I've never had to use an ICU before...

EulersK

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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:
  1. Is there really anything else I can do in the meantime?
  2. If he is doing better when I get home from work, should I offer a cricket?
  3. When should I remove him from the ICU?
  4. 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.
 

Quazgar

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Pics definitely help with this. Dehydration looks a lot like a death curl. When I hear "knees above carapace" I typically think of stress pose.
 

EulersK

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You actually hit the nail on the head - it looked exactly like a stress pose. He hasn't been in a curl ever since I put him in the ICU... in fact, he hasn't moved an inch. Granted, that was only 45 minutes ago, but still.

20141024_075328.jpg
 

Quazgar

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To my eyes that looks like stress. I don't see anything that I would be concerned about, though I only have the one picture to go from.

Plus it's not unheard of for mature males to lose aggression. The only thing they're really concerned with at this point is impregnating something.
 

EulersK

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From what I've heard and experienced, temperament tends to only change after a molt. He was extremely aggressive after this recent molt - moreso than any other time. The fact that he's not trying to bite me or run away is what's concerning.
 

cold blood

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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.
LOL, the males parts don't "grow in", they only appear after a maturing molt...once they show, its a MM. Its normal for males to not only be smaller, but in some cases, much smaller, especially baboons. When was his last molt?

Find him a female!!

Is that pic the enclosure of the ICU? It looks like neither.
 

Hobo

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Yeah, that's definitely a mature male.
Nothing you described really warrants an ICU or concern either.
I think it'd probably be best to just put him back in his enclosure and try and find him a female.
 

EulersK

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See, I was under the misunderstanding that males started to show sex accessories before the actual mature molt. I do believe he was dehydrated, because after some time in the ICU and a large meal, he's back to his overly aggressive self.

So, this brings up a new point. I've never had a MM before, and if possible, I'd like to ship him off to be paired. I have no interest in doing this myself, so I'd like to give someone else the opportunity if they want. Where would I go for something like this? Would I go to the "For Sale/Trade" section?
 

Hobo

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Either way, whether he was fine all along or what, he's back to normal now, so he can go back to his enclosure.

If you are going to sell or trade him, then For sale/ trade section will be the way to go.
If you are going for a breeding loan though, the invertsonals section will be the way to go.
Be sure to read the rules for whichever section you are going to post in before making an ad!
 

EulersK

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Oh yeah, I put him back into his enclosure right when I got home last night. He's already begun making his typical web tube. Thanks for the advice!
 
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