Stella Maris
Arachnoknight
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2017
- Messages
- 181
I have a L. nigerrimum spiderling that molted probably last week. Visually she looks healthy “on the outside”...except for the fact that she doesn’t seem to have control of her limbs. This is new behavior that I haven’t seen in this specific spiderling and more than likely is a result of the molt itself or post-molt.
Her jerky limb movement isn’t as intense as I’ve seen in a lot of “my tarantula has DKS” videos but they tend to be continuous. She tries to “walk” but really can’t. No skittering from this one.
I don’t really interact with this species as they are very reclusive anyway, so I rarely if ever see them out of their burrows (I have 2 individuals). I don’t really bother them unless it’s to feed pre-killed prey or refill water dish. So whenBy accident, saw her hanging out of her burrow it looked like she was “sticking” herself to the substrate in her kritter keeper.
I thought maybe at first, she may have been dehydrated (her water dish is always full or 3/4s full), so I moved her to a smaller container for observation. I put her up on a bottle cap with water but I’m not sure she was actually drinking. That’s when I really noticed that she seemed to have “motor skills” issues.
I’m not quite sure what to do or think. Her sucking stomach and esophagus are present in her old exuvium (I have no clue whether that has to do with anything other than the fact that she should be able to eat) and her fangs are black. She will not eat pre-killed prey when offered. All of her limbs, chelicerae, fangs, and spinnerets are present. Despite her current condition, she looks like any normal, ordinary spiderling.
I have no clue how she could have come in contact with any pesticide or toxin because I haven’t seen this animal for more than a week, haven’t stepped into the bedroom she’s in. In my 4+ years of maintaining my sizable menagerie, I haven’t seen any “DKS” type symptoms in any of my animals other than this individual.
I have attached a short video of her limb jerking behavior. I don’t think you can see it in the video but one of her chelicerae has the same “unsheathing” movement of the fang, then hidden again.
I don’t know if it’s possible to save this animal or not, or if it’s impossible to recover. I figure if she would take an interest in food, she would probably have a higher chance of surviving. I don’t know what the next step should be.
Her jerky limb movement isn’t as intense as I’ve seen in a lot of “my tarantula has DKS” videos but they tend to be continuous. She tries to “walk” but really can’t. No skittering from this one.
I don’t really interact with this species as they are very reclusive anyway, so I rarely if ever see them out of their burrows (I have 2 individuals). I don’t really bother them unless it’s to feed pre-killed prey or refill water dish. So whenBy accident, saw her hanging out of her burrow it looked like she was “sticking” herself to the substrate in her kritter keeper.
I thought maybe at first, she may have been dehydrated (her water dish is always full or 3/4s full), so I moved her to a smaller container for observation. I put her up on a bottle cap with water but I’m not sure she was actually drinking. That’s when I really noticed that she seemed to have “motor skills” issues.
I’m not quite sure what to do or think. Her sucking stomach and esophagus are present in her old exuvium (I have no clue whether that has to do with anything other than the fact that she should be able to eat) and her fangs are black. She will not eat pre-killed prey when offered. All of her limbs, chelicerae, fangs, and spinnerets are present. Despite her current condition, she looks like any normal, ordinary spiderling.
I have no clue how she could have come in contact with any pesticide or toxin because I haven’t seen this animal for more than a week, haven’t stepped into the bedroom she’s in. In my 4+ years of maintaining my sizable menagerie, I haven’t seen any “DKS” type symptoms in any of my animals other than this individual.
I have attached a short video of her limb jerking behavior. I don’t think you can see it in the video but one of her chelicerae has the same “unsheathing” movement of the fang, then hidden again.
I don’t know if it’s possible to save this animal or not, or if it’s impossible to recover. I figure if she would take an interest in food, she would probably have a higher chance of surviving. I don’t know what the next step should be.
