Treatment for DKS

[Campi95]

This is amazing information, OP. Thank you for your rigorous approach.

I think it’s hard to determine why heat helped, particularly since nobody really knows what causes DKS. Here’s my two cents on it from my knowledge of infectious processes.

(Note: this doesn’t really apply if the DKS was due to a toxin exposure. If it was toxins (i.e, pesticides) then treatment besides basic supportive ICU care won’t work, and the ones that pass away will be the ones that are weaker/more contaminated)

Spiders cannot quite regulate their body temperature and thus, cannot have fevers. As people above have explained, fevers disrupt a lot of the processes required for bacteria, viruses and fungi to survive and infect. It is quite possible that if this instance of DKS was caused by a bacterial or viral pathogen, the heat lamp induced an artificial fever that gave the spider’s own immune system enough of an edge. That, combined with the fact that most bacteria and pathogens grow excellent at room temp but sharply decline in viability just a couple degrees above body temperature makes this a likely scenario.

But that begs the question, why did some react better than others? I believe the hint is your observation that the hot climate species fared better. These species are adapted to higher temps, and thus were allowed to keep themselves alive longer. Fever will kill either the pathogen or the host, often being very close to killing both. There’s a chance that the “fever” was what killed those specimens prior to it killing what was ailing them. As many misinformed owners can attest to, I’m sure that if you were to have kept the “fever” on after the others had recovered, they too would have died.


In short. I’m so so sorry for your loss. But I feel you have done the hobby a great benefit from your observations.

 

[MintyWood826]

I wonder if it could be a parasite that causes dks. I've heard about parasites that infect a host and turn them into "zombies" and maybe that's what the spazzy movements are from. @boina

It's great that you've found a way to cure at least some t's suffering from this it's awful to watch!

 

[aenigmatica8]

DKS - dyskinetic syndrome - is a catch all term used to describe jerky, uncoordinated and often hyperkinetic movement in spiders. A cause has not been determined yet, but poisoning through pesticides can lead to these symptoms as well as a bacterial infection. More often than not the affected spider will die.

Recently I had the unfortunate chance to study this 'DKS' since several of my spiders showed symptoms. I searched the internet for treatment options and found heat treatment mentioned several times on a German forum, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Here is my experience with it. I thought I'd treat it like a scientific study.

A. Affected spiders:

1. Two H. caffreriana slings, very badly affected. One died before I could start treatment, so there was one left for the study.
2. Lampropelma nigerrimun, AF, badly affected
3. Tapinauchenius sp. Colombia juvenile, badly affected
4. E. sp. red, AF, badly affected
5. T. cyaneolum juvenile, mild to moderately affected
6. G. pulchra, juvenile female, mildly affected

7. C. cyaneopubescens (GBB), AF, moderately affected, not treated but kept as a control "group".

Legend:
badly affected = dys- and hyperkinetic, no coordinated movement possible
moderately affected = dyskinetic, mildly hyperkinetic, movement still shows a discernible direction
mildly affected = dyskinetic, jerky, but directed movement

Heat treatment setup:

The spiders were left in their enclosures. The enclosures where placed under a red heat lamp. Temperatures under the heat lamp ranged from 30 to 35°C / 85 to 95F. The heat lamp was switched off for 10 hours during night time.

All spiders except the H. caffreriana sling had a water bowl and those were kept perpetually full. Other than that the moisture level in the enclosures was kept as it was. The sling got a drop of water on it's web every two days.

Results:

The E. sp. red showed no improvement but instead deteriorated fast and died after about a week.
T. cyaneolum showed neither improvement nor worsening of the symptoms. After 3 weeks heat treatment was terminated for this spider since it obviously didn't help.
All other affected spiders showed obvious improvement:
The G. pulchra with only mild symptoms to begin with was considered cured after three weeks and heat treatment was terminated. She doesn't eat yet but she's rather fat so I think she's just full. Her movement is normal.
L. nigerrimum and the Tapi move nearly normal after 3 weeks of treatment, even though their symptoms were severe in the beginning. L. nigerrimum has even started to remodel her burrow. Both are eagerly accepting prekilled food. They still get heat treatment ever other day to sustain their good condition and to speed up a molt.
H. caffreriana is still showing symptoms but those decreased from very bad to moderate. It's still getting heat treatment and I hope it will molt soon.

The GBB without treatment showed no improvement and rather seems to be slowly deteriorating. (I know, I'm a nasty scientist but I wanted at least one control.)

Discussion:

All spiders from warm/hot climates (Lampropelma, Tapinauchenius, Harpactira) showed vast improvements under heat treatment.
Spiders from colder climates (E. sp. red, T. cyaneolum, G. pulchra) did not profit in the same way from the treatment. Although the G. pulchra got better she didn't show severe symptoms to begin with. It cannot be excluded that heat treatment even aggravated the symptoms of the E. sp. red and, in hindsight, may have contributed to it's death.

Conclusion:

For spiders from warm/hot climates heat treatment can be recommended as a treatment for DKS symptoms.

Heat treatment cannot be recommended for spiders from colder climates although it may help somewhat in certain cases.


P.S.. The GBB will be started on heat treatment now.

Thank you SO much for doing this study! I have a sling with DKS and would do anything to cure it, but there’s zero research out there! Very frustrating. It’s an E. campestratus so hopefully it will benefit from the heat. I would like to do this in a controlled fashion. The problem is that at night I use the air conditioner so it might reverse the benefits of the heat during the day.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Just a short update:

The GBB has died, becoming the third casualty of this disease. I don't know if I waited too long before starting treatment or if it was doomed from the start. Everyone else is doing alright.

Rip hope you learn a cure.
I’ve lost 10 or more Ts to dks , had no deaths in a few years.
Was very sad when P Metallica sub adult got dks , i can’t afford a another.

 

[boina]

Maybe it is a good idea to put a final update under this 6 months later. The affected spiders were:

1. Two H. caffreriana slings, very badly affected. One died before I could start treatment, so there was one left for the study.
2. Lampropelma nigerrimun, AF, badly affected
3. Tapinauchenius sp. Colombia juvenile, badly affected
4. E. sp. red, AF, badly affected
5. T. cyaneolum juvenile, mild to moderately affected
6. G. pulchra, juvenile female, mildly affected

7. C. cyaneopubescens (GBB), AF, moderately affected, not treated but kept as a control "group".

To go from bottom up:

7. The GBB didn't make it. It was first kept untreated, then treated later, but maybe that was too late. It never got any better and died after several weeks.

6. The mildly affected G. pulchra was declared healed directly after the heat treatment and that was that.

5. The T. cyaneolum juvenile still displays weird movements. At this point I'm waiting for it to finally molt... slow growing species can really be a pain sometimes.

4. As described before, the E./H. sp. red died soon after the treatment.

3. The. T. sp. Columbia improved significantly with the heat treatment but continued to show jerky movements. I fed her prekilled, which she accepted, until she went into premolt. She finally molted a couple of months ago and has been perfectly fine ever since, of course killing her roaches herself since the molt.

2. The L. nigerrimum showed the biggest improvement with the heat treatment. She continued to show somewhat weird movement for a few weeks but kept improving and tackled a live, adult Dubia a couple of months later without even molting beforehand. Basically, she healed without needing a molt to do so.

1. The H. caffreriana sling was definitely affected the worst. Luckily it showed enough improvement from the heat treatment to be able to eat prekilled. Still, every bump on the enclosure would set off another bout of uncontrollable twitching. The 'prekilled' prey had to be absolutely dead and unmoving for it to eat - but it did eat. It finally managed to molt in this state! That improved things somewhat, but there were still very obvious symptoms. Still, it accepted food more eagerly now. A few weeks ago it molted for the second time and and I decided to rehouse since the old vial had really become too small. I hadn't rehoused before for fear of stressing it and it not being up to exploring something new. But the rehouse went well enough and after a few weeks it finally (finally!!) started to web, like a good little Harpactira. Movement seemed pretty normal, too, so yesterday I decided to try a live roach - and it took it down like a champ! So, I'm finally signing off on a clean bill of health for this one, too.
(And I'm really hoping for it being female since the one unaffected sibling I still have looks suspiciously like a male... That sibling is significantly bigger by now - nearly twice as big - it molted one time more and gained more size with each molt. The illness may have affected the growth of the affected sling.)

Anyway, it looks as if tarantulas with faster metabolism deal better with whatever this was, maybe because their metabolism is better in clearing out toxins/infections. A molt seems to be helpful in healing, but not always necessary.

Now, if that T. cyaneolum would finally decide to molt, too...

 

[Gogyeng]

Amazing thread. Thanks for the good read !

 

[Arachnophoric]

I think I'm going to attempt this treatment with my C. albostriatus. Fingers crossed that I'm not starting too late - noticed symptoms starting Monday night.

 

[Death1life2]

Hey, one of my B. auratum juveniles is presenting with moderate DKS symptoms. I'm trying what you suggested. I will let you know how it goes. Poor T

Please let me know if you have any additional findings or tips. Thank you!

 

[curtisgiganteus]

Hey, one of my B. auratum juveniles is presenting with moderate DKS symptoms. I'm trying what you suggested. I will let you know how it goes. Poor T

Please let me know if you have any additional findings or tips. Thank you!

This thread is 5 years old, however I would be interested in hearing your findings.

I think the highest temps you should aim for are whatever the annual high temps are in your spiders native ranges. Most people keep their animals significantly cooler than they would be in nature.

 

[DustyD]

And dehydration is a cause of DKS symptoms. Tom’s Big Spiders podcast had a two-part interview with a vet who has 50 or so Ts and I believe hydration was one of his key points.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

And dehydration is a cause of DKS symptoms. Tom’s Big Spiders podcast had a two-part interview with a vet who has 50 or so Ts and I believe hydration was one of his key points.

Dehydration most certainly does not cause DKS. It causes folding of the legs and wobbly locomotion, not the erratic uncoordinated locomotion associated with the condition. The problem with discussing DKS is that everyone seems to have their own idea of what it is, when the problem is very distinct. It is one of those things where you will know it when you see it, but you probably never will because it is so rare.

 

[8 legged]

One thesis - which I personally consider plausible - comes from B. Rast. Nerve damage by bacteria/viruses after the formation of nerve tracts and endings, mainly after molting... However, there are countless theses that speak against it.
At least the issue isn't quite as annoying as the constipation trend...

 

[curtisgiganteus]

One thesis - which I personally consider plausible - comes from B. Rast. Nerve damage by bacteria/viruses after the formation of nerve tracts and endings, mainly after molting... However, there are countless theses that speak against it.
At least the issue isn't quite as annoying as the constipation trend...

I’ve dealt with DKS a few times. Never impaction though

 

[DustyD]

Dehydration most certainly does not cause DKS. It causes folding of the legs and wobbly locomotion, not the erratic uncoordinated locomotion associated with the condition. The problem with discussing DKS is that everyone seems to have their own idea of what it is, when the problem is very distinct. It is one of those things where you will know it when you see it, but you probably never will because it is so rare.

I may have conflated his comments about dehydration and DKS. I will listen again to the podcast when I can.

 

[Goddessin]

I currently have a Rosie that has dks.
She has had it for about 2.5 weeks. I would consider her symptoms to be moderate to severe, but hey were definitely severe to start.
She has not eaten since it started, even w pre kill or guts directly to her mouthparts. She does drink. I refill her dish several times a day. I'm sure some is drank, but also some is splashed w her movements.
She molted about 2 months ago, so I have little hope of inducing one.
The cause is unknown. I suspect it has to do w open windows.
My neighbor is selling his house, and I came home one day to a pest control vehicle in his driveway.
Either it somehow blew inside, or some critter that was in contact got in my house & into her enclosure.
I'm leaning towards an outside bug, either affected from a chemical outside, or having some parasite.
She had a wax worm 3 days after her molt, and a super worm a few days before her symptoms showed.
She is a smart spider. She's learning to maneuver, even w her uncoordinated & jerky motions. She occasionally flips herself over still, but the first 2 days, was constant, so there is some improvement there.
I cannot figure how to get her to eat. She is visibly dropping weight. I don't know if she is burning it fast w no intake & a lot more movement, or what. Possibly dehydration, even w her dish constantly needing refilled.
After reading this I am going to try to bring the temperature up a bit & see if that helps. It is colder now that outside is colder, but still around 72-74 in her enclosure. Humidity is higher from her splashing, but I'm hoping if need be she will do some capillary drinking.

 

[fcat]

I currently have a Rosie that has dks.
She has had it for about 2.5 weeks. I would consider her symptoms to be moderate to severe, but hey were definitely severe to start.
She has not eaten since it started, even w pre kill or guts directly to her mouthparts. She does drink. I refill her dish several times a day. I'm sure some is drank, but also some is splashed w her movements.
She molted about 2 months ago, so I have little hope of inducing one.
The cause is unknown. I suspect it has to do w open windows.
My neighbor is selling his house, and I came home one day to a pest control vehicle in his driveway.
Either it somehow blew inside, or some critter that was in contact got in my house & into her enclosure.
I'm leaning towards an outside bug, either affected from a chemical outside, or having some parasite.
She had a wax worm 3 days after her molt, and a super worm a few days before her symptoms showed.
She is a smart spider. She's learning to maneuver, even w her uncoordinated & jerky motions. She occasionally flips herself over still, but the first 2 days, was constant, so there is some improvement there.
I cannot figure how to get her to eat. She is visibly dropping weight. I don't know if she is burning it fast w no intake & a lot more movement, or what. Possibly dehydration, even w her dish constantly needing refilled.
After reading this I am going to try to bring the temperature up a bit & see if that helps. It is colder now that outside is colder, but still around 72-74 in her enclosure. Humidity is higher from her splashing, but I'm hoping if need be she will do some capillary drinking.

Hi there,

First of all, I want to apologize that you didn't get any help. I am thinking your message got buried as this was an old post that you replied to. I also see it was your first post here. I'm sorry that you are experiencing this. I see it has been a few weeks, are there any updates? Are you able to navigate this website to create your own post to get some attention and possible assistance with your issue?

If there is anything you can do to help her, it would be to post a new thread, with pictures, even a video would be amazing. The type of substrate, feeders and source. You never know. Would need to specify her size.

You can copy and paste what you already wrote, no need to get fancy, just get a post up. By not doing this, you can make her worse, just one example I would bet money it's way too moist in there for her liking.

You can't hurt her by keeping her at 76-78 degrees, but she might like it more and it might help the excess moisture evaporate faster. Heat rises, you can achieve a degree or two by putting her on a top shelf but MAKE SURE SHE CANT ESCAPE.

 

[notbatman]

DKS - dyskinetic syndrome - is a catch all term used to describe jerky, uncoordinated and often hyperkinetic movement in spiders. A cause has not been determined yet, but poisoning through pesticides can lead to these symptoms as well as a bacterial infection. More often than not the affected spider will die.

Recently I had the unfortunate chance to study this 'DKS' since several of my spiders showed symptoms. I searched the internet for treatment options and found heat treatment mentioned several times on a German forum, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Here is my experience with it. I thought I'd treat it like a scientific study.

A. Affected spiders:

1. Two H. caffreriana slings, very badly affected. One died before I could start treatment, so there was one left for the study.
2. Lampropelma nigerrimun, AF, badly affected
3. Tapinauchenius sp. Colombia juvenile, badly affected
4. E. sp. red, AF, badly affected
5. T. cyaneolum juvenile, mild to moderately affected
6. G. pulchra, juvenile female, mildly affected

7. C. cyaneopubescens (GBB), AF, moderately affected, not treated but kept as a control "group".

Legend:
badly affected = dys- and hyperkinetic, no coordinated movement possible
moderately affected = dyskinetic, mildly hyperkinetic, movement still shows a discernible direction
mildly affected = dyskinetic, jerky, but directed movement

Heat treatment setup:

The spiders were left in their enclosures. The enclosures where placed under a red heat lamp. Temperatures under the heat lamp ranged from 30 to 35°C / 85 to 95F. The heat lamp was switched off for 10 hours during night time.

All spiders except the H. caffreriana sling had a water bowl and those were kept perpetually full. Other than that the moisture level in the enclosures was kept as it was. The sling got a drop of water on it's web every two days.

Results:

The E. sp. red showed no improvement but instead deteriorated fast and died after about a week.
T. cyaneolum showed neither improvement nor worsening of the symptoms. After 3 weeks heat treatment was terminated for this spider since it obviously didn't help.
All other affected spiders showed obvious improvement:
The G. pulchra with only mild symptoms to begin with was considered cured after three weeks and heat treatment was terminated. She doesn't eat yet but she's rather fat so I think she's just full. Her movement is normal.
L. nigerrimum and the Tapi move nearly normal after 3 weeks of treatment, even though their symptoms were severe in the beginning. L. nigerrimum has even started to remodel her burrow. Both are eagerly accepting prekilled food. They still get heat treatment ever other day to sustain their good condition and to speed up a molt.
H. caffreriana is still showing symptoms but those decreased from very bad to moderate. It's still getting heat treatment and I hope it will molt soon.

The GBB without treatment showed no improvement and rather seems to be slowly deteriorating. (I know, I'm a nasty scientist but I wanted at least one control.)

Discussion:

All spiders from warm/hot climates (Lampropelma, Tapinauchenius, Harpactira) showed vast improvements under heat treatment.
Spiders from colder climates (E. sp. red, T. cyaneolum, G. pulchra) did not profit in the same way from the treatment. Although the G. pulchra got better she didn't show severe symptoms to begin with. It cannot be excluded that heat treatment even aggravated the symptoms of the E. sp. red and, in hindsight, may have contributed to it's death.

Conclusion:

For spiders from warm/hot climates heat treatment can be recommended as a treatment for DKS symptoms.

Heat treatment cannot be recommended for spiders from colder climates although it may help somewhat in certain cases.


P.S.. The GBB will be started on heat treatment now.

This is super interesting to read! My H. mac had these same symptoms and I took her out of the enclosure she was in and built her an entirely new one.
I also kept her in a small acrylic enclosure with a wet paper towel overnight. After 24 hours I rehoused her and she has also recovered.
That said, it was at this time that I chose to take the route of changing husbandry methods to those I have picked up from Marshall's Arachnids. This means I added in a low wattage lamp and keep day and night cycles.
Maybe it was the lamp more than anything. Much as you have said, her symptoms would count as mild to moderate. She was able to move around, her locomotion was simply shaky and jerky.