- Joined
- Jul 27, 2002
- Messages
- 219
Well, I dropped a cricket into blondi's cage, and the tarantula runs into the corner and starts rolling around. I see that there's a clump of substrate stuck to the spinnerets. The spider is spazzing out, and it looks like a dying cockroach.
So I decided to take it out of its cage and put it on life support. I have it in the palm of my hand. Its legs are curled under it at this point, and it is sort of rocking side-to-side. I feel a few pin pricks on my hand, so I move it to my other hand. I feel a few more pin pricks. I play hot potato with the bastard until I manage to get it onto its back.
So it is on its back with its legs waving around, and it's fangs gnashing. Even worse, I can now see that it has a grayish, pasty fluid leaking out of its ass. I'm assuming that this is feces, though I am not sure.
Wondering what happened, I decided that this looks a lot like the tarantula was poisoned. The only thing I can think of is that I fed it a roach more than a week ago. I'm guessing that has to be the problem. The leaky anus also makes me wonder if it has parasites in it, but I rather doubt that. I keep all my invertebrates near each other, and I've noticed no problems with them.
Anyway, I remember reading before on this board about how to put a tarantula on life support, and I just want to make sure I've got it right. I took a small cup, put about 1/4" water in the bottom, and then placed the spider in the water on its back. Then I closed the cup, so that the inside stays humid. And then I use an eyedropper to let the spider drink twice a day.
Is that right?
Well, the spider looks in pretty bad shape, but I guess it's a good sign that it can still move its legs and fangs more than a week after being poisoned (assuming it WAS poisoned more than a week ago).
So I decided to take it out of its cage and put it on life support. I have it in the palm of my hand. Its legs are curled under it at this point, and it is sort of rocking side-to-side. I feel a few pin pricks on my hand, so I move it to my other hand. I feel a few more pin pricks. I play hot potato with the bastard until I manage to get it onto its back.
So it is on its back with its legs waving around, and it's fangs gnashing. Even worse, I can now see that it has a grayish, pasty fluid leaking out of its ass. I'm assuming that this is feces, though I am not sure.
Wondering what happened, I decided that this looks a lot like the tarantula was poisoned. The only thing I can think of is that I fed it a roach more than a week ago. I'm guessing that has to be the problem. The leaky anus also makes me wonder if it has parasites in it, but I rather doubt that. I keep all my invertebrates near each other, and I've noticed no problems with them.
Anyway, I remember reading before on this board about how to put a tarantula on life support, and I just want to make sure I've got it right. I took a small cup, put about 1/4" water in the bottom, and then placed the spider in the water on its back. Then I closed the cup, so that the inside stays humid. And then I use an eyedropper to let the spider drink twice a day.
Is that right?
Well, the spider looks in pretty bad shape, but I guess it's a good sign that it can still move its legs and fangs more than a week after being poisoned (assuming it WAS poisoned more than a week ago).