Please Help!!!

[pokemepokey]

This morning I went to check on all of my Ts like I do every morning and noticed my balfouri on its back flailing and twitching like crazy. Her legs were twitching, her fangs were going crazy, and she couldn't keep herself upright. She's probably around 1.5-1.75". It seems as though she is displaying symptoms of DKS. I took her away from all the tarantulas and took her out of her container and put her into a clean container with moist paper towel. If there's anything else I can do for her please let me know. I really don't want to lose her. Any help is greatly appreciated and many thanks in advance!

 

[Storm76]

What did you feed her last and did you feed anything from the same batch to some other T's of yours?

Was there anything sprayed lately in your house / room where you keep them?

 

[pokemepokey]

She just molted around 8-10 days ago and I just fed her on thanksgiving from a batch of crickets I got. A few of my other Ts all ate from the same batch and so far they are ok. My Ts are kept in their own area away from everything else. There is a dog in the house but she hasn't been on frontline or any flea medication since we moved into the new place. My roommates know not to spray any forms of insecticides in or around the house because of the Ts and snakes. I make sure to never spray any forms of cologne or febreeze or anything of the such. I'm so worried about her and of course the rest of my collection.

 

[Storm76]

Sounds to me as if that cricket might have been the cause...no idea what to do right what except what you have alright done

 

[pokemepokey]

Yeah that's all I could think to do, if there even is anything I can do. I hate to see her this way because she looks miserable. I hope she pulls through but from what I've read her outlook seems grim. I just don't want it to spread to any other Ts or worse yet the whole batch had the same thing that that cricket potentially passed to my balfouri. Thank you so much for helping and lending me the advice you could it means a lot to me.

 

[Tarac]

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?239915-Another-DKS-thread

It is displaying dyskinesia which is the symptom, you can say that for sure if it isn't moving right. It's not a syndrome as suggested by the term DKS, it is a symptom which you can indeed diagnose by eye- if it isn't moving right, it is dyskinetic.

Have you made sure it is getting enough water? Little guys can dry out although it sounds like it should be past the very fragile stage at that DLS. Note that there was a rash of suspected dehydrated sling deaths a decade or so ago, seems to have been forgotten now with different standard watering practices in the hobby these days, but I think it is a culprit more often than we think. We like to pick on things we can't see or understand readily like chemical contamination but it's not any more likely than too dry or bad breeding or what have you until we have some better way to diagnose what is going on physiologically.

Sounds like you have the right idea as far as ICU and such so my fingers are crossed for you and your little T that it is just a little dehydrated.

I had an OBT that died of the twitches, it sucks and nothing I did helped. I hope this is not the case for you and that a little extra warmth and humidity might fix your problem. If I recall correctly M. balfouri does come from a moister habitat, maybe it will recover. Best wishes!

 

[pokemepokey]

Thank you guys so much for all your help. When I got home from school the little one looked much worse. She was on her back in a death curl and would flinch violently only at light or a slight brush of air. After some time of her looking like she wasn't going to pull out of it, I decided to ease her pain and euthanize her. It was possibly the hardest thing I've ever had to do. It was very upsetting as she was one of my first when I re-entered the hobby and she was such a spunky little bugger. I hope in the future more research is done in this area so we can better understand what is causing these symptoms. I kept her humidity high but not high like I keep my pokies, so maybe dehydration was the cause. Now I'm like an over protective mother watching closely over the rest. Again thank you guys for the helpful words.