Death Curl? H.Pulchripes

[Bakerr]

Hey all,

Slightly worried about my little H.Pulchripes just arrived home from a small holiday and found that it has moulted again (twice within 4 weeks.) I've been watching it closely and I am starting to become a bit concerned, it has been in this position for just over 24 hours now.

I have supplied fresh water bowls and damped the substrate a little so that it could gain moisture if it needed to.

Any advice would be great, thanks.

 

[Bakerr]

Update; unfortunately it is dead does anyone have any ideas why?

 

[Phil]

Hiya bud, that is so sad. many years ago I had exactly the same thing with an Avic purpurea. Sometimes bad things happen, your care regime seems fine so try not to beat yourself up about it. Ave you had the enclosure on a heat mat? that can really dry them out and damage may have been done before misting and water if it went too dry?

 

[Bakerr]

Enclosure is on a heat mat but fairly low not scorching hot, had a good supply of water and misting and has been feeding fine recently, don't know what went wrong

 

[Phil]

Enclosure is on a heat mat but fairly low not scorching hot, had a good supply of water and misting and has been feeding fine recently, don't know what went wrong

if you do need to use heat mats they should cover no more than half the enclosure and mounted vertically rather then placed underneath the enclosure. Like I said, sometimes these things happen and although tjey are very sad and can make one question oneself, sometimes nature can be a *****.

 

[Bakerr]

Heat mat is on the back of the enclosure and the T made burrows in the substrate so it had plenty of space to monitor its temperature :/

 

[Phil]

Heat mat is on the back of the enclosure and the T made burrows in the substrate so it had plenty of space to monitor its temperature :/

Sounds like there was nothing more you could do then pal. Just very bad luck and unfortunately this goes with the hobby. Not what you probably want to hear but hopefully you see that it's no fault of yours.

 

[nedaK]

Update; unfortunately it is dead does anyone have any ideas why?

oh no. so sry

 

[Whitelightning777]

Occasionally they have what's called a wet molt or end up bleeding out due to a hidden injury. Molting is somewhat risky for them.

Heat mats should be mounted on the outside of the cage and above the level of any substrate. Every square inch of the cage needs to be checked with an infrared thermometer to ensure no dangerous hidden hot spots occur.

Never put any heat source inside of it or underneath any tarantula enclosure for any reason. Only heat from the top or the side...if you do it at all.

If you raise the room temperature to 75 or so, you probably don't even need any heat at all & since they are baboons, they are hardy despite what happened to you.

I lost a M balfouri to fecal impaction. These guys like any pet can have serious medical issues.

In general, H pulchripes as well as M balfouri are fairly bullet proof if they are kept in reasonable conditions.

Feeders left in the enclosure can also damage a molting tarantula. When they are in premolt, searching the cage for left over live feeders is the highest priority. Keeping the water dish full is also extremely important.

Even dry spiders should always have a water dish at all times. They won't use it often but when they do, it's a vital necessity.

Aside from Earthworms, any feeder can kill a molting or recently molted tarantula.

In my opinion, try again with this species!! There are also other harpactira species to choose from as well.

 

[Arachnoclown]

Mature male??? They dont get very big...do you know the sex?
Looks like a sperm web in the background. They sometimes die extremely fast after maturing.

 

[PanzoN88]

Another piece of advice: it is best to only use heat mats on the side of a microclimate. Always good to have some separation between the tarantula enclosure and the heat pad. This species is easy to care for and sounds like you tried. Don't let this passing stop you from trying again. For future reference, space heaters are the safest way to heat tarantulas, not to mention the most cost effective heating source.

I had a similar experience with my male of this species. Turns out a little more water than usual is all that was necessary (I simply overflowed the water dish, maybe a little bit too much), now he is back to his threat posing self.

 

[Whitelightning777]

Mature males look like this, quite different then the typical H pulchripes subadults.

They also tend to act more like an arboreal when they mature. Hopefully the breeder I sent him to succeeds in breeding him. If so, 3 slings are coming my way. I already was traded 2 P vittata slings, a suspect male and female just before the ban.

 

[KezyGLA]

Sorry to see you lost this T.

If it was properly hydrated before you left then dehydration shouldnt be the cause. But when you mentioned heat pad, it became a possibility again.

There may have been complications with the moulting process that caused internal damage etc. But this rarely happens.

Side note, I would avoid using heat pads at all. They are an unecessary risk if you have central heating.

 

[Arachnoclown]

My mature Male in a death curl a couple days after maturing.

 

[Whitelightning777]

Sorry to see you lost this T.

If it was properly hydrated before you left then dehydration shouldnt be the cause. But when you mentioned heat pad, it became a possibility again.

There may have been complications with the moulting process that caused internal damage etc. But this rarely happens.

Side note, I would avoid using heat pads at all. They are an unecessary risk if you have central heating.

My place is 68 degrees due to my roommate's medical issues, fibromyalgia to be exact. The cold helps it but is way too chilly for tarantulas.

I use a voltage controller with my heat mats, all mounted on the side in a hot side cold side configuration. I have had no problems.

I check every square inch inside and out with an infrared digital thermometer before adding the tarantula. Attention to detail is all that's required.

Still, if you can simply raise your home temps to 75, that's the easy way to go.

The heat mat should always be mounted outside on the side on glass only. It should never be warmer then your body temperature. The glass inside will of course be much cooler but still warm, 80 to 84 degrees to be exact.

I set up all of mine like that or with lamps set up at least 8 inches away with 25 watt bulbs & a voltage switch. It works but the testing and setup is very finicky work and every square inch needs to be safe because a tarantula can go anywhere.

I can PM you a complete video on how to do it safely.

 

[Bakerr]

Occasionally they have what's called a wet molt or end up bleeding out due to a hidden injury. Molting is somewhat risky for them.

Heat mats should be mounted on the outside of the cage and above the level of any substrate. Every square inch of the cage needs to be checked with an infrared thermometer to ensure no dangerous hidden hot spots occur.

Never put any heat source inside of it or underneath any tarantula enclosure for any reason. Only heat from the top or the side...if you do it at all.

If you raise the room temperature to 75 or so, you probably don't even need any heat at all & since they are baboons, they are hardy despite what happened to you.

I lost a M balfouri to fecal impaction. These guys like any pet can have serious medical issues.

In general, H pulchripes as well as M balfouri are fairly bullet proof if they are kept in reasonable conditions.

Feeders left in the enclosure can also damage a molting tarantula. When they are in premolt, searching the cage for left over live feeders is the highest priority. Keeping the water dish full is also extremely important.

Even dry spiders should always have a water dish at all times. They won't use it often but when they do, it's a vital necessity.

Aside from Earthworms, any feeder can kill a molting or recently molted tarantula.

In my opinion, try again with this species!! There are also other harpactira species to choose from as well.

Thank you for the advice and sorry for a late reply.

 

[Bakerr]

Mature male??? They dont get very big...do you know the sex?
Looks like a sperm web in the background. They sometimes die extremely fast after maturing.

I bought it as a juvenile and after seeing this molt I did think it was a mature male, sorry for a late reply.

 

[Bakerr]

Sorry to see you lost this T.

If it was properly hydrated before you left then dehydration shouldnt be the cause. But when you mentioned heat pad, it became a possibility again.

There may have been complications with the moulting process that caused internal damage etc. But this rarely happens.

Side note, I would avoid using heat pads at all. They are an unecessary risk if you have central heating.

T was properly hydrated before I left, came back and it was still kickin and of course I rehyrated some more but then suddenly died..

 

[Bakerr]

My place is 68 degrees due to my roommate's medical issues, fibromyalgia to be exact. The cold helps it but is way too chilly for tarantulas.

I use a voltage controller with my heat mats, all mounted on the side in a hot side cold side configuration. I have had no problems.

I check every square inch inside and out with an infrared digital thermometer before adding the tarantula. Attention to detail is all that's required.

Still, if you can simply raise your home temps to 75, that's the easy way to go.

The heat mat should always be mounted outside on the side on glass only. It should never be warmer then your body temperature. The glass inside will of course be much cooler but still warm, 80 to 84 degrees to be exact.

I set up all of mine like that or with lamps set up at least 8 inches away with 25 watt bulbs & a voltage switch. It works but the testing and setup is very finicky work and every square inch needs to be safe because a tarantula can go anywhere.

I can PM you a complete video on how to do it safely.

I use a lucky reptile heat mat attached to two enclosures with a habistat thermostat probe on the back and then i adjust temp at night and in the morning

 

[Whitelightning777]

The issue with thermostats is that on rare occasions they can get stuck in the on position and thus overheat the cage.

The temperature swings can also stress both the tarantula and the equipment.

In my opinion, a constant unchanging steady heat along with a temperature gradient is the safer choice...if you add heat at all.

Warming your home is the safest way to go.

I wouldn't give up on that species or tarantulas in general. Getting a sling between 1" - 2" DLS will ensure that no matter what sex it is, you'll have plenty of time with your spider.

If you DO get a mature male, there's nothing wrong with sending him to a breeder. Trust me, someone is always looking for a mature male somewhere.

I'm deeply sorry for your loss, but again don't give up.