First Molt!

Lost a GBB almost the exact same way. It's hard to tell with a T being sick/in need when you're new. I'm sure Jeff and Alexa and a few others know immediately when something is starting to go awry. I was also told that mortality rates for slings can be high. I'm lucky to have only lost one out of the 8 I've kept. I know GBB are usually pretty hearty but mine did almost the same thing as yours until I realized it was dead. Hope this isn't the case but good luck!

Regards,

B

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Originally Posted by Boanerges

It is possible but I would doubt that little bit was the cause. But there is no way really to tell if it was or not. Could have been lack of humidity, air ventilation, dehydration, the mold or any number of internal things that we are unaware of :( Is the tarantula still alive? Is it in ICU? Any progress?

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As of looking around last night there was no reaction to some gentle prodding, so my guess is that it is dead at this point :( We flipped it right side up and there was no movement either. I'm wondering if it was too much humidity, we were spraying the side of the cage to water every couple of days as it dried up a bit...

Trying to take it as a learning experience. Sad to lose such a pretty tarantula, but it doesn't mean we can't get another and try again with a closer eye on the setup and animal

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Originally Posted by Valentine Pirate

As of looking around last night there was no reaction to some gentle prodding, so my guess is that it is dead at this point :( We flipped it right side up and there was no movement either. I'm wondering if it was too much humidity, we were spraying the side of the cage to water every couple of days as it dried up a bit...

Trying to take it as a learning experience. Sad to lose such a pretty tarantula, but it doesn't mean we can't get another and try again with a closer eye on the setup and animal

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VERY sorry to hear that :(

I'm so sorry to hear that :( The only thing I can really think of as a cause would be mold - you said you kept it in the same enclosure as you got it in without any changes, it could be that the previous owners were careless and let the enclosure get dirty and just cleaned it out before you got it just so that they didn't look bad. If it had been exposed to mold prior to you owning it for a long enough time, it could be fatal. But it really could be anything, that'st he thing with these guys. SADS ("sudden arachnid death syndrome") is really common especially in young ones.

Again, I'm very sorry for your loss :( It sounds like you really cared for the little one, I don't think this was your fault. Just bad luck :(

Thanks you guys. I'm bummed out by the experience, but it also makes me more determined to do a better job with the newer additions whenever we're able to get some. Might get a little paranoid any time I see one go into molt now though :oops: Haha

Thanks also for the help and advice for the little while I had it. I've got a wishlist of more "beginner friendly" tarantulas that I had made after some research, here's to hoping it'll go a lot smoother (though I might pick up another P. irminia pretty soon too, other than this experience we didn't have problems and I'd like to see one grow to full size :) )