G. rosea dying of old age?

jgod790

Arachnoknight
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Messages
260
I've had my female G. rosea for over 13 years. She was molting only once every 3 years when I first got her. So I am assuming she was at least 10 years old when I got her. She now hasn't molted in almost 5 years. She just started showing the same symptoms as the dehydrated tarantulas you see in the youtube videos. Her legs are in a constant curl , her abdomen is not shriveld, but feels very different then the normal soft fuzziness it has always felt like. Is she dingy of old age? It can't be dehydration, I've always cared for her properly. In the last year, she has barley been eating.
 

jgod790

Arachnoknight
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Messages
260
An icu won't help. I've already placed her on top of water dish. She drank for a few minutes then moved off.

---------- Post added 10-09-2014 at 05:39 PM ----------

I know dehydration can not be the cause. She has always had access to a full and clean dish for the last 13 and a half years. I just want to know if it's definaby age. At the youngest possible, she has to be at least 23 ish. But who knows, she might of been 20 when I got her. I don't know. She was a mature wild caught I got 13 years ago.
 

Akai

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jul 23, 2012
Messages
326
There really is no telling how old she is since she was a WC adult specimen just like you said.
G. rosea take forever to reach adult maturity. I am raising a single sling since 2012 and it still looks like a sling. With no real way of knowing her age and you've had her for 13 years one can only assume it's old age. Has she ever been bred in your care?
 

jgod790

Arachnoknight
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Messages
260
No, I've never bred her. My b. Smithi sling I got in 2012. It just recently hit that molt where it looks like a tarantula, not a true spider.

---------- Post added 10-09-2014 at 06:25 PM ----------

So is the way she looks normal for death due to age?
 

Beary Strange

Arachnodemon
Joined
Aug 30, 2013
Messages
670
No, I've never bred her. My b. Smithi sling I got in 2012. It just recently hit that molt where it looks like a tarantula, not a true spider.

---------- Post added 10-09-2014 at 06:25 PM ----------

So is the way she looks normal for death due to age?
Honestly it doesn't happen all that often, because they're so long-lived. I can recall one other thread where this came up in the year or so I've been here, more if you count lurking. But if she hasn't molted in five years and is curling for no reason, I would think she probably is dying. Make her comfortable until then?
 

cold blood

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
13,223
I'm skeptical that its old age. I've had mine a little longer than yours and when I got her she was already in a 4 year molt cycle, and there are others that have mentioned 5 year cycles. I would suspect those t's to be older than yours. Like mentioned, there's no way to know for sure the actual age, so its possible. Best of luck with her....could she just be getting ready to molt, or is her condition that bad? Hard to tell from a pic, as they just sit like that sometimes.
 
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