need help, jumpers keep getting sick.

[Penguin]

I have had several jumpers and a few of them keep showing DKS type symptoms. I thought this only happened to Tarantulas, but the only way i can describe what is occurring is to compare it to that. It appears to be something nuerological, because they start getting very twitchy and their motor skills affected. Over a few weeks it worsens and eventually they pass. This happened first when I got here, I just moved to NJ from Florida and never have i experienced this until i got here, my regius female did this and died. then i had slings that most of this happened to. i thought maybe it was because the female who died was the mother, so i assumed she passed something on to the slings, even though she laid the eggs before she got like this. my theory was that i fed her something that may have had a pesticide on it that perhaps hurt her.....i don't know. but then i got this p. audax male and he was big and perfectly healthy and after being here for a few weeks, he is doing it too. he is displaying the same symptoms. i only ever fed him or any of my spiders now food that i buy from reliable places. so this leads me to believe something in my house is making them sick. but i have no idea what it could be. i keep them in my room, i have a terrarium, a few critter keepers, and deli cups. i have heating pads and a light and nothing is being sprayed in the area. i use reptisafe water drops, and nothing from the outside, its all from the pet store. does anyone know what could be causing this?
the only thing i can think of is we put frontline on the dogs, but its not often and its not getting all over the place. and my slings haven't had contact with anything except the inside of the deli cups.
what is doing this to them? i feel terrible....

 

[basin79]

I have had several jumpers and a few of them keep showing DKS type symptoms. I thought this only happened to Tarantulas, but the only way i can describe what is occurring is to compare it to that. It appears to be something nuerological, because they start getting very twitchy and their motor skills affected. Over a few weeks it worsens and eventually they pass. This happened first when I got here, I just moved to NJ from Florida and never have i experienced this until i got here, my regius female did this and died. then i had slings that most of this happened to. i thought maybe it was because the female who died was the mother, so i assumed she passed something on to the slings, even though she laid the eggs before she got like this. my theory was that i fed her something that may have had a pesticide on it that perhaps hurt her.....i don't know. but then i got this p. audax male and he was big and perfectly healthy and after being here for a few weeks, he is doing it too. he is displaying the same symptoms. i only ever fed him or any of my spiders now food that i buy from reliable places. so this leads me to believe something in my house is making them sick. but i have no idea what it could be. i keep them in my room, i have a terrarium, a few critter keepers, and deli cups. i have heating pads and a light and nothing is being sprayed in the area. i use reptisafe water drops, and nothing from the outside, its all from the pet store. does anyone know what could be causing this?
the only thing i can think of is we put frontline on the dogs, but its not often and its not getting all over the place. and my slings haven't had contact with anything except the inside of the deli cups.
what is doing this to them? i feel terrible....

I've just lost my beautiful Hyllus diardi due to DKS type symptoms. Massively upsetting. All my inverts are kept in a room upstairs.

 

[sekmet022]

I'm very sorry you have to experience that, but i have a question.

Are you buying their supplies/food locally or online? If you're buying locally, though they may be a brand you trust, its possible the shop itself that sells the product has something harmful in their environment that has contaminated or left residue on/in said products. Use of pesticides, medication, and cleaners are still used within such shops and while such things may be 'pet safe', that wont necessarily mean spider safe :\ Also keep in mind that feeders may carry the bacteria that lead to DKS as well. It's not unheard of where Ts for instance are fed bad crickets and acquire DKS or other health problems.

Hope you are able to resolve this problem.

 

[The Snark]

Very little is known about the neurological effects of many pesticides as well as growth enhancing chemicals in use today. Compounding this problem is predators are rarely used in the lab tests and predators are where the toxins are often the most concentrated.
IE It may cause neurological symptoms in rats but the LD50 in Muridae is light years away from probable causes of DKS spiders.

 

[Penguin]

is it possible frontline caused this? i read that it attacks the nervous system. not that they came in direct contact with my dogs but still.....also my family has diffusers in the house that are constantly shooting out oil fragrances in the air, and someone here uses hair spray. none of which are in my room.

 

[sekmet022]

There's no real way we'd be able to identify the cause really. It sounds like you have several potential sources that could cause the problem, or it may be a combination of many things. Unless you're able to do a test and eliminate all potential exposure to each possible source, i'm not sure we'd be able to help you.

Your best bet is to move them to a location you are 100% certain is not exposed to any of those potentially harmful things, as well as changing the source of your feeders/pet supplies.

 

[Penguin]

i moved them to my bathroom and i got a hepa air purifier withh a carbon filter. i don't think its the food because the first one that got sick was being fed food that i caught outside. that was what i thought caused it. so i started buying it from the pet store. wouldn't that be something, if wild food killed one spider, so i moved to store food and it killed all the rest?
maybe the frontline and the oil and the hairspray are just creating a perfect storm. i think its time to relocate.

 

[The Snark]

Well I bothered looking up Frontline (fipronil). It could easily be the cause and away from the light like on the skin of dogs or in carpets and their bedding it has a half life of 4 months. IE, it can keep on killing for well over a year. It is also the primary suspect in colony collapse disorder. That just isn't the crap any animal keeper wants anywhere near the house.

 

[Daniel0430]

If your dogs had fleas before you put the Frontline on them and the Frontline drove them off they are attracted to heat sources like the heating pad in your terrarium. It may be possible that your jumpers are eating these fleas and getting sick. I'm not 100% but it could be a possibility.