Spider Odyssey

There are few things that we fear more than things we don’t understand. DKS is no exception. Post a video online of a tarantula displaying abnormal movement, and you will invariably see a string of ‘it’s DKS, there’s no cure’ responses play out. Unfortunately this rush to immediately reach for this label is dangerous and unhelpful to those looking for assistance. This problem has become so prevalent that I wrote this to encourage people to be more mindful about using DKS as a diagnosis. It outlines what DKS is, what it isn’t, and when DKS is a reasonable conclusion.

What DKS Is

DKS, short for Dyskinetic Syndrome, is a descriptive term, not a singular diagnosis. It refers to a collection of symptoms (primarily uncontrolled, uncoordinated movements such as twitching, jerking, or difficulty walking, often accompanied by a refusal or inability to eat, rapid deterioration, and death) for which no identifiable cause can be found to apply a more specific diagnosis. It is not a disease, nor a singular confirmed medical condition.

What DKS Isn’t

Most instances of twitching or uncoordinated movement in tarantulas are not DKS.

More often than not, abnormal movement can be traced back to poor ventilation, inadequate air exchange, dehydration, improper husbandry, or simply a tarantula recovering from a recent molt.

Many of these are correctable if we stop and take the time to identify them. When DKS is the immediate explanation for any symptoms of uncoordinated movement, the underlying cause is masked. Worse, it can lead to easily treatable conditions being ignored or left unaddressed. This does a massive disservice to the tarantulas in our care.

Premature Panic Hurts More Than It Helps

It’s important to remember that not all odd movements are cause for alarm. It is perfectly normal for tarantulas to have difficulty walking or to appear clumsy, twitchy, or shaky immediately after molting. Larger individuals may take even longer to fully recover. When we jump to conclusions and start telling people their tarantula has DKS at the first sign of wobbling, we often cause unnecessary panic.

That panic can push well-meaning keepers to intervene at the wrong time or in the wrong way. They may handle a freshly molted and vulnerable tarantula, change enclosure conditions unnecessarily instead of offering hydration, or even euthanize a spider that just needed the air in its enclosure flushed.

The Consequences of Quick Assumptions

We’ve seen the cost of misunderstood syndromes play out before with the concept of “Sudden Avic Death Syndrome”. This term was born out of countless Avicularia dying in poorly ventilated enclosures, suffocating under stagnant conditions. The invention of this syndrome encouraged people to treat it as inevitable, and to stop looking for answers.

And that’s exactly what happened for many years. When we use syndromes as a diagnosis rather than as a descriptive place holder, it prevents growth and understanding. And in the end, it’s the animals who suffer for it.

Are We Repeating the Same Mistake?

Acceptance has continued to grow that the concept of “Sudden Avic Death Syndrome” was the product of incorrect care practices, and you may recognize many of its symptoms from our earlier paragraph: ‘What DKS is’.

Loss of motor control, uncoordinated and jerky leg movements, inability to climb or maintain grip, repeated falling, seizure-like spasms, lethargy, failure to eat, rapid decline, and sudden death. This overlap is no coincidence. The sensitivity of avicularia allowed the cause of these symptoms to be identified more quickly as being the product of incorrect care practices, but many other causes of these types of symptoms remain grouped under DKS.

When Is It Actually DKS?

When all common or probable causes of uncoordinated and jerky movements have been ruled out, and all that remains are theoretical causes, DKS becomes a suitable label for the symptoms. But upon successful discovery of the underlying cause, it ceases to simply be just ‘DKS’ and instead becomes a more specific diagnosis like ‘hypoxia, fungal infection, dehydration, neurotoxin exposure (flea/tick medications, pesticides, lead, essential oils, nicotine, etc), thermal shock, or misunderstanding of post-molt behavior’.

We Owe It to Our Tarantulas to Ask Better Questions

It’s in our nature to want answers. And I believe it goes without saying that we as a community never want that answer to be ‘we did something wrong that caused this’. But it is our responsibility to do right by the animals in our care. And that means we need to be willing to accept that we do make mistakes, and that our understanding of tarantulas is far from complete. Vague syndromes are not a salve to hide behind.

Ask questions. Check your setups. Rule out every possible alternative at your disposal. And most importantly, don’t let DKS become a reflexive answer that stops you from seeking understanding.