Is my Pinktoe tarantula okay?

[billyboi3895]

So Im quite new to having tarantulas and I recently got one (I’ve had it for around a month now) and I’m unsure what is happening. When I first got it, it was really energetic and didnt seem to stop moving, but around 3 days ago it just stopped moving completely after feeding it. I made sure the cricket was dead and the tarantula was actually eating it and still okay, but on the day after it just stopped moving completely. It’s incredibly small and I can try taking a few pictures if necessary. Ive been feeding it every week on a Friday since I got it and I’ve been making sure to spray a light mist inside every 3 or 4 days (when it looks dry) since it’s too small to have a water bowl. I’m mostly concerned if it’s dead and I’ve done something wrong. Any advice would help massively.

 

[gabrieldezzi]

So Im quite new to having tarantulas and I recently got one (I’ve had it for around a month now) and I’m unsure what is happening. When I first got it, it was really energetic and didnt seem to stop moving, but around 3 days ago it just stopped moving completely after feeding it. I made sure the cricket was dead and the tarantula was actually eating it and still okay, but on the day after it just stopped moving completely. It’s incredibly small and I can try taking a few pictures if necessary. Ive been feeding it every week on a Friday since I got it and I’ve been making sure to spray a light mist inside every 3 or 4 days (when it looks dry) since it’s too small to have a water bowl. I’m mostly concerned if it’s dead and I’ve done something wrong. Any advice would help massively.

1. Send pics!! We can't help you without seeing it!!

2. Stop the misting, misting does really nothing for tarantula hydration and if your enclosure has stuffy/bad ventilation you will end up killing your Avic. A water dish will work just fine, I personally use

3. Tarantulas are very "lazy" animals, and as long as the tarantula isn't curled, there's a good chance it is completely fine if it's not moving for a while.

 

[billyboi3895]

I’ve attached two pics, it’s in a very small enclosure (it’s the one I bought it in).
The first picture should be of the enclosure and what it looks like as a whole and the second one is what the spider looks like. It’s very small so I can’t really get many good pictures

 

[gabrieldezzi]

I’ve attached two pics, it’s in a very small enclosure (it’s the one I bought it in).
The first picture should be of the enclosure and what it looks like as a whole and the second one is what the spider looks like. It’s very small so I can’t really get many good pictures

I would suggest reading up this post on the forum. It tells you everything you need to make sure your Avicularia turns out okay. There must be a change in this enclosure or itwill surely die.
Avicularia Husbandry? | Arachnoboards

 

[billyboi3895]

thank you for the advice! I see now there’s a good few things that I’ve done wrong with the enclosure and I’ll try my best to fix this while I still can. I have tried a few things I’ve seen on the forum to see if it’s still alive (such as a small droplet of water near it, etc) and I’ve had no response whatsoever so that’s what I’m mostly worried about. As soon as I’ve concluded its alive I’ll try my best to accommodate it a bit better, and thanks again for the advice.

 

[HOITrance]

I’ve been making sure to spray a light mist inside every 3 or 4 days (when it looks dry) since it’s too small to have a water bowl.

I do not want to sound harsh, but please, PLEASE, PLEASE research the species you are getting BEFORE you get it. If it was a pet or exotic store find do not take what they say at face value. 90% of them know just enough or think they know enough to be a danger to the animals they are trying to sell. If you had researched, you would find not only NUMUROUS posts on AB, but videos and articles all over on how misting can (read that as can be not will be) lethal to avics if the enclosure doesnt have enough cross ventilation. If you cant fit something tiny for a water bowl ( lego brick tattoo ink cup etc) then you just dribble a little water on the webbing (if any) or along the wall. Again, not trying to sound harsh, but lack of research on this and several other genera of T's can kill them.

I would suggest reading up this post on the forum. It tells you everything you need to make sure your Avicularia turns out okay.

This post from Viper will help you out with whatever information you care missing. It helped me greatly when I first got into Avicularia species.

I hope your little guy will be ok.

EDIT: didn't realize that was the link posted above...removed link for redundancy

 

[billyboi3895]

i take full responsibility for not quite caring for it as I should have been. I’ve read up on a good few forums on here now that near enough everything I was told about taking care of tarantulas was either partially true or a straight up lie, so it’s nice to learn a few things about them now. I really should’ve taken more consideration into researching them before I actually bought one. Since i started this thread I have tried my best to accommodate it properly with a water bowl and a few other differences including much better ventilation. Hopefully it recovers at some point and I’ll try and post about it if I see anything. Thanks again for all the help- I’ve learnt loads and I’ll try my best to learn as much as possible so I don’t make any other mistakes.

okay so I’ve done a few things I’ve seen on the forum like the water droplet test (I did it into the waterbowl) because I saw someone recommend it to someone with similar issues and that didn’t seem to work. Nothing I’ve tried so far has managed to stimulate any response from it so I’ll leave it be for 2-3 days and see if it does anything new. ill keep everyone updated on what’s going on.

 

[HOITrance]

i take full responsibility for not quite caring for it as I should have been. I’ve read up on a good few forums on here now that near enough everything I was told about taking care of tarantulas was either partially true or a straight up lie, so it’s nice to learn a few things about them now. I really should’ve taken more consideration into researching them before I actually bought one. Since i started this thread I have tried my best to accommodate it properly with a water bowl and a few other differences including much better ventilation. Hopefully it recovers at some point and I’ll try and post about it if I see anything. Thanks again for all the help- I’ve learnt loads and I’ll try my best to learn as much as possible so I don’t make any other mistakes.

That is all you can do. I should have amended that I also didn't do my due research when I started out which is why I was harsh about it. I watched a video on YouTube and called it good, when doing a bit more digging would have solved all the problems I had. The best we can do is learn from our mistakes and hope for the best when we make them. Sounds like you know what to do now and we can just hope your little avic will be ok.

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

If a light touch with a paintbrush doesn’t illicit any response, I’m sorry, but she’s likely gone. Just open the enclosure in a bathtub or somewhere where u can more easily corral her if she is alive and makes a run for it.

 

[viper69]

No one can say what’s up with the info provided. Surely you are not crazy enough to think someone can tell it’s dead, when you’re right there.

misting- great way to kill it

add water dropwise- why? Do some research.

 

[billyboi3895]

I know what sorta things I’ve been doing wrong and I’ll do my best to correct them. Any information on how to tell if it could be dead would be very helpful and if theres any other information needed I would gladly get it.

 

[gabrieldezzi]

I know what sorta things I’ve been doing wrong and I’ll do my best to correct them. Any information on how to tell if it could be dead would be very helpful and if theres any other information needed I would gladly get it.

Check for what's called a death curl. See if the the tarantula's legs are curled under it, and if it'll respond to external stimuli like movement around it.

 

[billyboi3895]

Check for what's called a death curl. See if the the tarantula's legs are curled under it, and if it'll respond to external stimuli like movement around it.

There is no sign of any death curl, it is upright and its legs are (sorta) spread out. It isn’t responding to any movement however, like the brush stated by someone else above.

 

[gabrieldezzi]

There is no sign of any death curl, it is upright and its legs are (sorta) spread out. It isn’t responding to any movement however, like the brush stated by someone else above.

0 response?? Does its abdomen look okay? Could be a fall.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Pics aren’t clear enough but second one looks bad .

 

[fcat]

If it's not a death curl but dead it likely suffocated from oxygen depravation/ gas displacement caused by too much moisture.

If it doesn't smell you may have time...the earliest symptoms would likely be lethargy or paralysis

It would need oxygen at the book lung level

 

[billyboi3895]

I’ve tried things from everyone’s suggestions (as well as A LOT of research about the T and other types too) and I’m sad to say that it did not make it. I do understand however what I did wrong and how to properly keep a T. Thank you everyone for the support and advice, this is all incredibly new to me and it’s nice to hear what I could do better. Thanks everyone .

 

[LilithArachne]

I’ve tried things from everyone’s suggestions (as well as A LOT of research about the T and other types too) and I’m sad to say that it did not make it. I do understand however what I did wrong and how to properly keep a T. Thank you everyone for the support and advice, this is all incredibly new to me and it’s nice to hear what I could do better. Thanks everyone .

I am sad to hear your tarantula did not make it. But at least you know now to do research BEFORE buying a tarantula, or any pet for the matter.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

I’ve tried things from everyone’s suggestions (as well as A LOT of research about the T and other types too) and I’m sad to say that it did not make it. I do understand however what I did wrong and how to properly keep a T. Thank you everyone for the support and advice, this is all incredibly new to me and it’s nice to hear what I could do better. Thanks everyone .

Just read the care sheet given and
Maybe post the enclosure before you get another t also . It looks like you forgot to poke ventilations holes. My first avic had a bad molt unfortunately I had no idea about this site back then . In 2003

 

[HOITrance]

I’ve tried things from everyone’s suggestions (as well as A LOT of research about the T and other types too) and I’m sad to say that it did not make it. I do understand however what I did wrong and how to properly keep a T. Thank you everyone for the support and advice, this is all incredibly new to me and it’s nice to hear what I could do better. Thanks everyone .

Sorry for your loss. I am super glad you now know the importance of research. I, too, brushed off a lot of research. "How hard can a spider be? Box, dirt, hide, plant, water dish, food." Because of that, and acquiring too many too quickly i made some lethal mistakes that i regret.

With that said, only way to go now is up! What other species are you researching?