tarantula help please!

i rescued a pair of adult red knees today and dont know much about them. i went to a house because someone was interested in purchasing some bp's from me. when i got there i saw the two tarantulas almost dead in the corner and said wtf pretty much. to make it short i didnt sell them the snake and talked them into giving me the two tarantulas.

they arent moving much and have their legs all curled up to their sides. i put them under some heat and pumped the humidity up. i also put some crickets in there. i dont really know what else to do so if anyone has any pointers please help.

i think i already lost the male :( i hope i wasnt too late for the big girl

I would put them in a small container on a wet paper towel to help them get some moisture- if they are already sluggish with curled legs putting crickets in will only annoy them since they won't have the energy to go after them. You might try pre-killing the crickets, mush them a bit, and put them right under/in their fangs (I have to do this for my P. regalis that got his fangs messed up in his molt, yuck). Probably getting them re-hydrated should be the first priority, though, then when they are a little perkier, try and feed them. Ts don't need supplementary heat, usually, and I'm not sure how beneficial it would be; it might just dry them out more. Tarantulas can be hard to bring back once they're that far gone, good luck!

P.S. I don't know if this is strictly allowed but the Arachnoboard forum should be able to help you out a lot more.

To me, it sounds like you are doing everything right. Give them a "basking" area of 90 degrees. Pumping the humidity up was a good idea, 70-80% should be ideal. I'd also prekill a cricket and place it around the Tarantula. Sometimes weak or injured Tarantulas will not hunt, but they will still consume dead prey.

Make sure they are separated if you haven't already.

If you own other Tarantulas, I can not stress the importance of quarantine. There is little know about Dyskenetic Syndrome, but it is possibly contagious. As well as some other diseases.

Good luck and I hope they pull through.

I'd also keep them out of any bright light, find a nice dark spot. Put a shallow water dish of some kind right next to the T, if it needs a drink (which it most likely does), it won't have to move far for the water.
Good luck! :gj:

thanks! ill make sure to mush up some crickets and keep the humidity up. i really hope they make it.

i think they are both dead... they wont move at all and just look sad and limp :( one more day and it prob would have been fine

Well that sucks! At least you gave it try, kudos to you for that. :gj:

You going to give them a little more time to be sure?

I'm not sure if this applies to Red Knees as well, but from what i've noticed with the care of my desert tarantuals, they mainly require plenty of hydration. We picked up a tarantual who looked like it was about done on the side of the house, and when we put it in a tank with a platter of water, the tarantual looked as if it was literally soaking itself in the platter (legs stretched out and all). After about a day it seemed to regain some of its energy just fine.

Like I said, i'm not sure if this applies to Red Knees, since I know they come from a completely different climate than any desert tarantuals do, but I figure that at least they need some method of hydration to get their energy back.

Best of luck with reviving, I hope something can pull through! :(

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Originally Posted by DMTWI

Well that sucks! At least you gave it try, kudos to you for that. :gj:

You going to give them a little more time to be sure?

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yeah im gonna just leave them in the damp dark for a few more days. they have both been on warm damp paper towels for just over a day now. the female was mobile when i got her and now it looks like she has given up. it sucks cuz they are both gorgeous wit fat booties. i think they just got way too cold :rage: im gonna egg the guys house (not really..... well maybe) :headbang: