dks on b.albopilosum sling

SuleymanC

Arachnoknight
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Feb 18, 2017
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213
I have a b.albopilosum sling that has dks but it eats, just has trouble moving...is there a chance for it to come alive? i soaked 3/4 of substrate...what you all think of powerfeeding in this case?
 

RonnyT

Arachnosquire
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Nov 16, 2017
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100
Are you sure its DKS, can you make a video of the spider moving?
 

EulersK

Arachnonomicon
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Feb 22, 2013
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As important as it is to keep it healthy enough to molt and overcome the symptoms, of equal importance is finding what caused this in the first place. Has the sling done this since the day you got it? If not, then it very likely came into contact with some harmful chemical in your home. Pesticides, heavy fragrances, flea killers, and tobacco are common issues.
 

Sana

Arachnoprince
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Oct 26, 2014
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1,139
It’s possible for a tarantula to survive the symptoms described as dks but as @EulersK pointed out the source of the issue needs to be addressed. These symptoms are most often caused by poisoning for lack of a better word. If this is an issue that started prior to arrival then it isn’t something in your environment. If it’s started recently without any previous issues determining the source is essential for keeping all of your tarantuls healthy.
 

SuleymanC

Arachnoknight
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Feb 18, 2017
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213
thanks to all for informative answers and no I don't smoke or keep toxic chemicals inside my room where I actually keep all.. other slings are fine ever since I bought them but this one was also looked fine for many molts it had under my care but its very upsetting to see him or her in this position.. the cup had some dust i dont know if dust can cause dks as well but I took slightly moist with water paper towel and wipe out all the dust my eyes could catch
 

SuleymanC

Arachnoknight
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Feb 18, 2017
Messages
213
Are you sure its DKS, can you make a video of the spider moving?
yes it's dks because all the symptoms spider have are indication of dks and it cant move...legs always stay in weird position and it has trouble finding food when i try feeding so i have to manually feed by bringing food under the fangs
 

EulersK

Arachnonomicon
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no I don't smoke or keep toxic chemicals inside my room where I actually keep all.. other slings are fine ever since I bought them but this one was also looked fine for many molts it had under my care but its very upsetting to see him or her in this position
So, here's the deal. The only known cause of these symptoms is either a parasite (which would be removed with a molt) or exposure to harmful chemicals. I'm not trying to be accusatory at all, but this spider was almost certainly exposed to something harmful in your care. Not your fault, stuff happens. Many of us have had spiders that have come back from worse, but you absolutely have to try and figure out what went wrong. These twitchy movements don't "just happen" for no reason. And they're not caused by some dust. Cologne, flea collars, incense, Febreeze, cleaners, I could go on. Tarantulas are surprisingly fragile. I recently had a person simply laying wall tile in my bathroom (and only a total of 16 tiles) where my mature males are kept - over half of them died from those fumes alone, and I couldn't smell a thing. We're not talking about "toxic" chemicals here, we're talking about anything that may be harmful to them but harmless to you.
 

SuleymanC

Arachnoknight
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Feb 18, 2017
Messages
213
So, here's the deal. The only known cause of these symptoms is either a parasite (which would be removed with a molt) or exposure to harmful chemicals. I'm not trying to be accusatory at all, but this spider was almost certainly exposed to something harmful in your care. Not your fault, stuff happens. Many of us have had spiders that have come back from worse, but you absolutely have to try and figure out what went wrong. These twitchy movements don't "just happen" for no reason. And they're not caused by some dust. Cologne, flea collars, incense, Febreeze, cleaners, I could go on. Tarantulas are surprisingly fragile. I recently had a person simply laying wall tile in my bathroom (and only a total of 16 tiles) where my mature males are kept - over half of them died from those fumes alone, and I couldn't smell a thing. We're not talking about "toxic" chemicals here, we're talking about anything that may be harmful to them but harmless to you.
do you think changing setup completely may make some sort of improvement? i changed the substrate not long ago but do you think there might be very tiny mold that i do not see in his or her setup? I'll do all possibilities to save it but if not it will die, it happens to many people too but i guess you can't save everything..1 thing that surprised me was all other slings are happy and well but except for this one I mentioned
 

boina

Lady of the mites
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Mar 25, 2015
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2,217
The only known cause of these symptoms is either a parasite (which would be removed with a molt) or exposure to harmful chemicals.
Or bacteria, like Saccharopolyspora spinosa, producing Spinosyn A. Or another bacterial infection can cause the same symptoms. Or possibly Microsporidia (a single cell parasitic fungus). As shown here:

Another one I know who has lost a lot of specimens has sent dead spiders and crickets to a institute (www.EXOMED.de) for examination. A rough summary of the results (was not easy to translate, especially the specialized terms):
Histology: a highgrade inflamed bowel with heavy "Proliferation" of inflame-cells, a starting necrosis. Almost no content in the bowel! In a histologic cut lots of big chopsticklike bacteria in the wall of the bowel. Sporadic "Microsporidien".
It's just not as cut and dried.
 

SuleymanC

Arachnoknight
Joined
Feb 18, 2017
Messages
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so if you think you are doing everything right what other steps you can do to reduce risks of death from dks?
 
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