Tarantula cancer

[Chris Sainsbury]

Can anbody tell me anything about cancer in tarantulas?

[Chris Sainsbury]

I´m glad to see that so many people had or had not seen or heard of this in tarantulas
Its nice to get so many views/opinions and information about this!

No really I thank you all lol

[Shot8un]

Well Mr Tescos,

No infomation is better than mis-infomation. I will say that I have seen a picture in one of the two books I have out on loan, of a t with some kind of tumour growing on it but thats all I can remember. When I get the book back I will send you some more info...

Regards

Uncle Shot8un

[Ray Hale]

cancer

Is that a dummy I see spit out in the corner mate.LOL.

Shot8un is quite right no information is better than mis information. However because I can see it means a lot to you.

Some years ago I had an adult Aphonpelma seemanni female. She ate well and was a good size. One day I noticed a lump on her abdomen. She continued to eat and was active. Then I noticed the lump was getting bigger. The spider stopped feeding and became lethargic. Despite my best efforts the spider got worse and then eventually died.. By now the abdomen was shrunken to the size of a pea but the lump was the size of a large marble.

On autopsy I found the lump to be quite hard and gelatinous when cut.

Whether was a tumour or not I do not know but it certainly killed the spider.

I have searched the records of the BTS Library for any info on spider illnesses but to be frank there is little published work.We know very little about tarantula medicine however the following is brief list of spider ailments.
1. Dehydration
2. Starvation
3. Mouting Problems
4. Hemorrhage
5. Hernias
6. Fungal infections.
7. Parasites

(source: The Tarantula Keepers Guide : Schultz)

If anyone has any more information or has carried out in depth studies then the BTS would be happy to receive and publish their work.

Hope this helps Tesco. Now get out there and find me some information,

[Chris Sainsbury]

Im so glad I did spit my dummy in the corner lol
As it seemed to get a few replys.I would have been happy if someone just posted "Sorry mate I´ve never heard of that".
Off course no information is beter than mis-information but no replys at all!How do I read this?
Does this mean nobody knows anything/never heard of it etc. Or does it mean -sorry mate I cant be botherd to answer, its of no intrest to me.
Im still looking for any info on this Ray and if I get anything I will of course send it to you.
The reason I asked is because I saw this as listed as a common illness that tarantulas can get ,on a german web site.I emailed the owner of this web site ,but as yet I have recieved no answer .I don´t why this topic (and many others come to that)intrests me so much?Maybe I´m just sad!

Thanks for the replys lads and Scot I look forward to reading that info if you get it cheers.

[Angus Walker]

Hi Tescos,

Love the moniker - do you have a loyalty card to go with it?

As it seemed to get a few replys.I would have been happy if someone just posted "Sorry mate I´ve never heard of that".
Off course no information is beter than mis-information but no replys at all!How do I read this?
Does this mean nobody knows anything/never heard of it etc. Or does it mean -sorry mate I cant be botherd to answer, its of no intrest to me.

I'm new to keeping T's so can't offer you any real helpful info on your query but believe that your query deserves a response of some sort. All I know is the great British NHS couldn't stop my cousin dying of breast cancer so if T's get a version of it then I think we can assume it'll be unavoidably fatal. Put it in at No. 8 on Ray's list.