Half my collection molted and died

[VanessaS]

I just thought of something, we recently had issues with the municipal water and were told to boil water before using. Not sure exactly why or what the issue was but it never dawned on me to do so for the animals... as well?! Could that have been it?

That is done for a number of reasons, but many of them are bacterial in nature. I'm not sure if they would react to certain bacteria exposure as we do.
I guess it could have been something that would harm them.
Another reason would be parasites were found in the water. Normally if boiling controls it then it often comes down to bacterial or parasitic issues.

 

[Kymura]

oh hell honey, very possibly, they are so damn sensitive,
I have a filter, so i drink our water, but I buy bottled for my T's,
even the damn chlorine might hurt them If there were issues no telling what they did to clean it up..

 

[Zurchiboy]

Very unfortunate. I am sorry for your losses. I use our filtered water that we get from the fridge. let it sit for a few days to let any chlorine dissolve and evaporate and to warm up. After Reading this i am now going to invest in a metal spray bottle than a plastic one.

 

[kormath]

I never thought of that. I've always given them straight tap water, i don't have a filter.... yet. This gives me another reason to go get a Brita or similar on payday.

 

[Phil]

I just thought of something, we recently had issues with the municipal water and were told to boil water before using. Not sure exactly why or what the issue was but it never dawned on me to do so for the animals... as well?! Could that have been it?

One can only speculate, my earlier post mentioned boiling water and cooling it down. We had 4 weeks in my part of thr UK with a water issue where we effectively only used Bottle water for cooking drinking. They even said bathing but that was ridiculous. I keep tropical fish too so was constantly boiling water for water changes. Always use boiled water for my Ts for both misting and drinking.

 

[Scoolman]

Two weeks ago I lost my P.Cambridgei juvie(probably 2 inches), Two B.Vagans slings, M.balfouri sling, C.Darlingi sling(was severely underweight to start, got from an expo and I think it was not cared for right), H.Vonwirthi(adult, had just received a week prior, most likely WC), and A.Versicolor sling all molted and died. None of these ones except the vonwirthi and the versicolor had a water dish but I was keeping the substrate moistened.

Survivors were my P.Bromelicola, GBB, G.Porteri, B.Smithi, Tap Sp Peru, A.Diversipes juvenile, A.Purpurea juvenile, One B.Vagans sling, P.Sazimai sling, G.Pulchra and G Pulchripes one inch.

We did have a couple warmer days, but by warmer I mean in the 50's farenheit outdoors. Do you think they just didn't have enough moisture? I feel so discouraged and like I really screwed up. I've never had losses like that before. It was heart wrenching finding each one like that. Especially the Balfouri, I loved the sling! Thoughts?

A tarantula expends a vast amount of fluids when molting. They need to be able to drink freely when in premolt, and after molting. You should think about giving all your Ts water dishes.
Sorry for your losses.

 

[leaveittoweaver]

A tarantula expends a vast amount of fluids when molting. They need to be able to drink freely when in premolt, and after molting. You should think about giving all your Ts water dishes.
Sorry for your losses.

Will do from here on out. I had just read so many conflicting opinions so I kept my juveniles and slings without them. Thank you!

I'm going to be using bottled water from here on out.

 

[RedCapTrio]

So sorry for your loss @leaveittoweaver I have been using bottled water from the start myself, the distilled drinking kind as this do not leave water marks on the enclosures. And I place water dishes even to my tiniest brachy.

Hope this episode in your T keeping life won't stop you from enjoying this hobby.

 

[leaveittoweaver]

So sorry for your loss @leaveittoweaver I have been using bottled water from the start myself, the distilled drinking kind as this do not leave water marks on the enclosures. And I place water dishes even to my tiniest brachy.

Hope this episode in your T keeping life won't stop you from enjoying this hobby.

Yeah, I was totally using bottled water before because I had an abundance of it. My ex boyfriend used to bring home bottled water constantly but then we broke up and I ran out of bottled water and started using tap water not even thinking of it.

I'm trying to not let it damper the hobby for me. Thank you!

 

[Thistles]

Just occurred to me that some pesticides work by making it difficult or impossible for invertebrates to molt. I don't want to scare you more, but keep that in mind. I know you have other pets, so be careful if you treat them for fleas/ticks and whatnot.

 

[MassExodus]

Just occurred to me that some pesticides work by making it difficult or impossible for invertebrates to molt. I don't want to scare you more, but keep that in mind. I know you have other pets, so be careful if you treat them for fleas/ticks and whatnot.

This right here is constantly on my mind. I have three dogs. I have to wash my hands before and after I handle anything pertaining to my invertebrates. Its very easy to pet a dog that just had a flea bath, forget to wash and then go mix substrate or something..

 

[leaveittoweaver]

Good point! I have not treated yet this year any of my pets so not that. Although I have been spreading diatomaceous earth in a separate room to take care of an ant problem but I doubt that's the problem? :/

 

[MassExodus]

Not sure on that one..I know that stuff kills invertebrates really well, but in a separate room it seems like it would be safe..

 

[Thistles]

That might be it, honestly. I don't know if it would be an issue from afar, but I have heard of it killing tarantulas. Be careful to wash your hands, and I'd personally remove it to be safe.

 

[RedCapTrio]

Good point! I have not treated yet this year any of my pets so not that. Although I have been spreading diatomaceous earth in a separate room to take care of an ant problem but I doubt that's the problem? :/

This could be your culprit as this works for all inverts, including Ts. It will get stuck to their joints or something and will kill them. Could this be spread around easily like dust?

 

[Casey K.]

Not sure if this helps but when watering plants that are sensitive to chemicals in tap water it is recommended to leave the tap water in a gallon jug (milk jug) for 24 hours (outside in the sun). Then you can use it. I know that some milk jugs are white/yellow in color so I would recommend using a clear/opaque one if you can find it. I believe the radiation in the sun's rays purifies the water somehow. I'm no scientist (but science was my major in college). I have seen several people do this and never have issues with plants or animals being watered with this water. The easiest thing to do (if this is a result from an issue with your water) is to just buy spring water. It's natural and I'm sure that Tarantulas drink from springs/rivers all the time in the wild but bottled water is better because it's filtered. I hope this helps. On a note: water dishes of every appropriate size are kept in all of my tarantula tanks unless they are under 2" in leg span. In that case, I mist their cage for them to drink. It's very sad that you lost your beloved babies.....one thing I can say is that I hope it was your water because that can easily be fixed. If it was nematodes (which are highly capable of cross contamination), they are much harder to get rid of and potentially fatal to EVERY tarantula infected. How are the other T's doing now since this happened?

 

[Thistles]

Not sure if this helps but when watering plants that are sensitive to chemicals in tap water it is recommended to leave the tap water in a gallon jug (milk jug) for 24 hours (outside in the sun). Then you can use it. I know that some milk jugs are white/yellow in color so I would recommend using a clear/opaque one if you can find it. I believe the radiation in the sun's rays purifies the water somehow. I'm no scientist (but science was my major in college). I have seen several people do this and never have issues with plants or animals being watered with this water.

The reason that works is that the main (but not only) chemical used to kill germs in tap water is Chlorine. Chlorine is a highly unstable (and highly poisonous) gas, so if the water containing chlorine is left sitting out (the sun speeds things up but isn't necessary) the chlorine will evaporate. That won't work for chloramines, and won't get rid of heavy metals or other impurities, but it's usually enough.

 

[Casey K.]

The reason that works is that the main (but not only) chemical used to kill germs in tap water is Chlorine. Chlorine is a highly unstable (and highly poisonous) gas, so if the water containing chlorine is left sitting out (the sun speeds things up but isn't necessary) the chlorine will evaporate. That won't work for chloramines, and won't get rid of heavy metals or other impurities, but it's usually enough.

@Thistles: Yeah that's why I agree to use bottled spring water or something that is free & clear of chemicals.

@leaveittoweaver: If you don't have the extra cash to go buy water, then boiling it is probably the best bet. If not, I would try the water in the jug trick. Anything you do to help get rid of any (if not all) chemicals in the water is extremely helpful. . I'm sure the T's will appreciate it as well.

 

[leaveittoweaver]

The reason that works is that the main (but not only) chemical used to kill germs in tap water is Chlorine. Chlorine is a highly unstable (and highly poisonous) gas, so if the water containing chlorine is left sitting out (the sun speeds things up but isn't necessary) the chlorine will evaporate. That won't work for chloramines, and won't get rid of heavy metals or other impurities, but it's usually enough.

Exactly. I'm familiar with this method from keeping fish. All my other tarantulas are doing fine. Everyone has water dishes now regardless of size. I've become more anal about checking water. I am now buying purified water from the store as well and no longer using the tap. Everyone seems well and I've had two molts since without problem, N.n.coloratovillosus and P.Bromelicola(which is very exciting!!!).

 

[Thistles]

Phew, that's a relief to hear! Glad all is well!