Unexpected A. geniculata death

[mickeydubs]

Hello. I'm wondering if anybody has experienced something like the following: My subadult A. geniculata recently molted and, by all appearances, had a healthy molt. She was stretching out, wandered around a bit and had access to water. A few days later...she just died. Her teeth were still red (suggesting her exoskeleton had not yet hardened). There was plenty of water available, one corner of the enclosure was relatively moist. The temperature was just fine. There don't appear to be any mites or parasites on the spider or anywhere in the enclosure. There were no live prey items that could have harmed her. Any ideas?

 

[A guy]

Molting is not only an external process for them but it also affects them internally and it's also extremely exhausting. Lots can go wrong without any signs.

 

[jennywallace]

Yeah, could be anything, likely something internal that you won't see. Sorry for your loss.

 

[viper69]

Maybe dehydrated- no way to know

 

[Smotzer]

A few days later...she just died.

Sudden death is usually pretty rare from all my experience off and on the boards. But the ecdysis process can be taxing and perhaps there was a catastrophic internal issue or external.

Can you post photos of the enclosure for us? Is there any possibility that there was live prey still in the enclosure ?

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

So sorry for the loss of your Princess. Did it look like a wet molt? Any chance she could have fallen either from a height or on something hard?

 

[Smotzer]

Any chance she could have fallen either from a height or on something hard?

This is what I was leaning towards

 

[mickeydubs]

I've since removed the water dish to rinse it out (it was full prior to this picture). I'm certain there were no prey items.

So sorry for the loss of your Princess. Did it look like a wet molt? Any chance she could have fallen either from a height or on something hard?

I don't think it was a wet molt, but I'm not certain. It does appear to have happened shortly after the molt as her fangs had clearly not yet hardened. One thing I did notice (that I did forget to mention earlier), was that her post molt abdomen was sort of pulsing. It almost looked as if there was a heartbeat or something like that. I'd never seen that prior to this molt. Not sure what that indicates, if anything.

I've had this T for a while now and have kept the conditions pretty similar across a lengthy period of time and there've been no problems in the past, so this is why it is rather unexpected.

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

I don't think it was a wet molt, but I'm not certain. It does appear to have happened shortly after the molt as her fangs had clearly not yet hardened. One thing I did notice (that I did forget to mention earlier), was that her post molt abdomen was sort of pulsing. It almost looked as if there was a heartbeat or something like that. I'd never seen that prior to this molt. Not sure what that indicates, if anything.

Her heart is a tube like shape across the center top of her abdomen, so it very well could be her heart you saw, especially if she was freshly molted and not hardened yet. It sounds like something just went wrong internally. Maybe she didn’t form her exo enough before molting, maybe it was organs. Sadly, unless you’re a scientist with access to a good lab, there’s really no way to know for certain. I’m sorry you lost your buddy. It always sucks. :-(

 

[Brewser]

Sorry for your Sudden Loss.
Life like Time is Fleeting.
Enjoy Them while They're Here.
Keep Looking Up.