Need some help

[TheJuicyFruit]

Yesterday, I had some ants on the wall behind, and around my t's enclosure, not an organized line, but about a dozen stragglers. I didn't have ants before I got a T and was worried that they would attack her, so I tried to ask what to do here, but the forums were down all day :\. I went to google and the only thing that I could find that would possibly attract them to her would be cricket remains, but she eats in her hide. I tried coaxing her out with a paintbrush, but she just didn't want to get out, so I just lifted the hide out of the cage, and her burrow collapsed, which I immediately regretted, because there was NO cricket remains to attract the ants. I had to get her out to fix her hide, so I put her in a catch cup for a couple minutes while i tried to repair the damage I did, and when I put her back in, she was a very different T. Before yesterday, she would move very slowly, and just spend the day either in her hide, or on the wall, not moving much at all. But Yesterday, she spent hours walking around the sides of her enclosure, more quickly than she moved before. I later discovered that a cricket had escaped, and died somewhere in my room, which I believe is what attracted the ants. I consulted google about those disk ant traps, and they said they were tarantula safe, as long as the T didn't touch or ingest them. At about 8:30 I noticed her shaking her legs as she walked into her hide, but she did have substrate on them from digging.

Do T's shake their legs to get off substrate, or is that only a symptom of DKS?
Why would she be so much more active when I put her back in, after only minutes of being out?
Are the ant bait traps really T safe?

 

[Martin Oosthuysen]

Yesterday, I had some ants on the wall behind, and around my t's enclosure, not an organized line, but about a dozen stragglers. I didn't have ants before I got a T and was worried that they would attack her, so I tried to ask what to do here, but the forums were down all day :\. I went to google and the only thing that I could find that would possibly attract them to her would be cricket remains, but she eats in her hide. I tried coaxing her out with a paintbrush, but she just didn't want to get out, so I just lifted the hide out of the cage, and her burrow collapsed, which I immediately regretted, because there was NO cricket remains to attract the ants. I had to get her out to fix her hide, so I put her in a catch cup for a couple minutes while i tried to repair the damage I did, and when I put her back in, she was a very different T. Before yesterday, she would move very slowly, and just spend the day either in her hide, or on the wall, not moving much at all. But Yesterday, she spent hours walking around the sides of her enclosure, more quickly than she moved before. I later discovered that a cricket had escaped, and died somewhere in my room, which I believe is what attracted the ants. I consulted google about those disk ant traps, and they said they were tarantula safe, as long as the T didn't touch or ingest them. At about 8:30 I noticed her shaking her legs as she walked into her hide, but she did have substrate on them from digging.

Do T's shake their legs to get off substrate, or is that only a symptom of DKS?
Why would she be so much more active when I put her back in, after only minutes of being out?
Are the ant bait traps really T safe?

Hello
Ant are not only attracted to actual bait,but also to the scent etc. They will send out SCOUTS in search of food,then signal others to help. What you also could have missed,bolus isn't easy detectable since it sometimes resembles substrate so indeed could have caused the ant frenzy.

As for ant traps,I would suggest studying more in this to see if it gives of toxins since it won't be in the T's enclosure but outside. I don't have a problem like that,if I do I just clean out the whole enclosure keeping the T safely in another container.

As for DKS,some say it is just a myth. When a T does funny not before seen things,we tend to think the worst first. I do not attack this,since you just care for your animals well being. The weird leg movement, could just be a normal yet not a lot seen behaviour. As for moving around more after rehousing, he or she is just checking out the enclosure.

 

[TheJuicyFruit]

I've seen little white bits of debris, that she actually rolled out of her hide and to the side of the cage for me to see, which I removed immediately, before the ants showed up.

EDIT: I read that they give off a small amount of toxicity that's safe for cats and dogs, but it of course said nothing about tarantulas. I took it out, and I'll research other methods, if the ants return in full force.

 

[Tomoran]

It is possible that she's just antsy because she hasn't been able to properly settle in yet? If her den was destroyed, she is essentially back to square one in terms of settling into her new environment. She will need time to settle in again.

As for the movements, they may sometimes shake their legs if there is something on them, The symptoms of DKS are quite pronounced once they get going. I wouldn't call it a myth, but I think that it's a symptom and not an actual disease (meaning this loss of coordination and control could be caused by anything from extreme temperatures, pesticide exposure, mold, etc).

Here's video of my A. insubtilis exhibiting DKS symptoms.

I asked my wife, who works in pest control, and said that you could try vacuuming thoroughly first, then wash the floor and area with gentle detergent and water to get rid of the trail that the scouts set. They would then lose their way in. She said you could also bait or use and ant bait station to kill them if that doesn't work. Unless the T were to eat the poisoned ant (which it should not do) it would be fine.

 

[DVirginiana]

I've seen my wolf spider shake one leg at crickets or other feeders when she's annoyed at how close they're getting to her then move away (once she actually used her leg to flip a cricket over MMA-style). I just thought that was 'I'm annoyed, leave me alone' behavior. It might mean something totally different in a T, but I personally wouldn't worry unless it gets worse. She's just had her home deconstructed, so she may act stressed for a bit.