my spider died :( i dont know what i did wrong!

[SpiderMum]

hi, i have quite a few T's, most are slings or where bought from sling/tiny super sling ect. and have only lost a few due to them being so delicate, but never when they get bigger, i dote on all my pets like its my religion!!

i bought a female adult rosie about 3 months ago, and she settled and was eating great, very calm to handle, she went into pre-moult, which i noticed about 3 weeks ago, she stopped eating started webbing her lil' area and all that, she moulted about 4-5 days ago, i issed the actual moult as she did it at night and it came off fine, but she seemed really weak, ive read that it can take them some time to fully harden so didnt worry too much but over the last few days i noticed she wasnt really changing she was sortof shuffling along and her legs where all crumpled when she put weight on them. but she passed away last night i dont understand i have brought avics and dwarfie spiders to sub-adult stage, but i lost my rosie.

what could of caused this, or is there nothing i could do???

thanks

[captmarga]

Without knowing size, age, condition before molting, there is no way to tell. She (or he...) could have been dehydrated a bit before molt, and wasn't strong enough to recover. EVEN provided them with damp sub and a full water dish before they molt does not mean you can make sure they drink and are fully hydrated.

Remember, in nature, they die when it is there time. If every single T we kept in captivity lived forever in a perfect environment, well, it's just against the odds. Some will die even with seemingly perfect care. We do not know enough about genetics, defects, diseases, etc, to be able to make sure every single one lives to adulthood and old age. Don't kick yourself, you might have done nothing wrong at all.

Sorry for your loss, but truly, it happens. I lost one of my favorites yesterday, my miracle T Morado. He just stopped eating, and nothing could make him start again.


Marga

[SpiderMum]

hi, i have quite a few T's, most are slings or where bought from sling/tiny super sling ect. and have only lost a few due to them being so delicate, but never when they get bigger, i dote on all my pets like its my religion!!

i bought a female adult rosie about 3 months ago, and she settled and was eating great, very calm to handle, she went into pre-moult, which i noticed about 3 weeks ago, she stopped eating started webbing her lil' area and all that, she moulted about 4-5 days ago, i issed the actual moult as she did it at night and it came off fine, but she seemed really weak, ive read that it can take them some time to fully harden so didnt worry too much but over the last few days i noticed she wasnt really changing she was sortof shuffling along and her legs where all crumpled when she put weight on them. but she passed away last night i dont understand i have brought avics and dwarfie spiders to sub-adult stage, but i lost my rosie.

what could of caused this, or is there nothing i could do???

thanks

was definitely female, was abit on the small size about 4-5" body length, she seemed it top notch condition, her abdomen was good size before moult she drank a few times that i saw she used to hover over the bowl haha, she was lovely. yeah, i knew there probably wasn't anything i could of done pre/post her passing, just wondered what could be the causes of this, for future reference like, i just find it strange that I'ive reared spiders like tiny l.puriscal slings and many others with good succes rates yet ive killed a rosie. goes to show people shouldnt think of them as bog standard i guess :P xx

[Brad1980]

she was sortof shuffling along and her legs where all crumpled when she put weight on them.

If they were curled partially under her as she "shuffled" around it sounds like she was dehydrated.

her abdomen was good size before moult she drank a few times that i saw she used to hover over the bowl

Was this "hovering over the water bowl" a very frequent thing? When a T does this (in some cases) it's looking for more humidity.
This would be sort of strange with a rosea.... but possible.

[jbm150]

That really sucks, it's tough to lose any T, esp when you feel like you're giving it the best possible care. But alas, it happens to the best and as Marga says, we don't really know much about these animals. Molting takes a tough toll and there may have been some internal problem that came with it you couldn't see. Despite its size, it may have been pretty old (not all get 6"), which may have played a factor in it's molt. No way to really say. If you want to post the conditions you kept it in, really describe them, there may be something we can point out. But beyond that, my condolences and I wish you luck with your other Ts

[TZach]

did you ever mist her. she could have been dehydrated

[Shell]

did you ever mist her. she could have been dehydrated

The OP stated that she had a water bowl in with the spider, and that she had witnessed it drinking before. As well as the abdomen was not shrivelled.

G. rosea, if they are large enough to have a water dish, do no require misting. They like it dry, and are extremely hardy this way.

To the OP, I'm with those who suggested that she may have just been really old, and it was just her time. Not all G. rosea reach 6" as already said. I have a MF that is 5" at most, and hasn't molted in 3 years, I'm guessing she is quite old and do not expect her to gain much, if any, size when she finally does molt in my care.

[Lifeforms]

There are lots of possibilities, and lots of questions that would lead you to the satisfying answer that you're seeking, but any living thing can die at any time for reasons we understand, and some reasons that can't be known. It sounds like you're doing everything right, but just like a person or a dog can just fall over dead at half the average lifespan, spiders keel over all the time. By all means try to figure it out, but don't go worrying beyond what you can know.

[ZergFront]

You probably didn't even do anything wrong. It's disheartening, but this stuff happens.

Maybe for some reason water couldn't pass through her mouth. I had a P.reduncus that had just one cricket after the molt, but then after he wouldn't eat (live, dead or mashed). Seemed like the water I was giving him via eye drop wasn't going anywhere but between the coxa joints. Eventually he got weaker and weaker until the full death curl.

[SamuraiSid]

Sorry to hear about the T.

Im not sure what, if anything, you did wrong. But you did the right thing by seeking answers

[Skeri]

I feel like most of the others have already given the advice that I would have given you. It sounds as if you did nothing wrong and it was just its time to go. Sorry about your loss though. It is always hard to lose a pet. :/