T newbie. Death curl?

Pinktoeamelia

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Dec 17, 2016
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1482035124559-1280413040.jpg 14820319274251076916271.jpg
Update: i figured out that it was a mature male that just died of old age. Thank you so much to everyone that helped me.

Hello,
I have a Pink toe tarantula and im not sure how old she/he is but i wouldnt guess more than like 3 years? Anyway, she lost a couple of legs recently (like a month or so ago) but she was fine afterwards. But starting a couple days ago she started sitting in her water dish (theres a sponge in her dish and she was sitting on the sponge) which is odd bc she never comes down from the walls of her enclosure. And i thought she was dehydrated so i put some more water in her tank, sprayed it in there to make it more moist. Then she got out of the water bowl today and she laid down in the middle of her tank and i was concerned bc it looked like the death curl and she was kinda moving but very little and even when i touched her she didnt move which is unusual. But her toes her touching the ground, her legs werent completely underneathe her like i read they would be in a death curl. So i moved her into an icu. I put some damp paper towels in the bottom of a small container and put it in some place warm and put her in it. I came back a few hours later and she looks worse!!!! Now shes actually in a deal curl with her legs curled up under her and im so concerned someone help please!!!

Update: i put mesh on top of her icu thing so its more ventilated
 
Last edited:

Venom1080

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this looks like a case of misinformation. not really a fault on your end.
it sounds like you heavily followed pet store and internet care sheet advice. which kill tarantulas.

your best bet right now is to put that Avic in a well ventilated cage with slightly moist paper towels under him, get the temp above 70, and leave him alone and hope for the best.

Avics need a well ventilated cage, they have little need for humidity. i keep my Avicularia in pretty dry cages with lots of ventilation. its a myth that they need humidity.
 

Pinktoeamelia

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this looks like a case of misinformation. not really a fault on your end.
it sounds like you heavily followed pet store and internet care sheet advice. which kill tarantulas.

your best bet right now is to put that Avic in a well ventilated cage with slightly moist paper towels under him, get the temp above 70, and leave him alone and hope for the best.

Avics need a well ventilated cage, they have little need for humidity. i keep my Avicularia in pretty dry cages with lots of ventilation. its a myth that they need humidity.
Thank you so much! So should i put her back in her original tank or leave her in the icu? And should i put more holes in the icu bc theres only a few, i read that you dont want to have a lot of holes for venthilation. I put her on some damp paper towels and put a water bowl under her mouth. Is she actually dehydrated or?
 

Venom1080

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Thank you so much! So should i put her back in her original tank or leave her in the icu? And should i put more holes in the icu bc theres only a few, i read that you dont want to have a lot of holes for venthilation. I put her on some damp paper towels and put a water bowl under her mouth. Is she actually dehydrated or?
it was likely the cage that caused the problem in the first place, dont put her back.
i have a couple Avics in cages similar to that, they have 3 rows of vent holes around the upper sides, about 30 holes total. Avics need alot.
i cant tell if shes dehydrated from that pic, id guess not as you seem to have too much water in the cage in the first place. its most likely due to the water in her cage that shes in her present state.
dont get your hopes up... :(
@viper69 i gotta go, you could help more than me.
 

KezyGLA

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That sounds like pet shop info and killer caresheets.

What @Venom1080 suggested is pretty much the most you can do now. It doesnt look tok bad. I hope it pulls through and theives once rehoused.

Good luck
 

cold blood

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Too much moisture is just as, if not more detrimental than too dry imo.

Lose the sponge, i will never get the logic behind that....if sponges were required, we would have mo wild ts, as sponges live underwater.

This isnt really your fault as its hard if not impossible to get good info by doing random searches unless led to a forum like this...and even then, only if you really delve into the forums.

This is, imo, a classic example of why people shouldnt start out with avics. NW terrestrials are a far superior starting point.
 

basin79

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Can't see from the pic but could this not be a case of a MM dying? The loss of legs, 3 years old? Can't see the pediplaps properly though.
 

Pinktoeamelia

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Can't see from the pic but could this not be a case of a MM dying? The loss of legs, 3 years old? Can't see the pediplaps properly though.
She lost one leg while i was cleaning her cage, when i put her back into the cage she got upset and after she escaped and stuff she ended up losing a leg. The second leg was lost during a molt. And what is a "MM dying"?
 

Pinktoeamelia

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Can't see from the pic but could this not be a case of a MM dying? The loss of legs, 3 years old? Can't see the pediplaps properly though.
Also, her pedipalps look shrunk compared to how they usually look. They look skinnier.
 

ledzeppelin

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She lost one leg while i was cleaning her cage, when i put her back into the cage she got upset and after she escaped and stuff she ended up losing a leg. The second leg was lost during a molt. And what is a "MM dying"?
Mature male.. When males mature, their end starts approaching quickly.. It's rather sad as they sometimes seem like they are falling apart ><..
 

Pinktoeamelia

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Mature male.. When males mature, their end starts approaching quickly.. It's rather sad as they sometimes seem like they are falling apart ><..
Yeah i was thinking thats what this could be as well, if it is a male. But im not sure if its a male or a female, i tried to figure out but i couldnt.
 

ledzeppelin

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Can't see from the pic but could this not be a case of a MM dying? The loss of legs, 3 years old? Can't see the pediplaps properly though.
I THINK I see a hint of tibial hooks??? Might be just me staring at the pic for 10 mins and starting seeing things
 

Andrea82

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Yeah i was thinking thats what this could be as well, if it is a male. But im not sure if its a male or a female, i tried to figure out but i couldnt.
Try to get a pic of the ends of the pedipalps.

He lost a leg during an escape, how? Did it get stuck and torn off?
Because if that is the case, he could be losing haemolymph (his 'blood') from the wound, and that almost never ends well.
This sort of info should have been in your op, it's pretty important...
 

Pinktoeamelia

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Try to get a pic of the ends of the pedipalps.

He lost a leg during an escape, how? Did it get stuck and torn off?
Because if that is the case, he could be losing haemolymph (his 'blood') from the wound, and that almost never ends well.
I think he just fell off, and i looked to make sure that it wasnt "bleeding" lot and it seemed fine. And that was over a month ago so and he was fine this whole time until now. So i dont know if the legs even have anything to do with this now. And ill post a pic of the pedipalps

Also, i looked at his legs and i dont see any tibial hooks.
 

ledzeppelin

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Turn it on its back and take a photo.. You'll beat yourself less if we confirm a MM.. This just means that you did nothing wrong and that it just ran its course.. :)
 
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