Say a little prayer

[Bridget]

My newest slings have the mystery mold My versicolor is about 1 1/2 inches and my pinktoe is an inch. The versicolor has a little bit on her abdomen and the pinktoe has it on two feet and two legs We dont keep their vials too wet and Rick always cleans out the cricket gunk the next day after feeding. What's sad is it has really affected the pink toe. She stumbles around and cant climb We had thought she was retarded when we first got her because when she walked her legs went all crazy in different directions. Please say a little T. prayer today for my little babies to come through this. If our little pinktoe doesnt moult soon, we will have to euthanize her and then send her to a lab to find out what the hell causes that type of mold.

Does anyone have any advice? I was wondering if everyone who has experienced the sling mold could tell us how you cared for your sling before and after the mold....also, if those of you who have slings and NEVER had the mold problem could tell us how you care for your slings. Perhaps we are doing something wrong??

Bridget

 

[atavuss]

Bridget, I would first look at what type of substrate you are using and then the humidity level and ventilation. if all of the lings have the mold then the substrate/humidity/ventilation would probably fall into play here.
If they were my lings I would rehouse them ASAP into something that has excellent ventilation.
just my .02 worth.
Ed

 

[Bridget]

We used peat moss at first, then vermiculite, now they are on papertowels. Each vial has several little holes in the cap. Is there a certain amount of holes or size of holes we should use? We made the current holes by using a heating fork, so there are 8 holes.

 

[Bridget]

ack at my typing. "heated fork"

 

[atavuss]

Originally posted by Bridget
We used peat moss at first, then vermiculite, now they are on papertowels. Each vial has several little holes in the cap. Is there a certain amount of holes or size of holes we should use? We made the current holes by using a heating fork, so there are 8 holes.

sounds as if you have a good amount of ventilation holes.......the only inverts I have ever had that had mold on them were several flat rock scorpion 2nd instars and they ultimately died from it. hopefully someone else will come up with more help than I have given you here. how moist is it inside each enclosure?
Ed

 

[Infinity]

Originally posted by Bridget
We used peat moss at first, then vermiculite, now they are on papertowels. Each vial has several little holes in the cap

We use a mix of peat moss and vermiculite with all of our slings, which seems to work well to retain moisture AND prevent mold...

Also, I agree with Atavuss-- moving them to a new sterile set up would be best for now.

 

[Tarantula Lover]

*sorry*

sorry to hear what has happened to your slings, many people have lots of trouble on taking care of avic slings, they need many requirements, i would also rehouse them as atavuss said, looks liike ventilation is good, the way I take care of my slings, are i put potting soil substrate, vines, leaves, ect. for the web base, then i moist them everyday and make sure it isnt too wet, keep the temp at 75 degrees, and humidity at 75-80% hope this helps! Good Luck!

James

 

[Wade]

What's your ambiant humidity like? If your animal area has high humidity, more ventilation may help. I've found that Avic slings do poorly at my place (high humidity) unless the containers have a screened portal.

You may be able to treat the infected areas. I've used a 5% betadine solution (available at the drugstrore) to successfully treat fungal infections before, but this was on an adult spider. You could try using a q-tip dipped in the betadine, and then gently dab the infected areas of the slings. Avoid getting it in the mouth or on the booklungs! Repeat every few days ubtil the fungus is gone. I've never tried this on a sling, but it might be worth a shot. I've also heard of genetian violet being used in this manner, but I've never done it myself.

Good luck, I hope the little guys pull through...

Wade

 

[Bridget]

Thanks so much for the replies. I think we are going to try using a Q-tip and either anti-fungal cream or fungi-nail. Hope it works

I live in TN and its not very humid here, so I doubt thats the problem. Rick was wondering if some slings dont clean themselves properly after eating and have cricket gunk stuck on them, which molds. We'll see! I'll keep ya posted.

Thanks again,
Bridget

 

[Cowshark]

Oh, I hope the babies recover ok. Good luck.

 

[Kenny]

Dry air

Hi.

Sorry to hear about your Avics, but I really hope they'll make it.

I have 2 Versicolors and the biggest one is now about 2 - 3 inches ( was about 1/2 - 1 inch when I got her/him ) and the smaller one is about 1 1/2 inch now and was about 1/2 inch when I got her/him. I have also an Avic.avic that was about 1/2 inch when I got her/him and she/he is now around 2 inches.

They have all molted well, and what I have done is like this, as I have written in some other posts before, is that I have a $7 fan , Walmart , blowing constantly on low in front of my Avic cages, ( about 3 - 4 feet away) I mean it has not been turned off for the last 6 months, one warning though it dry out the cages faster as well + waterdishes, so light extra misting everyday is kinda a must IME because the waterlids go dry fast.

When I have encountered my Avics going through molt I mist extra, 2 times a day on cage walls and ceiling, not dripping wet, but misted good so there are like drips all over the cage walls.

Sometimes, due to lack of time the avic - cages has gone fairly dry, over a day or 2, but as I've said before I think it's my $7 fan that's doing the "job".

Avics don't like stale air, IMHO.
I also drill holes , 6 of them at the top of the cage and the same amount at the bottom of the cage, and also all around the cage in the same manner even though there are a lot of holes in the lid already. I use these Pet kritter cages with blue/green/black lids.

I am a rookie to T care , but so far, touch wood mine are doing fine after 6 months.

 

[Wade]

Tony,

Was it the thread called "Retarded/Brain damaged Ts (aka any hope for Special K?)" from awhile back?

In my mind, "fungal infection" has replaced "bacterial infection" as the catch-all diagnosis when a T gets mysteriously ill and dies. No scientific basis for it whatsoever.

Wade

 

[Nemesis]

Originally posted by Bridget
Thanks so much for the replies. I think we are going to try using a Q-tip and either anti-fungal cream or fungi-nail.

DON'T USE A CREAM OR PETROLEUM BASED PRODUCT.

I'm not a spider expert, but I am an animal husbandry professional. The goal is to dry the area out, making it less habitable for nasty microorganisms, and in addition to kill the fungus/bacteria/virus. Creams and ointments work to keep the area moist in an attempt to regranulate epithelial (skin) tissue. We use them for road burn, regular burns and the like...not when the primary problem is fungus/bacterial infection. In addition, during use of these products, we debride the wounds 2X/day. This is not the stuff you want to use on spiders.

My advise is betadine solution, NOT the stuff with the surfactant (soap base)...just the straight stuff. The gentian violet is also and excellent suggestion.

I'll say a prayer, too.


Keep us posted.

Kelly O

 

[Bridget]

We used a liquid nail fungus treatment applied with a little brush to the pinktoe last night....suprisingly she looks better!! woohoo.

 

[krystal]

bridget--i think you've done the right thing, and apparently, so does your tarantula! keep us posted on whether or not your infected slings make it through, and if you have to give additional treatment in the future. i haven't found a lot of hardcore, absolutely positively sure info on possible fungal infections, so anything you can contribute would be helpful to us all!

 

[Lycanthrope]

bridget--i think you've done the right thing, and apparently, so does your tarantula! keep us posted on whether or not your infected slings make it through, and if you have to give additional treatment in the future. i haven't found a lot of hardcore, absolutely positively sure info on possible fungal infections, so anything you can contribute would be helpful to us all!

im bridgets live in bf. the infected avic sling is still doing well. i stopped treatment for a few days a couple weeks ago, and the fungus returned in the same spot. resumed fungi-nail treatment since, and it has subsided again. hopefully the little darling molts soon and we can wrap it up as a success. its really funny watching me carefully dab funginail on a little half inch sling, but its working. keep a watchful eye on your slings for white mold, if you catch it early it can be treated with funginail!

 

[Charlie]

Funginail

I never would have thought of putting funginail on a T.

Does this mold ever affect adult T's or is it moslty slings?

-Charlie

 

[Tranz]

I have read in several places that the need for humidity for avics has been overstated. If I were to get one, even a sling, I think I would house it in a container with a mesh top/side, and do light mistings.

 

[Lycanthrope]

ive never had an adult with it. from what ive heard it can occur on adults, with less severe consequences than slings. a few months back i lost 2 of my 6 usumbara slings to it. 2 others were infected, but molted out and survived. i may be wrong, but i think somewhere after 1.5-2", their chances of molf infection drops quite a bit. adults would be much easier to use the funginail treatment on than slings, which as ive found can be quite the task with a wiry .5" avic sling.