Baby tarantula stung by a tarantula wasp

[Dave Jay]

I came across this video just now, it's 8 minutes and still doesn't show the full "battle".
It will probably be a bit hard to watch for some of you but it shows that the tarantula takes quite a few stings to subdue so I guess a lot of whether a tarantula can be saved would depend on how many times it was stung before someone intervened.

 

[Arachnoclown]

CO2 in a confined space leads to coma then death. Ive euthanized many tarantulas with dry ice in a box. Freezing afterwards isn't necessary but ensures the job is done.

 

[Whitelightning777]

It's best to be sure, hopefully never in that situation however.

 

[MassExodus]

You know there are people who consider tarantulas food. Imagine how they would laugh at us, and our discussions.

 

[Dave Jay]

You know there are people who consider tarantulas food. Imagine how they would laugh at us, and our discussions.

Some people even consider them spiders and squish 'em!!!

 

[Alycia]

The baby is still not moving but when I try to turn it over to give it water it’s feet stick to the paper towel now which they never did before I don’t know if it’s good or bad. It’s been 10 days since I rescued it. I was wondering if I should squish a bug and put on its mouth or wait? Thanks for any help.

 

[Enn49]

The baby is still not moving but when I try to turn it over to give it water it’s feet stick to the paper towel now which they never did before I don’t know if it’s good or bad. It’s been 10 days since I rescued it. I was wondering if I should squish a bug and put on its mouth or wait? Thanks for any help.

If you mush a feeder up with water to make a liquid feed that would work

 

[Arachnoclown]

Its paralyzed...it may not be able to eat let alone drink. You may end up with mites all over it if you try feeding it bug soup. Just water would be best. Tarantulas can live a long time without food.

 

[Alycia]

Hi, oops I tried to give it bug soup what do I do if it gets mites? It is starting to react a lot more when I turn it over and it’s feed stick to everything, it has more movement and it’s legs are like when they walk not spread all over it scary for me tho I’m scared of spiders.

 

[Enn49]

It sounds as though you're winning

 

[Thistles]

Great job! Don't stress about mites. If it's dirty, you can gently wash its mouth with plain water, but you probably don't have to. Just keep offering water. The spider is going to have to do the rest. Nice work! Despite your fear of spiders, you're saving this animal.

 

[Alycia]

Thank you everyone for your helpI keep you updated.

 

[Alycia]

I woke up the baby moved about 3 inches from where he was when I went to sleep it is in the corner on its butt like wanted to crawl up the side so it moved I’m afraid if it it’s moving what do I do I don’t know how to care for a spider I’m so scared of spiders what do I do

 

[Alycia]

It is not moving now but I did crawl a little bit last night do I keep doing what I’m doing? I did think it did move the other day from one place to another but I thought it was all in my head but I guess it did move the other day.

 

[Enn49]

I'd carry on as you are, at least until it is capable of feeding. Then you could try to find someone local that would continue your good work if you feel you can't keep it. Many of us have had a fear of spiders in the past, I still don't like them loose in the house, and you really can overcome that fear by keeping a tarantula as a pet.

 

[Alycia]

I had a water cup in there but I took it out in case it went in the water and couldn’t get out. I don’t think there is anyone in my area I live in a small town but I don’t know. Thanks

 

[Enn49]

I think you'd find it very hard to let it go anywhere once you've saved its life

 

[Alycia]

It makes me feel good I could save it it’s just a baby. I was waiting around for the other bug to come out of it thank god it didn’t. How Do I know what kind of tarantula it is and how do I care for it? I guess it’s a desert tarantula from New Mexico we have red clay where I live I don’t know kind of dirt it needs. Maybe it won’t live I don’t know.

 

[Dave Jay]

If you post a few photos I'm sure someone on the forum could work out what species it might be. There may even be a member near you willing to take over care in the near future.
In caring for tarantulas we use tongs or forceps and various other long handled implements, if you feel it is recovering enough to be a danger to you then you may need to put a small kit together.
I've found useful items in opportunity shops, various tongs and long handled spoons etc. Strips of self adhesive draft excluder foam are useful to pad tongs and things so they don't damage spiders and insects, I've found that cheap at salvage yards. Chemists/Pharmacies will have plastic desposable syringes very cheap, they might help to keep your fingers at a distance too .
If you found it in your area then local 'dirt' should be ok on the floor of what you keep it in. In this case I would bake it at a low heat to kill potentially hazardous organisms. After that dampen it a little, press it down firmly then spray it with water to set the surface. Once it dries it should make a good surface for the spider to achieve some traction as it moves about. At this stage you just need a thin layer as I doubt it is going to try to burrow anytime soon. Of course you could use coco peat /coir peat or whatever it's called in your area but I'm assuming that you don't want to spend money where you don't really have to.
Once it is near to fully recovered you can look into a more permanent set up but for now I think something for traction and some sort of 'cave' or 'tunnel' to hide in will be fine.
When it's recovered and you know the species if you decide to keep it you can set something more permanent up.

 

[Alycia]

Thank you for your time. I would show a picture but I don’t even know how I got the first one up, now I try and it says url image but it looks like the one at the beginning of my post it looks like a Aphonopelma chalcodes from looking under New Mexico tarantulas it’s not a pretty one just blackish color.