Do tarantulas have other issues besides DKS?

[Ancistrus]

Not including dehydration.

 

[Dorifto]

Yes, the keepers

 

[viper69]

DKS is not a disease- no one knows what causes it.

However, Ts like other animals can have parasites, bacterial infections and other things. Don't kiss your T, you could get COVID-T-19. It's been a real serious issue in some small, wild populations, just like Deer.

@Dorifto I bet some owners have caused their Ts to have such "DKS" issues.

 

[Poonjab]

Avics have IBS

 

[Smotzer]

We know very little on the side of physiology and pathology as it relates to arachnids as a whole. All we have are best guesses.

 

[greeneyedelle]

Bacterial infections, parasites, anorexia, hypovolemia, dysecdysis, environmental toxicity, etc.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/arachnid - The Arachnid section of this page, an excerpt from Manual of Exotic Pet Practice is particularly enlightening

 

[Ancistrus]

Avics have IBS

What is IBS?

 

[Craig73]

Cats, and I’m not talking about the musical.

 

[greeneyedelle]

Cats, and I’m not talking about the musical.

Yeah, the musical is just an issue for humans

 

[magouilles]

do anger issues count

 

[Dorifto]

Cats, and I’m not talking about the musical.

I don't know wich one is worse

 

[Craig73]

Yeah, the musical is just an issue for humans

Yes, agree. Those felines you have to stand in just to buy tickets are atrocious.

 

[greeneyedelle]

Yes, agree. Those felines you have to stand in just to buy tickets are atrocious.

As long as we’re talking about the play and not the movie, I think we can agree for right meow

 

[The Grym Reaper]

DKS/Dyskinetic Syndrome is a misnomer for Dyskinesia, Dyskinesia is a symptom of several different underlying conditions (Extreme dehydration, poisoning, bacterial infections, and internal parasites are just a few examples that we know of).

Impaction is another issue that pops up occasionally.

Drag injuries are a complication related to overfeeding tarantulas.

What is IBS?

Irritable Bowl Syndrome, he's trolling you.

 

[nicodimus22]

DKS is not a disease- no one knows what causes it.

Huh. I thought the most recent consensus on DKS was that it was a symptom of exposure to something toxic. Is that not the case?

 

[viper69]

Huh. I thought the most recent consensus on DKS was that it was a symptom of exposure to something toxic. Is that not the case?

Yes- but it’s not a disease in the classical sense, such Huntington’s or Parkinson’s.

Disease is often associated with something specific causing it, like HIV..

“something toxic” isn’t very specific at all. Nor do we know what compounds cause it, if any.

For Ts no one actually knows what causes it.
IMO ar best it’s similar to a syndrome.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

After checking YouTube for what some people consider DKS, it has become apparent that some people are incorrectly diagnosing it. Just to clear it up, I have included two example videos from YouTube where DKS was the diagnosis. One is correctly diagnosed and the other is not. Hopefully this clears up what it looks like and what it doesn't look like.

Videos were found using the search terms "tarantula dks" and were chosen based on brevity and quality of the video.

This is what DKS actually is.

This is what DKS is not.

I am including the following video because it is a very strange condition diagnosed as DKS, but is questionable. The limb movements are in synch and coordinated, but not working properly. This looks more like a partial paralysis more than diskinesia.