Sucking stomach

[Mundo exotico]

Thank you for sharing

 

[Casey K.]

Very informative!

 

[IliaIlyich]

Everyone gets excited to have their spider finally molt and examine it for its sex. Theres one other thing you should be looking for and it's super easy to spot...the sucking stomach.
I recently had a already sexed juvenile Tliltocatl Sabulosum molt so I just tossed her molt in the trash. A few weeks later I noticed she was looking very thin. Upon inspection of her burrow I found dead whole carcasses. I tossed her a roach and watched her. She nailed it and began stuffing it in her mouth. The next day I found her in her water dish and the roach was uneaten. I tried everything to get her to eat...even blended up roaches and superworms into soup. She always tried to eat but it nothing would work. I was constantly retrieving her out of her water dish. She eventually passed away...dehydration/drowning. (Photo of her trying to eat smashed superworms)View attachment 43156
Even if I had seen it before I threw the molt away there was nothing I could have done.
Losing a sucking stomach is basically a death sentence for a tarantula. Chances of them surviving to the next molt is slim to none. There is no cure for it besides another molt. So dont get all stressed out and worried...it does happen but it's not that common.

I thought I would share what you should look for every time you get a molt. No magnification needed...easy to spot everytime. This an example a successful molt of the sucking stomach.
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Wow!!! Looking for information about stomach on Russian just yesterday! It’s very interesting! Thank you for your photos and very interesting text!

 

[spidysoph]

Everyone gets excited to have their spider finally molt and examine it for its sex. Theres one other thing you should be looking for and it's super easy to spot...the sucking stomach.
I recently had a already sexed juvenile Tliltocatl Sabulosum molt so I just tossed her molt in the trash. A few weeks later I noticed she was looking very thin. Upon inspection of her burrow I found dead whole carcasses. I tossed her a roach and watched her. She nailed it and began stuffing it in her mouth. The next day I found her in her water dish and the roach was uneaten. I tried everything to get her to eat...even blended up roaches and superworms into soup. She always tried to eat but it nothing would work. I was constantly retrieving her out of her water dish. She eventually passed away...dehydration/drowning. (Photo of her trying to eat smashed superworms)View attachment 43156
Even if I had seen it before I threw the molt away there was nothing I could have done.
Losing a sucking stomach is basically a death sentence for a tarantula. Chances of them surviving to the next molt is slim to none. There is no cure for it besides another molt. So dont get all stressed out and worried...it does happen but it's not that common.

I thought I would share what you should look for every time you get a molt. No magnification needed...easy to spot everytime. This an example a successful molt of the sucking stomach.
View attachment 43157View attachment 43158View attachment 43159View attachment 43160View attachment 43161

My tarantula (avicularia avicularia) escaped and just reappeared tonight, she is about 1.5 years old. Although I have only had her back for about an hour, she is sucking in her stomach as described by this thread, super bizarre and something I have never seen her do before. She was gone for about a month. Please let me know if anyone has any insight. Is she going to die?

 

[Rs50matt]

My tarantula (avicularia avicularia) escaped and just reappeared tonight, she is about 1.5 years old. Although I have only had her back for about an hour, she is sucking in her stomach as described by this thread, super bizarre and something I have never seen her do before. She was gone for about a month. Please let me know if anyone has any insight. Is she going to die?

No , you may have misread this thread. The sucking stomach is how Ts eat and drink. This thread is referring to Ts that have an issue during molting. If you can see your T sucking then it’s more than likely drinking.

 

[spidysoph]

No , you may have misread this thread. The sucking stomach is how Ts eat and drink. This thread is referring to Ts that have an issue during molting. If you can see your T sucking then it’s more than likely drinking.

Thanks Matt(?)! Your input is very helpful (as you can tell I am still pretty new to this hobby). Last night when I got her back into her enclosure she also had her fangs out and looked like she was quite literally eating one of her legs? Her rump is very small as she probably wasn't very well-nourished, if at all, while she went on her month-long vacation to who knows where in my apartment. Now she isn't moving at all even when I tried lightly shaking her enclosure. I'll leave her be for a while to see if she has moved or is possibly molting. She did have to move a decent amount in order to be found on the couch last night though...

Either way, I appreciate the feedback.

 

[jmabbot]

I'm pretty positive this is what happened to my P. ornata. Once she molted, I could never get her to eat. She ended up passing several months after molting without ever eating one roach. I will have to start checking for this.

 

[Fish]

My a. avicularia just molted, and I was wondering what that little bit was, and I'm glad to see that it's supposed to be there (I managed to confirm her as female too). But yeah, I honestly didn't know about this, and while I'm not glad about your poor girl, I'm glad I know what to look for now

 

[TokeHound]

I'm really new to this hobby and I have never heard of "sucking stomach". I read all of the posts in this thread and I'm still confused about it. What is it exactly? Like the stomach comes out of the Tarantulas mouth or something? Sorry, I would really like to understand!

 

[TokeHound]

I do understand the photos tho. I do understand that what's encircled in red is not normal. I can definitely see that, but I'm not understanding what that is that I'm looking at on the molt.

 

[x_raphael_xx]

I do understand the photos tho. I do understand that what's encircled in red is not normal. I can definitely see that, but I'm not understanding what that is that I'm looking at on the molt.

Whats circled in red IS normal. They molt their stomach lining. So it should be there, although it can be difficult to see in small molts.
I haven’t seen it on any of my molts but I’ve only had tiny molts so far.

 

[VaporRyder]

I'm really new to this hobby and I have never heard of "sucking stomach". I read all of the posts in this thread and I'm still confused about it. What is it exactly? Like the stomach comes out of the Tarantulas mouth or something? Sorry, I would really like to understand!

So when your tarantula eats, it kills the prey with its fangs - injecting venom to subdue it and start the digestive process. It then regurgitates digestive juices onto it, crushing larger parts with its mouthparts, and sucking up the liquified meal using the ‘sucking stomach’. I guess it’s a bit like a vacuum cleaner. It leaves the inedible parts in a little ball we call the ‘bolus’, boli in plural.

If it doesn’t moult the sucking stomach, then problems occur as it can kill the prey but not consume it properly.

 

[TokeHound]

So when your tarantula eats, it kills the prey with its fangs - injecting venom to subdue it and start the digestive process. It then regurgitates digestive juices onto it, crushing larger parts with its mouthparts, and sucking up the liquified meal using the ‘sucking stomach’. I guess it’s a bit like a vacuum cleaner. It leaves the inedible parts in a little ball we call the ‘bolus’, boli in plural.

If it doesn’t moult the sucking stomach, then problems occur as it can kill the prey but not consume it properly.

Oh okay :S

 

[Dar65]

So sorry for your loss

 

[Robotbutterflies]

I've been worried about this for my Tiltocal albiceps. They molted on 5/15/23 and I haven't seen them eat since. I don't have their molt anymore, so I wouldn't be able to check.

 

[Heretic]

Thanks Matt(?)! Your input is very helpful (as you can tell I am still pretty new to this hobby). Last night when I got her back into her enclosure she also had her fangs out and looked like she was quite literally eating one of her legs? Her rump is very small as she probably wasn't very well-nourished, if at all, while she went on her month-long vacation to who knows where in my apartment. Now she isn't moving at all even when I tried lightly shaking her enclosure. I'll leave her be for a while to see if she has moved or is possibly molting. She did have to move a decent amount in order to be found on the couch last night though...

Either way, I appreciate the feedback.

Ts suck on their legs to clean them. If she's thin just make sure she has water to drink. after a day or two in the enclosure, offer a small prey item. Water is more important as food for an escaped T. They dont get enough water from inside a house as they would from outside.