Guys, omg. Something happened at this conference that I never ever thought would happen–I found invertebrates super interesting. And I kind of want to work with them. I didn’t even know that was an option! Also I’ve always been terrified of insects and arachnids but THEY’RE SO COOL I’VE BEEN SO WRONG ABOUT THEM. Look at this:
Look at that anatomy!!! How cool is that?? Their heart is just…dorsal. Like why?? And you can hear it with a doppler! You can anesthetize a tarantula with isoflurane and monitor their heart rate with a doppler. That blew my mind. You can perform surgery on them and suture them with 6-0 ophthalmic suture! You can give them IV and sub q fluids. That’s crazy!! And look how they drink:
Apparently they just drink like that?? I dunno why but that’s kind of cute?? They use hydrostatic pressure to move (which is crazy cool) so dehydration is actually a serious issue with them.
He also talked about scorpions, snails, shrimp, roaches, centipedes, crabs and a bunch of other animals I never would have even imagined you could treat. And honestly, I never imagined I would care enough to want to treat them but they were actually so interesting I ended up grabbing his email! Am I gonna be a spider vet?? Like that’s the last thing I EVER thought I would want do but hey, if I’m gonna treat exotics might as well include invertebrates, right?
Can’t really treat spiders/Tarantulas since a fatal injury(ruptured “butt”) kills them very quickly and minor injuries(scratches, lost limbs) heal themselves very quickly.
It’s very uncommon and kind of complicated, but you can treat them. The vet I got this info from was giving us information based on an actual abdominal rupture that he treated. He had other invertebrate cases that he had seen as well. I don’t think these kind of procedures happen often (as the number of vets willing to treat spiders is probably less than the number of people that would seek out medical care for them) but it can happen. Mostly he talked about how to deal with dehydration in these species, which seems to be a fairly common problem.
I love everything about this post but can I just add that ruptured abdomens absolutely can be treated if all conditions are favorable? Invertebrate Medicine, 2nd ed. (Lewbart, 2012) writes:
Treating trauma
Although several treatment options are available, many spiders cannot be saved. The mainstay in hemostasis is cyanoacrylate adhesive. Veterinary tissue adhesives may be used, but hobbyists normally just use commercial superglues. Although tissue adhesives (n - butyl cyanoacrylate) are reportedly less toxic, in the author’s experience, commercial formulations are just as effective and do not cause intoxication. Super Glue gel formulations are not effective, and liquid adhesive must be used. When using cyanoacrylate, several layers should be applied to build a sturdy repair. Even large opisthosoma wounds can be sealed in this way. The spider will often shed normally at the next ecdysis if the trauma has occurred more than 2 – 4 weeks before molting. If ecdysis occurs sooner than this post trauma, the new cuticle may be damaged, and this should be sealed similarly with cyanoacrylate. The cuticle will be normal after the following ecdysis. Successful use of fingernail hardeners has been reported for arresting hemorrhage from damaged legs, where the application of cyanoacrylate glue may be diffi cult (Breene, 1998). One benefit is there is no risk of legs being glued together. There are numerous other reports among hobbyists of alternatives for hemostasis, including talc, cornstarch, tissue paper, and hematinics. None of these appear to be reliable. Pizzi and Ezendam (2002) showed sutures to be ineffective and result in greater trauma (see the “Anesthesia and Surgery” section). Fluid admin-istration may be necessary in some cases. This topic is covered under the “Dehydration” section.
Even I didn’t know there was ever anyone who knew how to give a spider medical treatment. I thought every single vet in existence would just be like “uhhhh get a new one I guess”
