I wasn't having a go mate, hope it didn't come across as that. My apologies if it did

As with most keepers, I'm interested in the DKS theory and it definitely differs from country to country as to what it is and how to treat it. We see shops in this country that sell spiders and they keep them with bug gel in the enclosures and it horrifies us. The simple fact the spider doesn't have the same mouth parts as an insect means it can't "drink" the gel so just ignores it and unless it is feeding well it will become dehydrated. Shops use this as it saves time in their maintenance but it isn't recommended. It's great for feeder insects though.

ICU for spiders is another concept I fail to get my head around. I can't see how taking a spider from it's home and putting it in to an almost clinical environment will help when humidity can be increased in the tarantulas home and it knows where it can hide and get fluid etc. To me this just seems more stressful but I'm no expert. It seems to me that it is 50/50 at best so not worth contemplating.

I've looked at stuff on DKS on US and UK boards and nothing is certain. The only thing that is certain is the arguments it inevitably causes with so many opinions kicking around which I try to avoid

I

Sorry for this smug post but DKS got on my nerve a long time ago.It is a symptom ,not a sickness.

The cause;
Physical injury - Dropping the T or something dropping on it. Bad molts included.
Disease - "bad food" , dirty environments or pesticides.

Cure; Water ,heat , food and hope.

To say that my spider has DKS sadly does not narrow down whether caused by dropping it or Doom. The cure is standard unless you have an idea of what went wrong.

So I would like to get back to the point Spinnerkop made, I didn't believe in DKS being passed down through genetics, until now. The same time, the same size, the same molt, the same batch, both got DKS and both died after a molt, in a humid environment without eating anything. Anyone care for an explanation?

T-rad wrote: So I would like to get back to the point Spinnerkop made, I didn't believe in DKS being passed down through genetics, until now. The same time, the same size, the same molt, the same batch, both got DKS and both died after a molt, in a humid environment without eating anything. Anyone care for an explanation?

No one can say why they appear to start acting this way. DKS is just a term people use to explain something, it isn't a disease. They do not "get" DKS, they display symproms that could be down to lots of factors. For both to die in similar conditions then this to me looks to be environmental. What species were they?

Ok ye I understand that, in my first comment some where I said DKS like symptoms because I have no idea what DKS is. It's an ornata, same thing happened to the guy that started the thread.

shakou wrote: I wasn't having a go mate, hope it didn't come across as that. My apologies if it did

As with most keepers, I'm interested in the DKS theory and it definitely differs from country to country as to what it is and how to treat it. We see shops in this country that sell spiders and they keep them with bug gel in the enclosures and it horrifies us. The simple fact the spider doesn't have the same mouth parts as an insect means it can't "drink" the gel so just ignores it and unless it is feeding well it will become dehydrated. Shops use this as it saves time in their maintenance but it isn't recommended. It's great for feeder insects though.

ICU for spiders is another concept I fail to get my head around. I can't see how taking a spider from it's home and putting it in to an almost clinical environment will help when humidity can be increased in the tarantulas home and it knows where it can hide and get fluid etc. To me this just seems more stressful but I'm no expert. It seems to me that it is 50/50 at best so not worth contemplating.

I've looked at stuff on DKS on US and UK boards and nothing is certain. The only thing that is certain is the arguments it inevitably causes with so many opinions kicking around which I try to avoid

I

Hey bud, i wasnt taking offence to it at all. I think my reply just comes from frustration on the whole matter.

Iv tried to understand the whole dks situation to the best of my ability, and got as much research as i can from big
european hobbyist. My collection is full of big and expensive tarantulas that i love dearly. If i hear of stories that
have help other people cure there tarantulas, ill try my luck and take the same measures to cure my babies.