PLEASE HELP.. Any ideas what is wrong?!

[Teal]

Alright guys... here is a video of what my P. regalis sling is doing. He started doing this, after being in a death curl and partially uncurling to drink a LOT of water.



I moved him to a completely new, empty container and he relaxed a little... but this one leg has been up the entire time

Does anyone have ANY idea what's going?
Does it look like he was poisoned?

His palps are STIFF, together, and straight out.

 

[Ariel]

my gosh...

I wish I had some kind of advice for you, but i have no idea. This really sucks, I'm so sorry. I hope your little guy pulls through.

(now I'm going to be constantly checking on my little regalis sling...)

 

[Twisted]

(now I'm going to be constantly checking on my little regalis sling...)

I am doing the same especially since Teal and myself got out Regalis slings the same day from the same person.

I hope someone can come up with a resolution. Or at least a reason se we understand.

 

[skippy]

diskinetic syndrome perhaps?

 

[Teal]

From what I saw when I researched DKS slings, they are moving their entire bodies around.. but they can't coordinate and appear "drunk" and sort of just fall all over the place.

 

[Ariel]

Ya, it doesn't look like DKS to me.

 

[jayefbe]

Here's a video from talkenlate04, looks pretty similar to what your T has. Seems as though it falls under the whole DKS umbrella and is likely fatal. Sorry about that, hope your T pulls through.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzGtJuFnryY

 

[Teal]

Yeah, I saw that video earlier.

So, can anyone tell me exactly WHAT DKS is or is not? I tried to search for it, but all I could find was people who thought their T did have it, or were asking if others thought so... but no explanation as to what exactly DKS is supposed to be, and what it is supposedly caused by?

Do slings sometimes recover from it?

 

[jayefbe]

Nobody really knows what DKS is. A lot of people think it may be from bad feeder insects, but nobody knows. It's fairly rare and just seems to show up. Diskinetic syndrome is just a term used to describe a fatal disease/condition that is exhibited by extreme and uncontrollable twitching. I've not heard of a T surviving, but without even knowing what causes DKS or how to diagnose the condition it's very tough to say.

 

[Teal]

Ahh gotcha.. thanks for the info

Should I stick him in the freezer then? I don't want him to just sit there and twitch until he dies

 

[jayefbe]

I wouldn't just yet. With so little information about DKS, it's not easy to say that the sling is 100% going to die. It may not be the same condition that other people are seing, and it might make a full recovery. Chances of it happening are likely pretty slim, but I think I'd just separate it from the rest of the T's and hope for the best.

 

[Mack&Cass]

Wow jayefbe, that video of Ryan's regalis broke my heart...I almost cried. Almost. Teal, I've never seen DKS in that form before, it's almost like it's reversed. Instead of the legs twitching under, they twitch up. Very strange. I wish I could offer some advice, but fortunately I have yet to deal with DKS. When I first read that you said the palps were stiff I thought nematodes, but watching the video, I don't really think it's that. I'm not sure about DKS either, but that's probably just because I've never seen anything like this before. I don't know what I would do in this situation, decided to put something in the freezer is an extremely tough decision. A couple months ago, we had a P. ornata sling come in with nematodes and we kept it around for a week and it just got worse, so we decided that a trip to the freezer was necessary for it. I didn't think it would be so hard, Mackenzie opened up the freezer door and I just stood there with the pill vial in my hand not wanting to do it. And then when I put it in and he closed the door I felt this enormous pang of guilt for doing it. I know that there's nothing we could have done for it anyway and it was for the best, but making the conscious decision to kill something like that is really difficult. Good luck in whatever you decide to do, and I'm so sorry that you're in this situation. Poor little guy

-Cass

 

[Mack&Cass]

I wouldn't just yet. With so little information about DKS, it's not easy to say that the sling is 100% going to die. It may not be the same condition that other people are seing, and it might make a full recovery. Chances of it happening are likely pretty slim, but I think I'd just separate it from the rest of the T's and hope for the best.

I've heard of T's molting out of it before. It's possible that it was just incorrectly interpreted as DKS in these cases, but it's also possible that it wasn't. There may be hope

-Cass

 

[Teal]

He IS due for a molt.

Putting him in the freezer is definitely not what I want the end result to be, of course... but I don't want him to sit there and suffer

Thanks for trying to help out yall... I really appreciate it..

 

[jayefbe]

I've heard of T's molting out of it before. It's possible that it was just incorrectly interpreted as DKS in these cases, but it's also possible that it wasn't. There may be hope

-Cass

Oh wow, I had never heard that before. In this case, the regalis being a sling would definitely increase it's chances of survival.

How did you know that your ornata had nematodes (symptoms etc)? Do you have any links or info on this parasitism? I haven't really heard a lot about them and would definitely like to read up on it.

 

[Mack&Cass]

How did you know that your ornata had nematodes (symptoms etc)? Do you have any links or info on this parasitism? I haven't really heard a lot about them and would definitely like to read up on it.

When we unpacked the ornata, we noticed that it had this little bit of a white gooey substance around its fangs, and since we had never had an issue with nematodes before, we didn't know much either. We just remembered reading threads about nematodes and knew that this was a symptom. We seperated him to be on the safe side and kept an eye on him. His palps were 'paralysed' (this is probably an incorrect term, but is the best way to describe it), and kind of just hung under his mouth. The white gooey stuff spread more, and he wouldn't eat or anything. When we contacted the seller, who got the ornatas from an import, he contacted the guy he got them from who then said that apparently 2/3 of his collection of ornatas had nematodes. So that guy, the guy who sold us the ornata, and us, all ended up putting them in the freezer.

I'm sure if you do a search, you'll find TONS of info and pictures on it. I believe it's caused from a parasite in feeders, and I know that some people put their nematode infected T in alcohol once it dies and all these stringy white parasites come out. I know Gavin (Draiman) has had some pretty rough experiences with nematodes. I'll see if I can find you some good threads, I'm at work and really have nothing better to do.
-Cass

 

[Mack&Cass]

Okay here are some threads:

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=160713&highlight=nematodes

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=160021&highlight=nematodes

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=158849&highlight=nematodes

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=154971&highlight=nematodes

There you go

PS: Teal, sorry for kind of hijacking your thread. Keep us updated on your little guy.

 

[pouchedrat]

I've also read a possibility that the nematodes are coming from plant nurseries, where they're used as a natural pesticide. But who knows..

 

[jayefbe]

thanks for the info mack&cass.

Teal, let us know how your regalis is doing.

 

[Moltar]

While I wouldn't call this the typical DKS symptoms, It does appear to be affecting motor function. My first guess would be some sort of chemical poisoning or perhaps a parasite of some sort. Yeast infection maybe?

In any case you should get it in an ICu and keep it warm. UI say warm because if there is some contaminant in her system a higher metabolic rate might help flush it out more quickly. Watch and wait. I hope she makes it. Please keep us updated.