Towerchick
Arachnopeon
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2020
- Messages
- 28
My 3 1/2 female dark fishing spider stopped eating 7 weeks ago. At the beginning I thought she might be in pre-molt, as the last time she molted was July 2021, so I made sure that her enclosure humidity and temp were good.
About 4 weeks ago I noticed that her movements were slower and some of her leg positions didn't look healthy. She also seemed to be more annoyed with sources of food if they touched her than the stealthy hunter I've known her to be that in the past would not have allowed a cricket the luxury of its antenna touching her (let alone even get that close to her).
About 3 weeks ago her leg positions started to look like they were headed towards a death curl and being scared that she was dehydrated (potentially due to a fluctuation of dryness from the winter) I put her into an ICU. Two days later she appeared to be making a comeback.
*I should note that throughout the past 7 weeks her abdomen has not decreased in size even though she hasn't eaten and was potentially dehydrated.* (Which is what frightens me that it could be due to a growing parasite)
During her 3rd day in ICU, I noticed that she was hanging out with a few legs in her water bowl quite frequently. But once she was out of ICU, I noticed she still frequently hung out with a few legs fully in her water bowl. (She'd always enjoyed taking a dip, but I've never noticed her sitting in it for long periods of time). She still wasn't eating and her movements were slower like she had suddenly become an elderly woman. (Which, she technically is since D.tenebrosus doesn't typically live past 2-3 yrs)
While poking around the the internet, I came across nematode worms and wondered if the water bowl symptom, lethargic behavior, and lack of appetite could point to that direction. Paying close attention to her mouth and spinnerets, low and behold, I noticed what appeared to be signs of nematodes. I followed direction regarding a pyrantel treatment and on the second day I video tapped the most movement I'd seen from her in a long time... It seemed like she was attempting to use her palps to get something out of her mouth. I put her in a fresh isolated container for observation and to change her water out throughout the treatments. Two days ago she seemed paralyzed and was pretty unresponsive to any movement of her enclosure or around her. She barely reacted when I lightly touched one of her legs. She did, however, pass the "move their enclosure and see if they steady themselves with their chelicerae test" and has shown no indication of her palps being paralyzed underneath them. I should mention that it was about two months ago that I noticed her fangs were misaligned and no longer met at the same angle. They did not look that way after her last molt, so I attributed it to old age.
Fast forward to this morning - she seemed to have renewed energy and posture... Until she started squirting out the largest amount of excrement I've ever seen. And the interesting thing was the colors throughout it. I have never noticed a multitude of different colored seed-looking things in it.
So, my questions are:
1. Has anyone encountered this type of situation?
2. Any idea if it's an old age thing, or a type of parasite?
3. Does her excrement look familiar to anyone?
Any help would be appreciated. I've attached pictures of the excrement in question, closeups of her mouth and spinnerets before and after noticing potential nematode signs, and her newly unusual behavior of hanging out halfway in her water bowl. Also, note that the pictures of Ms. Fisher in a glass bottom container were temporary in order to closer observe her recently.
About 4 weeks ago I noticed that her movements were slower and some of her leg positions didn't look healthy. She also seemed to be more annoyed with sources of food if they touched her than the stealthy hunter I've known her to be that in the past would not have allowed a cricket the luxury of its antenna touching her (let alone even get that close to her).
About 3 weeks ago her leg positions started to look like they were headed towards a death curl and being scared that she was dehydrated (potentially due to a fluctuation of dryness from the winter) I put her into an ICU. Two days later she appeared to be making a comeback.
*I should note that throughout the past 7 weeks her abdomen has not decreased in size even though she hasn't eaten and was potentially dehydrated.* (Which is what frightens me that it could be due to a growing parasite)
During her 3rd day in ICU, I noticed that she was hanging out with a few legs in her water bowl quite frequently. But once she was out of ICU, I noticed she still frequently hung out with a few legs fully in her water bowl. (She'd always enjoyed taking a dip, but I've never noticed her sitting in it for long periods of time). She still wasn't eating and her movements were slower like she had suddenly become an elderly woman. (Which, she technically is since D.tenebrosus doesn't typically live past 2-3 yrs)
While poking around the the internet, I came across nematode worms and wondered if the water bowl symptom, lethargic behavior, and lack of appetite could point to that direction. Paying close attention to her mouth and spinnerets, low and behold, I noticed what appeared to be signs of nematodes. I followed direction regarding a pyrantel treatment and on the second day I video tapped the most movement I'd seen from her in a long time... It seemed like she was attempting to use her palps to get something out of her mouth. I put her in a fresh isolated container for observation and to change her water out throughout the treatments. Two days ago she seemed paralyzed and was pretty unresponsive to any movement of her enclosure or around her. She barely reacted when I lightly touched one of her legs. She did, however, pass the "move their enclosure and see if they steady themselves with their chelicerae test" and has shown no indication of her palps being paralyzed underneath them. I should mention that it was about two months ago that I noticed her fangs were misaligned and no longer met at the same angle. They did not look that way after her last molt, so I attributed it to old age.
Fast forward to this morning - she seemed to have renewed energy and posture... Until she started squirting out the largest amount of excrement I've ever seen. And the interesting thing was the colors throughout it. I have never noticed a multitude of different colored seed-looking things in it.
So, my questions are:
1. Has anyone encountered this type of situation?
2. Any idea if it's an old age thing, or a type of parasite?
3. Does her excrement look familiar to anyone?
Any help would be appreciated. I've attached pictures of the excrement in question, closeups of her mouth and spinnerets before and after noticing potential nematode signs, and her newly unusual behavior of hanging out halfway in her water bowl. Also, note that the pictures of Ms. Fisher in a glass bottom container were temporary in order to closer observe her recently.
. You're probably right. It has crossed my mind that perhaps I'm simply searching for a reason for her to continue living.