# Any DKS survivors



## Oliverhenderson (Feb 28, 2017)

Does anyone have a T that has survived DKS cause it seems if a T gets it its just a death sentence


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## Venom1080 (Feb 28, 2017)

yup. N incei survived 6 months ago and has molted a few times and is doing fine now.


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## Oliverhenderson (Feb 28, 2017)

Venom1080 said:


> yup. N incei survived 6 months ago and has molted a few times and is doing fine now.


thats so cool my LP passed away cause of DKS


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## viper69 (Mar 4, 2017)

Oliverhenderson said:


> Does anyone have a T that has survived DKS cause it seems if a T gets it its just a death sentence


DKS is an internet myth.

Reactions: Agree 5 | Disagree 1


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## Rittdk01 (Mar 4, 2017)

viper69 said:


> DKS is an internet myth.


I consider dks poisoning or sickness from some form of contamination.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## EulersK (Mar 4, 2017)

viper69 said:


> DKS is an internet myth.





Rittdk01 said:


> I consider dks poisoning or sickness from some form of contamination.


I'm with you Viper, DKS is a misnomer. I hate the term, and I try to avoid using it. But certainly you've seen the twitchy behavior of a tarantula - as was mentioned, it's usually the result of some kind of poisoning. I adopted a MF G. rosea from Craigslist that had it bad. She would struggle to coordinate her legs to even take down prey, but she'd do it. Unfortunately she went to molt and never made it.

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 1 | Sad 3


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## Arachnomaniac19 (Mar 5, 2017)

I hadp a MM Holothele sp. that had it since it was about 1.5". It made it to 3" with it and survived for maybe 8 months after maturing.

Reactions: Like 1


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## HybridReplicate (Mar 5, 2017)

viper69 said:


> DKS is an internet myth.





Rittdk01 said:


> I consider dks poisoning or sickness from some form of contamination.





EulersK said:


> I'm with you Viper, DKS is a misnomer. I hate the term, and I try to avoid using it. But certainly you've seen the twitchy behavior of a tarantula - as was mentioned, it's usually the result of some kind of poisoning. I adopted a MF G. rosea from Craigslist that had it bad. She would struggle to coordinate her legs to even take down prey, but she'd do it. Unfortunately she went to molt and never made it.


"Syndrome" describes a collection of symptoms of unknown etiology/pathogenesis & is appropriately used here. I agree that prime facie it appears to be some sort of neurological condition presumably caused by some sort of toxin. The videos of spiders with DKS share some similarities with those of insects killed with neurotoxins, e.g. DDT.





(_dem graphics_)

Reactions: Agree 1 | Love 1


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## EulersK (Mar 5, 2017)

HybridReplicate said:


> "Syndrome" describes a collection of symptoms of unknown etiology/pathogenesis & is appropriately used here. I agree that prime facie it appears to be some sort of neurological condition presumably caused by some sort of toxin. The videos of spiders with DKS share some similarities with those of insects killed with neurotoxins, e.g. DDT.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


To me, the issue is the misconception that DKS is something that just normally happens. It's an overly worded term that is easily misunderstood. "Dyskinetic syndrome"? The tarantula was poisoned somehow, and is suffering the effects. That's all that is happening here. So, yes, the term is accurate. But it's overly and inaccurately used.

Reactions: Agree 8 | Love 1


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## HybridReplicate (Mar 5, 2017)

EulersK said:


> To me, the issue is the misconception that DKS is something that just normally happens. It's an overly worded term that is easily misunderstood. "Dyskinetic syndrome"? The tarantula was poisoned somehow, and is suffering the effects. That's all that is happening here. So, yes, the term is accurate. But it's overly and inaccurately used.


Dyskinesia being uncontrolled movements or difficulty coordinating voluntary movements is an accurate description of the symptoms. It does seem to be misused to describe practically anything gone wrong. I generally agree that describing the symptoms of poisoning as "DKS" is unnecessary & gives the public a sense that this is a tarantula _disease_ rather than just wonky movements without a demonstrable cause. 

Maybe change the nomenclature to PP (probably poisoning) because an influx of threads titled "My tarantula has PP" or "PP?!?!" would be funny & a description of uncoordinated movements as "The PP dance" would be _hilarious_.

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 7


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## EulersK (Mar 5, 2017)

HybridReplicate said:


> Maybe change the nomenclature to PP (probably poisoning) because an influx of threads titled "My tarantula has PP" or "PP?!?!" would be funny & a description of uncoordinated movements as "The PP dance" would be _hilarious_.


I need the emoji for a banana sticker.

Mods?

Reactions: Funny 3


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## cold blood (Mar 5, 2017)

Yeah, dks isnt the problem or a diagnosis, its a description of a specific symptom.   like a runny nose is a sympton of a cold or the flu, but not a diagnosis.  Saying my t has dks is as wrong as saying i have the horrible disease "runny nose".  But rather you would say "my t is exhibiting dks like sympotoms".

The most common reason for this symptom is clearly a poisoning of some sort.  Whether its from wc prey, or some spraying or contaminent exposure....but poisoning isnt the only cause, as many times theres no poisoning source to be found.  Dehydration also seems to be a cause in situations...others its something we just may not understand or expect yet.

Anyway, i have had a couple instances of it making the rounds (neighbor spraying basically beneath the t room).   In every instance losses were about 50-60%.  So half, or nearly half, survived.

The key seems to be getting them to eat, and where they are in their molt cycle may play a role as well.  Keep them in a place they wont be bothered in, the less jumpy they get, the better.

Feeding can be difficult as their aim tends to be off in a sad manner.   I found mealworms and wax worms to be gathered and eaten most easily.

Be happy any time they eat a meal.

Most that got better, did so after one molt, but a few took 2 and one took 3 full molt periods.

Reactions: Informative 2 | Love 1


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## viper69 (Mar 5, 2017)

Rittdk01 said:


> I consider dks poisoning or sickness from some form of contamination.


It could be, but no one knows. Would be great if some people sent their Ts to a tox lab for analysis, but people are probably too cheap to do that, or prohibitively expensive.



EulersK said:


> I'm with you Viper, DKS is a misnomer. I hate the term, and I try to avoid using it. But certainly you've seen the twitchy behavior of a tarantula - as was mentioned, it's usually the result of some kind of poisoning. I adopted a MF G. rosea from Craigslist that had it bad. She would struggle to coordinate her legs to even take down prey, but she'd do it. Unfortunately she went to molt and never made it.


I've seen that twitchy behavior. However when viewing videos of this, it all resembles each other. In point of fact, many conditions that people suffer from resemble each other, but are caused by a variety of different things, be it a pathogen or something else. We don't lump all those issues into one name necessarily.



HybridReplicate said:


> Dyskinesia being uncontrolled movements or difficulty coordinating voluntary movements is an accurate description of the symptoms. It does seem to be misused to describe practically anything gone wrong. I generally agree that describing the symptoms of poisoning as "DKS" is unnecessary & gives the public a sense that this is a tarantula _disease_ rather than just wonky movements without a demonstrable cause.
> 
> Maybe change the nomenclature to PP (probably poisoning) because an influx of threads titled "My tarantula has PP" or "PP?!?!" would be funny & a description of uncoordinated movements as "The PP dance" would be _hilarious_.


That would be FUNNY!!!!

DKS is junk, nothing more IMO.


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## louise f (Mar 5, 2017)

I have had 2 T`s dying from "DKS" or twitchy behavior. In the 9 years i have had T`s.
A Brachypelma boehmei 6 years ago and recently my gorgeous little D. Diamantinensis.

By the time i had the B.Boehmei i also had a cat, and I`m pretty sure that it was the flee product i used for her that killed my gorgeous girl.
The cat however died a few years ago of old age, and no one else have been suffering from this since that.

Until recently, so i have been thinking and twisted my brain to figure out how and what could have caused the death of my beautiful little girlie D. Diamantinensis.
And one thing came up in my mind. My oldest son is using perfume a lot and i am almost sure that it was the only thing that could have caused it.
So perfume is not allowed in the house anymore.!!!
Perfume has a really strong smell, and we all know that T`s dont get affected by these toxins in the nature, so when they get inside a house with a lot lesser air than outside, and someone is spraying perfume, well then IMO it brings only bad news with it for your T`s.

His room is upstairs and that`s where he used it, but the smell was hanging on him when he came downstairs, and IMO obviously has infected the T. I am almost positive that this is the only thing that could have done it.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Leila (Mar 5, 2017)

@louise f
My home is not large, as the inhabitants are just my fiance and me, no kiddos. We have 2 bedrooms as well as the other typical rooms in houses (and having much more would be a pain in the rear for me bc I am a neat freak- and more space equals more cleaning, lol.) Anyway, the room that has come to be the dwelling of my Ts' had been our dressing room for almost 2 years. (Makeup, hairspray, cologne/perfume, allllll those chemicals!) Needless to say, we have made some adjustments/rules and spray Nothing in the T/dressing room any longer.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Love 1


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## KezyGLA (Mar 5, 2017)

My _Harpactira guttata _adult female was showing suvere symtoms. The was trying to threat postire and was falling around. Taking short eratic bursts of speed without coordination. She moulted this week and seems much better. A little wobbly but I am hoping that is post-moult behaviour and that she will make full recovery.

Here she is post moult


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## gypsy cola (Mar 6, 2017)

I have had a few success stories.

I hate the term DKS. It does not need to be used anymore. I think this term is causing more good than harm. DKS for the most part has been considered mostly due to poisoning. Some people think it might be passed down but, there isn't too much definitive work on that yet. In my experience it has always been poisoning. From flea collars, bed bug bomb, and even plants from Lowes/Home Depot. I have never lost a T from "DKS"

This causes harm because people will google the term DKS and get information that will shoot off in every direction. Not only that but, hobbysists will also be using improper ICU set ups as well.

r/tarantulas in reddit has this link posted on the side regarding ICU:
"Place the ailing tarantula directly on the wet paper toweling. *It MUST get its feet and "belly" wet."*
My problem with this information is that this causes more harm than good. This set up does not work for arid species. Dry sub with a large shallow water dish has worked better than damp wet paper towels for me. New owners usually keep rose hairs.

Less experienced owners will do a quick google search and well...this is what comes up:
•https://tomsbigspiders.wordpress.com/2014/05/24/dks-dyskinetic-syndrome-in-tarantulas/
•http://www.tarantulaforum.com/threads/any-instances-of-dks-dyskinetic-syndrome-in-tarantulas.6782/
•http://arachnoboards.com/threads/dks-dyskinetic-syndrome.181845/page-3



We see these posts all the time! *Help! My tarantula is dying! *or *What is wrong with my T!!! *or *Is my spider dead?*. Outside of arachnoboards I have seen some horrible advice. Most of the time, its a dead spider because the owner acted too late, followed bad advice, or just didn't follow preventive care.
•New owners don't understand that "DKS" is long term care. Symptoms can show back up even after it appears the tarantula is fine. You are not 100% in the clear until that spider molts. Arid species can take 1-2 years to molt.
•Too much humidity. Too much moisture and the tarantula will be too stressed to get any better.
•Handling. You may need to flip the spider on it's back and drop water in its mouth several times within a week. (long term care)
•The cricket test and decorations. A lot of new owners are enthusiastic decorate the spiders enclosure. New owners do not understand tarantula needs vs owner's gratification. I believe it was Ryan on this board who made some 3D printed hides for his spiders. If he didn't perform the cricket test, he would be going through "DKS".

We seriously need to come up with a new term, redefine DKS, and create some stickies. Google searches are going to pull  bad information, the sticky for Arachnoboards is only for tracking. Information regarding ICU needs to be updated. A sticky needs to be made regarding the cricket test. Too many of us recommend the Tarantula's Keeper Guide( I do this too), some of this information is out of date.

Other informative links:
•discusses the possibility of "DKS" being passed down: http://arachnoboards.com/threads/dyskinetic-syndrome-dks.169557/
•due to crickets being poisonous, spiders were sent to a lab: http://arachnoboards.com/threads/dyskinetic-syndrome.17135/
•if someone has the link regarding the 3d printer and cricket test, let me know so I can update this post with the link. Thanks!

Reactions: Like 1 | Informative 1 | Helpful 1 | Winner 1


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## mat12128 (Sep 19, 2019)

Oliverhenderson said:


> Does anyone have a T that has survived DKS cause it seems if a T gets it its just a death sentence


Im 99% sure it is to do with flea sprays ect come across this many times and its the obvious reason from my experience. Finding any new T,s i got all developed it around January, only recently discovering my parents would flea bomb the house annually at xmas! 15 years later another of my t,s gets it and it is the one that had escaped from its container and was discovered under the bed when i fleaed our house, the rest i had moved out for a week and are fine!! It seems the obvious answer now!


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## Spiderman937 (Mar 10, 2020)

I found an old female paper wasp in my apartment after the snow melted, seemed to have DKS, either from contamination, or from its nerves being frosted. I gave her water and sat her outside in the leaf litter of one of my potted plants.


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## sayabe (Apr 1, 2022)

I also had a G. Pulchipres (3 years old) with this disease, I saw this post a year ago and I gave it easy food to catch (almost dead cockroaches), I maintained a relatively high humidity, after 3 changes it was completely cured, now he is normal and happy


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## Rick McJimsey (Apr 2, 2022)

RobC sells CBD that will save spiders from DKS.


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## The Grym Reaper (Apr 2, 2022)

Seeing as this thread has been resurrected I'll just leave this here






						Dyskinesia in tarantulas
					

I've kinda toyed with the idea of making this thread for a while as I've gotten sick of typing the same things out every time someone has a tarantula that shows the slightest hint of jerky movements so I thought I'd try to consolidate everything into a single thread that I/others can just...



					arachnoboards.com

Reactions: Like 1


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