- Joined
- Feb 22, 2013
- Messages
- 3,292
Ironically, I just posted a general topic about never seeing my C. andersoni anymore. This morning, I found him curled up in the corner of his enclosure, far outside of his hide. It didn't look like a death curl - just with the 'knees' above the carapace. From lurking around these forums, I identified that as dehydration. He went through a molt not too long ago, and he's only accepted two crickets since, so his abdomen isn't exactly plump. To be clear, though, it is not shriveled at all. Just fairly skinny.
You've all heard this story before: extremely docile, not skittish at all, only moves when I force it with a paintbrush. This is coming from an extremely aggressive spider, and hands down my fastest/most skittish T. I moved him (male, about 4-4.5" dls) into an ICU, and now I just hope for the best. I really don't believe it's mature yet, it only started showing palpal bulbs on this most recent molt. That and it's not quite up to size yet.
So here are the questions:
I've never had to help a tarantula along like this before. In the past, a simple heavy misting sufficed in the cages. I've only been keeping for about two years now, so this is completely foreign to me.
You've all heard this story before: extremely docile, not skittish at all, only moves when I force it with a paintbrush. This is coming from an extremely aggressive spider, and hands down my fastest/most skittish T. I moved him (male, about 4-4.5" dls) into an ICU, and now I just hope for the best. I really don't believe it's mature yet, it only started showing palpal bulbs on this most recent molt. That and it's not quite up to size yet.
So here are the questions:
- Is there really anything else I can do in the meantime?
- If he is doing better when I get home from work, should I offer a cricket?
- When should I remove him from the ICU?
- What can I do in the future to avoid this? His water dish was readily accessible. I'm going to give him a new hide to make cricket hunting a little easier, but other than that, what?
I've never had to help a tarantula along like this before. In the past, a simple heavy misting sufficed in the cages. I've only been keeping for about two years now, so this is completely foreign to me.