Baby tarantula stung by a tarantula wasp

[Alycia]

You scared me I was looking how long it took for the wasp to come out and they said 2 to 3 weeks and it’s been 6 weeks this past Friday.

 

[Arachnoclown]

I had one pop out at little over a month once...you'll see it moving inside. Hopefully your little guy pulls through soon.

 

[Alycia]

Oh god I hope not I don’t see anything moving but anything is possible, he sure is acting strange but then again I won’t know how spiders act.

 

[Alycia]

I guess he got up and is on the side of the tank. Sorry about the mess in the background.

 

[Alycia]

I guess that’s what happens he crawls up the tank and then I guess he falls off on his back he is still really weak to stay stuck on the side of the tank. Maybe I should buy a shorter enclosure. I saw it climbed up to the top where the air vents are and he was hanging by one leg I had to run over to it and cradle it with a large spoon and get it down.

 

[Phil]

@Alycia I must say you are an absolute star giving this little spider the best chance possible. been reading this thread on and off and you are an inspiration. keep up the fantastic work. everything crossed for you.

 

[Alycia]

@Alycia I must say you are an absolute star giving this little spider the best chance possible. been reading this thread on and off and you are an inspiration. keep up the fantastic work. everything crossed for you.

Thank you very much for your kind words! I been on other forums and so many people criticize me or never tried to help me to even try to the poor thing.

 

[Phil]

Thank you very much for your kind words! I been on other forums and so many people criticize me or never tried to help me to even try to the poor thing.

that's what makes this forum and it's members special. you have proved that.

 

[Sonorantree]

I think that the fact that it is climbing is a good sign! How about putting a bunch more substrate in the enclosure so that there is less height climb and less distance to fall?
Keep up the good work! I think it is going to pull through.

 

[Alycia]

I think that the fact that it is climbing is a good sign! How about putting a bunch more substrate in the enclosure so that there is less height climb and less distance to fall?
Keep up the good work! I think it is going to pull through.

Yes I did add more I have a ton of that stuff.

 

[TulaTheTarantula]

nice story!

 

[Alycia]

Hi Just a up date nothing has changed he still falls and on his back and I flip him back over.

 

[Enn49]

At least he's moving around so you're obviously winning the battle with him . Keep up the good work.

 

[Alycia]

Does he look like a normal color? He looks like he changed color light gray on his sides.

 

[exalien]

Hi everyone! I'm so happy to find this thread. Enn49 pointed me to this updated thread, as I had originally posted in an older one. (Thanks Enn49!). I'm not trying to hijack Alycia's thread but I'm in a similar situation. Big thanks to Alycia. This type of information about rescuing Ts from wasp stings is very rare.

A week ago I too rescued a Tarantula being dragged away by a Tarantula Hawk. At the time I was kind of naive in that I thought the poison would quickly wear off and it would resume its normal activity. However, once I did a little research and learned how powerful the sting actually is, I purchased a terrarium, water dish, substrate, etc. and placed it in ICU. (And yes, if it survives, I plan on keeping it as a pet)

I'm in Northern Arizona (Prescott), so I'm not sure if I should be placing it on some dampened paper towels to increase humidity and hydration absorption, as others have done, or if it's better to maintain a very dry environment as was recommended by the guy that sold me the terrarium. I have been gently picking it up and rolling it onto its back and using an eye dropper to hydrate it like Alycia had done.

After 8 days, this T is still not mobile, but does react to gentle prodding. I've seen movement in each leg, however it remains in the same exact spot where I leave it. I'm unsure as to what to do, other than the hydration thing. I don't know how much I should attempt to directly handle it in order to stimulate it. Also, I bought one of those half logs that acts as a kind of darkened den, but I'm wondering if perhaps I should expose it to more light to see if that stimulates it.

I've attached a couple pictures - one as it is in the terrarium, and the other is before one of the hydration sessions in my hand.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

 

[Enn49]

@exalien I'd keep the substrate dry but continue giving it water. Sadly it's not a quick job saving these poor little Ts but Alycia's seems to be on the road to recovery.
I'm glad we don't have wild Ts in the UK otherwise I'd have a house full of rescues.

 

[Alycia]

Hi everyone! I'm so happy to find this thread. Enn49 pointed me to this updated thread, as I had originally posted in an older one. (Thanks Enn49!). I'm not trying to hijack Alycia's thread but I'm in a similar situation. Big thanks to Alycia. This type of information about rescuing Ts from wasp stings is very rare.

A week ago I too rescued a Tarantula being dragged away by a Tarantula Hawk. At the time I was kind of naive in that I thought the poison would quickly wear off and it would resume its normal activity. However, once I did a little research and learned how powerful the sting actually is, I purchased a terrarium, water dish, substrate, etc. and placed it in ICU. (And yes, if it survives, I plan on keeping it as a pet)

I'm in Northern Arizona (Prescott), so I'm not sure if I should be placing it on some dampened paper towels to increase humidity and hydration absorption, as others have done, or if it's better to maintain a very dry environment as was recommended by the guy that sold me the terrarium. I have been gently picking it up and rolling it onto its back and using an eye dropper to hydrate it like Alycia had done.

After 8 days, this T is still not mobile, but does react to gentle prodding. I've seen movement in each leg, however it remains in the same exact spot where I leave it. I'm unsure as to what to do, other than the hydration thing. I don't know how much I should attempt to directly handle it in order to stimulate it. Also, I bought one of those half logs that acts as a kind of darkened den, but I'm wondering if perhaps I should expose it to more light to see if that stimulates it.

I've attached a couple pictures - one as it is in the terrarium, and the other is before one of the hydration sessions in my hand.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
View attachment 31396
View attachment 31397

Hi I hope to one day move to Prescott I’m in NM. It took about 1 month before I notice that it had moved a tiny bit at all. I rolled it over and used a small syringe to give it a drop of water once or twice a day if you didn’t drink it in 10 mins I would take a paper towel and soak it up and placed him back on his stomach there s not much to do just wait and give it water. I originally wasn’t even going to ask about this little baby I found but I thought it would be good if I did so if others were in this situation could know a little bit about what to do. It’s been 6 maybe 7 weeks Since I found it and hasn’t eating anything I can’t leave water in a dish or anything it always ends up falling in it and I don’t want to drown. One thing I noticed though right before it was able to move it’s little feet would stick on the syringe so I guess that’s an indication it had some type of movement. I do need to find something to else to put it in because it gets stuck up at the air vents and hangs there from one leg until I get it down I’m afraid it’s going to lose another leg it only had 7 when I found it. Good Luck I hope the best for your new critter. I keeped it on a dry paper towel I’m glad I’d did so I could see it because with this coconut fiber he’s the same color and I can’t see him on it and I didn’t know anything about spiders.

 

[Calico]

I have been following this thread since the beginning and am amazed at the progress your little T has made. And you also. You are doing an awesome job with this and trying so hard to help. I am so proud of your helping it despite your fears. My first T is an A.Chalcodes so I have a soft spot for them. And I am terrified of spiders too! Keep up the good work!! And now you are sharing your experiences with someone else to help them. That's why this forum is amazing. So many people here willing to help with any advice you need. You've got this girl

 

[Alycia]

On another forum I’d dont really say much on but I some one give some information here it is:

I actually study parasitoid wasps and yes they are brutal. There is a great Youtube video called "Wasps are the worst."
1) Hawk wasp refers to a tribe of wasps and could be several different species. Wasps often have very specialized venom and that can effect what happens to their victims. We dont know a lot about how their venom works but some suppress the immune system too and can leave an escaped spider open to other infections. Arthropods fall victim to fungus a lot so this can be a risk.
2) Hawk wasps lay their eggs outside the spider and the larva drill in to the abdomen. Check for a hole in the abdomen and you can possibly see if the egg hatched.
3) lady bugs have been known to go through the entire wasp infection and survive. So it happens.
4) irony is rich because wasps biggest threat is... other wasps. Nature abhors a vacuum and no one was eating those lovely wasp larva. Hyperparasitoid wasps attack parasitoid wasps.
So, while wasps appear to suck, know they are controlling arthropod populations. We even use them to combat invasive species. They are a neccessary annoyance.

 

[exalien]

Hi I hope to one day move to Prescott I’m in NM. It took about 1 month before I notice that it had moved a tiny bit at all. I rolled it over and used a small syringe to give it a drop of water once or twice a day if you didn’t drink it in 10 mins I would take a paper towel and soak it up and placed him back on his stomach there s not much to do just wait and give it water. I originally wasn’t even going to ask about this little baby I found but I thought it would be good if I did so if others were in this situation could know a little bit about what to do. It’s been 6 maybe 7 weeks Since I found it and hasn’t eating anything I can’t leave water in a dish or anything it always ends up falling in it and I don’t want to drown. One thing I noticed though right before it was able to move it’s little feet would stick on the syringe so I guess that’s an indication it had some type of movement. I do need to find something to else to put it in because it gets stuck up at the air vents and hangs there from one leg until I get it down I’m afraid it’s going to lose another leg it only had 7 when I found it. Good Luck I hope the best for your new critter. I keeped it on a dry paper towel I’m glad I’d did so I could see it because with this coconut fiber he’s the same color and I can’t see him on it and I didn’t know anything about spiders.

Thanks again Alycia. I'm not sure what I would have done without finding this thread. It's nice to know others have blazed a trail in this regard.

I'm really hoping this little guy makes it. I think he looks so cool!