Spots on bottom of abdomen?

bryanon

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 18, 2009
Messages
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Our Brachy vagans (Fuzzy Wuzzy, about 2 yrs old) has many small white bald "spots" (2-3 mm) on the bottom of her abdomen, does anyone know what they are?

She seems otherwise healthy, except that she came out of her burrow (actually it collapsed on her last weekend) and she has been spending her time on the surface up against the wall of the enclosure. I use coco fiber substrate.

close up photo of spots on the bottom of her abdomen (head is at upper left). I took this thru the side of the cage so there is a lot of coco fiber stuck on the plexiglass. you can see three spots here but there are some on the other side too. it's the weirdest thing.



here is a better picture showing the spots on the underside of her abdomen. She's climbing up over a Petri dish (which was her water bowl before it went vertical a few weeks ago and she was using it as a shelter). In this photo her head would be facing up.



Photo of Fuzzy Wuzzy


Thank you!
 
Last edited:

bryanon

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 18, 2009
Messages
24
more photos of mystery spots

I noticed that not only does she have the white spots on the underside of her abdomen, there is a patch on one of her legs and there are some red patches on the top of her cephalothorax. Is something wrong? she seems pretty active, walking all over her cage.





I'm worried that it's some kind of fungal infection though it's not obvious to me. I'm going to keep the substrate dry for now with just a water bowl. perhaps I've been misting the substrate too much.

btw, my substrate is coco-fiber with a little bit of spanish moss (dried, from Zoo-Med) on top.
 

thebugfreak

Arachnoknight
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Dec 17, 2009
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correct me if im wrong, but i think B. vagans are supposed to be kept on a little bit of the dry side. i mist mine once a week and the floor is dry most of the time. i never had a problem like that ever before and my B. vagans is as healthy as ever. never refused a meal and always active.
 

xhexdx

ArachnoGod
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Jul 20, 2007
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5,357
I have some kept moist and some kept dry - no issues with any of them.
 

AbraCadaver

Arachnoknight
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Feb 6, 2009
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The one on her conk kinda looks like a coldsore.. But I haven't the slightest idea what it can be. Havent gotten around to tarantula ailments yet..
 

thebugfreak

Arachnoknight
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Dec 17, 2009
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it looks rather painful. it reminds me of Necrotizing fasciitis..... nasty stuff.
 

bryanon

Arachnopeon
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Jan 18, 2009
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she seems to be behaving normally, just these weird patches are really getting me worried, do you think should I treat her with meds? I've been researching a lot through arachnoboards and I can't find anything similar to this...I did find a photo of a T with a fungal infection but looked like just one big patch
 

Hobo

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
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Jul 27, 2009
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I have no idea what that is. It doesn't look good at the very least.
If it were me, I'd rehouse it, get rid of all the old stuff, and keep the spider and the utensils you use with it seperate from the rest of your collection.
 

Jaymz Bedell

Arachnoknight
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Dec 19, 2009
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even if there were meds to treat her with you would need to know what you're treating first. antibiotics are great for bacterial infects (huge generalization), but do nothing for fungal or viral infections. the same goes for antivirals for viral infections, and antifungals for fungal infections. my point is, without knowing what you're treating you will likely only make it worse. there are ways to find out what it could be but thats out of the scope of most hobbyists.

as to my opinion, it looks like it could be a fungal infection. of course im speaking from a few less than stellar pictures so it means very little. it also looks like it could possibly be from mechanical damage, like it's rubbing on something. my advice would be to swap it into an entirely new enclosure with a simple hide, a small water dish and bone dry substrate. and then only bother it to fill the water dish and a looking over. good luck and please keep us updated.
 

Redneck

Arachnoprince
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Aug 1, 2009
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OK... This is just a thought! I am not saying what I see is what it is... I am just throwing out an idea..

Now.. What I learned about scorpions (Yes.. I know this is not a scorp..)... If say a C. vitattus for example.. If a C. vitattus is kept to humid... It can get a case of mycosis..

Im not going to try & explain mycosis.. I dont know how to..

But its a thought that I had.. Maybe thats what we are seeing with this one?

I see Joe kept some dry...& others moist... So.. IDK.. But its all I can think of..

As stated from others.. Rehome it..

IMO.. I would put it on bone dry substrate with nothing else.. Except a water dish..
 

NevularScorpion

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
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Jun 30, 2007
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916
I think your T might have some internal problems. My friend's adult T molted twice in 3 months because it has something like that under its abdomen but the T still died :(.
 

webbedone

Arachnobaron
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Aug 27, 2010
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410
Rehouse and keep it dry.

Mycosis (plural: mycoses) is a condition in which fungi pass the resistance barriers of the human or animal body and establish infections[1].Mycoses can result when the climate is hot and humid, and when people live in crowded conditions. Some fungi reproduce through tiny spores in the air. People inhale those spores or they land on the skin. Therefore, fungal infections often start in the lungs or on the skin.

If it is that like redneck suggested your T might be able to recover from it in a nice and dry condition with a molt or 2
 

Salamanderhead

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
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Aug 30, 2009
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Maybe you should relocate this tarantula. Just in case it can be passed on to your other tarantulas. "if its anything serious".
 

bryanon

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 18, 2009
Messages
24
thank you, I've rehoused Wuzzy and keeping it nice and dry and put a water bowl in the corner. (it got mad at me while I was doing that, and sent up a fluff of urticating hairs on me, lol). So far so good!
 
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