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Curled legs but no lethargy

Kiiarah

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3 Year Member
Messages
26
Hi everyone, I am new here and will be posting in the introduction area shortly, but I wanted to get this question out there in hopes of getting some advice sooner. I just brought home a G. rosea (looks to be an adult) about a week ago. I have kept this species in the past but it has been about 12 years, so I am just getting involved with them again. The female we brought home has seemed to be settling in nicely, took a cricket on her second night home and ate another about three days later. Don't worry, I am aware that they do not need to be fed nearly so frequently, I offered it because I am not sure what conditions she was in before or what feeding schedule she was on. Her abdomen looks slightly smaller than I would expect at her size, but proportionate. It does not look shrunken. The store she came from had just gotten her in from a different store the day before I got her, so they did not have any history to speak of. She will be fed once a week maximum as far as a regular feeding schedule goes, possibly less frequently depending on her growth.

Anyway, I just came home to find her sitting out in the open (which is common) but she appeared to have a few legs slightly pointed inward, and one leg so far under her that the back of her "foot" was touching the ground. It almost looked as thought she had been cleaning herself and fell asleep, but also somewhat like a death curl. She did not respond to blowing gently next to her, which is usually enough to make her move. Concerned that she may be dead, I opened the tank and gently brushed her leg. She whirled right around like lightning and charged right into her water dish, which she proceeded to walk into, drink from for about ten seconds and then calmly walked back into her hide where she remains.

My question is, I can't imagine dehydration is the cause here since she has had two feeders recently and has fresh water accessible at all times in the tank. It also seems odd that if weakness were the cause she would take up being so active immediately after. Can anyone shed some light on what may be going on here? I don't want to worry over a spider being a spider, but it has been ages and I don't know what to make of this. Is it possible for them to sleep in strange positions? Thank you so much for any input, I hope I am just being a worried new keeper.
 

Entity

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Kiiarah,

She sounds fine to me. Let her acclimate to her new surroundings. Just let her chill for a little while and see what happens. Im sure if she was eating well and she darted after u disturbed her she will be fine. :) I see mine in wierd positions all the time. unless they are all curled up and unresponsive i dont give it a second thought.
dont worry...someone told me on here before. they know how to spider better than u do. :)
 

Kiiarah

New Member
3 Year Member
Messages
26
Thank you Entity, I have recently come to the same conclusion with my ball python, that he is the expert on being a snake. I am glad to hear that it is possible for them to do this without anything being wrong. They are just SO hard to read, it is going to take some getting used to so be prepared for a few more questions that will probably be me worrying about nothing. I will get there lol. She seems to be fine now, just sitting (normally) in her log hide. I will keep an eye on her and report back if anything else comes up. I do find it rather odd that she drank water from the bowl. I was sort of under the impression that they only do that if they are rather desperate for fluids, but after two meals so close together it is hard to imagine she is lacking fluids.
 

Fleas

Active Member
3 Year Member
Messages
278
Mine g porteri love to scare my when it does this lol I think she does it for the fun of it. I thought the same thing that it pass out on a nap while grooming look at the pic sorry bad quality
IMG_20150605_183926923.jpg
here an other one
 

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Kiiarah

New Member
3 Year Member
Messages
26
That is almost exactly what she was doing! Down to the one completely folded leg. Well I am glad to hear it isn't unheard of. I originally thought maybe she was asleep since mild stimulation did not seem to cause any response but touching her caused her to whirl around and she seemed to be really startled. It can just be so tough knowing what is going on with these guys at time, I am sure there is more worry over nothing in my future. lol
 

Entity

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@Kiiarah mine drink from water dishes. Ive seen my avic avic do it twice. and my b. smithi sucks down water on the regular
Pembe drinking.jpg
 

Kiiarah

New Member
3 Year Member
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26
How cute! Glad to hear it isn't a sign of anything wrong. If I see her drink again I will just enjoy watching those fangs move instead of worrying. ^_^
 

Fuzzball79

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Yeah you dont get to see it too often.
Yeah, twice in just over a year, lol.
vnGkAvg.jpg

n0iB48h.jpg

The only other 3, I've rarely seen drink are my T. gigas, P. metallica and my B. Boehmei (he just digs out all the water and fills the dish with substrate)
 

Kiiarah

New Member
3 Year Member
Messages
26
It is awesome watching them drink, definitely something you aren't likely to see anywhere but in captivity. :p
 

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