What is going on?!?!?!

kitty_b

Arachnoprince
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Mar 28, 2006
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so after i lost my a. avicularia and h. maculata females to a long,d rawn out illness that caused them to huddle/spaz on the ground and refuse food/water until they died, my 3"+ freshly molted male t. blondi is in a dead curl in his water dish.

last night i noticed that he was huddled in his dish, and i used a q-tip to touch his leg. he responded, though sluggish. i figured it was just due to the molt.

this morning i find him back in the dish, curled and unresponsive. i don't know if he's dead yet, so i put him in an ICU and put him in my closet.

this is really starting to break my heart, and i can't come up for any explanations...
 

Arachnomore

Arachnobaron
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Jan 8, 2008
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Has your house ever been pest bombed.. anything airborne that could be killing em off? What kind of substrate are they on and what have you been feeding them?
 

Sylvi

Arachnosquire
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Dec 26, 2007
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Hi, this is really sad, you must be feeling awfull. If it were me I would start looking at things that link all 3 T's - Substrate, food, and outside factors like household sprays.
 

kitty_b

Arachnoprince
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no fumigations/pest control. no insecticides on my pets.

same bag of peat moss i've always used. in fact, the ones who have died haven't had a housing change in a long time.

they're fed off my b. lateralis colony, mostly. once in a blue moon i've bought crickets, but haven't had any problems with that.

what's driving me insane is that i haven't changed anything about my husbandry. i had a sudden die-off of 4 GBB slings a few months ago, all within a day or so of each other. it was also never explained.

EDIT- my husband just admitted to using a deodorizing spray after he cleans. he doesn't spray at the cages, but it may be the culprit. :( (we live in a 1 bedroom apartment, so it's a confined space.)
 

Sylvi

Arachnosquire
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Dec 26, 2007
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How about a contaminated water dish? Have you washed them out with something and then not rinsed them thoroughly? All your other T's are ok?

Edit - It may be that spray. Room refreshner is quite strong and the little droplets could have gone in the tanks.
 

kitty_b

Arachnoprince
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no one smokes. and i only rinse the dishes with warm water, and never move dishes from one cage to another.
 

Sylvi

Arachnosquire
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I'd go with the spray. Throw the tin away and wait to see if you have a recurrence.
 

xhexdx

ArachnoGod
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I would look at the label on the spray and see if it's safe or not for animals in general. I'm sure they don't list arachnids on there but you still might be able to gauge its potency better that way.

I still think if that were the issue though, that it would be affecting every tarantula in your collection.

I seem to remember you mentioning in your last thread about it that you fed both of those spiders out of sequence from your others. Do you still think contaminated food might have been the source and might be for your T. blondi as well?

How newly molted did you say it was? I probably would have put him in an ICU the second I saw him curled up like that, assuming it's been a few days since the molt.

I hope it all works out for you.
 

kitty_b

Arachnoprince
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this boy often huddled, so i didn't think much of it.

and yes, i'd fed the other two out of sequence, but this guy got fed on the "main" schedule.

the can doesn't say if it's safe/harmful for pets. just warns to not spray in your eyes. :rolleyes:

his symptoms also don't match the other two. but right now i just can't come up with anything that would have caused these events. it may have been unrelated. it may have just been his time for all i know.

i just don't know what i'm going to do if this continues. i have over 130 tarantulas and no where else to move them.
 

xhexdx

ArachnoGod
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I have plenty of extra space in my T room for them. ;)

After all, you're only three states north. :D
 

bushbuster

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
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Nov 11, 2006
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344
I quit using any type of air fresheners, bug sprays, furniture polish sprays...etc, etc. upon acquiring my Tarantulas, although I do smoke. So now I have a stinky bug infestated dusty house, but the Tarantulas are happy, lol.
 

kitty_b

Arachnoprince
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i have 5 cats and a dog. but they don't bother the tarantulas, and i haven't used flea medications on them.
 

kitty_b

Arachnoprince
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my roaches aren't dying off. :( just a couple here and there, normal in a big colony.

my only problem with them is that i can't get them to breed fast enough. (not a strong enough heat source to stimulate them.)
 

kitty_b

Arachnoprince
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Mar 28, 2006
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You should see what I have...

And I'm sure there are others with more than me!

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/member.php?u=12438
haha, i would be more like you, talkenlate, reptist, etc if i had the room. living in a 820 sq ft 1 bedroom apartment, with a husband, and me only making $14k/year (graduate student) has kept my enthusiasm curbed. ;)

just wait till i have a house and my own room to dedicate to my hobby (rather than 2 shelves in the living room). i forsee a return to reptiles as well as a LOT more tarantulas. :}
 
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