Ill Haplopelma ?

[Samantha Lewanewsky]

One of my Haplopelmas is looking off colour.
I bought her as a minax, though she doesn't look like one at all lol
I'm not sure about her sex, but I'm pretty sure she's female.
About 3 weeks ago she went off her food, I thought it may be a moult but she only moulted a few months ago.
Her legspan is about 3 inches.
When I bought her, one of her legs was quite thin and lacking hair, after she moulted her leg looks just the same as her other ones.

Lately, about 2 weeks ago, she started looking a bit ill, she was moving quite slowly.
She's stopped using her burrow sits huddled up in the corner.

Last few days, she's gone really ill looking, I think she's going to die!
Typical Haplopelma jumps if you move the tank and you certainly couldn't touch them! But atm she's not responding, I've lightly breathed on her, and she doesn't move, I got quite worried by that so tried gently nudging her with some tweezers.
Back a couple of months ago, if I'd done that, she'd have jumped then scuttled down her burrow, but now she just slowly moves one of her legs.

Her legs are slightly curled round her atm.

She's definitely not dehydrated, she has a water bowl in there and her abdomen isn't shrivelled or anything.
Temps are 26-27'C in the day and a couple of degrees lower at night.

Any one know what's up with her? I've never had a tarantula act like this before, it's got me really worried

Thanks
Samantha

[michaelmckinney]

Well Samantha,

That is a dilemma. What I would suggest is a complete tank change, sometimes the minorist things solve the most worrying of problems. Failing that, I'm a bit stumped. As you said, she is at the proper temp, and correct humidity and hydration level so just pray and hope for the best.

[Mrs Linda Street]

Hi Samantha, it's very strange but the have the H. lividum, she was fine 36 hrs ago, eating well, fast and fairly aggressive as usual, well established in her tank and she now more or less mirrors the behaviour of yours. I actually touched her on the abdo. with a paint brush, and she just stood up, moved about 1" and resettled, in the corner with slight curling of the legs !!!!!!

[Colin D Wilson]

Samantha
I can see where Micheal's coming from with a change in environment sometimes helping (done it myself as a final measure), but in this situation i wouldn't cause such a dramatic change in it's environment, you say it has a burrow that it often used so therefore it is established in the tank.

Everthing seems (again as michael says) to be ok with temp, humidity etc so we should really look at things that may have changed over this last period of time.
Have you changed the food supplier (i.e. is it as good quality etc),
have you been in contact with any other animals that have been treated for fleas / worms (you can carry the pesticide on your hands and then pass them onto the spider when you touch its food item, it doesn't have to eat it to become affected as todays veterinary treatments are very efficient)
Have you changed any room deoderisers ( some of the cheaper ones have a propellent that can be toxic to inverts)
Has anyone used hairspray / deoderant (eccesively) in close proximity to the spider?

These are just a few things that "could" have had an effect, and are often overlooked

Eitherway i hope that both yours and Lindas' spiders pick up health wise very soon.

[Mrs Linda Street]

Hi Colin, quiet a few good ideas to check, but we've not done anything different at all in the last year, we have her sited right next the our H. Minax, and that is a fast and furious as ever, so as you suggest we can only keep her warm and misted, and offer her food now and again, and hope she improves along with Samantha's

[Samantha Lewanewsky]

Thanks for your replies !

I haven't done anything differently with her than with my other spiders.
She's on the same shelf as my other Haplopelmas and they're all fine.

I can't think of any hair sprays or pesticides, nothing has changed recently.
Except I have been buying crickets from a different shop, but my other spiders have been regularly eating the new crickets and they seem fine.

I hope she gets better, and Linda's aswell.

[Matthew Baines]

Could a change in air pressure cause bizarre behavior? What with the transition from a so called summer to autumn the air pressure will surely change , But i don't know if this would affect the tarantulas . Maybe someone could expand on this who has knowledge of such a thing.

[Samantha Lewanewsky]

I'm not sure, especially this year there hasn't been much change between the seasons. It's been raining all summer and it's still raining now.
Though I do think seasons/air pressure could have an effect, quite a lot of snake keepers this summer noticed their snakes went off their food (from about July).

Today she's sitting differently, instead of sitting with her legs sorta curled up on top of her, she's get them more curled underneath her.
Hope she gets better, I'd hate for her to die

[Nicola Dolby]

Samantha, please remember that at 3 inches legspan she is still a juvenile. Chances are that after a few months it could be a new moult. However try slightly raising the humidity a little and covering her tank with a dark blanket for a couple of days. During this time give her as much peace as possible. Even if she doesn't moult then there won't be a stress issue any more. Check the substrate for tiny white mites, these can irritate spiders and can be common in tanks with high humidity. Then try her again with food and if she won't take it repeat the process. If after a week there is no change replace the substrate but be very gentle with her in case it is a moult, and afterward keep her in "the dark" for a couple of days to de-stress and get used to her "new" surroundings. Keep a full water bowl on hand at all times. Good luck!

[Samantha Lewanewsky]

Thanks for your help nicola, but it's too late

Found her dead this morning

[Mrs Linda Street]

Hi Samantha, very sorry to hear that she has died, but I think our's is going the same way. She is virtually not responding and she has increased the curl on her legs, and curling inwards is always a bad sign, so we shall just have to wait and see, but I doubt if she will be alive in 24 hrs.

[Samantha Lewanewsky]

Oh dear I hope yours doesn't die aswell, hopefully someone can figure out what's going on.

Sorry if somebody minds me posting a couple of pics of her up, maybe someone will spot something I've missed.










Thanks
Samantha

[Mrs Linda Street]

Hi, Samantha, it is always sad to see a picture of a dead T, although ours is bigger, and hopefully a bit stronger, she does seem to be deteriorating, someone might come up with a idea, from the pics you have posted.

[Phil Rea]

Oh dear I hope yours doesn't die aswell, hopefully someone can figure out what's going on.

Sorry if somebody minds me posting a couple of pics of her up, maybe someone will spot something I've missed.

Sorry to hear you lost her

Looking at the shrunken abdomen the first thing that springs to mind is that she looks fairly dehydrated to me. However if they die unseen, then their abdomens can sometimes shrink like that before you find them.

[Phil Rea]

Hi Samantha, very sorry to hear that she has died, but I think our's is going the same way. She is virtually not responding and she has increased the curl on her legs, and curling inwards is always a bad sign, so we shall just have to wait and see, but I doubt if she will be alive in 24 hrs.

If I were you, I'd stick her carapace downwards into a shallow pot of water, making sure her abdomen (and therefore booklungs) are clear of it. The carapace will float on the surface of the water. Leave her for up to 20 minutes, obviously keeping a close eye on her. If she is dehydrated, then that can sometimes result in what seems like a miraculous recovery.