Very "dangerous" behavior to itself

Gammazeta430

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 7, 2014
Messages
6
Hi all,

My g. rosea has been acting a bit different lately since its been warmed in the NY area(yes, I know rosies are prone to random, weird acts). The other day she decided to dig a hole under her hide. I figured she did it to "even it out" as I originally had the hide decline into the substrate. However, upon returning home from work today, I noticed she had squeezed her abdomen between the plastic wall AND one end of her hide resulting in awkward sideways position. I originally laughed and let her be but then noticed clear liquid(looked like water) oozing from her mouth onto the substrate. I immediately went to carefully move the hide and she freaked and scurried away from the position. Her abdomen is about 1/2 the size it once was and looks "flattened". I posted pictures. One is of the clear oozing liquid (not white) from her fangs while she was sideways against the plastic wall, the other is her flattened abdomen after she scurried out of position.

I feed her about 3-6 crickets every 3-4 weeks.

My uneducated hypothesis is
1. that the oozing liquid was her attempt to squeeze excess water out? But why would she squeeze it out from her fangs?

2. She accidentally got herself stuck, crushed herself and now is dying resulting from potential overfeeding

I know rosie owners tend to get worried by their behavior, but when it comes to water oozing from fangs and her abdomen in a "crushed" position, I can't help but think she's in trouble.

Any suggestions/similar issues?

Thanks all.
 

Misty Day

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 9, 2013
Messages
437
Tarantulas use hemolymph to clean themselves, it's clear and comes from their mouth. (Not their fangs, their mouth is between their fangs)

Tarantulas are not stupid, it annoys me the way intelligence of animals is measured by what they do for humans. She wouldn't get herself stuck, if there was an opening she couldn't go through, she wouldn't go through it. Remember tarantulas can fit through very small spaces, so it's unlikely she would get herself stuck in the first place.

Her abdomen does look a bit flat, but I wouldn't say it's anything serious. Maybe another member can chime in???
 

KcFerry

Arachnosquire
Joined
Mar 17, 2014
Messages
80
I would get her into a clear container and get a good look at her!
Try to get a good look at her entire underside and mouth parts to look for bleeding. She is clearly leaking something and does look a bit flattened. Could she have fallen into that spot while climbing?
 

Exoskeleton Invertebrates

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 17, 2007
Messages
1,101
Abdomen is fine I have had certain species do this going thru some small opening trying to get thru a certain area. Once the abdomen flatten it will go back to its original position. Nothing to worry about unless bleeding from the abdomen.



Jose
 

KcFerry

Arachnosquire
Joined
Mar 17, 2014
Messages
80
Oh! I misunderstood how she got into that position.:o_O:
Never mind.

However...I didn't know tarantula's could squeeze fluid out their mouth to get out of a tight spot. Very interesting.
 

EulersK

Arachnonomicon
Staff member
Joined
Feb 22, 2013
Messages
3,292
However...I didn't know tarantula's could squeeze fluid out their mouth to get out of a tight spot. Very interesting.
Far more often than not, they do this to clean their fangs and feet/pedipalps. Just part of their grooming regiment. They also usually suck the liquid back in when they're done - nothing goes to waste!
 

DVirginiana

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 11, 2015
Messages
37
She does look a little flattened out, but if she's not 'bleeding' (white fluid) and you don't see any ruptures or anything she'll probably be fine. Just be sure she has plenty of water to drink and rehydrate if she wants it.
 

Hobo

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Staff member
Joined
Jul 27, 2009
Messages
2,208
Tarantulas use hemolymph to clean themselves, it's clear and comes from their mouth. (Not their fangs, their mouth is between their fangs)

Tarantulas are not stupid, it annoys me the way intelligence of animals is measured by what they do for humans. She wouldn't get herself stuck, if there was an opening she couldn't go through, she wouldn't go through it. Remember tarantulas can fit through very small spaces, so it's unlikely she would get herself stuck in the first place.

Her abdomen does look a bit flat, but I wouldn't say it's anything serious. Maybe another member can chime in???
I just wanted to point out that NO, tarantulas do not use hemolymph to clean themselves. The do regurgitate some kind of liquid from their mouths to clean themselves and for seemingly no reason at all sometimes.
And yes, tarantulas have been known to partially squeeze themselves into small spaces and get stuck, or injured.

I am in agreement with everybody else, nothing's wrong.
 

Ellenantula

Arachnoking
Joined
Sep 14, 2014
Messages
2,009
My G pulchripes sling got stuck once. I had a hide a little too wide for juvie enclosure, so I sorta of compression-forced fit it into enclosure anyway, thinking having it wedged tight on two sides would be fine, make it more secure. I guess there was a small gap and my G pulchripes spent most of the day stuck in that gap before I decided he really couldn't free himself. Because it was compression fit, I worried I would crush him removing that hide, so had to be careful forcing the hide back out. He ran around like crazy for a while afterwards but was clearly glad to be free. I learned a valuable lesson, and now will not have anything that close to enclosure wall (much less compression-fitted) -- I always leave some clearance now. 2 molts later and he is just fine in spite of that early ordeal, thankfully.
 

Misty Day

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 9, 2013
Messages
437

Skrupo

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 27, 2015
Messages
22
Hello
My LP had a huge drop of clear liquid hanging from her mouth or fangs last week. It was the first time I saw it. I did not thing too much about it at the time, maybe she just drank or something. Today, while I was cleaning her water dish, she gave me her traditional greeting in threat posture, baring her fangs. I have noticed that one of her fangs is chipped at the end. The injury doesnt seem too bad. She does not seem to be bleeding. I think she will be ok after she molts. Although she did refuse a roach yesterday, which is weird for her...I hope she is just in pre-molt. I have had her for about 5 months and she has not molted yet, so she might be due. Even if her injury prevents her from feeding, which is unlikely, since the other fang is intact, she has been fed regularly and generously, so she should be fine untill she molts.
But now I am thinking that the clear liquid might have been the venom leaking from the broken fang. If that is so, I am surprised by the amount that leaked out.
 
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