Bad Molt This Morning

Oumriel · Jul 21, 2014

So this morning was pretty sucky. I found my daughters juvi B. vagans stuck in molt. I was able to dig it out of the burrow and help it out of the molt using wet qtips. It would also help by pulling on its own leg while I was holding the molt leg. eventually I got him free but he is pretty badly mangled. Fangs are in good shape, both pedipalps are good and the left #1 leg is good. The rest are all pretty bad. I have him in ICU still and he is moving around. propping himself up on the one good leg and grooming what he can with his pedipalps but I dont think that this is going to turn out well. If anyone has any ideas that may help this guy out it would be appreciated. If I can nurse him along till his next molt I would very much like to try. He is still a baby and his molts have been 40-50 days apart and right now he would be about 2 inches dls. One of my big concerns about getting him to his next molt would be that he cant lift himself off of the ground. So when he moves, he is pretty much dragging his abdomen. Another concern is stress from not being able to do spidery things.

Ideas??? or is this a lost cause? He looks so sad.

Thanks

awiec · Jul 21, 2014

I guess you could keep him in a container with soft material so his abdomen doesn't get much stress and feed him prekilled stuff and maybe he will recover, at least his pedi palpls are working so he can still manipulate some things. Since he has issues moving well, you can keep him in a dark place where he won't have to constantly move in and out of a hide but still have access to water. Spiders are very tough, they want to live, so he might pull through if he can make it to the next molt.

Shrike · Jul 22, 2014

Are you 100% sure the spider was stuck in its molt and wasn't simply mid molt? The molt process is not a fast one; it can take hours. Although I know you acted with the best of intentions you might not have done it any favors by digging it out and trying to help it. Tarantulas are in a very fragile, vulnerable state during the molt process. The exoskeleton is still soft and can be very easily damaged. Those legs look like they were damaged while the exoskeleton was still soft. I doubt they'll be fully functional once it's hardened.

Oumriel · Jul 22, 2014

Uhh, yep I'm sure. He started before I went to bed at 10 and was mid molt at 4 am and in the same spot at 8 am and 11 am. The appendages that were out were filled out. Not my first time around the block, just the first time one of my spiders has ever been caught in a molt. I am aware that molting can take a while but not that long in a 2 in sling/juvi. Plus the legs that I pulled out had already hardened. Thanks for your ideas though. Very helpful.

Neoza · Jul 22, 2014

I hope he will recover! He is very beautiful though!!!

Shrike · Jul 22, 2014

Oumriel said:
Uhh, yep I'm sure. He started before I went to bed at 10 and was mid molt at 4 am and in the same spot at 8 am and 11 am. The appendages that were out were filled out. Not my first time around the block, just the first time one of my spiders has ever been caught in a molt. I am aware that molting can take a while but not that long in a 2 in sling/juvi. Plus the legs that I pulled out had already hardened. Thanks for your ideas though. Very helpful.

Actually, it seems I wasn't helpful at all since you already knew everything I said. I try not to make assumptions about experience or knowledge when responding; however, I can only work with the information you provide. You made no mention of time frame in your original post, which is the main reason I wrote what I did. I didn't intend to be condescending; sorry if it came across that way. Good luck to you and your tarantula. I hope it pulls through to the next molt.

AphonopelmaTX · Jul 22, 2014

I've had a number of spiders do this over the years and I've never had one survive for too long. I have always thought that the mangled legs were just one by product out of many, including problems with internal anatomy, of a bad molt. Because I've never had one survive after a molt that caused that much damage, I've always wondered if it did, if it would be best to remove the legs so the new cuticle could reform correctly and not take the shape of the mangled legs. Before the next molt, they are useless anyway. If your spider does survive, I would suggest considering that so the next molt has a higher chance of being successful.

Oumriel · Jul 23, 2014

So as of this evening he has removed three of his legs and is getting pretty mobile. He sort of gets around like a water skimmer and used his pedipalps to push/pull himself in different directions. He cant hold himself up off the ground for very long probably due to the angle of the legs not being ideal for weight bearing. I have him in a little critter keeper and have covered the outside with dark paper and the top is vented so all I have to do is lay a piece of paper on half of the top to make it dark like a hide. He is on paper towels, I wanted it to be softer because he still drags his abdomen, and I made a little water dish by cutting the sides off of a soda bottle cap so its just a little flat dish. I thought about wetting the paper towel but was concerned about him laying on it and being damp for so long since he cant lift his body well and I have seen him drinking from the dish.
Oh he is also able to kick hairs at me with one back leg and does so like a little hair flicking demon. He definitely does not have a give it up attitude right now so that is hopeful. As soon as his fangs are ready I'll start offering prekilled food and see if he takes it. Wish him luck!

NewAgePrimal · Jul 23, 2014

You can do it little one! Keep up the fight!

cold blood · Jul 23, 2014

Oumriel said:
So as of this evening he has removed three of his legs and is getting pretty mobile. He sort of gets around like a water skimmer and used his pedipalps to push/pull himself in different directions. He cant hold himself up off the ground for very long probably due to the angle of the legs not being ideal for weight bearing. I have him in a little critter keeper and have covered the outside with dark paper and the top is vented so all I have to do is lay a piece of paper on half of the top to make it dark like a hide. He is on paper towels, I wanted it to be softer because he still drags his abdomen, and I made a little water dish by cutting the sides off of a soda bottle cap so its just a little flat dish. I thought about wetting the paper towel but was concerned about him laying on it and being damp for so long since he cant lift his body well and I have seen him drinking from the dish.
Oh he is also able to kick hairs at me with one back leg and does so like a little hair flicking demon. He definitely does not have a give it up attitude right now so that is hopeful. As soon as his fangs are ready I'll start offering prekilled food and see if he takes it. Wish him luck!

I think its great news that the t took to removing the limbs. If it can make it to the next molt, just having those legs back will make all the difference in the world. This way they should grow back normally, and not deformed from forming under that wrecked exo. Best of luck, it wouldn't surprise me a bit for it to make it through the ordeal!

arach619 · Jul 24, 2014

I've heard of the occasional badly mangled T making it through to the next molt. The important thing is for it to stay hydrated; badly damaged T's tend to molt earlier in order to repair the damage. I have a little B. boehmei sling that just lost 2 legs while molting, but it's hardly comparable to your vagans. Good luck.

Oumriel · Aug 3, 2014

Update on Cinco the 5 legged gimpy vagans.

He ate a cricket last night. He would not eat prekilled (I have been trying for a few days) so I pulled all but one leg off the cricket and let it wiggle around and left it over night. This morning I found a bolus so yay for eating! I wasn't able to get a pic of him eating but here is one of him drinking. If you are wondering about the container, its an upside down amac container. The critter keeper was not working well and made it difficult to change the paper towel when it is dirty with poop or getting overly wet from him spilling the water. With this container I can use a brush to scoot him to the clean paper when I need to change it. He is grooming what he can and is still trying to flick hairs at me but over all is being a pretty good patient.

cold blood · Aug 3, 2014

Oumriel said:
He ate a cricket last night. He would not eat prekilled (I have been trying for a few days) so I pulled all but one leg off the cricket and let it wiggle around and left it over night. This morning I found a bolus so yay for eating! I wasn't able to get a pic of him eating but here is one of him drinking. If you are wondering about the container, its an upside down amac container. The critter keeper was not working well and made it difficult to change the paper towel when it is dirty with poop or getting overly wet from him spilling the water. With this container I can use a brush to scoot him to the clean paper when I need to change it. He is grooming what he can and is still trying to flick hairs at me but over all is being a pretty good patient.

I can't help when I look at it I just say "ooooh, poor thing"

But so glad to hear it ate, drank and is able to move enough. Very positive!

arach619 · Aug 4, 2014

The fact that he is eating, and more importantly drinking, are good indicators that he may overcome this yet! Keep up the good work.

awiec · Aug 4, 2014

You'll have a great story if he pulls threw (which there is a good chance that he will try).

XBabysinX · Aug 4, 2014

NewAgePrimal said:
You can do it little one! Keep up the fight!

I was immediately thinking the same thing as soon as I saw the post about him removing his legs too.

HANG IN THERE BUDDY YOU'RE A TROOPER!

titanT · Aug 6, 2014

Hi oumriel, sorry to hear of the bad molt, glad to here that he/she has ate though. when i was doing research on getting my LP, i came across a good video on youtube of one that had a damaged fang, i no its not the same situation, but if your comfortabe with handling and it becomes weak and unable to catch its own food, you could flip it upside down in your hand, and give it a crushed crick inbetween its fangs and a few drops of water in its mouth, obviously a last ressort because of the stress it would course, good luck with it mate.

Pociemon · Aug 6, 2014

I hope he pulls through for you, you are doing great ;-)

awiec · Aug 6, 2014

titanT said:
Hi oumriel, sorry to hear of the bad molt, glad to here that he/she has ate though. when i was doing research on getting my LP, i came across a good video on youtube of one that had a damaged fang, i no its not the same situation, but if your comfortabe with handling and it becomes weak and unable to catch its own food, you could flip it upside down in your hand, and give it a crushed crick inbetween its fangs and a few drops of water in its mouth, obviously a last ressort because of the stress it would course, good luck with it mate.

The fact the T is adamant about not eating pre-killed food, can get to the water dish and is happily flicking hairs everywhere suggests that this won't be necessary

This T is quite the fighter and with proper care has a decent chance of recovery.

Oumriel · Aug 7, 2014

Thank you for all the well wishes for Cinco.
Feeding #2 since molt! I wont post all the feedings cause that would just get boring :sarcasm: but I will keep you all updated if anything spectacular happens good or bad. In the pic you can see how he takes advantage of the deformed #1 right leg and uses it as a prop/foot to hold himself up. Also I did not realize until I fed him tonight that he has the paper towel covered in web. As soon as the cricket hit the paper he launched himself forward and grabbed it with his palps and drug it under him. Along with kicking hairs at me he has taken to slapping the paper when I lift the top of the container to add water. i'm sure he realizes that he is not able to make a quick get away so he is becoming a bit more defensive, which is totally understandable. I normally do not handle my spiders and even in his condition, he is no exception. I feel with what I have observed he may be even more prone to bite right now. The last molt cycle was 40 days so we have a while to go to see if he is going to molt out of this. On the flip side for anyone who ever wanted to know how often Ts poop, roughly 1-2 times per week for a juvenile lol. A side note about his legs, you can see where the legs are not filled out on the right side. Leg 2 and 4 are dryed out and stiff below the femur/patella. Leg three was also this way and he broke it off at the base of the tibia. Legs 2 and 3 on the left side he removed completely.

Bad Molt This Morning

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