Blister??

[MrsHaas]

Also, does anyone know if this could be contagious? We did just lose 2 other AFs for no apparent reason. And they were next to each other on my T shelf

 

[viper69]

That’s a lot but I’ll do my best! I’ve taken care of very sick Ts before @viper69 but I feel like it could be a danger to both of us and I don’t want to put her in any kind of jeopardy. And I’m not too sure about her attitude right now. I am thinking she could still get defensive and probably try to bite me - she is a P cam lol. But I will continue to monitor her situation- and keep you all updated! I hope maybe she might molt and be back to normal. Fingers crossed. Thx, guys!

Just reach in there with a juicy roach! Nothing could go wrong, and then you can tell everyone the best method to handle a T! I sense a fantastic future!

If contagious, it's an airborne infection, which I find unlikely.

 

[MrsHaas]

Just reach in there with a juicy roach! Nothing could go wrong, and then you can tell everyone the best method to handle a T! I sense a fantastic future!

If contagious, it's an airborne infection, which I find unlikely.

My girl seems to be exceptionally defensive (maybe bc of her wound) and she’s webbed herself in and around her cork round - I’ll post a pic when I get home. I can’t really get to her. She’s also huge, rivaling my AF P striata…

 

[MrsHaas]

Just reach in there with a juicy roach! Nothing could go wrong, and then you can tell everyone the best method to handle a T! I sense a fantastic future!

If contagious, it's an airborne infection, which I find unlikely.

Ok, very strange, but it seems like my other AF P cam from the same clutch may be getting a bald spot too!!! I’ll try to get photos but she also is very inaccessible due to web build up…

The update pic from the first T that I mentioned:

Sister P cam with beginning bald spot:

Now I’m very concerned bc I think it could have been passed from the first to the second P cam. I’ve been monitoring my other tarantulas that have been in close proximity with those p cams. So far I’m not noticing anything out of the ordinary. But then again, like I said, we lost two other AFs not that long ago and I don’t want to believe there’s a connection but then again… Who knows

 

[viper69]

Ok, very strange, but it seems like my other AF P cam from the same clutch may be getting a bald spot too!!! I’ll try to get photos but she also is very inaccessible due to web build up…

The update pic from the first T that I mentioned: View attachment 485395 View attachment 485396

Sister P cam with beginning bald spot:
View attachment 485397 View attachment 485398 View attachment 485399
Now I’m very concerned bc I think it could have been passed from the first to the second P cam. I’ve been monitoring my other tarantulas that have been in close proximity with those p cams. So far I’m not noticing anything out of the ordinary. But then again, like I said, we lost two other AFs not that long ago and I don’t want to believe there’s a connection but then again… Who knows

I don't technically know if it could be passed or not. And any thought I have is not based on T knowledge but other animal experiences. It's very strange however.

 

[MrsHaas]

Oct 14

Oct 22

Pic comparisons of my P cams “spot”…

 

[MrsHaas]

Oct 14
View attachment 485407
Oct 22
View attachment 485408
Pic comparisons of my P cams “spot”…

 

[TheraMygale]

I would be worried to. When you start seeing it on other tarantulas. Sigh, i wish i had something to say that would be helpful.

I hope you get some kind of answer soon.

 

[MrsHaas]

Bumping bc I need answers

 

[The Snark]

For what this is worth it matches Tinea Corporis aka ringworm which always grows in circular patches. On a positive note it isn't considered a significant health hazard but can cause intense itching. But exoskeletal animals do not have sensory nerves throughout their 'skin' so itching isn't a major problem. On the negative side, Corporis is fiercely infectious for nearly all animals especially mammals.
Treatment normally involves topical and internally administered fungicide. Eradication can take extended periods of time due to it being so highly infectious and pernicious as it can remain dormant for extended periods of time. It's close cousin, Tinea Pedis has been known to be a life long infection in humans.
Eradication of Tinea in the environment such as public showers and locker rooms usually involves use of powerful fungicides such as BKC.

I haven't been able to find any definitive info on what it can to do chitin.

 

[Matt Man]

For what this is worth it matches Tinea Corporis aka ringworm which always grows in circular patches. On a positive note it isn't considered a significant health hazard but can cause intense itching. But exoskeletal animals do not have sensory nerves throughout their 'skin' so itching isn't a major problem. On the negative side, Corporis is fiercely infectious for nearly all animals especially mammals.
Treatment normally involves topical and internally administered fungicide. Eradication can take extended periods of time due to it being so highly infectious and pernicious as it can remain dormant for extended periods of time. It's close cousin, Tinea Pedis has been known to be a life long infection in humans.
Eradication of Tinea in the environment such as public showers and locker rooms usually involves use of powerful fungicides such as BKC.

I haven't been able to find any definitive info on what it can to do chitin.

Selsun Blue works well on humans, use the shampoo like an ointment. It is anti fungal. Sunlight and dry air helps as well.
I struggle to think how it could travel from one enclosure to the other, I have never thought of it as airborne.

You can dry a dry quarantine and perhaps diluted betadine, applied by brush or maybe diluted nizoral. (match head worth mixed with 5ml warm boiled water)

not a bad article for a variety of issues

https://bion.com.ua/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/SOME-NOTES-ON-TREATMENT-OF-THERAPHOSIDAE-TARANTULAS-AT-CAPTIVITY.pdf

 

[TheraMygale]

For what this is worth it matches Tinea Corporis aka ringworm which always grows in circular patches. On a positive note it isn't considered a significant health hazard but can cause intense itching. But exoskeletal animals do not have sensory nerves throughout their 'skin' so itching isn't a major problem. On the negative side, Corporis is fiercely infectious for nearly all animals especially mammals.
Treatment normally involves topical and internally administered fungicide. Eradication can take extended periods of time due to it being so highly infectious and pernicious as it can remain dormant for extended periods of time. It's close cousin, Tinea Pedis has been known to be a life long infection in humans.
Eradication of Tinea in the environment such as public showers and locker rooms usually involves use of powerful fungicides such as BKC.

I haven't been able to find any definitive info on what it can to do chitin.

so my initial thought wasnt that far off. Totaly looks like that. But hey, these are tarantulas and we are still learning about illnesses on them. Plus, in captivity, they can be exposed to different vectors.

i need to say this: i got ringworm. I was workingout on the floor in my new appartement. Turns out the previous renter, had two cats with feline hiv. And they had ringworms. I asked him about how he disinfected the flat and it was all bad. All it took wase laying bare back on the floor, and scratching my back.

in came the fungus. I can guarantee you, the next months of my life were so stressful. The cleaning. The disinfecting. I had a dog! I was able to fight it. I was prescribed a cream, and was recommended to wash area with nizoral.

its never come back. It is a lot of work, and extremely infectious.

how it acts in arachnids, is somethig we will need to see and learn about. If it is that.

If it could even be possible for arachnids to get this: first step is to completely get rid of enclosure set up. And disinfect. Throw out all the wood etc. Then get infection treated. It spreads through direct contact, especialy when there are cuts or fragile skin.

i don’t want to over worry @MrsHaas. but we won’t know until a culture is done. Which is why i recommend asking a vet for a swab kit.

if it is cyst/abcess, then how ironic other tarantula getting it. I dont think abcess spread like that.

it is true that sun exposure helps with ringworm. Humidity is the worse thing.

worse places people catch this is at the pool. Athletes foot is related to ringworm. Its also why im scared of public pools now.

 

[The Snark]

I struggle to think how it could travel from one enclosure to the other,

Ever see the COVID spread videos of black light revealed dye and how an entire public room like a restaurant can get contaminated in a matter of an hour or so?

In hospitals, nurses hurrying here and there, all very busy busy, The public never notices the rigid infection protocols in place. A wash station between every patient room. All objects leaving a patient room go to a housekeeping wipe down station before being moved to another room. The infection control committee constantly overseeing and watchdogging all departments of the hospital, putting up the signs on walls and infection control protocols reiterated to employees constantly.
And ever looming, the end all be all nightmare scenario of hospitals: the health department slapping a cease and desist order on administration desks.
Working as the bio-med tech going from department to department all day every day I ended up unable to pass a bathroom without automatically washing my hands. I still do that, unable to pass a sink without a compulsion to wash my hands.

 

[Matt Man]

Ever see the COVID spread videos of black light revealed dye and how an entire public room like a restaurant can get contaminated in a matter of an hour or so?

In hospitals, nurses hurrying here and there, all very busy busy, The public never notices the rigid infection protocols in place. A wash station between every patient room. All objects leaving a patient room go to a housekeeping wipe down station before being moved to another room. The infection control committee constantly overseeing and watchdogging all departments of the hospital, putting up the signs on walls and infection control protocols reiterated to employees constantly.

yes, I am quite aware, seen it first hand. Actually worked on Covid related projects during the pandemic. Ringworm is spread via contact and I'm assuming the Ts weren't held, and weren't put together. Shared tools/ brushes? Typical spread for humans is skin to skin, or through shared linens.

 

[The Snark]

Shared tools/ brushes? Typical spread for humans is skin to skin, or through shared linens.

Communicable pathogens. For the average animal keeper, assume the worst. Everything is transmitted among all containments. Did you get tired of the smell of Vesphene?

 

[MrsHaas]

@The Snark thank you for that info! That’s a very interesting thought. How can I get my Pcam to allow me to apply any kind of fungicide (brand? Can I buy it in a store/online?) onto their abdomens. If I touch them, they would 99% prob try to bite the hell out of me as many times as they could! I could get them out of their tanks but (please refer to the previous pic I posted) they’re not easily accessible with the crazy webbing. And then if I get thru all that and get them out and into small icu containers, it would still be hard to touch either of them - they are vicious! And it’s good you are being honest w me bc this info is so important; don’t want death to my entire collection. I’m super worried… I don’t know where I’d get any of ur mentioned supplies or remedies. I’m way in over my head. I e dealt with sick Ts individually, but never a potentially spreading leading to an all-“collection” pandemic, for lack of a better description and comparison. Lol (trying to stay positive). Also I prefer the smell of Clorox haha!

@Matt Man I don’t hold my Ts. But their enclosures were definitely touching… ever since they were babies they have been near each other always (sisters from same clutch).

 

[MrsHaas]

Also can it pose a threat to me and my family and other (mammals) pets in the house hold? @TheraMygalo

 

[The Snark]

To prevent most non airborne pathogens from spreading, a wash station between each patient room / enclosure is required.
As for what you could treat an infected T with, all soaps are out. Much too easy to asphyxiate the animals. Maybe what @Matt Man suggested, diluted povidone iodine. It is commonly applied to open wounds without adverse effects. Say, 3 or 5 to one parts demineralized/distilled water dilution, applied with a Q-tip. May require repeated applications if the fungi has penetrated into the exoskeleton.

 

[TheraMygale]

Also can it pose a threat to me and my family and other (mammals) pets in the house hold? @TheraMygalo

it depends if that is what it is. Which we can’t know unless you collect a swab for analysis.

if you are using protective gear, then i don’t see how it could transmit to you.

its way more infectious when its from animals because they go in our beds, couches, shed everywhere. We pet them…

i was the only one who got it in my household. Even the dog didnt get it. My skin was directly exposed to the floor boards, and i had been scratching. So there was fresh open cuts. I am also the one who was doing all the cleaning in the house regularly, and cutting the dogs nails.

i was the most at risk.

you still don’t know what it is that your tarantulas have.

 

[MrsHaas]

So… my AF p striata just died this morning… she had been in close proximity to the p cams’ for a long while…
We found her hanging by one leg stuck on her cork round. She doesn’t look damaged in any other way. I swear I’m about to lose it!

When it comes to contagiousness, only thing I can think is that I feed all my Ts with the same tongs…

I’m getting discouraged-in the last few months I’ve lost like 6 or 7 AFs!

HELP PLZ ANYONE!!!!!