C.Crawshayi fang problem

[Mike Mosdell]

Recently brought a new enclosure for my KB since she was starting to outgrow her old enclosure. She has unfortunately got herself into a little problem though. There was a vent on the side which wasnt covered up [has been now] which she started putting her fangs into. Unfortunately she got one fang stuck into the vent mesh and when she started trying to get it out, it looks like she bent the fang all the way around. As you can see in the picture below [kind of blurry sorry].

What do I do? I'm worried that it might do longterm damage to her and she is one of my favourite tarantulas. Will she molt out of it? Discard the fang? Can anyone help who has similar experience with this.

Obviously the following picture was taken after I took her out of the enclosure and had her in a temporary place.

[Aaron Annal]

I have a Salmon pink that has done similar but didnt bend the fang but snapped the end off in the vent so now has 1 blunt fang doesnt seem to effect it at all but not as bad as yours looks hope it will be ok would love a C.Crawshayi in my collection its 1 on my list lol

[wayne balcombe]

this seems to be a common pass time of C.crawshayi, my adult female tore a hole in the ventilator mesh on the back of her tank so i had to replace it with perspex strip with holes drilled for airflow.

i've heard of spiders breaking there fangs and leaving them behind after chewing through mesh and growing them back after a few successive molts but i've never heard or seen one with a fang quite like yours, i would think in that position it would be difficult to grow back.

hopefully one of the more experienced people on here will be able to advise a positive outcome as its such a nice spider and would be horrible if this caused a lasting problem.

[ralfkonen]

Not that I am an expert, but I would assume that it twisted at its weakest spot, which would be where the fang attaches to the rest of the body. So if the experienced people ( and I hope you will get one to reply)think that it will definitely cause a problem, then you might consider clipping the fang off at the base, a bit like we do with dog's nails when they twist or rip out. If I'm not mistaken you can put them in the fridge to anaesthetise them. Sounds dramatic, but better than losing the T. But as I said, wait til somebody with T knowledge replies.

[Phil Rea]

I would think that if it is giving the spider a problem then it will remove the fang itself. If it can cope with it, then it will do so.

Personally I wouldn't intervene unless it is causing the spider serious stress or completely stopping it from eating or walking, as you could do more damage trying to cure it than the bent fang itself is causing.

I'd think twice about putting a crawshayi in the fridge too.

[ralfkonen]

I was thinking last resort type of thing, Phil.
But there you go, Mike, you got an expert's comment now.
Good luck and keep us updated.

[Kurt Baird]

I have seen someone else report a similar problem with a T.blondi, although the damaged fang was a result of a bad molt I believe. Eventually I think it corrected itself in the next molt (not sure if it dropped the bad fang prior to molting though).

[Ray Hale]

I have had a number of tarantulas that have damaged their chelicerae whlst attempting acrobatics. If the fang is causing feeding problems it will probaly remove it its self. Altenatively I have known tarantulas to prematurly initiate a moult to remove the fang. I had an Haplopelma do this after breaking a fang. It shed twice within a month righting the postion.

With regard to attempting to put it back. I wouldnt. This might stress the spider and cause more damage..

Observe and record is the key.

Hope this helps
Ray
BTS Committee

[Mike Mosdell]

I have been doing just that, so far she seems her normal self and has adjusted well to the new enclosure that I have given her and has already started burrowing. I think she is also near a molt due to the fact she hasnt eaten [although this may be due to the fang] and I've had her over a year without a single molt so far.

Another T forum has advised me to remove the fang but I'm not as experienced as some and wouldnt be confident in doing so myself. I think I will just leave her as she is and hope she gets through it. Will post updates as it goes along.

In other news, my first aboreal [got her last night and she's an Avic Amazonica] is having a great time in her new enclosure. Big upgrade from her store enclosure!

[James Box]

i'll definitely agree with Ray and Phil here. they have years of experience and have probably seen it all!

my only experience with this sort of thing was a G pulchra who lost a fang. she moulted and the fang was replaced and appeared fully developed. didn't cause her any noticeable problems either.

most spiders sort out their own issues if given what they need to do so (ie food, heat, water), we often want to interfere (humans are notorious for that ) but can do more harm then good.

[Mike Mosdell]

I fed her a locust today and after about 30 seconds of relentless hissing at it, she did manage to grab it and went on to consume it so I'm gathering it hasnt stopped her from eating or moving about like she used to.

That being said, I am going to leave her be and hope she gets through her molt fine.