He has a theraphosa stirmi (burgundy goliath bird eater)...... She hasn't eaten in like a year, every roach he put in just either dies or he found it later, the fogger broke and so he's had to spray water in there... She just molted a few days ago and part of the molt on her abdomen was stuck to her for a couple days, my boyfriend tried taking it off gently figuring shed run away if it hurt but stopped and left her alone, it finally came of yesterday and today he came home, checked her, and said Anabelle is dead, her abdomen kinda looks bumpy..... She's not on her back though, her legs look like she just kinda collapsed... He's thinking the stress of a bad molt killed her but Idk... I'm just looking for advice on what to do and if she really is dead.... He said he poked her with the feeder tongs and she didn't move and that's why he said she's dead.... Should we leave her there in case she isn't dead? what should we do with her if she is? She's only like 3-4 years old I think.... She's not on her back though can they die without flipping over first? Also he said it looks like there's a hole or something in her head is that normal I'm not sure if you can see it in the picture....
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Think my boyfriends tarantula is dead?
- Thread starter ABrune892
- Start date
- Messages
- 187
- Location
- NC
From what I can gather they rarely die on their backs unless they become completely stuck in a molt. It's more common for them to die upright with their legs slightly curled under them.
Oh, well I'm not sure if her legs are under her they kinda just look like she fell were she was standing... They look like maybe they were in the process or curling but then she went forward like they are curled sideways facing behind her.... I'll try to get a sideways picture but it will be through glass so it might not be that clear
She does indeed look dead. 
The "hole in her head" I think you are seeing is the fovea on her carapace. That's normal. I don't know what could have happened. Sometimes we never know. Has he had her since she was a sling? I ask because if he got her as an adult it is very possible she was wild caught and there is not telling how old she is. From what I understand this species is somewhat fragile with their requirements, which is one reason I don't have any. I've always been scared I'd do something wrong. I'm sure someone more experience with these guys will drop in and offer more insight than I can. I'm really sorry for his/your loss. She is beautiful.
The "hole in her head" I think you are seeing is the fovea on her carapace. That's normal. I don't know what could have happened. Sometimes we never know. Has he had her since she was a sling? I ask because if he got her as an adult it is very possible she was wild caught and there is not telling how old she is. From what I understand this species is somewhat fragile with their requirements, which is one reason I don't have any. I've always been scared I'd do something wrong. I'm sure someone more experience with these guys will drop in and offer more insight than I can. I'm really sorry for his/your loss. She is beautiful.He said he paid like 200 for her, So I think she was already an adult and he also said she was caught from someone putting wwater in her burrow in the wild (which seems kinda mean to me now that I think about it :/ )..... He's ad her or a few years, but she's been picky about eating for a while now and just recently had a bad molt where part of it stuck to her abdomen for a couple days, so maybes something has been bothering her.... He kept saying he was excited to see how big she was going to get though so maybe she wasn't old..... We also just recently moved apartments and the heat here has been acting up a lot and her fogger broke so maybe a mix of not having the fogger for %100 reasurance it right in there and the heat here not working messed it up in there for her, she has a light or warmth but maybe it wasn't enough Idk he's really bummed out and thinks it's cause he did something.... We have a bunch of pet rats so our attention needs to be on them for now but maybe as they die off (sounds mean but they're all getting old) and we have less to look after I'll get him a new Tarantula maybe an easier one, he still has his green bottle blue he raised from a very tiny spider, but now we have an empty tank.... I was looking at some last night and kinda liked Poecilotheria Regalis, Brachypelma Boehmei, Avicularia Diversipes, and Poecilotheria metallica.... Are any of those considered beginner Tarantulas or at least somewhat easy to care for? He likes the regalis and metallica I kinda liek the other 2 lol.....
Idk he's really bummed out and thinks it's cause he did something.... We have a bunch of pet rats so our attention needs to be on them for now but maybe as they die off (sounds mean but they're all getting old) and we have less to look after I'll get him a new Tarantula maybe an easier one, he still has his green bottle blue he raised from a very tiny spider, but now we have an empty tank.... I was looking at some last night and kinda liked Poecilotheria Regalis, Brachypelma Boehmei, Avicularia Diversipes, and Poecilotheria metallica.... Are any of those considered beginner Tarantulas or at least somewhat easy to care for? He likes the regalis and metallica I kinda liek the other 2 lol.....
- Messages
- 187
- Location
- NC
If your only experience with T's is the birdeater and a GBB I'd probably stay away from any pokies. Someone with more experience will be able to give you better info on that, but from what I know Poecilotheria have pretty potent venom and can be potentially dangerous for less experienced keepers (or furry pets that may encounter an escapee).
- Messages
- 755
- Location
- Lower Hudson River Valley NY
Brachypelma boehmei is an excellent beginner tarantula.
