Husbandry practices

[Frogdaddy]

How many people quarantine new acquisitions?

 

[Vanessa]

There would only be a couple of scenarios that would cause me to consider quarantining...
1. Wild caught adult females for primarily external parasites.
2. If I actually saw that the spider had an out of control external parasite issue.
For external parasites, I would place them well enough away that the parasites could not find more appropriate lodging while I allow the enclosure to dry out and I would do that until they moulted.
Neither of these scenarios are common and I think I have done it once in 20+ years.

 

[Liquifin]

I quarantine any WC specimens that I just got for a week or two if I spot anything unusual in terms of odd cysts or external parasites. I only buy WC specimens for breeding more CB specimens into the hobby or if I plan to breed them in future projects.

 

[Frogdaddy]

Don't QT? Check this out.

https://www.facebook.com/PaladinTarantulas/posts/189445692727464

 

[WolvesInSpaceMarines]

I'm still new, but I don't see any reason to, with the notable exception being the one that @Vanessa had presented. But I will only buy slings from reputable breeders, so I shouldn't ever need to.

 

[nicodimus22]

Answers 2 and 4 are the same thing. They are both "No."

 

[Reezelbeezelbug]

Don't QT? Check this out.

https://www.facebook.com/PaladinTarantulas/posts/189445692727464

I saw this post too and wondered if QT was something I should be doing. Are these confirmed harmful mites?

 

[Liquifin]

I saw this post too and wondered if QT was something I should be doing. Are these confirmed harmful mites?

Yes, those mites can be harmful long-term as they attach onto joints of tarantulas that aren't protected by their exoskeleton and feed off from the tarantulas fluids because of a need of moisture. Some people are able to draw a few away with methods, but there is no set way to get rid of them 100% that I'm aware of. When a tarantula molts, some will quickly move onto the freshly molted tarantula while it's in molt process and re-attach themselves onto the tarantula. Others will remain on the old exoskeleton or molt which is what you see on the video which those mites did not transfer back to the tarantula when it molted. Are they harmful, yes they are and can be long-term which is present from WC specimens that can transferred to CB specimens if not careful. Sometimes mites from snakes (snake mites) can also do the same and transfer onto T.'s from what I was told, but don't quote me on that part.

 

[Frogdaddy]

Answers 2 and 4 are the same thing. They are both "No."

They are actually two different answers. You could answer "NO" meaning you never QT your charges. Of you could answer "I don't see a need for it" which means you just haven't been educated on proper animal husbandry .

 

[EpicEpic]

They are actually two different answers. You could answer "NO" meaning you never QT your charges. Of you could answer "I don't see a need for it" which means you just haven't been educated on proper animal husbandry .

Not seeing a need for quarantining tarantulas does not even remotely mean you do not know proper animal husbandry. Unless you are dealing with wild caught specimen....there is absolutley no need.

You make the poll....then every subsequent post shows that you vehemently believe quaranting is necessary and everyone who doesn't....doesnt know what they are doing.

This is not covid-19. The most experienced of tarantula owners have had long successful collections without the need to quarantine.

You saw one fear mongering video. Do yourself a favor and get properly educated on mites.

 

[Cemykay]

Yes, those mites can be harmful long-term as they attach onto joints of tarantulas that aren't protected by their exoskeleton and feed off from the tarantulas fluids because of a need of moisture. Some people are able to draw a few away with methods, but there is no set way to get rid of them 100% that I'm aware of. When a tarantula molts, some will quickly move onto the freshly molted tarantula while it's in molt process and re-attach themselves onto the tarantula. Others will remain on the old exoskeleton or molt which is what you see on the video which those mites did not transfer back to the tarantula when it molted. Are they harmful, yes they are and can be long-term which is present from WC specimens that can transferred to CB specimens if not careful. Sometimes mites from snakes (snake mites) can also do the same and transfer onto T.'s from what I was told, but don't quote me on that part.

I recently saw a post in Facebook about the detailed removal of mites on tarantulas by Volker von Wirth.
It's in german but if you are interested i can translate for you.

https://m.facebook.com/groups/812712918828526?view=permalink&id=2646216542144812

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

I recently saw a post in Facebook about the detailed removal of mites on tarantulas by Volker von Wirth.
It's in german but if you are interested i can translate for you.

https://m.facebook.com/groups/812712918828526?view=permalink&id=2646216542144812

I would be interested in seeing that. You could send via PM, or repost it in a new thread after getting Volker's permission first of course. I've never had mites in my collection before, but knowing what to do just in case would be helpful.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Don't QT? Check this out.

Mites are one of the most unnecessarily panicked about things in the hobby (along with mould), unless you regularly purchase WC specimens then it's extremely unlikely that you'll ever encounter the parasitic variety that everyone cacks themselves over. The grain/soil mites that are regularly encountered in the hobby are a minor nuisance and an eyesore at worst.

All You Need To Know About Mites

 

[Frogdaddy]

Not seeing a need for quarantining tarantulas does not even remotely mean you do not know proper animal husbandry. Unless you are dealing with wild caught specimen....there is absolutley no need.

You make the poll....then every subsequent post shows that you vehemently believe quaranting is necessary and everyone who doesn't....doesnt know what they are doing.

This is not covid-19. The most experienced of tarantula owners have had long successful collections without the need to quarantine.

You saw one fear mongering video. Do yourself a favor and get properly educated on mites.

It's just a discussion. Could QT ever hurt or be a bad thing?

 

[nicodimus22]

They are actually two different answers. You could answer "NO" meaning you never QT your charges. Of you could answer "I don't see a need for it" which means you just haven't been educated on proper animal husbandry .

"No" = you're not doing it.

"I don't see a need for it" = you're not doing it.

How are they different answers again?

 

[Jesse607]

Once you learn more about tarantula biology, and captive husbandry/care then you will realize you can't apply the same quarantine ideology to them as you would fish, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles. Insisting so, just displays this lack of knowledge. The biology of spiders and the diseases/parasites that affect them is different...you can't group them in with other groups and assume everything should be treated the same way. There are very few parasites that use mygalomorphs as hosts, and even less bacterial, fungal, or viral pathogens. The mites found on the spider in the post shared were likely just phoretic and not even parasitic. Needless to say, in the years and years of the existence of the tarantula hobby, it has never been an issue, because issues don't arise (except for maybe an extremely few exceptions). So there is no need to have any real concern. Also, they are for the most part solitary animals kept in individual containers, so in effect are already isolated. Of course taking further isolation measures for recently wc individuals is good practice. But feel free to insinuate that everyone has been doing things irresponsibly and incorrectly for decades if it makes you feel good.

 

[Arthroverts]

Interesting topic, hope it can stay friendly.

I think that when it comes to animals in general, particularly reptiles, amphibians, fish, aquatic invertebrates such as coral, birds, etc. it is a good idea to quarantine, just due to how many problems that can arise from failing to do so; people have lost entire collections due to one infected/parasitized specimen making it in with the rest.
However if we look at tarantulas specifically, we begin to see this happens a lot less often, to the degree I've never heard of someone losing their collection from something like described above; parasites introduced via food (like the very sad story posted on here a while back about parasitic nematodes coming in with feeder earthworms) are a different story. There probably is someone somewhere that had something terrible happen with parasites/diseases, but the fact remains it is so rare to not really warrant quarantining every specimen, especially when they aren't wild caught and are not being kept together.

That's just my two cents.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[Teds ts and Inverts]

I only quarantine New Ts if I suspect that they’re WC specimens, and I only quarantine them for 2 weeks or so.