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Spider Surgery.
I wanted to share something I found this week with BTS members, that hopefully may save spider lives and limbs in the future. To some of you this may not be a revelation however to others members it could be valuable information.
Last Sunday I took my male Nandu Chromatus (Brazil Striped) to mate with a fellow keepers female. He had built a sperm web just a few days earlier and was ready to go. I expected he would be eaten after mating but Shaun managed to separate them almost immediately following a quick mating. I was pleased as I particularly like my Nandu Chromatus!
When I got him home, I noticed he was loosing fluid which upon closer inspection proved to be Hemolymph (Spider blood that shows as think clear liquid with a blue tint) from a single puncture wound between his Coxa and Trochanter, just before his Femur on his 4th (back) leg. It was bleeding quite bad and I new he would be dead in the morning if I did nothing. I considered amputating the leg however do the close proximity of the wound to his Sternum. Amputation would more than likely end with him bleeding to death anyway. Another thing I had to consider was venomation, however this was a secondary consideration.
Hemolymph lacks the Haemoglobin of mammal blood. It’s the Haemoglobin that gives it our blood the red colour and allows it to clot quickly sealing small wounds. Hemolymph contains a substance called Hemocyanin that gives it a blue tint hence the Cyan reference, but that provides a very limited clotting agent. Hence the reason many spiders die when injured, they simply bleed to death.
So I had to consider his and my options…………………. I had to stop the bleeding without amputating his leg or killing him. My solution was Vaseline.
Vaseline is quite a viscous liquid at room temperature, it is used during boxing matches to stop blood flow from cuts acquired during a fight. I love boxing as well as my spiders! My solution was to get his wound dressed with Vaseline.
How I did this was simple. I put him in a small plastic case and put him in the fridge. I checked him every 3 of 4 minutes to check his level of dormancy, once I could turn the tub over and rest him on his back without him trying to turn over or overreact to being prodded by his injury I knew he was “under”. From there I took a cotton bud and put plenty of Vaseline on it. I held that over the wound and then used a lighter to melt the Vaseline. As the Vaseline melted I touched the cotton bud over the wound and the now runny Vaseline dripped like candle wax right over the wound. It instantly cooled again and provided an air and indeed Hemolymph tight seal, thus preventing the death of my spider. I left him on his back to warm back up and kept an eye on him for a couple of days. I placed him on a piece of kitchen role during his operation and recuperation period. This also allowed me to look for other signs of bleeding as these would be visible by the soaking capillary action of the cloth. On Wednesday he took a cricket and began webbing up in the plastic tub, and so I knew he was on the mend. Luckily he showed no sign of venomation. Yesterday the Vaseline seal dropped off and to my relief the wound did not bleed. He has now being moved from his “hospital” tub back to his Vivarium, where he will more than likely live out his remaining days under my care, unless of course he gets the chance to mate again.
I haven’t come across any similar techniques in any books, most advise sticking your poor spider in the freezer and euthanising them in these circumstances. I am interested to hear any other techniques people have applied. I have aptly named my technique the “Clegg Technique” and I hope that by sharing this idea some other BTS members can also protect their spiders. My advice is to keep a clear clean tub, some Vaseline, cotton buds and a lighter in your spider kits, just in case!
Regards
J M Clegg (Spider Surgeon)
Last Sunday I took my male Nandu Chromatus (Brazil Striped) to mate with a fellow keepers female. He had built a sperm web just a few days earlier and was ready to go. I expected he would be eaten after mating but Shaun managed to separate them almost immediately following a quick mating. I was pleased as I particularly like my Nandu Chromatus!
When I got him home, I noticed he was loosing fluid which upon closer inspection proved to be Hemolymph (Spider blood that shows as think clear liquid with a blue tint) from a single puncture wound between his Coxa and Trochanter, just before his Femur on his 4th (back) leg. It was bleeding quite bad and I new he would be dead in the morning if I did nothing. I considered amputating the leg however do the close proximity of the wound to his Sternum. Amputation would more than likely end with him bleeding to death anyway. Another thing I had to consider was venomation, however this was a secondary consideration.
Hemolymph lacks the Haemoglobin of mammal blood. It’s the Haemoglobin that gives it our blood the red colour and allows it to clot quickly sealing small wounds. Hemolymph contains a substance called Hemocyanin that gives it a blue tint hence the Cyan reference, but that provides a very limited clotting agent. Hence the reason many spiders die when injured, they simply bleed to death.
So I had to consider his and my options…………………. I had to stop the bleeding without amputating his leg or killing him. My solution was Vaseline.
Vaseline is quite a viscous liquid at room temperature, it is used during boxing matches to stop blood flow from cuts acquired during a fight. I love boxing as well as my spiders! My solution was to get his wound dressed with Vaseline.
How I did this was simple. I put him in a small plastic case and put him in the fridge. I checked him every 3 of 4 minutes to check his level of dormancy, once I could turn the tub over and rest him on his back without him trying to turn over or overreact to being prodded by his injury I knew he was “under”. From there I took a cotton bud and put plenty of Vaseline on it. I held that over the wound and then used a lighter to melt the Vaseline. As the Vaseline melted I touched the cotton bud over the wound and the now runny Vaseline dripped like candle wax right over the wound. It instantly cooled again and provided an air and indeed Hemolymph tight seal, thus preventing the death of my spider. I left him on his back to warm back up and kept an eye on him for a couple of days. I placed him on a piece of kitchen role during his operation and recuperation period. This also allowed me to look for other signs of bleeding as these would be visible by the soaking capillary action of the cloth. On Wednesday he took a cricket and began webbing up in the plastic tub, and so I knew he was on the mend. Luckily he showed no sign of venomation. Yesterday the Vaseline seal dropped off and to my relief the wound did not bleed. He has now being moved from his “hospital” tub back to his Vivarium, where he will more than likely live out his remaining days under my care, unless of course he gets the chance to mate again.
I haven’t come across any similar techniques in any books, most advise sticking your poor spider in the freezer and euthanising them in these circumstances. I am interested to hear any other techniques people have applied. I have aptly named my technique the “Clegg Technique” and I hope that by sharing this idea some other BTS members can also protect their spiders. My advice is to keep a clear clean tub, some Vaseline, cotton buds and a lighter in your spider kits, just in case!
Regards
J M Clegg (Spider Surgeon)
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