Tarantula habitat safety - mysteriously lost her foot

[smallbike]

My A. Seemanni is very recently missing the last segment of one of her rear legs. I touched her very gently this morning because the way she was holding the leg looked like a death curl. It was the first time she flicked hairs at me, so I'm guessing she's not feeling so hot.

I'm sure she'll regrow the leg after a molt; I'm wondering what in the enclosure could have caused her to lose her foot. I did feed her last night but she's in otherwise good shape so I doubt she just sat there and let a cricket chew her foot off. She's due for a tank cleaning and new substrate and I don't want to do anything that will make her lose a foot again.
Current enclosure is coco fiber with sphagnum moss, a hide, a fake plant, a water dish, and a fake alligator skull (that I might remove as she has outgrown it as a hiding spot and it now only serves to keep crickets safe from being eaten).

Thanks!

 

[Enn49]

You don't say what type of container she's in, is it possible that she's caught it in a mesh lid or ventilation hole?

 

[smallbike]

She's in a glass 5.5 gal tank with a mesh lid - do you think she got stuck on it? If that's the case I probably need a new enclosure.

 

[Enn49]

She's in a glass 5.5 gal tank with a mesh lid - do you think she got stuck on it? If that's the case I probably need a new enclosure.

It's a possibility, it's not unknown for a terrestrial T to get caught in the mesh although arboreals seem to manage walking on it. One way is to replace the mesh with a sheet of acrylic.

 

[smallbike]

It's a possibility, it's not unknown for a terrestrial T to get caught in the mesh although arboreals seem to manage walking on it. One way is to replace the mesh with a sheet of acrylic.

Yes! I was concocting a new acrylic lid in my head earlier. I'm a big fan of DIY projects.

There is some weird velcro on the inside near the top and I'm going to remove it when I clean the tank out. It wasn't a problem until she figured out how to climb the glass. Does something like Goo Gone leave a toxic residue? or should I be able to clean it off adequately with something like an organic dish soap? I know spiders are crazy sensitive to chemicals.

 

[Dave Jay]

Hi, the mesh lid does seem likely, I've read lots of reports of tarantulas catching their claws in them, it's where the wires overlap that's the problem as I understand it. The skull could be responsible, some of them have small angled holes. A quick fix for the lid is to tape around the edges of the mesh with packing tape, I've read that it deters them from trying to walk upsidedown.
To clean glass a razor blade (prefer safety blade) is effective and won't scratch the glass, a coarse steel scourer works well too. While steel won't scratch the glass, dust and dirt can so the blade or scourer need to be cleaned as you go. Citrus oil can help loosen glue residue, depending on the glue, a piece of orange or lemon peel rubbed on the residue is the cleanest, safest, least messy way to apply citrus oil. The razor blade will do the job though.
I hope this helps.