My blue fang sling has been eating little roaches regularly and I decided to give it a slightly bigger cricket 2 days ago. As the cricket was about as big as the T, I wounded the cricket to make it less mobile. The sling was mobile and yesterday it was sitting on the cricket and feeding on it's leg. This morning the cricket was laying one side and obviously dead.

My blue fang however sat in a corner, not moving as usual and I gave it a little nudge, nothing. It didn't curl up (death curl), but it doesn't move. I have it in ICU at the moment, but after about three hours, it still hasn't moved at all.

I'm stumped ! It has definitely grown and it would be time for it to molt, but it doesn't look alive? My substrate is wet, and it has a waterbowl and it has been feeding. It has a small cork bark perch, which it used to frequent, but has been staying on the wet peat for the last few weeks. It has been very warm here the past two weeks, around 30 degrees every day.

Any thoughts ?

Hello Deon that must be an intense stressful time for you, all of the best to you. Stay positive ! Like to ask, since im not so experienced, could it be food contamination ? Since with any other animal after feeding, that would be my first suspect.

Thanks Martin, no it was a cricket from my own breeding stock. I accepted that the cricket was killed by the T's bite or the wound I made or both, but very surprised that the little sling is affected. I don't think a sick cricket would effect a T. That said, my crickets have their normal molts, mortallities etc, but most of them grow big and fat.I am wondering if the cricket didn't start moulding, but that could not have been before the T fed????

I clean these sling enclosures every day. As soon as it ate a little roach, because of the wet peat, the bolus will have mold the next day. I never leave it in there and besides, it's very easy to remove.

I'm sorry to hear that, Deon. Unfortunately I have no ideas of what the problem could be. Best of luck to you - I'm holding thumbs for your little :spider:

Thanks for the reply Deon, sorry yet again. Since its not food, it must be enclosure related. Either the surroundings or the actual weather influence ? Where I am its very hot in summer, so I mist way more and do refills a lot as well. Could it be from extreme temperatures ?

I thought id add a related link of another forum

www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?...your-thoughts-please