:? I was wondering if any of you out there have ever lost a tarantula to what I have come to refer to as "Maggot Mouth" or its technical term "Myasis". I have lost a couple of Chilean Rosehairs to this condition over the last couple of months...the tarantula will appear to be losing weight and will be obviously acting abnormal...upon picking the spiders up I turned them over and inspected them and noticed that the mouth of the spider was teeming with maggots....it appears that the maggots are actually eating the mouth tissue of the spider.I have found little information on what actually causes this to happen and I was hoping some of you more advanced keepers might know what is causing this to happen.
I have lost a nice male red phase rosie and a female to this peculiar condition.How are the maggots developing on the mouth parts of the spider? are scuttle flys laying eggs on the spiders mouth? could this be a form of parasitization on wild caught specimens? it is a nasty sight to be sure to see a spider with its mouth consumed with maggots...perhaps you all have some input on this????:?
The Evil Spider Hunter
The Evil Spider Hunter