T. blondi acting very strange... please help

[TheWidowsPeak]

Ok my blondi was sitting in its enclosure kindof wierd, so I gave it a nudge, It went crazy and ran around like it was drunk...not like a T at all more like it was very disoriented, it kept slipping and falling, and bobbing up and down and side to side. this has got me very worried so I poured a bunch of water in the corner and filled its dish up hoping that would help but I have no idea what this could be. ... I have never seen a T walk or run this way, all of its movements seemed unintentional like it had no control over them. it was still very fast and instead of just running a couple inches it ran all the way across its tank and back again. had to be around three or four feet. does anyone have any idea what this is???

 

[whoami?]

Originally posted by johnnyjohnjon
Ok my blondi was sitting in its enclosure kindof wierd, so I gave it a nudge, It went crazy and ran around like it was drunk...not like a T at all more like it was very disoriented, it kept slipping and falling, and bobbing up and down and side to side. this has got me very worried so I poured a bunch of water in the corner and filled its dish up hoping that would help but I have no idea what this could be. ... I have never seen a T walk or run this way, all of its movements seemed unintentional like it had no control over them. it was still very fast and instead of just running a couple inches it ran all the way across its tank and back again. had to be around three or four feet. does anyone have any idea what this is???

My T. blondi was acting sort of like that shortly before it died (from a fungal infection, I assume).

So, check and see if you've got mold growing in the tank.

 

[TheWidowsPeak]

I don't see any mold in there, I don't have any wood in there or anything for it to grow on except for the dirt but I let it dry out once in a while and I don't think thats it but I sure hope not anyway

 

[Diao]

A few tarantulas my friend had showed the same behavior shortly before death. Let's hope that's not the case here.

 

[whoami?]

Originally posted by johnnyjohnjon
I don't see any mold in there, I don't have any wood in there or anything for it to grow on except for the dirt but I let it dry out once in a while and I don't think thats it but I sure hope not anyway

Okay, then.

Maybe that's not the problem.

 

[MrDeranged]

Uncoordinated movement is sometimes a sign of pesticide exposure. Has anyone sprayed anything where you are? Are you using a spray bottle that was previously used with something else? Treat any dogs with flea powder or anything?

Just a couple things to look out for....

Scott

 

[TheWidowsPeak]

nope none of that, no pesticides, I don't have any cats or dogs... mike at spider shoppe said it was probably an upcoming molt but I don't know. it seems to be fine but I'm not bugging it either. Ill let you know if anything hapens.

 

[deifiler]

Maybe a long shot... but some of my spiders ahve done this due to overheating... Try to move the heat source a bit further away... hope this helps!

My P.murinus/OBT often runs in this fashion, it reminds me of a crocodile on speed for some reason

 

[MizM]

READ THIS:

http://arachnopets.com/arachnoboards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6544&highlight=spastic

 

[TheWidowsPeak]

oh man! that is exactly what my T is doing. the spastic dance thing. I am faily sure that there have been no pesticides used anywhere near my house. but this sucks I don't want it to die. this allmost makes me not want anymore T"s if they are gonna die for no apparent reason. so has anyone ever had a T survive this.

 

[deifiler]

Originally posted by johnnyjohnjon
oh man! that is exactly what my T is doing. the spastic dance thing. I am faily sure that there have been no pesticides used anywhere near my house. but this sucks I don't want it to die. this allmost makes me not want anymore T"s if they are gonna die for no apparent reason. so has anyone ever had a T survive this.

Yup, if you read my post I said I've had a few do it due to being too hot, and what I *predict* as "going sun-dizzy" like when a teenager has alchohol for the first time

 

[TheWidowsPeak]

no its the same temp as it allways is and I don't have any kind of heat source just room temp :?

 

[Steve Nunn]

As Scott said, pesticide exposure. What you're describing are classic symptoms. If your spider lives, it will take a long time to recover. They do survive though, I've had a couple make it.

Cheers,
Steve

 

[TheWidowsPeak]

but what should I do... make an ICU or just sit and wait, or what. and I cant figure out where it would have been exposed to pesticide. should I worry about the rest of my T's? they all seem fine but then again so did my blondi untill yesterday. ahhh this is killin' me.

 

[Steve Nunn]

This is usually long term, an ICU would be of little help I'd imagine. Just keep an eye on your other T's, T.blondi is fairly susceptable to this sort of thing unfortunately. I think it will be a long haul until you know anything.

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Craig]

could the exposure have come from a prey item? even if you acquired the prey items from a pet store I think they could have been exposed. I know pet co routinely uses pesticides on their mice to get rid of skin parasites. pet stores do a lot of other stupid things also. did a dog or cat in your house recently get a flea treatment?

 

[Joy]

Another possible source of exposure may occur if your community sprays for mosquitoes. Since the West Nile virus has become a problem, a lot of places have instituted spraying programs. Where I live in Michigan they've been content with just spraying parks so far, thankfully, but I know Tony mentioned hearing the trucks come through in the middle of the night where he lives in Chicago and how he made a point to keep his windows closed on those occasions. And someone on another forum mentioned how they'd seen far fewer Argiope around than in previous years, a difference they attributed to widescale mosquito spraying

Joy

 

[MizM]

Good point Joy. I remember with horror when the "med fly" infested California. It was a very eerie sight seeing five militry helicopters in V formation, flying at a couple of hundred feet, late at night with bright lights, each had great, long sprayers coming out of each side... and they sprayed Malathiaon over every square inch of our city. Sure they killed the med fly, but what about all of the OTHER very important insects in the environment. I almost cried that night....