Tapinauchenius plumipes. Abdomen hangin ?

sierra53

Arachnopeon
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Apr 16, 2012
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Hi everyone , been a while since in here been busy with work...the usuall. Question tho, my T. Plumpies seems to have this issue as if she cannot hold up her abdomen. I have read that others have this issue with pre molts or after molts....but this girl has had this issue for a while. I thought dehydration for a while so I spray the glass as seems that she likes to "lick" if you will on the glass rather then her bowl . it's always on the side if I open the cage door wich she seems to have web the whole damn thing up (cool to see actually ) she seems to act right as if she is being lazy .

I don't know many people that have these species so any help would be great.
 

Storm76

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Jan 30, 2012
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Arboreals tend to get into very weird positions sometimes, not something to be worried about generally. Aside that, don't overfeed them either as it makes it harder for them moving that big bum - 1.5x size of carapace is what I aim for my adults usually at the max.
 

catfishrod69

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Thats completely normal for arboreals, especially Tapinaichenius. They will face downwards, and let their abdomen hang to one side, or droop overtop of them. No need to worry.
 

lalberts9310

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Signs of dehydration: curled legs, sluggish movement, shrivelled and small abdomen. If your T is fat (abdomen bigger than carapace) then it's not dehydrated. So no point in misting. If you mist for drinking purposes, do so on the webbing where the T resides most of the time, and provide a water bowl with water. Fat aboreals will have a "hanging" abdomen when they take on odd positions. So if your T is nice and plump, nothing to fret over :)
 

sierra53

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 16, 2012
Messages
33
i will get a picture tonight. thank you everyone for the help. Im just worried this is a dehydrated issue as i have had this problem with this one before. she just never drinks water. sometimes she wants it on the glass, others she wants the bowl...so i leave both. After recent molt she started eating again, but before the molt this little spider went every bit of 2 months with no food. I agree with you guys this one is a tad bit of a odd ball.
 

Storm76

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Tappies in general are really good eaters, though. Can't remember my female turning down a meal, except for being in premolt and guarding her dud-sac...tried other feeders? I think if you're that worried, maybe provide a pic of the setup it lives in would help.
 

lalberts9310

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Ts in pre-molt won't eat. If you see signs of pre-molt it's best not to offer live prey, pre-killed would be your best bet, as some feeders like crickets are very capable to injure or kill a molting tarantula. Post molt you'll see the new exoskeleton is very translucent, this is because the skin is still soft (including the fangs). They are still vulnerable at this stage since the soft exo can be easily damaged. Thus you need to wait for the T to harden up before attempting to feed again. If the fangs are black (not white or red) then the T has hardened enough to start feeding again. I usually give mine no less than a week after a molt before feeding. Well fed fat Ts can go for an exceptional long time without food, if the T is not feeding it will only be a problem if the abdomen is small (smaller than carapce) otherwise there's no worries. I have a fat female psalmopoeus sp. That hasn't eaten for ongoing 3 months and appears to start showing signs of pre-molt. If she's in pre-molt it might take her another two months before molting. But she's fat, and this is normal which gives me no reason to stress over it.

I agree with storm, provide a pic of the T and the enclosure so we can futher advice you if there is indeed something wrong. :)

Also, how big is the T, and how often do you feed it?
 

sierra53

Arachnopeon
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Apr 16, 2012
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33
Well here she is along with the set up. Very good Weber as you can see. Before anyone beats me up here I have had this spider for quite some time...about 2 years and have a pretty decent collection. This all started after a molt one time.... About a few months ago. She hadn't been right since. So I'm trying to help but I think will take time.

Anyway tell me what you think...:).



uploadfromtaptalk1435792767705.jpg uploadfromtaptalk1435792781089.jpg uploadfromtaptalk1435792798587.jpg

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sierra53

Arachnopeon
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Apr 16, 2012
Messages
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Oh this isn't a good example of the abdomen but you can tell does look small. T is about 3.5- 4" I feed her about 1nce a week about 2 crickets per week

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Storm76

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Unless I'm seeing things, looks to me as if her abdomen is...twisted in lack for a better word. However, if the T behaves normal otherwise...meaning eats, drinks and so on - I wouldn't worry. It'll probably right itself with the next molt.

In case I -am- seing things - there's nothing to worry at all as has been said before arboreals Ts often assume weird position "let their bum just hang" occasionally. Possibly a form of relaxing? Who knows.
 

sierra53

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 16, 2012
Messages
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Ok so here is a few months ago .....I fixed the issue that time but I think she is still dehydrated. I prolly posted this along time ago. Check out my crazy auto water dispenser ha ha. uploadfromtaptalk1435794460864.jpg

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sierra53

Arachnopeon
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Apr 16, 2012
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This is slowly headed this direction but not as bad. Like you said storm maybe I'm freaking out over nothing ..lol. Definitely been fun owning this one.

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