T Died while eating a cricket?

[Scone]

I'm new to tarantulas and my pink toe died. After discovering his death I noticed a cricket in his mouth. He wasn't very old and I couldn't find any other evidence of an untimely death. I'm wondering if anyone knows any possible causes of death from eating the cricket.

 

[Thekla]

Please post pictures of the T (if still possible) and the enclosure. Personally, I never heard of a T that died while feeding. Was the cricket still alive? Could your T have moulted and the cricket was still in the enclosure? Crickets will feed on moulting Ts.
Was your T adult? Maybe a mature male?

 

[Scone]

Please post pictures of the T (if still possible) and the enclosure. Personally, I never heard of a T that died while feeding. Was the cricket still alive? Could your T have moulted and the cricket was still in the enclosure? Crickets will feed on moulting Ts.
Was your T adult? Maybe a mature male?

I was just basing off assumption that he was young. I bought him/her from the pet store and I never got the age.
These are the best photos I could get.

EDIT: Also, the cricket that was in his mouth he had eaten days before dying. So it confuses me why he still had it in his mouth.

 

[Ellenantula]

Was the cricket wild caught?
I think the feeder may be coincidental.

Sounds like there may be more to this story (sorry, just jaded me commenting...).

 

[Vanessa]

That enclosure setup is inappropriate for this species, it's actually not appropriate for any species. I'm going to say that living in that setup had far more to do with his death than the cricket did.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

That enclosure is far too large, there's no cross ventilation, no elevated plant cover/anchor points, wood chips as substrate. I'd hazard a guess that it fell while eating and died.

 

[Aarantula]

I’m going to guess that the cricket may have been wild caught and covered in pesticides.

While the enclosure certainly isn’t ideal, I’ve seen people do a similar set up by having a large tank on its side with no problems that would lead to the death of the T.

 

[Rigor Mortis]

I’m going to guess that the cricket may have been wild caught and covered in pesticides.

While the enclosure certainly isn’t ideal, I’ve seen people do a similar set up by having a large tank on its side with no problems that would lead to the death of the T.

Wouldn't a pesticide death take a lot longer in a tarantula? I mean that still makes sense but I wouldn't think a small pesticide exposure would kill one so quickly.

And the lack of cross ventilation is what worries me about this particular setup since Avics can't tolerate stuffy enclosures.

 

[Vanisher]

I have seldom had crossventilation for Avics! And never had problems, if one have plenty ventilation on the top! crossventilation is good but absolutly not a killing factor! If you look at OP enclosure. It looks bone dry? I guess ut fied from other reasons

 

[NukaMedia Exotics]

I don't see any water dish in there in addition to all the rest of what was said about this enclosure, do more research before you take care of another animal OP...

 

[FrDoc]

@Scone Everything stated above is worthy of your serious consideration, and I will stress again the need to do some homework regarding husbandry. However, a tarantula bought from a local pet shop may have been well advanced in years, in addition to possibly being a male. These two factors can result in a very short T and keeper relationship. If you can get a shot of the pedipalps this determination can be made. Live and learn.

 

[Olan]

The body to leg ratio looks like a mature male to me. So very well could be death from old age.

 

[viper69]

They die all the time, eating a crix doesn’t mean that’s cause of death

 

[Scone]

I don't see any water dish in there in addition to all the rest of what was said about this enclosure, do more research before you take care of another animal OP...

This is do to me already tearing the setup down after his death, you can see the dish next to my T on the topside photo. This would also account for the lack of moisture.

 

[NukaMedia Exotics]

This is do to me already tearing the setup down after his death, you can see the dish next to my T on the topside photo. This would also account for the lack of moisture.

Got it. Also avics don't need moist enclosures, that'll kill them. They need it pretty much dry if not a little water on a corner of the sub and a lot of ventilation.