Major injuries after molt

[Bobby V]

My tarantula molted and looks to have all 4 front legs and 1 back all deformed even possibly broken. This is her 5th molt since I've had her all have gone without issue. She is having a really hard time getting around. What should i do? It's been a day and a half now. Ive had her 3 and a half years now and not certain how old she is. She is an arizona blonde. Any help would be great. Thanks in advance.

 

[Nunua]

Sorry to hear about having a bad molt. Tarantulas don't have bones, so in that point of view her legs can't be broken, but unfortunately bad molts happen every now and then, which often ends up with deformed legs or otherwise damaged exoskeleton. There is very little we can do to prevent them, but keeping our Ts properly hydrated (they cannot survive without having enough internal fluids - enclosure humidity is not the key) and fed. It's also very important to remember that some individuals are not meant to survive and in most cases it's not the owners fault when a bad molt happens.

Do you have a photo about how bad her condition is? Some Ts make it though even with twisted legs as they usually molt again relatively fast trying to repair the damage, or they'll just drop off the bad legs.. Of course, this could be a bit problematic if most of her legs are very bad. An important thing would be having a shallow water dish near her so she can drink - Only time will tell if she is able to eat after exoskeleton and fangs harden. There isn't much more you can do to help her.

 

[Tortoise Tom]

I had something similar. Seems like a lack of water was to blame. As in the spider didn't drink enough or have enough water on board when it started the molt. This spider is now better and has re-grown the majority of the problem areas.

https://www.tarantulaforum.com/threads/bad-molt-for-p-rufilata.23078/#post-140682

 

[Bobby V]

Sorry to hear about having a bad molt. Tarantulas don't have bones, so in that point of view her legs can't be broken, but unfortunately bad molts happen every now and then, which often ends up with deformed legs or otherwise damaged exoskeleton. There is very little we can do to prevent them, but keeping our Ts properly hydrated (they cannot survive without having enough internal fluids - enclosure humidity is not the key) and fed. It's also very important to remember that some individuals are not meant to survive and in most cases it's not the owners fault when a bad molt happens.

Do you have a photo about how bad her condition is? Some Ts make it though even with twisted legs as they usually molt again relatively fast trying to repair the damage, or they'll just drop off the bad legs.. Of course, this could be a bit problematic if most of her legs are very bad. An important thing would be having a shallow water dish near her so she can drink - Only time will tell if she is able to eat after exoskeleton and fangs harden. There isn't much more you can do to help her.

Sorry to hear about having a bad molt. Tarantulas don't have bones, so in that point of view her legs can't be broken, but unfortunately bad molts happen every now and then, which often ends up with deformed legs or otherwise damaged exoskeleton. There is very little we can do to prevent them, but keeping our Ts properly hydrated (they cannot survive without having enough internal fluids - enclosure humidity is not the key) and fed. It's also very important to remember that some individuals are not meant to survive and in most cases it's not the owners fault when a bad molt happens.

Do you have a photo about how bad her condition is? Some Ts make it though even with twisted legs as they usually molt again relatively fast trying to repair the damage, or they'll just drop off the bad legs.. Of course, this could be a bit problematic if most of her legs are very bad. An important thing would be having a shallow water dish near her so she can drink - Only time will tell if she is able to eat after exoskeleton and fangs harden. There isn't much more you can do to help her.

Sorry to hear about having a bad molt. Tarantulas don't have bones, so in that point of view her legs can't be broken, but unfortunately bad molts happen every now and then, which often ends up with deformed legs or otherwise damaged exoskeleton. There is very little we can do to prevent them, but keeping our Ts properly hydrated (they cannot survive without having enough internal fluids - enclosure humidity is not the key) and fed. It's also very important to remember that some individuals are not meant to survive and in most cases it's not the owners fault when a bad molt happens.

Do you have a photo about how bad her condition is? Some Ts make it though even with twisted legs as they usually molt again relatively fast trying to repair the damage, or they'll just drop off the bad legs.. Of course, this could be a bit problematic if most of her legs are very bad. An important thing would be having a shallow water dish near her so she can drink - Only time will tell if she is able to eat after exoskeleton and fangs harden. There isn't much more you can do to help her.

Thank you for your reply. When i get home from work i will share some photos. I have a shallow dish for her to drink from close to where she mostly stays.

 

[Bobby V]

I had something similar. Seems like a lack of water was to blame. As in the spider didn't drink enough or have enough water on board when it started the molt. This spider is now better and has re-grown the majority of the problem areas.

https://www.tarantulaforum.com/threads/bad-molt-for-p-rufilata.23078/#post-140682

The thread you shared was very helpful, thank you. The photos shown look exactly how my T looks. I'll look for some horn worms for her as i don't think she'll have much success with crickets. I'll give hera couple more days to harden up and hopefully she'llbe a little more mobile, but she looks to be in pretty bad shape.

 

[Enn49]

The thread you shared was very helpful, thank you. The photos shown look exactly how my T looks. I'll look for some horn worms for her as i don't think she'll have much success with crickets. I'll give hera couple more days to harden up and hopefully she'llbe a little more mobile, but she looks to be in pretty bad shape.

You could fed her prekilled crickets.

 

[Arachnoclown]

You can lead a tarantula to water but you cant make it drink.

 

[Arachnoclown]

If your having trouble feeding your T you can prekill any of your normal feeders. Get some bamboo tongs to tong feed it (much safer for the fangs). From time to time you can feed it raw chicken. Only give it a small piece the size of a roach. Throw out any uneaten pieces right way. Ive done this with alot of my Ts in rehab. Hornworms are great because they are full of moisture...what your T needs to molt successfully.