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Mexican Red Knee not feeding - did not shed fangs in recent molt

D Cooksey

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Worcester
My tarantula, Doris, shed her skin nearly a fortnight a go. After a week she normally eats many locusts for a few weeks to catch up on missed food. It has been unusual for her not to eat anything this last week and after reading a post about fangs I've just had close look and her old skin reveals that her fangs did not molt so they must still be in place.
Does this mean she will be unlikely to eat? That she will starve to death? Is there anything I can do to help? She seems Ok at the moment but not sure how long she can go without food. Any advice appreciated.
 

D Cooksey

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The molted skin has no fangs attached to it, they are still present on the spider. It looks like she is carrying around two heavy sacks in front of her and she doesn't seem able to move them in anyway. I have disturbed her a few times and got her to raise up at me and it's clear she can't do much with the fangs as they are.
 

Casey K.

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My tarantula, Doris, shed her skin nearly a fortnight a go. After a week she normally eats many locusts for a few weeks to catch up on missed food. It has been unusual for her not to eat anything this last week and after reading a post about fangs I've just had close look and her old skin reveals that her fangs did not molt so they must still be in place.
Does this mean she will be unlikely to eat? That she will starve to death? Is there anything I can do to help? She seems Ok at the moment but not sure how long she can go without food. Any advice appreciated.
The molted skin has no fangs attached to it, they are still present on the spider. It looks like she is carrying around two heavy sacks in front of her and she doesn't seem able to move them in anyway. I have disturbed her a few times and got her to raise up at me and it's clear she can't do much with the fangs as they are.


How long has it been since she molted? You may be able to spray her fangs directly with water so that they can easily be removed. If she lost her sucking stomach in this molt, that's bad. Not much you can do for her. Fangs present an issue ...but not as bad as losing her sucking stomach. Posting pictures would help us to help you.
 

Phil

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for the OP and to reiterate what @Casey K. just mentioned. do you recall seeing the sucking stomach in the moult? here is a pic (ringed) for what you should have seen
20200902_160236.jpg
 

D Cooksey

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The molt was exactly two weeks ago and i didn't notice at the time and have been on holiday for 10 days since. I only realised something was wrong when she made no attempt to catch a locust I dropped in to feed her.
 

Casey K.

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The molt was exactly two weeks ago and i didn't notice at the time and have been on holiday for 10 days since. I only realised something was wrong when she made no attempt to catch a locust I dropped in to feed her.

The good news is she molted her sucking stomach and it looks fine so she can obtain her nutrition but the bad part is that it has been 2 weeks since her molt so her fangs have dried and can't be removed by spraying with water. I would monitor her very closely. If she continues not to eat her prey, I would offer crushed crickets, mealworms, etc. mixed with a little water- make a soup with it and put it in a lid so she can drink it. Leave her water dish in as well. Not much advice I can offer but hope it helps.
 

D Cooksey

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The good news is she molted her sucking stomach and it looks fine so she can obtain her nutrition but the bad part is that it has been 2 weeks since her molt so her fangs have dried and can't be removed by spraying with water. I would monitor her very closely. If she continues not to eat her prey, I would offer crushed crickets, mealworms, etc. mixed with a little water- make a soup with it and put it in a lid so she can drink it. Leave her water dish in as well. Not much advice I can offer but hope it helps.

Thanks for the info. I am hoping that she will drink food like soup rather than me having to handle her and try feeding with a dropper like i’ve seen on some other posts. I normally use locusts so will get some mealworms instead.
 

Casey K.

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Thanks for the info. I am hoping that she will drink food like soup rather than me having to handle her and try feeding with a dropper like i’ve seen on some other posts. I normally use locusts so will get some mealworms instead.

Also, if she won't catch prey, herself- try using raw chicken. A small tenderloin. Organic. Nothing that has been hormone fed with all the crap in it. Cut her a small piece off the end of it and see if she will grab onto it when offered. Raw chicken is high in protein and good for her.
 

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