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Message: <blockquote data-quote="daphnep" data-source="post: 39197" data-attributes="member: 3527">Thank you.  As of now, she tried to climb the side of her tank, quite adroitly.  I have done some "tarantula meds," according to people who have had DKS tarantula:  I have her heat rock on top of the tank, on top of a lid that has covered metal mesh, and it is surrounded by wet paper towels.  On top of that, I have a large plastic bag.  She has water in her bowl, dry ground, and the moisture from the paper towels is creating a visible humidity, what with glass water spots.  D., I did want to share this, too.  From what I have read, crickets that have fed on dead crickets, and crickets sent from places that use miticides (hence, the crickets become immune while their eaters do not), can trigger DKS.  I have really, really gone over this chain of events, and it all adds up.  Healthy molt.  Really healthy tarantula.  Meal with crickets from a place that I have to admit has, um, dipped in health care over the past few months (dead crickets in the tank).  Then, these symptoms.  As much as I agonize over trying to deny it, I believe she ate a bad meal, and she has suffered from the meal.  I have taken the two crickets out of the tank and am looking online for local organic cricket breeders.  This is the one great thing about being in the Pacific Northwest -- lots of hippies and free growers.  I do not know if she will live, but with a new organic food source and this high relative humidity, I want to hope she has a chance.  Her movements are spastic but purposeful, so if she does have some type of pesticide-based issue, I have to hope that high humidity, a clean environment, and organic food may save her.I cannot say it enough times -- the support, feedback, and education from the lot of you helps a great deal.  I care for a few pets.  I breed fish, keep fish, have six rescue cats, and support three dogs.  One is a rescue chihuahua thing.  I honestly think it is actually African field shrew and sewer rat, haha.  But our other dogs are a Boston and my Olde English.  I just love animals.  People think because "it's just a bug" that I should be less concerned, but that is not the case.  Isabella is one of my dears.  I just love her.  I do not have a lot of tarantulas like some of the people on this wonderful board, but that does mean that I don't love her less.  Because she is my one and only spider I love her all the more, because she is my dear.  I agonize over her right now, because I have taken the position to be her caregiver.  When people do not get that, I secretly wish them fleas in their armpits.  Sorry to rant, but I think any person on this board might get it.  We really love these creatures.  Just as with my aquariums, we are taking on the responsibility to care for an exotic, and that is a really big task.  We are providing an entire environment and food chain for them.  I am glad to have help.  I will try to be positive and to keep her environment warm and humid and dry at the same time.  I will check in at the end of the week with an update, and again -- thank you to all of you.  Funny, the heat rock works really well for the purpose of making humidity where Izzy cannot be harmed by it.And I still have Statistics homework to do.  Priorities!</blockquote>

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