H.lividum bad moult. Urgent advice needed.

[K Smith]

My lividum has just had a bad moult. She was bleeding hemolymph during the moult. The outer rings on her exoskeleton had hardened and stopped her from pulling all her legs through. The new inner skeleton had also hardened so she must have been attempting to moult for over a day or so now. I left her all today and she hadnt gone any further and even after i soaked her legs to attempt to soften them so she can fre herself, nothing worked.

I didnt want to stand back and let her die which would have been innevitable, so I've just surgically removed her from her old skin. It was successful but she is in a right bad state. The hymolymph near the rear leg has clotted, and she has a couple of slightly twisted legs on her right side. What is most worrying to me though is that her fangs are slightly bent outwards. I had a hard job freeing them and the chelicerae but there is no more old exoskeleton on her.

I'm absolutely distraught as im meticulous in caring for my spiders. I've just put her into an ICU and put her back into a quiet and dark part of the spider room which is warm and humid.

Is there anything else i can do to help her on? Or shall I just leave her for a few days and change the wet paper towel in the ICU to keep in moist and humid in there?

I've followed everything from the shultz and shultz bible, as i've never had a bad moult happen before.

I've added pictures below. The first being the pieces that i removed from her and the last being the icu without the lid on.

I got her as a freebie from the spidershop and she was missing a leg then. I was looking forward to her moulting so she could renew the leg. Im absolutely gutted for her. Is it possible there was already something wrong with her in some way? She was wild caught too.

[Jamie Cooper]

Wow! That is one of the worst moults I've ever seen. Those photo's are very hard to look at.

As far as advise goes, I'm sorry I have none to offer. I've never experienced something like this before. I hate to say it but I wouldn't rule out having to put her in the freezer. She is in a really bad way.

Hopefully someone with some experience will chime in. Good luck!

Jamie

[Ray Hale]

Dear me that is a bad moult. I am so sorry. Im afraid she is in a bad way. The chelicerae may return to normal postion if she makes it.The biggest problem seems to be the shape of the legs and the collapsed abdomen. I hate to say it but the prognosis does not look good. I have had this happen a couple of times with Haplopelma lividum. Whatever happens dont blame yourself over it. These things happen and her current condition has absolutly nothing to do with you care or devotion. It is obvious that you care deeply for your spiders but sometimes there is nothing we can do. Keep a close eye over the nexy couple of days and good luck.

Keep her as you are, quiet away from light and in ICU. I really hope she makes it.

Ray

[Leon Lane]

Unfortunately sometimes this "just happens" - don't beat yourself up over it. It's highly unlikely this was caused by improper care (tarantulas seem capable of moulting in virtually all climates and levels of humidity)

Having had a large Haplopelma schmidti go through a similarly bodged moult, I have to agree with Ray - I don't think she is going to make it sorry.

[K Smith]

Thanks guys for the replies. I know Jamie it was hard taking those pics and putting them on here. Shes in a mess isnt she. iv never seen anything like this and i was cringing whilst removing the old exoskeleton. Feel so sorry for her. She was going to be paired with my MM H.lividum so double gutted for that too. So theres a male lividum available now if anyone needs one for breeding. Hes in the best of health and eating like a trooper. Palps are loaded and ready to go.
Thanks Ray and Leon for the replies too. I do care for my spiders, perhaps too much, and i spend half my life in my T room. i guess you guys are all the same...
Ill do as Ray says for the time being and see how she goes on for the next few days. Her abdomen is really sunk in though which is extremely unsettling.

[Aragorn Davies]

There isn't much that i can contribute,, but i would like to say that it seems that she is receiving the best care possible,, and you cant do any better than that, whether she makes it or not its plain to see you've done your absolute best....

[Damian Storer]

I'm afraid i have no advice to offer other than to say continue what you are doing with your ICU. I have only had my first T since November 2011 and have gone through one successful moult, but i consult and rely on the same 'bible' that you have mentioned, so i'm sure you have the best knowledge to hand. However, i hope that if there is something that can be done and someone knows, then they read this thread and share it with you.

I hope that this works out long term for your T, but rest assured that with what you have done already, you surely have extended the life of your T and given it a fighting chance.

Let us all know how things progress, my Grammostola Mollicoma / Anthracina has all her legs crossed for you

[K Smith]

Thanks guys for the comments. shes still the same today. Not looking good. she hasnt moved at all. ill keep you updated

[K Smith]

Well, it was inevitable really but she died this morning. Put her in the freezer just to make sure. She was in a really really bad state after the bad moult, and I was hoping that she'd pass quickly and i'm glad she did, as i didn't like to see her like that. She was still bleeding and I couldnt stop it as it was from around the carapace. she didnt stand a chance really. but I tried.

Any way, thought id better update you all. Thanks so much for the advice and comments, really appreciate it

[Lee Corless]

I am really sorry she never pulled through. I am sure it was not your fault. As you said she was missing a leg when you got her so she has probably had moulting issues before. I wish I could take the male off you but my female is due a moult in a few months. Hope you find some one who needs him and then you will have lots off these little beauties running around.

[Jamie Cooper]

Sorry to hear she didn't make it Kyle. I think it was inevitable though looking at those pictures. Well done to you for stepping up and taking the time and effort to try and help her. Cutting her out of that moult can't have been easy. It certainly sounds like you did everything you could to save her.

Jamie

[Ray Hale]

Sorry to hear about the spider. I am sure you did everthing possible. On a brighter note why not turn a negative into a positive and share your experience with the members in an article for the journal. I know its a bad experience but the only way we can move forward is to have knowledge. Your photos are excellent and I am sure if we can help just one other keeper to cope when a similar thing happens to them then we have made a difference.
Please give it some though. I record everthing. Most of it never see the light of day but we only learn by experience.

Ray

[K Smith]

Cheers Jamie. Yeah it was pretty much inevitable by how it looked. Well it was my first time having to 'operate' on a spider, so was a new experience, but I have to say it was valuable experience nontheless. I'd read about Tarantulas getting stuck in their moults before but never thought it'd happen to me, so when It happened I was flicking through every book and piece of literature on tarantulaculture i could find

That's a good idea Ray, Ill get all my pics together and my notes what I took on the day and try to compile some sort of report. Would you want me to email to yourself or Richard Gallon when finished?

Regards
Kyle

[Damian Storer]

So sorry to hear this news Kyle, but you did all you could and gave your T a fighting chance to recover. I'd have to agree with what Ray said with regards to using this experience as a positive for others, as we all need to learn even from the most difficult situations.

Damian