll moult.

You may need to make more ventilation holes if your current enclosure doesn't have enough to cope with moist substrate. You don't want it to become stagnant as that could be harmful .

Luckily yours is a small juvi so it has some chance of making to the next moult, especially if it moults much earlier to repair this issue.

 

[cold blood]

Have you checked to make sure the fangs are intact?

 

[zeeman]

Fangs look ok to the best I can tell. I havent seen them since a few days after the molt where I tried to see if they were black, which I understood meant hardened and ready to eat. She successfully killed the first two. So I estimate they are intact.

I've seen the sucking stomach in some well done photos on here but the molt is too small to be able to pick that out.

 

[Konstantin Konstantinov]

Hi
On a 2 inch spider the stomach will be visible quite easy.It is delicate and could break off if moult is messed with too.
Post a pic of your moult.
If it is sucking stomach issue it will try to drink quite often and linger on the waterdish. Whatch out for that sort of behaviour.
Regards Konstantin

 

[Jess S]

Take a photo of the moult then zoom in. Same will work for the fangs. I agree they sound intact as it managed to kill the crickets. But a photo would be worth taking as there could be some damage to the fangs too.

 

[zeeman]

Here are the two best photos I could get out of the 2 dozen or so taken.

 

[Jess S]

Unfortunately, the area we need to see does not come out clear enough in the photos and when I zoomed in, it's a bit blurry. I can see some structure there, but not enough.

Here's a photo of the sucking stomach from a 2-3" juvi (can't remember the exact size when I took that picture).



It's probably safest to assume it has an issue with the sucking stomach for now, but try offering a prekilled soft prey item (meal worms etc) , with the head squished, just in case.

One other thought. I've read of a keeper having a tarantula with a sucking stomach issue drown in a water dish, where it was constantly submerging itself to try to drink. Poor thing would not have been able to drink without a functioning oesophagus and stomach . So I would only keep a shallow small water dish in there. Certainly not one big enough for the t to climb into. And keep the substrate moist for now as that will slow the rate at which it will dehydrate, hopefully enough to see it to its next moult.

Good luck!

 

[zeeman]

Sorry, I thought the stomach was in the abdomen not the carapace. I will try for another photo tomorrow.

Seems I dont have a lot of luck with Ts.

 

[coolnweird]

I've only had one T with a sucking stomach issue, and thankfully it fixed itself. I had a teeny tiny P. sazimai sling, less than 1/2", molt out once, refuse all food, and then molt again 10 days later. After the second molt, she was able to eat normally. Hopefully your tarantula has enough energy stored up to molt again relatively soon!

 

[lazarus]

I did read some reports where the T was able to molt without eating but in my experience (I had this happen 4 times) none of the Ts that had that type of issues molted and recovered. They probably desiccate not starve to death.
But there's not much you can do besides wait and hope for the best. You can try offering some mealworm soup just in case the issue is with the fangs.