Dyskinetic syndrome or possible dehydration ??

[lynn mawdesley]

Hello all,

I purchased an Avicularia versicolor a few days ago , rehomed it seemed fine however after a couple of days noticed that it hadnt made no attempt to start settling in like the others...been aware that they can take a good while anyway sometimes i didnt think anything of it.
Yesterday morning did usual check on T's and noticed this particular one was one its back at the bottom of its enclosure ...so i thought great its moulting , kept sneaking the odd look to see how thing where coming along its legs where doing the usual moulting movements so im thinking not long now. Went back downstairs after a while went back up to check then the next thing it flipped itself back over against the side of its enclosure but as if it was sat on its back legs and butt!
The odd thing is its front 2 legs are still twitching so to speak, anyway last night i thought somethings definatley not right so i decided to put it in ICU it seems pretty weak ive raised the humidity to see if that helps too, also got a cottonwool bud and rubbed water around its mouth parts to see if that helps.
Ive never had a T behave in this way before so im a tad confused and fear the worst ...and to top it all off what a great way to start up the hobby again

Lynn

[R Thomas]

"There may be trouble ahead...."

Well had to start with that as whenever I see a post about Avicularia this and Avicularia that slings it is more often than not a depressing one. I built a complete temperature and humidity controlled vivarium setup just to put my Avicularia slings enclosures into to try and stop sudden death syndrome that Avicularia slings seem to suffer from. So far I have not lost another - 80 to 85% humidity and around 26 degrees centigrade and good ventilation seems to be working at the moment.

The only T that I have had with suspected DKS was a G. rosea sling that walked like it was drunk (and still does 3 months later) that I am sure was dehydrated in the store. The other DKS source is supposed to be duff crickets - never had any recent issues using bean weevils I breed myself.

Anyway lets hope it recovers and I will keep my fingers crossed that it does.

Richard

[lynn mawdesley]

Its not a sling Richard it around the 3"+ mark , like i said ive only had it a few days and its refused food (which rules duff crix out) my main interest before my year beak from the hobby was Avics and only lost one due to a bad moult a couple of days after purchasing and the others i purchased at the same time are thriving hence why im confused, temps and humidity are 'bob on'

Lynn

[lynn mawdesley]

well a little improvement she/he seems abit more lively with the humidity raised and dabbing she/hes mouth parts with water im now wondering whether its a combination of been shipped (as in lower temps even though it was packed very well and heat pad in there) and dehydration im crossing my fingers that she/he continues to improve

[vincent winyard]

everything crossed lynn it sounds like you've done your upmost best for this new t and im sure everything will be fine in the end. you really have done all you can good luck.

[R Thomas]

Well glad to hear it is improving - I think shipping this time of year can be stressful on both the T and the prospective owner.Anyway glad to have you back in the hobby and best of luck with your new addition.

Richard

[Christian Elowsky]

Dehydration is one of the causes of spastic movements. Please post back if things start acting poorly again.

[lynn mawdesley]

things have gone downhill again im beginning to think what little improvement i saw last night was maybe me hoping she was getting better!
Still really weak , i picked her up so i could get water dabbed around her mouth and she made no attempt to get away from me ...i feel so helpless ..its so sad i feel like im fighting a losing battle with her

[Colin D Wilson]

Well putting aside the DKS mumbo jumbo as i always do i'm presuming that this could be a case of dehydration or trauma related.
Did you have this spider delivered? maybe the package took a knock in the post and the spiders internals have been badly shaken, this is a possible problem where there's no real help you can give.

Where you are with the spider now (ICU etc), and presuming dehydration is the cause then it may benefit you to take the spider out of the ICU for periods of time, It's a versi and they do best with a certain amount of airflow/ventilation.
Getting the rehydration on the way without inadvertently clogging things up with warm,damp,stale air will be awquard but if you give the spider a break from the ICU regularly then this will help. (even if you just "hang" the spider on a piece of bark in the living room for an hour or so).
High humidity/high temp ICU doesn't always have the benefits we imagine, dryer species have problems with it and most arboreals need air flow, in my opinion the best thing you are doing is trying to get some water in the spider by drinking.

You've been in the hobby long enough to know a lot more than the basics, i know you'll do your best

Welcome back to the hobby Lynn, wish it could be a better situation for you.

[Neill House]

I have a G rosea in the same predicament, and I have been doing a couple of days ICU, with double that time in a nice dry secure (and normal) temps. Every day I use a syringe to put water it her mouth, and just keep on repeating. She was like this when I got her, and DkS or not, this is in reality all I can do.
I hope it works out for you, as mine seems to be getting better, albeit slowly.

[lynn mawdesley]

Yes she was delivered Colin.

Thanks both ill get on it straight away and hopefully things get better *crosses everything* will keep you updated!

Lynn