Serious issue... Cordyceps on pet Latrodectus, can it transfer to my T's??!

[KrakenQueen]

The other day I noticed my adult L. geometricus had a small white patch growing around her mandibles/chelicera. Today it has covered her carapace, and looking slightly fluffy, so I'm leaning on cordyceps as the culprit ( looks similar to beauveria bassiana).

I'm absolutely horrified that this fungus may spread, or may have already potentially spread, to my T's. If I lose my girls I will have an absolute meltdown. I've never had this happen and like a stupid idiot, I share the same feeding tongs amongst the group.

What can I do, if anything, to A) be sure it hasn't/doesn't spread, and B) if it has, what can I do, if anything, to protect my favorite girls??

God this seriously sucks.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

 

[TriMac33]

The other day I noticed my adult L. geometricus had a small white patch growing around her mandibles/chelicera. Today it has covered her carapace, and looking slightly fluffy, so I'm leaning on cordyceps as the culprit ( looks similar to beauveria bassiana).

I'm absolutely horrified that this fungus may spread, or may have already potentially spread, to my T's. If I lose my girls I will have an absolute meltdown. I've never had this happen and like a stupid idiot, I share the same feeding tongs amongst the group.

What can I do, if anything, to A) be sure it hasn't/doesn't spread, and B) if it has, what can I do, if anything, to protect my favorite girls??

God this seriously sucks.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Pictures of both spider and enclosure would help greatly.

 

[Olan]

Immediately take the contaminated enclosure out of the room. Then hope for the best. Not sure if fungi can infect different species, but good to be cautious. Hopefully nothing else happens.

 

[Mike R]

From my understanding, most cordyceps will produce a fruiting body that appears more coral or antler like rather than fluffy (though I'm not a mycologist so grain of salt).

Granted they're in black & white but do the white patches look similar to the photos shown toward the bottom of this article? https://bioone.org/journals/Florida...ridiidae-to-a-Mucor/10.1653/024.096.0344.full

 

[KrakenQueen]

Hey folks, I got pictures of my L. Geometricus, unfortunately there was some growth of the fungus overnight and a definite projection from it, too. An obvious horn. So it could be mucor, or very well be cordyceps, but I'll wait and see how it affects my widow. I'm so bummed.

http://imgur.com/gallery/ijOyYqH

I've put all of my T's into quarantine tubs, paper towels, basic hides, and will keep my eye on them very closely. All tanks will be sanitized.

Pictures of both the T and enclosure would help greatly.

Not a T, but I'm concerned it could transfer TO my T's. She's a Latrodectus geometricus.
http://imgur.com/gallery/ijOyYqH

 

[TriMac33]

Not a T, but I'm concerned it could transfer TO my T's. She's a Latrodectus geometricus.
http://imgur.com/gallery/ijOyYqH

My misunderstanding. I would definitely be separating it from your Ts. As for what it is infecting the widow, I am not too sure, but it doesn't look too good.

 

[KrakenQueen]

No worries. Everyone is quarantined away from the widow, and out of curiosity I have emailed the entomological extention of UGA to see if they're interested in the situation at all.

I will give updates on my T's over the next few weeks and hope for the best. Thanks for the help and suggestions.

 

[TriMac33]

No worries. Everyone is quarantined away from the widow, and out of curiosity I have emailed the entomological extention of UGA to see if they're interested in the situation at all.

I will give updates on my T's over the next few weeks a d hope for the best. Thanks for the help and suggestions.

Good for you, that seems like a smart way to go. I'm sure this will be important research for them. Sorry about your widow though. I kept one years ago and she was the best.

 

[l4nsky]

If you removed the widow from the room before the fruiting body fully developed and dropped the ascospores, then you cut out the major vector of continued contamination. As far as proactive management, keep your enclosures on the drier side for awhile to prevent fungal growth in the soil, sterilize your tongs and tools with isopropyl (wash them with water before using again), and monitor your collection every day for signs of an outbreak. The biggest question is what is the source of the contamination. How long have you had the widow? Did she recently have a substrate change or have you recently acquired a new substrate? Was there any new additions to your collection recently?

 

[darkness975]

I don't like Latrodectus geometricus because of being an invasive species and displacing our native Latrodectus spp. That being said, still sucks when this sort of thing happens to an animal we are keeping.

As others have said, separation of the infected specimen is absolutely paramount. Keep it on the dryer side and monitor for any signs of an issue.

Because you moved them all out of their comfortable and familiar surroundings, do not be surprised if their behavior is not normal. They may be far more skittish or unsettled and they may refuse to feed. Those are not necessarily indicators of an unknown ailment but rather the result of stress from being moved.


Best of luck and hopefully nothing has spread.

@KrakenQueen