Dyskinetic/hyperkinetik symptoms in Harpactira caffreriana slings

[boina]

I am new to the hobby, just got my first 5 slings this week, and they all died 2 days after I got them. I just moved into my apartment and suspect that the living room cabinet I kept them in was full of pesticide. I did not even consider that. My coworkers think I'm nuts because I bought tarantulas, then killed them inadvertently, then cried about it. My coworkers are calling me the black widow.
Now I am scared to death of getting any more.

Pesticides seem pretty unlikely,

I think if 5 slings die nearly immediately after arrival some kind of toxins seem a distinct possibility - and I think the setup is probably not to blame because a bad setup usually takes longer to kill even a sling - unless you put them all on a heating pad that got too hot or do something stupid like that. Was it a wood cabinet? Wood may be treated against termites for example and that wouldn't be good for any tarantulas either.

But there are other possibilities: the slings may have been sick to begin with, they may have been exposed to too much heat during transport, etc., etc.

Hey @boina how has this been going for you? You mentioned you had a bunch of others showing symptoms. I'd be losing hair over this!



this is awesome... I've literally thought about this as I go grabbing things with the tongs; poop, crickets, substrate, guiding T's in and out of things, laying said tongs on the table and possibly getting more bacteria. I am going home and rubbing alcohol on everything I've used for the T's.

Don't! Sterilizing things is practically always a bad idea, except in an operating room. Sterilizing means you kill everything, but bad, pathogenic bacteria are usually kept in check by the usual bacterial flora you find all around you. Sterilizing provides a clean slate - and the first bacterium to arrive will take over. If that's a pathogen you will be in trouble.

Microbiologists have been fighting a losing battle against the sterilization mania for decades - it creates a lot more problems than it solves.

 

[Nightstalker47]

I've literally thought about this as I go grabbing things with the tongs; poop, crickets, substrate, guiding T's in and out of things, laying said tongs on the table and possibly getting more bacteria. I am going home and rubbing alcohol on everything I've used for the T's.

Nothing wrong with keeping your tongs clean, wouldn't use rubbing alcohol though...just rinse and scrub thoroughly under warm water.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Don't! Sterilizing things is practically always a bad idea, except in an operating room. Sterilizing means you kill everything, but bad, pathogenic bacteria are usually kept in check by the usual bacterial flora you find all around you. Sterilizing provides a clean slate - and the first bacterium to arrive will take over. If that's a pathogen you will be in trouble.

Microbiologists have been fighting a losing battle against the sterilization mania for decades - it creates a lot more problems than it solves.

You saved my life!

I was in doubt if purchasing or not an autoclave to add a bit of science in my invert/arachnid room, but thankfully I've read this