Fungal Infections

[Bjorgly]

If spiders have fungal infections or mold on their abdomens, im curious: does it spread? if so how fast? what does it look like? what color is it? Can it go away when it molts or will it have to be treated before then?

I ask because im suspicious of one of my spiders and the other is kept in high humidity so i want to know what to look for if anything comes up, thanks..

Mark

 

[JacenBeers]

I had this problem with my rose hair. I originally lowered the humidity and that helped a lot but it didnt go away. It does go away when they moult though. If youthink the spider is due for a molt then it will go away with the old skin. If not, trying lowering the humidity and if nothing happens you may wanna get some sort of human foot fungus topical ointment and put it on a cotton swab and apply it gently to the infected area. That should work and if not then the moult will take care of it. As for Brand names of ointment, I forget what i used but it worked great and my spider is healthy to this day after some succesful molts. Anybody know good brands?

 

[ArachnoJoost]

I'm very curious about this too: JB, what did you see on your rosie that you knew was a fungal infection?
greetz,
Joost

 

[Paul Day]

"I had this problem with my rose hair. I originally lowered the humidity and that helped a lot but it didnt go away. "

Just so you know, Rose Hairs are the terminators of the tarantula world. They can, and will survive in a bone-dry enclosure with no water dish (and in many cases without food) for several weeks. I had one I didn't feed for 6 months, rarely watered, with little ill effect. They are almost viral in their resistance to the conditions of their enviorments. They will be around longer than Cockroaches I'm sure (hehe).

The "fungus" people describe is most often white patches of hair & "skin" peeling off the abdomen, usually around the bald spot. Why this occurs, I could not tell you. But I never interpreted it as fungus (though it could be).

As for fungal ointment, use with caution. It is dangerous to put any medicine on a tarantula because when it grooms it'self their is a chance it might ingest it!

Pauly

 

[JacenBeers]

I saw a white patch of stuff that caused her to go bald in that section. It was hard and got bigger with time. It wasnt very attractive and so I took it to a pet specialist here and he told me what to do to treat it.