OMG I kind of "rescued" a tarantula-- help!

[Charlet_2007]

That's what you call a death curl.. IF she was molting she would have made and think layer of silk called a molting mat and she'd be on her back.. SHE may be a HE and he might be at the end of his life span as males only have 2 years where was female are 20-30 years.. If he has hooks on the end of his 2nd legs closest the it's mouth its a male and hes dieing.. When he was running around the tank was his way of trying to find a mate before his life was up..

[Loren]

Yep- kinda forgot about that part. I always find tarrantulas running around this time of year, but dont bother keeping them because they are about to die. I have seen the hooks on the front legs too.
Lori's looks a lot fatter than the males I find though, but I suppose thats because it was a well fed captive.

[Lori P]

Ohhhhh noooooo. Crap, now I'm sitting here in tears. I haven't gone to look at her yet... now I don't want to. Oh, my god, I can't believe I'm crying over the thought of loosing a tarantula... who'd of thought. Is she suffering??? Crap, crap, crap. I'll go look. In a minute. What if she's suffering?????

[Lori P]

Ok. She is still alive but is curled tighter. She barely moves. What do I need to do? Warmer, cooler? Is she suffering? Man... this SUCKS. Are you SURE she's dying?? Can they go into a curl for any other reason?? :-( :-(

My fav. duck, Fred, died yesterday... he was 10 years old, had the most beautiful blue eyes, and the sweetest personality. He came when you called him, loved to sit in my lap and be hand fed nightcrawlers and minnows. He actually died sometime Friday night in his sleep, his head tucked under his wing. He used to be a preforming duck at Busch Gardens... what a unique duck he was. We were going to a nursing home next weekend, Fred and Zoe the goat and one of the turkeys... he just loved attention. So I guess I'm a little over emotional this morning. :-(

[Charlet_2007]

Lori I've put her in a Tupperware container and set her in the freezer.. They go to sleep and its the most humane way to end her suffering.. I know you don't like to here it but I had to do this to my male charlie I had for 2 years.. Once they are in a death curl they don't come back out till they die.. I'm soooo sorry hun..

[Lori P]

[Snake lover 3-25]

so sorry lori

[reptile3]

Lori, I am so sorry! Any kind of pet/animal wether it be a tarantula or not.. they are apart of you!! I lost my first ball python in 2004, I was distraught!!!

I am sorry to hear about your duck also....

in my thoughts & prayers!!

[jitami]

Lori, I'm very sorry to hear about your T and your duck

We had a wild caught male T when the boys were little. I'm actually glad to hear that their lifespan is short, because I always wondered if I didn't care for him properly. He lived about a year after we got him and my father in law caught him during their late summer/fall search for a female, so makes sense.

[Loren]

Tami, thats what happened to me with my first t. I thought I had killed it somehow for a couple years, before I found out why it died. (This was before I had the wealth of knowledge called the internet.)

Lori, sorry about your duck and tarrantula, but I do have to say, any girl/woman that actually gets attached to a tarrantula enough to cry is pretty cool in my book.