Mycosis discussion thread

If you look closely there is mycosis near and above the left pectin. there is damage and a black area around it, the black is mycosis (fungal infection) This is '4thGENs' scorp from another thread...

4thGEN wrote:

thanks guys and gal. ok, what do yall think of this one?

g-thing wrote:

its a fungus or bacteria that will slowly eat at your scorpion
it does things like eat through a leg in till it falls off
and most desert scorp are highly prone to mycosis

Are you shure about this?

From my experience and information:

Mycosis is a "term" for fungal infection that might effect both humans and animals.
For humans there are several kinds of "mycosis". Some are easy to treat , some are harmful, and may need to be cut away, for scorpions, I don`t know how many.

There are a couple of theory`s for how scorpions can get this.

1.The mycosis can be spread from other scorpions already carrying it.( I agree in this part, since fungal infections normally are infectious)

2. The fungal spores can be introduced to the terrarium from plants,substrate or objects.

3. Some belive they are airborn.

The theory I belive in, is that the peat(or other substrate) is already carying the spores, and that they need humidity to develop. I belive this , since the symtoms(black spots) usually appear at the scorpions legs,tails at first. Before they spread to the rest of the scorpion, and finally to the critical part, the lungs.

I think the scorpion then die from suffocation.

I think the "leg falling of" thing g-thing is talking about, might be removed by the scorpion itself, to prevent further spreading.

I think it might be possible to cure mycosis with some fungicidal preparation , but this is yet to be proved. This kind of preparation are hard to get in Norway, without a doctors prescription, but you can get something that might work without, originally sold to treat vaginal fungal infections

I will keep a closer look on my A:australis that might have the symptomes, and possibly try this if it gets worse.(thinned out with water) AND, I don`t think there will be a chance of rescuing a scorp that already has it`s lungs infected, since the preparation likely will suffocate the scorpion if applyed directly too the lungs.



Regards
Robin

I have a black rock scorpion and i can't tell if she has mycosis (one whole side of her body is slowly becoming inactive) and the legs that were initially affected are whitish at the edges. I hate seeing her dragging herself along like this!

if a scorpion have mycosis? it will not eat?? i'm worried because of my female p.transvaalicus

BlackRockScorp wrote:

I have a black rock scorpion and i can't tell if she has mycosis (one whole side of her body is slowly becoming inactive) and the legs that were initially affected are whitish at the edges. I hate seeing her dragging herself along like this!

What is the genus name for this species? Black rock????

Also try not to post in threads that are more than a couple months old.

Sorry, didn't realise.

Urodacus manicatus.

Ok thanks. Its just that a lot of scorps either don't have a common name or share the same one with another sp when they are a totally different.

For example, H. spinifer and H.laoticus are both called an asian forest scorpion but they are a different sp and so we need to indentify them individually so that we know exactly what sp we are dealing with and what conditions it needs etc.

Just something to bear in mind.

She died anyway =[

I've had two B. jacksoni male that I've kept on coco fiber develop brownish markings on the pectines. I've only been keeping one side of the 2.5g enclosure misted and have a mesh top for ventilation. Should I be worried? Is this mycosis? What should I do?

It may be mycosis . . . I had a few B. jacksoni develop problems with it, and I didn't keep it very moist, either.

Man that really sucks. Since there's not very much of it is there a chance that he molt out of it? I'm starting to agree with the theories that the spores are present in the sub right out of the package. I think I'll remove him and microwave the next batch of substrate I put in there and hopefully that will prevent it from spreading. Where do you guys get your peat/vermiculite?

I honestly don't know if they can molt out of it. My guess is no.

I get my Zoo-Med coco fiber from most pet shops.

I get the same stuff. All 20 or so tarantulas are doing great right out of the package but both jacksoni have developed this. Really sucks. I microwaved a batch and replaced the old with the new. I'll keep updated as to whether or not this seems to help.

Spores are everywhere. You have them all over you right now. Molds, mushrooms, you've got them on you now! I wouldn't blame the coco....


http://herbarium.usu.edu/fungi/funfacts/Dispersal.htm

"Spores of a wheat rust have been reported to have been dispersed 1,243 miles (2000 km) by the wind."

So why are only some people getting them on a supposedly tropical species when they are keeping them properly?

x Mr Awesome x wrote:

So why are only some people getting them on a supposedly tropical species when they are keeping them properly?

Well, this could be a couple of things.....

You may be doing everything right, and your average temps, and ventilation, are just right for it...
You may do your cage just like everyone else... But if it's 10% higher Relative humidity (rh), you may fall into the "sweet" spot.

It could be a number of things really...

My only advice, and I'm not an expert....

Would be to add a dehumidifier to your house, if needed, and add a small fan in the room to keep air circulating.
You can increase ventilation and try and adjust temperature a bit too.

I will try to think about this some more.... But I'm running into wall right about NOW!

I would also consider trying a to Black light the mycosis for 30 seconds all over. This might sound crazy, and maybe it is, but its worth a try.... They do use black light to kill bacteria etc in water. They might even use one in the city you live in!!! If it kills bacteria, it may get the mold. You could try black lighting then putting it in a clean cage after rinsing it off. Seriously, I would try and wash it, maybe with a toothbrush to try and get a majority of the spores off, if you can disrupt it's life cycle enough, you may break the chains,.... Truly, good luck to you...

^The blacklights that you use for general purpose aren't the germicidal wavelengths . . . if they let anyone have those, there'd be a lot higher incidences of skin cancer.

Uh, huh. darn. I thought I had something for a second. Also thought I might have a way to skip buying a water filter. Guess not.