H. gigas emergency help needed!

DanCameron

Arachnoknight
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Oct 27, 2005
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I was giving all my guys water and noticed my H. gigas in the "death curl." This must have happened recently. I have him in an ICU right now and any suggestions would be helpful. Here is the deal with him:

He was in a smaller tank (a KK) and molted. He was too large for the tank so I put him in a larger ClearView (as I've heard KK's are bad for the smaller spiders). Well, he never burrowed. I didn't worry about it too much because it took a while for one of my H. lividum's to burrow. I had a couple crickets in there for him to eat, but he never ate them and I took them out.

If anyone can offer any advice/help, that would be great. Thanks!
 

MRL

Arachnolord
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Dec 25, 2005
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I can't offer advice as to what should be done but from what I understand species that burrow extensively can be easily stressed. I kept mine in a very dark and quiet area and she burrowed after a few days. I think ICU is pretty much all you can do for it, good luck and keep us updated.
 

Mike H.

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I hope the spider is ok, if and when you put her back in the tank make sure there is a prestatred burrow for her, this will help reduce the stress of being in a new enclosure...


Regards, Mike
 

EDED

Arachnobaron
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Aug 12, 2004
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in a previous container, was the substrate moist? was there a prestarted burrow?

since its in a death curl i wouldnt hope too much, but goodluck anyways,

ive had several H. gigas in the past, from sling to adult or WC adults, i kept them using moist peat with no problems (to me they seemed to like it moist), one thing i noticed with these species is that they hate the light (flashlight, sunlight or whatever)

so, if its still squirming a bit, i would make sure the substrate (dirt or peat) is wet, dig a pre made hole, pop the spider in the hole so it feels the walls around it to feel secure, and put it in a closet or somewhere tahts dark 24/7 and check it every 3 days with a minimum light source

right now i have one WC female i 'rescued' from a pet store for 10 bucks thats missing 2 hind legs. at the store it was kept on pebbles 1/2'' thick with a hide; real dry real bright, and the spider looked like it was going to die but no death curl yet, it was lethargic when i was buying it, but it did try to attack a few times, when i put the spider in its new housing when i got home with wet peat and a pre made burrow, i swear the spider turned into a complete different spider, it actually ran around fast feeling the soft dirt compared to pebbles and 'ran' into the premade hole, it ate 6 crickets that night, so what im saying is that my spider preferred soft peat and the premade hole compared to the pet store setup within a minute i put it in there so your spider probably will feel better in a dirt hole than open spaced paper towel ICU, thats just me though.

i had to do the same for H. lividum but it took a week to adjust, H. gigas will adapt faster and mope around less.

and spiders die sometiems for no reason too, so goodluck again.
 

DanCameron

Arachnoknight
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Well, it seems that he won't be living... When I did get to him he wasn't moving at all. I recently had an A. versicolor die on my for no reason and now the H. gigas is going... Starting to doubt my care-taking abilities. I set up a pre-made burrow. I keep him in 50/50 peat moss/moisture plus. When I first got him he went nuts with the burrowing. He had about 4" of substrate to play in. I'm still hoping though. I'll update tomorrow after classes.
 

becca81

Arachnoemperor
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Sep 17, 2004
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This species NEEDS moist substrate - they are humidity/moisture dependent. I typically keep just about all mine on the dry side, but for this species I make sure there is plenty of water in the substrate.

Good luck with it!
 

elliot

Arachnoknight
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Dec 25, 2005
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oh, no! i hope it's not the soil:(

Hope your spider pulls through, they sometimes do! Good luck!
 

DanCameron

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No, that's not the soil that I use... I forget exactly what it's called, but I usually mix it with a 50/50 with peat moss for the guys that need it more moist. Otherwise I keep 100% peat moss in there. I've been keeping them like this for about a year. No problems save this one H. gigas. I know that the soil I use doesn't have fertilizer of any pesticides of any sort because I get it at a lawn and garden place and always ask about which ones have pesticides in them. The people there know I use the dirt for my spiders and have been very helpful with me in selection of dirt. The H. gigas one day just came out of his burrow from his new home and just didn't go back in. Over time I guess he had closed it off and just didn't burrow. Thought he was being stubborn like my H. lividum. But here is the update:

My H. gigas has passed on. He will be remembered as a ferocious little burrower.
 

Malhavoc's

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Sounds like a Molt problem, have you checked for Nematodes [spelling] or other such injuries? Long as you keep him moist and warm, if it'll pull through it will, you can also try using an eye dropper to drop liquid on its mouth.
 

elliot

Arachnoknight
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DanCameron said:
My H. gigas has passed on. He will be remembered as a ferocious little burrower.
Really sorry to hear about your loss, man.:(
 

SilentMercury

Arachnosquire
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Jul 11, 2005
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Sorry to hear chief. Let me know if you want to pursue another H.gigas sling. :cool:
 
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