Tarantula wiggling on back

[BlackWidow24]

I have a tarantula (desert blonde?) I am in Tucson. I think it’s male but I’m not sure. Background-I’ve had him since May 2023. We accidentally interrupted a tarantula hawk dragging him away. The tarantula hawk flew away and we thought the tarantula was dead but it was still moving one leg. I flipped it over every day for about 3 months and gave it water. It recovered and molted about 3 months ago. But now it’s been wiggling like crazy on its back for a few days now. There is no sign that it has actually started to molt. I don’t know what is going on. I tried to upload a video but the format isn’t supported. I have to leave the house right now, but maybe I can figure it out how to change the format and upload later if needed.

 

[Mustafa67]

I have a tarantula (desert blonde?) I am in Tucson. I think it’s male but I’m not sure. Background-I’ve had him since May 2023. We accidentally interrupted a tarantula hawk dragging him away. The tarantula hawk flew away and we thought the tarantula was dead but it was still moving one leg. I flipped it over every day for about 3 months and gave it water. It recovered and molted about 3 months ago. But now it’s been wiggling like crazy on its back for a few days now. There is no sign that it has actually started to molt. I don’t know what is going on. I tried to upload a video but the format isn’t supported. I have to leave the house right now, but maybe I can figure it out how to change the format and upload later if needed.

WAIT

 

[cold blood]

could easily be the larvae of the tarantula hawk doing its final damage.

 

[BlackWidow24]

Is that possible after over a year??? And the tarantula hawk never got the chance to drag it to a burrow to lay the eggs.

 

[darkness975]

I have a tarantula (desert blonde?) I am in Tucson. I think it’s male but I’m not sure. Background-I’ve had him since May 2023. We accidentally interrupted a tarantula hawk dragging him away. The tarantula hawk flew away and we thought the tarantula was dead but it was still moving one leg. I flipped it over every day for about 3 months and gave it water. It recovered and molted about 3 months ago. But now it’s been wiggling like crazy on its back for a few days now. There is no sign that it has actually started to molt. I don’t know what is going on. I tried to upload a video but the format isn’t supported. I have to leave the house right now, but maybe I can figure it out how to change the format and upload later if needed.

Residual damage would be my guess.

 

[LilithArachne]

You could ask on the tarantula subreddit, I remember reading about someone that was helping their paralyzed tarantula there. I know 0 information about tarantula hawks.... I am sorry I really hope your tarantula makes it.

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

There is someone on here that rehabbed a stung/paralyzed tarantula.

Rehabbing paralyzed Tarantula

Preface: this is my first post, so please be kind... And to anyone reading this for future reference on rehabbing a tarantula paralyzed by a Tarantula Hawk wasp, note that I'm no expert in this area so you shouldn't take my experience as a guide. I'm probably doing a number of things wrong, but...

arachnoboards.com

 

[darkness975]

You could ask on the tarantula subreddit, I remember reading about someone that was helping their paralyzed tarantula there. I know 0 information about tarantula hawks.... I am sorry I really hope your tarantula makes it.

Reddit is not where you want to seek answers for anything. Some posts are okay but in general it's a sludge puddle of garbage.

 

[TheraMygale]

Parasites can take a while to hatch.

i have been studying different breeds of parasitic wasps in my area. Some hibernate.

so its all possible.

we need pictures of tarantula to try to even guess something.

you said you turned it over.

but its back on its back? I am just trying to get clarification.

don’t forget, you still have a wild caught. It could be anything at this point. It could already have been “infected”.

photos of mouth parts are needed as well.

with global photos we can also tell if its mature male. At that point, then its just dieing.

but if we can not see, we can not say.

 

[BlackWidow24]

This is what has been happening. I’ve had it for almost a year and a half. It molted on June 17th, 2024. It was originally found in May 2023 after being paralyzed by a tarantula hawk wasp. It was completely paralyzed for 3-4 months, except for one leg that would move, until it eventually regained all movement. It ate well. I only fed it crickets from my yard, some small beetles. We use no pesticides. I don’t use any strong cleaning products, pretty much nothing. Odo Ban is used to clean the floor, but usually just water or hydrogen peroxide. We don’t use any scented plugins, but sometimes use scented candles, but not often. We have pets, but none are treated for ticks or fleas. This sporadic wiggling started a few days ago. I thought it was going to molt again because it was on it’s back wiggling like it was trying to molt, but there was never any sign of actually molting. Today, it has been right side up for the most part. I’ve been keeping it hydrated. When it was on its back, I gave it a drop of water. I did put it in a smaller container with a damp paper towel. It still has a lot of sporadic movements, but not as much as when it was in the aquarium.

 

[BlackWidow24]

This video is from June 2023 while we were trying to keep it hydrated while paralyzed. I don’t know if it’s clear enough to be able to tell if it is male.

 

[TheraMygale]

Unfortunately i cannot view these type videos.

if it has been fed wild caught prey, then it sure can have some kind of sickness or infection.

outdoor bugs are exposded to deet and
Glysophate. Pesticides and nematodes. Might not be tarantula nematodes, doesnt mean it doesnt make them sick.

someone else might see video and say, hey its nothing.

but all this sounds unusual.

photos of tarantula will help us know if its mature male.

 

[Brewser]

Sustained and still recovering from Significant Neurological Damage.
Excellent Care being provided, Much Appreciated.
Best Regards and Wishes to You Both.

 

[BlackWidow24]

Sustained and still recovering from Significant Neurological Damage.
Excellent Care being provided, Much Appreciated.
Best Regards and Wishes to You Both.

Thank you. don’t know if I should continue to keep it hydrated to see what happens or put it out if it’s misery

 

[BlackWidow24]

Unfortunately i cannot view these type videos.

if it has been fed wild caught prey, then it sure can have some kind of sickness or infection.

outdoor bugs are exposded to deet and
Glysophate. Pesticides and nematodes. Might not be tarantula nematodes, doesnt mean it doesnt make them sick.

someone else might see video and say, hey its nothing.

but all this sounds unusual.

photos of tarantula will help us know if its mature male.

I don’t know if this picture is clear enough. If not, I can try to take another one. Thank you for your help.

 

[Gevo]

Thanks for reaching out to see if there's anything more you can do. I'll leave it to someone with a more experienced eye to say whether they think this is a mature male or not, but the curled legs and described movements certainly don't bode well.

A (very quick, not thorough) search tells me that the tarantula hawk total lifespan would make it impossible for the tarantula to still be infected with actual parasites. As suggested above, it could be neurological damage, it could be that he's a mature male who's simply at the end of his lifespan, or it's possible that wild-caught feeders introduced something. Even if you don't use pesticides around your home, insects travel, so they can still get around that way.

Whatever the cause, know that you've done everything you can and that you managed to extend the life of a tarantula that would have died in May of 2023. I'm too new myself to advise you on whether or not it's time to euthanize, but if you determine that it is, there are forum threads here on euthanasia and the most humane ways to go about it.

Best of luck, and thank you for all your efforts.

 

[BlackWidow24]

Thank you very much for the information and your help.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

This video is from June 2023 while we were trying to keep it hydrated while paralyzed. I don’t know if it’s clear enough to be able to tell if it is male.

You gotta upload to YouTube first , video doesn’t work .

 

[BlackWidow24]

Thank you for letting me know. I will do that later today when I get a chance.

 

[TheraMygale]

Well, just looking at the picture i didnt see hooks or pedipalp changes. Just the tarsis. It doesnt look good though.

it could be death roll. It happens.

of course i wish it would be something else.

i have more then one tarantula. And i cant always check in on them after a molt. If they are in their hide or burrow. So if something happened, i couldnt really intervene. Which is why i adopted a stress relief approach. Nature is nature.