Really big problem, need help!

[Travis K]

They said the gel that hardens is some form of sugary substance laced with death. The ants eat it, share it, and die.

Yeah I don't buy it. And for all you know they may have sprayed/applied that gel around your apt. It could have been transmitted to your Ts a number of different ways.

So what was this pellet stuff you werre telling us about earlier? Have you figured out what it is?

 

[Talkenlate04]

Yeah I don't buy it. And for all you know they may have sprayed/applied that gel around your apt. It could have been transmitted to your Ts a number of different ways.

So what was this pellet stuff you werre telling us about earlier? Have you figured out what it is?

I think the pellet stuff is time release fertilizer.

 

[Travis K]

I think the pellet stuff is time release fertilizer.

It may have borax in it along with the fertalizers. Up who knows? It could be that one of your neighbors used some thing in their apt, your magament companyer/apt managers may have done something, the pest contractor applied the gel to your group of apts, the ants brought it in?

 

[wsimms]

I doubt it is the pesticide. Exterminators will tell you that spiders are hard to kill, even when spiders are the targets of their best efforts, so I think that's just a red herring.

 

[MadCat2k3]

I doubt it is the pesticide. Exterminators will tell you that spiders are hard to kill, even when spiders are the targets of their best efforts, so I think that's just a red herring.

I'm not so sure. I am having the same problem of my slings acting drunk/weird, then rolling over and twiching their legs until they die, all in a fast amount of time.

This is happening to my crickets too. While I was at first reluctant to put it down to pesticides, it is the only conclusion I can come up with.

Something my crickets ate that I did not put in there. Now it's funny that all my fed slings are dropping dead as well after feeding on those same crickets. That fast is has to be toxic or pesticide related I think.

 

[wsimms]

Do you have any reptiles, birds or mammals as pets? If so, how are they acting?

A few years ago my whole collection of T's, scorps, and millipedes all died within the space of a week. They were all in the same room. A couple of years later I put a couple of centipedes in there and they died too. Turns out, our sewer ejection pump on the other side of that wall where they were had a leak in it, and we had a moisture and mildew problem there we didn't know about. If only the T's could have talked...

You ought to consider the possiblity of something like that, since some mildew like Stachybotyris can be pretty toxic. Also consider the possibility of a natural gas leak and carbon monoxide before you write it off to the pesticides.

 

[panhead]

very sorry to hear about this Talkenlate04

hey man im wondering... did you sell any of these BEFORE this outbreak happend? and if so have any of the people you sold them to called back about it happening to theirs? might help you narrow it down to when this outbreak started to better help you figure it out. Bc if it didnt happen to any of the ones you sold then it was nothing there at birth IMO. Just a thought. good luck my friend

i wanted to add i have slings from Talkenlate04, and they are fine.

also just a note but i have been told that the granules form a gas when they are exposed to moisture such as heavy due or rain.
i would suspect the same from the gel.

 

[von_z]

What's the status Ryan? How many slings are affected now?

 

[Talkenlate04]

There have not been any new cases in a while. Some of the ones affected early on are not quite dead yet but they are close.

 

[AubZ]

Was there not a point in time where you handled or worked with those slings and other 2 or 3 that died at the same time and only them?
Maybe when rehousing some of them, you also did something with the other slings??

 

[von_z]

There have not been any new cases in a while. Some of the ones affected early on are not quite dead yet but they are close.

Well, I'm glad it seems to be slowing down, but I'm still sorrry for all of your losses. Good luck with the rest of them.

 

[Remigius]

Hi!

I won't lie to You - I'm just guessing, but isn't it a bit of coinsidence, that all the spiders were from Asia? Where are your roaches from? If they are some asian specie they can be carriers of some parasites affecting only (or easily than others) the asian species.

If my assumption is wrong - don't care about this post.

PS - really sorry to hear about Your loss. If You want to check the dead spiders - try to sacrifice a roach, also. Maybe someone can at least determine if there's anything weird about the roach.

 

[Talkenlate04]

Hi!

I won't lie to You - I'm just guessing, but isn't it a bit of coinsidence, that all the spiders were from Asia? Where are your roaches from? If they are some asian specie they can be carriers of some parasites affecting only (or easily than others) the asian species.

If my assumption is wrong - don't care about this post.

PS - really sorry to hear about Your loss. If You want to check the dead spiders - try to sacrifice a roach, also. Maybe someone can at least determine if there's anything weird about the roach.

All of the slings were captive bred. So origin of species I doubt is a factor.

 

[jenniferinny]

Looks like the exact same thing I had happen with my slings.. A few of my other friends that keep tarantulas also have the same thing happen. It seems the largest outbreaks are this time of year, I want to even say that it's seasonal. I had just about no outbreaks at all over fall and winter, but, right around this time of year last year I lost over 30 tarantulas.
Interestingly, I managed to save two slings that I treated with antibiotics meant for fish after reading an article about it being potentially caused by bacteria. There was a B. albo and a C brachycephalus that both recovered but an A braun that died anyways. But, they were the only ones that survived.
All I did was buy terramycin of the type meant to be dissolved for fish tanks and then mixed it at 4 times the recommended strength since I would be giving it by medicine dropper. Then I just put a few drops over the chelicera in the morning and at night and then leave them in a completely dark room.
I'm really convinced that mine got a few sick crickets and then spread it. I had outbreaks on different sides of the room, but, then the ones closest to the first infected ones got it next. Isolating in a different room was the only thing that worked for me, BUT, then I also isolated the ones that were closest to the ones showing symptoms. Once I had everyone isolated and any that were close to the sick ones isolated, I only had new sick cases the day after feeding. Perhaps the warm up in temperatures results in a bacterial bloom in the prey animals of something that is otherwise not as harmful the rest of the year? It certainly wouldn't be the only case where something like that happens in nature. Look at 'red tide' and manatees for example.
I only had one tarantula death over fall and winter keeping everyone in the same room, but, lost many spiderlings over spring and summer.

Edited to add: My pokies died in a single day from this, but, my brachys and avics lingered often for as long as a week. Tap. gigas died in LESS than 24 hours. I had a second C. brachycephalus that did not recover last over a month with symptoms. I lost all ten of my pokies. They seem to be a lot more sensitive, but, aren't they also sensitive to heat? Being sensitive to heat, they would also be more sensitive to bacterial blooms from that heat. Just like tarantulas from arid climates are often more sensitive to fungal issues and mold then say a tarantula from a more humid climate.