possible nematode worm problem . . .

[Payton MacDonald]

Dear friends,

It's possible that my P. lugardi has nematode worms. She hasn't eaten a thing since I got her two months ago and she seems fairly thin, though that could just be my perception. But when she was up on her glass last night I noticed some white stuff around her mouth. From the articles I've read in BTS it seems like she could have nematode worms.

The only way to find out would be to check it out under a microscope, but I don't really want to handle her. So, what I'm wondering is this: should I isolate her from my other Ts for a month or so and see how she does? I've read that one spider can infect an entire collection. In a recent BTS article the author suggested that scuttle flies can carry the worms to other spiders in the same room. (But are there scuttle flies in my spider room? I don't know.)

Also, are nematode worms primarily a problem with WC specimens? Or have folks had trouble with CB spiders as well?

Thoughts?

Thank you,
Payton

[James Box]

if you suspect nematode worms, definitely isolate her. i think 3 or more months may be a good period of time. you may as a precaution want to clean out all other tanks anyway, once you've gotten her away.
you may be able to check her properly if you give her a brief stint in the fridge.
here's a good article on nematodes if you've not read it already: http://giantspiders.com/article12.html


good luck, i really hope it's not nematodes! they're horrible from what i understand. maybe one day a cure will be found.

[Guy Tansley]

Hello Payton,

Sorry to hear about your spider. You must first determine wether it's nematodes or not. Is there any discharge from the mouth area? How does the spider stand? On the tips of it's feet with the palps curled underneath? When you shake the container, does the spider steady itself using the palps or do they remain under the body?

Isolation is recommended until you can find out what the problem is and then we can hopefully move onto treatment etc.

[James Box]

Guy, have you learned anything new about treatment?

[Guy Tansley]

Hi James,

Gladly I haven't had any outbreaks since that initial one but I'm interested to know if the temperature treatment published in a recent Journal [vol. 21 (2)] would work.

[James Box]

thank God for that!
i'll look up that back issue. i had a scare a while back, but turned out not to be the case!
Payton, i'm really hoping you're able to identify the problem and treat it! good luck mate.

[Payton MacDonald]

Thank you for the replies, I do appreciate it. Guy, I reread your BTS article; thanks for publishing your findings on that. This seems pretty rare, so hopefully she's okay. I've isolated her in another room. I haven't seen any flies or mites or other pests in any of the cages, so hopefully the contamination issue won't be a problem. I keep my spider room pretty dry and I don't mist their cages and I'm pretty vigilant about cleaning up after them when they eat.

At any rate, I'll try shaking her cage and keep an eye on her. I'll keep you posted.

Best,
Payton

[Colin D Wilson]

Payton, definitly isolation !!!

If you can get her into a cricket tub gently press another tub down on her (as if stacking the tubs) and this will restrict movement to a minimum (careful on leg position etc), you can tape the boxes together with a small bit of tape either end and then place her under what ever visual divice you have at hand to inspect the area.

Guy, your heat treatment has been a success with an imported spider that my friend brought back that was found to have mites. after treatment the mites were examined and found to be an oportunistic generic species of mite that do not target tarantulas specifically.

[Peter Falck Farahday]

My article "Nematodes - Certain Death or...?" from the January/March 2007 issue of the BTS Journal can be found here:

http://www.theraphosidae.com/english/artikler/nematoder/index.htm

Kind regards

/Falck

[James Box]

great article. i hope and pray i never run into this problem, but good to know there's "hope", even if it's experimental and might be a bit harsh for certain species of T's.
i have phorids flying round (i think it's them), so i hope i can find some phorid-proof netting to cover all the enclosures with ASAP, as i had one DOA sling dead with their thrice-accursed larvae round its mouth. definitely NOT nematodes in my case, but definitely maggots. i blame them for that death and naturally don't want it repeated!
Payton, let us know how you get on with your lugardi! i have a feeling that as a member of the (as far as i know) hardy genus of Pterinochilus, it may be able to tolerate the heat treatment, so you may have hope!