mite removal from P. murinus

I posted this on the tarantulas.com forum awhile back.


(Horrible pics of me - I don't look that scary! The tarantula, however... )

I purchased Shiva over half a year ago. She looked healthy enough, but I missed the mites that encrusted her underside. I believe her infestation was a combination of being wild caught and the soaked conditions of her tank.

The seller said I could return her for a refund, but I was afraid he'd euthanize the orange terror or resell her to another unsuspecting person. I really liked the spider, too, and wanted to care for what I had. I read that severe infestations can lead to mites actually crawling up into the book lungs and suffocating the host - I don't know if this is true, but I felt it was a bad idea to leave the mites alone.

I researched and discovered there were several recommended ways to rid parasites, from completely redecorating the tank, removing the water dish & humidity and using food as the only source of hydration (to dry out the mites), to literally brushing the mites off (sometimes using baby powder). Since the infestation was severe, I decided the most effective method was to brush baby powder onto the affected areas.

The baby powder would dry off the mites (they survive in a moist environment), and the brush would actually remove some of them. Knowing Shiva would happily sink her fangs into me any change she could get, I used a wooden spatula to gently pin her down into the soft substrate. I was then able to pick her up and brush the powder onto her. I started to lose my grip once and I didn't want to harm her, so I had to put her down and recapture her. She was not happy! She even dripped venom onto my hand.



To this day she's still trying to plan her revenge.



I couldn't get all of the mites, but I did manage to remove 90% of them. I destroyed all contents of her cage to remove any loose parasites, and redecorated. A couple days ago she emerged from her new tunnel and I got to examine her closely. She looks wonderful. I only spot a couple mites here and there, but most have been eradicated.

Here's a closeup of her before the mites were removed. They would move to her mouth area, attracted by the moisture of her prey.



I wouldn't recommend this procedure for everyone, especially with this specie!

Umm thats AMAZING . I cant get over how you can hold a T like that and it doesnt spaz out and try to attack you. On the other hand maybe shes just happy you can help her like that ! Just a beautiful T !

Wow! That's excellent... I've never had a major mite problem, though I'll be sure to remember to try that if I do!

Was it literally brushing at the mites with baby powder then? I've always had in mind to use vaseline/similar petroleum jelly, but I guess baby powder would be more economic.

Oh.... "TARANTULA MITE INFESTATION" What a great name for a 1970 B-Movie

Welcome to the boards, and keep posting good stuff! Share the wealth!

OT:

Are your pics copyrighted by the same Oleg Volk from thehighroad.org and http://www.a-human-right.com/ ??

I like his pics....even the non gun related stuff.


Great post and welcome to the board!

Yep, that's the same Oleg. His other site is http://www.olegvolk.net
He does have a couple tarantula pics there as well, along with better pics of me.

Here's a photo he did:

I think that T was photographed at a pet store.

Frostbyte:

She did wrestle, so I had to be careful not to harm her. She is incredibly strong! In the second pic you can see her using her legs to try to rotate herself around and out of my hand. She was really mad and stuck her fangs out.

She was a little more "sluggish" than usual, so I figured she was going to molt soon, which was good for me - not only was she less tempermental while I was handling her, but her molt a couple weeks afterwards helped shed some mites.

deifiler:
Yes, I literally brushed the powder on. Vaseline was also suggested to me, but I was reluctant to use anything "gooey."

---

I read in another thread that a good way to apply fungus meds to a T. blondi was to poke holes in a plastic box and put the spider in that. You then poke cotton swabs through the holes to reach the spider. Your hands are safe and there's les stress on the spider. If I had learned that then, I would've used that method with Shiva.

You handled your Usumbara quite well but if you need to do it again you can stick the T in the refridgerator to cool it down and slow it down alot. It will get lively again as it warms up but it is a trick that some other people have reported using with the more defensive species as an additional precautionary measure while attending to a T in a situation like this. I've read of people using a mild soap solution on the brush instead of baby powder but taking care not to get it in the book lungs. I can only relate the info second hand since I never had to deal with a T that actually had mites on it . <knocks on wood>

I was really, really afraid to put her in the fridge. Only if I was really neglectful would she get too cold and die, but I really didn't like the idea of sticking her in there.

(It's probably because I almost got frostbitten once and shiver at the thought of geting cold! )

You are brave Betty!

Usually i grip my Ts ventrally along the carapace between the 2nd and the 3rd legs, but it seems that your method also works flawlessly.

The more expensive but the most reliable way to get rid of the parasitic mites is to introduce predatory mites to your tanks that have parasitic mite infestation. These beneficial mites will devour all parasitic mites and their eggs but do no harm to the tarantulas.

that's BRAVE.. i wouldn't even be able to hold a g rose like that...:}

i thought mites were black?
awesome pics

Brave or insane:?

I think both
Welcome to the gang Betty.

I have 2 of those crazy beasts and I would never handle
them like you did. Awsome work

Cute pics!

I liked the one where you are holding the M16

Have a good one,

/David

Very Cool!! I love the look of determination in the one picture. Very nice job and nice T rescue!!

Brave or insane
I think both

Click to expand...

It's definitely not something I'd try again.

She was very squirmy - you can see how she's trying to push herself free. (I'm not squeezing her abdomen, though it does look like it!)

how did you see the mites? i mean find out that your t had mites??

I found out when she walked up the side of her tank - on her underside, the corners of her carapace were just encrusted with the mites. They're small but still very visible to the naked eye.

When she would eat, they would migrate to her food and crawl all over her eyes and chelicerae. She would rub some off, but they would just crawl up her legs and burrow back in her joints. Yuck.