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Possible DKS.

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  • Possible DKS.

    Hi all, this is my first posting on here and I don't think it's good news. I've had my Hapalopus sp. pumpkin patch sling about 2 weeks now and at first he was your typical pumpkin patch, fast as lightning. I checked on my T's last night and my little pumpkin patch was acting all jerky and clumsy. I've put up a video clip so can any one confirm this and if it is wether I can do any thing to help the poor little bugger.

  • #2
    Here's another

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    • #3
      Well it's in a death curl now, I've put the humidity up a little and I'll wait a few days to see if it'll pull through but I'm not getting my hopes up.

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      • #4
        All my thoughts with you and your little T. I wasn't able to give you a clever answer on your question, sorry (I'm no specialist). It's never easy to see an animal which you are bound to becoming ill...
        Come and visit us: http://mygales.esy.es

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        • #5
          Any news? I don't really know anything about DKS other than the term DKS seems to be a way of saying "My spider is moving erratically", and is more like naming a symptom than diagnosing a problem. I have read that this symptom may be caused by several separate or combined health problems, which seems perfectly logical to me... However, I would be very interested to hear from anybody who is knowledgeable on the matter?

          Your substrate looks very wet to me, more so than most would have it? What is the ventilation like? If this is how the substrate is normally kept, along with minimal ventilation, I would assume this could be problematic for the spider. BUT! I'm not saying that is the cause of the problem, how could I possibly know, I'm not an arachnologist, plus I have only seen a short video clip, you could have recently wet it, so may not be keeping constantly keeping it that way. But it looks like a factor that is not correct in the general equation of what I see, going by my general experience. I'm sorry I can't be of much help here, and hope the worst has not happened.

          Given that I know nothing of dealing with this issue coupled with the fact that this is the first video I have seen of a tarantula that could be suffering DKS, which could be due to a number of causes, I wouldn't really know what to do. But, having seen the video, if it were me, I would move it to a container with drier substrate (not bone dry - just drier), or a container lined with slightly dampened tissue paper - In either case, I would offer it a very small water dish, perhaps a small bottle cap, to see if there is any improvement. I have no idea if there would be, but that is just what I would do - try sticking it in a different environment and see if there is any change. Also, if it is in death curls, then it may be beneficial to put it's prosoma in a water dish, or attempt dripping water into it's maxilla region via a pipette, especially if you have noticed it pressing it's prosoma down into the substrate. If it has been running about a lot, it could be suffering from dehydration in addition to whatever the other problem is.

          Good luck
          Have a good time all the time

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          • #6
            Thanks Nicolas

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            • #7
              Originally posted by rob malinowski View Post
              Thanks Nicolas
              . . . and totally ignoring the perfectly good post by Adam

              Seem like that all you want/need is someone to agree with you and for the ever present 'so sorry for your loss' type of post that Nicolas supplied

              Its a spider. It died. Its not the end of the world. You will get over it. Learn from your mistake.

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              • #8
                Well Peter roach, for your information I only had time to reply to nicalos' message as it was brief. I've been in work since 0700hrs this morning and couldn't give Adam a detailed answer it deserves. Now I'm getting in from work and will be replying. Oh and yes "it's only a spider" but I like to keep mine alive and healthy to the best of my ability by trying not to make the same mistakes by researching and getting feed back from others that are more experienced. We pluck these creatures out of there own habitat, the least we can do is learn as much as we can about them not oh I broke it but I'll just buy another one. That said I'm going to have a cup if tea and sit down with my partner as I haven't seen her all day then I can concentrate on replying to Adam

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                • #9
                  Hi Adam, thanks for replying. i had watered the substrate more than normal as it does say up the humidity but did put it in another deli pot with damp kitchen roll after flicking through you're reply this morning. i used a heated needle to burn 2 rows of holes in the tub and the lid is literally covered with holes. before i soaked the substrate i just used to wet halve of the tub and keep the other side dry< high humidity and plenty of ventilation, this is how i keep all my slings. Is the substrate still to wet doing it this way? The room temp is a constant 23c. it only ran about when it got disturbed. i did have a reply on another forum which stated many cases of DKS occur in the presence of 'fipronil' which is found in some dog flea treatments. Have you heard of this before as I did treat our dog around the time the T arrived, the dog doesn't go into my T room but i could have cross contaminated. Any the T is still in the same place in death curl so i think its dead but still would like anyone else's feed back who has actually experienced this before or extensively researched DKS.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by rob malinowski View Post
                    extensively researched DKS.

                    There is no such thing as DKS.

                    It is a name that has been made up by hobbyists to describe any and all symptoms that are unknown to the hobbyist.

                    Ring up your doctor and tell him that you feel unwell, then ask him to diagnose what is wrong with you.


                    Many times what is known as DKS (any unknown symptoms) can be poisoning, either through the air, water or food.
                    All you have to do is through a process of elimination, find out what it is.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Peter Roach View Post
                      There is no such thing as DKS.

                      It is a name that has been made up by hobbyists to describe any and all symptoms that are unknown to the hobbyist.
                      That opinion is in contrast to Lautensak and Hubers who provided a detailed paper on the dietary requirements of invertebrates.

                      If you've used a flea treatment and perhaps transferred some of this to your arachnids, directly or indirectly, you have a cause, and quite likely this will result in its death. Sorry. I suggest not using a powder, the drops are much better, and reducing contact after using the flea treatment for 3 days, making sure you have no contact with feeders too.
                      My Collection - Summer 2011



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