Random T Death

[IMAGINE1391]

My H. Gigas sling died a few days ago and I’m just wanting to maybe find out why and if there is something I can improve upon in the future.

It was an inch and a quarter long roughly and was eating well and thriving as far as I could tell. Obviously it spent most of its time in its burrow so I didn’t see it a whole lot. But about 5 days ago a I went in to check on all of my Ts and I seen the sling molting in a clear spot in enclosure. I didn’t mess with it and left the room.

The next day I looked in the enclose expecting to see a newly molted sling. It was in the same exact spot. So I looked in to confirm what I suspected and that was a sling that died during its molt. How normal is this?

 

[Jess S]

Unfortunately providing it was eating and always had a waterdish, noone can tell you why, we'd just be guessing. On rare occasions, spiders have bad moults. Moulting (in a way like childbirth) is a dangerous and vulnerable time for spiders and sometimes things go wrong. Sounds like it got stuck in the moult. Really sorry that you lost your tarantula.

Tarantulas depend on internal hydration to moult. So a waterdish should be enough.

However, when my tarantulas are in premoult I always overflow the waterdish a little more than usual (I don't go overboard though - just a little extra moisture around the dish). It's not something that keepers are told to do. But I personally think that seeing as when moults get stuck, the first thing we're told to do is soften the stuck area with a wet paintbrush, that a little extra moisture in the substrate won't hurt and may even be beneficial. Spiders often know what they need and even a dryer species (I'm generalising here) given the option of having a moist area, may choose to moult there. Again this is just my own opinion.

 

[IMAGINE1391]

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Unfortunately providing it was eating and always had a waterdish, noone can tell you why, we'd just be guessing. On rare occasions, spiders have bad moults. Moulting (in a way like childbirth) is a dangerous and vulnerable time for spiders and sometimes things go wrong. Sounds like it got stuck in the moult. Really sorry that you lost your tarantula.

Tarantulas depend on internal hydration to moult. So a waterdish should be enough.

However, when my tarantulas are in premoult I always overflow the waterdish a little more than usual (I don't go overboard though - just a little extra moisture around the dish). It's not something that keepers are told to do. But I personally think that seeing as when moults get stuck, the first thing we're told to do is soften the stuck area with a wet paintbrush, that a little extra moisture in the substrate won't hurt and may even be beneficial. Spiders often know what they need and even a dryer species (I'm generalising here) given the option of having a moist area, may choose to moult there. Again this is just my own opinion.

Being that it was in its burrow and died during moulting, could the T have ran out of room when trying to mount? It was in a fairly tight space.

 

[Jess S]

Tarantulas are used to moulting in their burrows, in all sorts of tight spaces so I doubt it. There's nothing you could have done to prevent this.

 

[IMAGINE1391]

Tarantulas are used to moulting in their burrows, in all sorts of tight spaces so I doubt it. There's nothing you could have done to prevent this.

Thank you for your time to help me understand this situation. I just feel bad that the T couldn’t have a long life in my care. And this was my first burrowing species so I just wanna learn more.

 

[Enn49]

Ts have had millennia to get the moulting process right and most manage it without any problems. Sadly some are just not meant to survive and there is absolutely nothing we can do to help them so don't let it worry you.

 

[IMAGINE1391]

Ts have had millennia to get the moulting process right and most manage it without any problems. Sadly some are just not meant to survive and there is absolutely nothing we can do to help them so don't let it worry you.

I’m wanting another shot at raising an H. Gigas and I will absolutely try again.

 

[Jess S]

I’m wanting another shot at raising an H. Gigas and I will absolutely try again.

Definitely try again. All keepers will lose a sling every now and then through sheer bad luck, just like you've experienced, but the vast majority will survive. I'm glad you're not going to let this hold you back from raising your next gigas sling.

 

[Arachnids Hamorri]

Unfortunately sometimes slings just aren’t born healthy enough to live