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Very Ill Tarantula

S

Seasel

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Hey Everyone,

I'm very sad to report that my Chilean Rose has taken ill. There are a few things you should know.

1) I don't know her sex for sure. I got her for free from a really crappy pet store that just wanted to get rid of her. They told me she was a male. However, I've owned her for five years and she's only molted once, and she doesn't have spurs. So I'm assuming she's a she.

2) She's always had access to water.

3) She's a bad eater. She'll go on hunger strikes then eat for a while then strike. I know it's not unusual, just thought I should mention. She's been in one of her strikes.

So I came home one day and found her totally immobile in a death curl after being just fine the day before. I thought she was dead, but I scooped her up and put her in an ICU. After about three hours she perked up a bit. This is her third day in the ICU and she's plateaued. Her legs are still curled under her but they're relaxing out a bit. Plus she's now wiggling her chelicerae and spinnerets. She's definitely better than when I found her, but not recovering.

Is there anything I can do?! I have no idea what's wrong. Part of me is wondering if she is a male and has just reached the end of his life. But that doesn't make sense because she doesn't have spurs or boxing gloves.

I want to do something for her, three days in an ICU seems awful, but I don't want to take her out and kill her. It seems likes she's doing better but barely hanging on.
 
Nada

Nada

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It may just be an old T.
The only thing you can do is up the heat and humidity, and hope for the best.
Good luck.
 
Bast

Bast

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Was looking for a video...finally found it. Robc is a well respected keeper/breeder, this is a very good video on how you can hydrate a Tarantula:
 
S

Seasel

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photo-3.jpg


Here's a picture. Do you think I should try rehydrating her? I'm worried about accidentally drowning her. When I opened her tupperware it looked like she was trying to stand up. I don't know if that's good.
 
Bast

Bast

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The only way you would drown her is if you covered her book lungs which are closer to her abdomen. In your ICU is the whole thing wet? You want to make sure that you don't place her book lungs on the wet paper towel. She doesn't really look dehydrated to me; her abdomen is nice and plump...maybe just keep her in icu, in a dark warm place and don't disturb her at all for at least 24 hours. I've seen videos of T's that looked a lot more rough than yours that ended up pulling through. Really hope your girl makes a full recovery!
 
S

Seasel

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Okay, that's good to hear. The whole ICU is wet, since that's what I read you were supposed to do. I'll make a new one with a dry spot then leave her alone. Thanks so much!
 
Bast

Bast

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I'm pretty new to the hobby, only have one at the moment...but spent a lot of time perusing different forums and have read a lot on 'emergency' situations. It's always come up to leave a little bit of dry area so the T. can 'choose' where to be. I'm not an expert, just passing on what I have read....Robc has a lot of videos posted that deal with ICU type situations, and he's very respected in the hobby, so I tend to trust his way of doing things. My fingers are crossed for you and your girl, she's a beautiful spider :)
 
S

Seasel

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The dry spot seems to make a lot of sense. When I first read about the ICU I was totally put off because all I'd heard up till then was to not get them wet. Then all of a sudden I was told to dump her in a wet container. o_O

And thanks for the well wishes. My roommates aren't tarantula people so they think I'm nuts. I told them I put her in an ICU and they thought I'd finally lost it.
 
Bast

Bast

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Seasel said:
The dry spot seems to make a lot of sense. When I first read about the ICU I was totally put off because all I'd heard up till then was to not get them wet. Then all of a sudden I was told to dump her in a wet container. o_O

And thanks for the well wishes. My roommates aren't tarantula people so they think I'm nuts. I told them I put her in an ICU and they thought I'd finally lost it.
Click to expand...
My mom found out (no idea how) that we had Karina....she called me tonight freaking out that she was going to kill all our cats, our dog and my son o.0. She would not listen to a word I said...so in her mind we are housing a 3" destroyer of all life LOL
 
S

Seasel

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Oh my gosh that's hilarious. It's so funny how people have this impression of tarantulas as really venomous. I'm pretty sure dogs, cats and children have wreaked way more havoc on the world.
 
Bast

Bast

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Let's put it this way...I've had way more bites/injuries/infections directly related to mammals than spiders ;)
 
harleyqueen

harleyqueen

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Omg so sad for you and really hope your t is okay. The big thing in England at the moment is called I'm a celebrity get me out of here and basically twelve famous people are dumped in a jungle and have to deal with spiders and snakes to win food and treats. Its ironic watching them screaming and crying because they are terrified of spiders when I spent a tearful day on edge yesterday watching my rose hair Ramses moulting. It took him ages I was so worried.
 
harleyqueen

harleyqueen

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Bast said:
My mom found out (no idea how) that we had Karina....she called me tonight freaking out that she was going to kill all our cats, our dog and my son o.0. She would not listen to a word I said...so in her mind we are housing a 3" destroyer of all life LOL
Click to expand...
Core that's a bit dramatic. People have strange ideas about ts. A lot of people ask me if I have to get there venom milked off them,.how can you confuse a tiny sling with a six foot rattle snake ?
 

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