Got Avic's?

[phoenixxavierre]

Re: How did I miss this thread..?~:0)

Originally posted by sunnymarcie
We have 1 A. avic.
At the moment he is in ICU, I am not sure if there is anything wrong with him. He/she has had mites 2 times, now it has
a crusty face, but no more mites! I'm really upset, because this is
my favorite T out of our tiny collection. I have a test kit and I
am going to send some samples to Kerry very soon. Maybe the lab can figure out whats wrong, if anything.
I'll have to post a picture later, I do not have one on this computer.

This sounds like nematodes, and I'm sorry to say that most, if not all times, this means death for the tarantula. Myself and some others I know believe that mites may be the carriers for these parasites.

My condolances, and I hope your avic pulls through! The only things I would know to recommend would be trying distilled water in the dish or colloidal silver (known to take care of many parasites/viruses in other animals and humans, unknown effect on inverts, I've yet to try it in such a way). Infusions of various herbs that are known to be antiparasitic, mixed in with the water may be helpful, but again, untried. Hopefully Kerry can learn something from the samples you send.

Best wishes,

Paul

 

[sunnymarcie]

I know it may be worms I just hope we are wrong.
"Boots" is acting normal , eating , drinking and such.....
He/she just does a lot of grooming, it seems like this T is
always washing it's face. I just hope I removed it from the collection in time, so that none of our other T's get sick.
Here is a picture I took, it's not that good. I did not want to
bother the T too much.

I do give all of my pet bugs distilled water. Heck, I don't even
drink my city water!
Herbs may be worth a try, thanks for the idea

 

[phoenixxavierre]

Sunny Marcie,

I'd like to throw in some additional comments for you since you're obviously a very conscientious keeper. One, you might want to use spring water as well as distilled, as distilled has a tendency to flush one's system of valuable nutrients. Its' good as a detoxifier due to it's acidity, but used over a long period could possibly be detrimental. I imagine tarantulas draw nutrients from their water same as we do, though I'm not 100% sure on that.

The eating and drinking is a good sign. Usually a tarantula that is compromised by nematodes will stop eating and drinking, and will pull it's pedipalps underneath its' chelicerae more and more, the sicker it becomes. At least this has been my observation (and other people I've heard this from as well). Perhaps your girl will pull through after all! We can always hope! If the tarantula was in with other tarantulas, you will want to remove them from the enclosure, throw out everything that was in the enclosure, scrub it well, VERY well, and then put in everything new and fresh before returning them to that particular enclosure.

I've read that red clover is a plant used by wasps (I think it's red clover?) to cleanse themselves of pesticides. I imagine there are other plants with such properties, one of which is the rubber tree plant and the pothos plant, which I use in all my arboreal setups. I think even them sipping water off the leaves can be beneficial, but that's just my crackpot idea, lol!

Best wishes,

Paul

 

[sunnymarcie]

When I noticed that "Boots" had mites I changed EVERYONEs
enclosure! I'm glad I only have 10 T's, talk about work
He/she is living on top of a cabinet in the living room, all of
the others are in my sons room, far away from Boots, until
I figure out whats going on. No more WC T's for us, thats
for sure.

 

[LCDXX]

My Avic seems to be rather lethargic lately... spending vast chunks of time just lying on the floor of his tank - sometimes he's in the same spot for over a day. Other times he's perched up in his tube near the top of the tank or on the glass. For the past 3 weeks, I'd say he's eaten one out've 4 crix at the most, but he drinks regularly and I've kept his dish full with plenty of distilled water. On a few occassions I've been worried, but when I brush him, he's fine. His posture doesn't indicate "premortal curling" but he does scrunch up and cover his eyes a lot.

Does this behavior indicate premolt? I've got 4 specs right now, but they all differ in personality with my Avic being the most curious of the bunch - plus, he hasn't molted in my care as of yet either and I've had him since March. He's only about 3.5" which makes me think a molt is coming up.

Also, I'm fascinated by the idea of using Rubber and/or Pothos plants in a terrarium - I seldom use live plants (I have a couple tropical plants with my Emperors), but Rubber plants are about as hardy as they come and if they have potential benefits, then that's just icing on the cake!

LCDXX

 

[SpiderTwin]

What type of Avic do you have?

Since it is larger(3.5"), it could molt once a year. It's actions could mean premolt, just keep an eye on it.

I have a A. versicolor that I've had now for about a year and she hasn't molted yet, I know it has to be getting close, she hasn't eaten now for a few weeks.

 

[LCDXX]

Sorry for not being specific (which is vital if you wanna communicate about this stuff).

The tarantula in (my) question is an Avicularia Avicularia. Today's payday again so that means it's Feeding Day. I'll post if he's receptive of any crix.

I've only had him since early March.

LCDXX

 

[Iktomi]

Here's my baby versi, Revlon....

http://www.angelfire.com/bug/hein_family/Revlon Ring.JPG

 

[Godzilla2000]

Well, I finally got a good pic of my Juvenile Avicularia versicolor, Asia. It took me multiple times to find batteries with enough juice in them for my digital camera. I hope you like this pic after all the trouble I went through to get it.

 

[phoenixxavierre]

Originally posted by sunnymarcie
When I noticed that "Boots" had mites I changed EVERYONEs
enclosure! I'm glad I only have 10 T's, talk about work
He/she is living on top of a cabinet in the living room, all of
the others are in my sons room, far away from Boots, until
I figure out whats going on. No more WC T's for us, thats
for sure.

Just to let you know, Marcie. It doesn't have much to do with whether they are wild caught or not. Mites are everywhere! You have more of a risk with nematodes from African mites IME (if mites do indeed carry nematodes, like fleas carry tapeworm). South americans have less of a problem from what I've seen. But even if your t's are captive bred, they can still acquire mites. The mites don't all come from foreign countries. There are more than enough mites right here in the USA. Leave some food boluses in a tank, even without moisture, and that's all they need to breed and multiply. There are Hypoaspis miles mites that you can buy to cannibalize the other mites, then they cannibalize themselves! Best if you go this route to go with the cheapest distributor. These cannibalistic mites only live about a week, so getting a culture going (of mites to feed them) is also a good thing.

I personally have never used these, however, I have heard from others that they have used them successfully!

Just some extra ideas from this peanut gallery!

Best wishes,

Paul

 

[skadiwolf]

do those cannibalistic mites also eat reptile mites? i have those and we use chemical stuff to rid tanks of them, but if natural mites themselves were effective i'd MUCH rather use them!

does anyone know?

 

[phoenixxavierre]

Originally posted by skadiwolf
do those cannibalistic mites also eat reptile mites? i have those and we use chemical stuff to rid tanks of them, but if natural mites themselves were effective i'd MUCH rather use them!

does anyone know?

HI,

I'm not certain about reptile mites, but from what I understand the H. miles eat any other mites as well as fungus gnat pupae, and other soildwelling pests, I imagine that would include reptile mites? and then when they're done with those, they eat eachother!

If you do a web search on predatory mites, I think the latin name might be Hypoaspis miles? something like that, you should be able to come up with some more detailed info.

Best wishes,

Paul

 

[SpiderTwin]

Hey Godzilla,
Get some of the rechargable batteries made especially for digital cameras and other battery drainers.

 

[Sicarius]

My first T Loooong ago was an Avic A. Very mellow cool T.