I've had some really bad luck with new tarantulas over the past month or so. I've had two die in the days immediately following their arrival. I've never had a spate of deaths like this before.
I ordered a small group, and the seller was very conscientious and split the shipment into two as some of the tarantulas were in premolt. He even included a few extras and paid the second shipment costs himself. So I have no complaints about the seller! However, a few days after arrival, one of the tarantulas, an unsexed juvenile Monocentropus balfouri, died. It climbed out of the shipping cup on its own, but after that it didn't move at all. It had water obviously, and looked healthy and well-fed, so I didn't worry. I just figured it needed time to acclimate. I offered a cricket after three days, and when the tarantula didn't move even when the cricket clambered over it, I realized it had died. There was no shrinking or wrinkling of the opisthosoma or any discharge around the mouth. It looked perfect, but it was dead.
Then I got another shipment last week (Thursday) and again the seller was beyond reproach. Again all of the animals arrived alive, although two looked a little shaky. Two nights ago, I noticed that one of them (not one of the shaky ones) had a lot of clear liquid discharge from her mouth. I thought perhaps she had been grooming and gotten good and slobbery, but it was weird enough that I remember it. She had been quite active since arrival and seemed to settle in well, but the next morning I saw her sitting limp and listless. I hand-watered her although she did not appear dehydrated and she had access to a water dish, but she did not improve. This morning she was dead. It was surprising to have another apparently perfect animal drop dead. The saddest part is that when I opened her up to taxidermy her, she was full of eggs.
I know that shipping is traumatic and there's always a chance for something to go wrong. I'm just bummed that these animals died, and also that if they were going to die they didn't do it during shipping! There's no LAG that applies a week after arrival. I've only had 2 DOAs before, and it's heartbreaking every time, but that's over years of keeping. Oh well, I just wanted to complain. Poor little ones.
I ordered a small group, and the seller was very conscientious and split the shipment into two as some of the tarantulas were in premolt. He even included a few extras and paid the second shipment costs himself. So I have no complaints about the seller! However, a few days after arrival, one of the tarantulas, an unsexed juvenile Monocentropus balfouri, died. It climbed out of the shipping cup on its own, but after that it didn't move at all. It had water obviously, and looked healthy and well-fed, so I didn't worry. I just figured it needed time to acclimate. I offered a cricket after three days, and when the tarantula didn't move even when the cricket clambered over it, I realized it had died. There was no shrinking or wrinkling of the opisthosoma or any discharge around the mouth. It looked perfect, but it was dead.
Then I got another shipment last week (Thursday) and again the seller was beyond reproach. Again all of the animals arrived alive, although two looked a little shaky. Two nights ago, I noticed that one of them (not one of the shaky ones) had a lot of clear liquid discharge from her mouth. I thought perhaps she had been grooming and gotten good and slobbery, but it was weird enough that I remember it. She had been quite active since arrival and seemed to settle in well, but the next morning I saw her sitting limp and listless. I hand-watered her although she did not appear dehydrated and she had access to a water dish, but she did not improve. This morning she was dead. It was surprising to have another apparently perfect animal drop dead. The saddest part is that when I opened her up to taxidermy her, she was full of eggs.
I know that shipping is traumatic and there's always a chance for something to go wrong. I'm just bummed that these animals died, and also that if they were going to die they didn't do it during shipping! There's no LAG that applies a week after arrival. I've only had 2 DOAs before, and it's heartbreaking every time, but that's over years of keeping. Oh well, I just wanted to complain. Poor little ones.
