Wow, this has turned into a lengthy debacle.. I will try to address everyone's concerns as fully as possible!
Chris:
I never claimed the photos did not work, just that your diagnosis was incorrect. On the phone you had not mentioned any issue whatsoever with my offer of a replacement and had not mentioned any concern regarding illness or disease. The conversation was amicable and I spent some time with you attempting to figure out why she had died (when the smaller emilia did not) and concluded that physical shock was likely the cause (a fat, healthy, larger spider does not bounce around as well as a smaller, lighter one). Since then, I have been falsely accused by you on a number of accusations that have no basis and are completely false. I have no issues with nematodes here and you have failed to prove otherwise. Zooming in does not make them appear and the photo is clear enough already to see what they aren't as well as show healthy book lungs. The interesting thing I noticed about those photos is that the "nematodes" appeared quite some time after death. You claim to be experienced with the problem of nematodes, yet did not notice them when you inspected the spider the first day and apparently, you also still do not realise that they are quite visible when a spider is still alive. Nematodes deteriorate the health of spider in a downward spiral and yet, she was fat and healthy and in excellent shape, not a sick and dying tarantula suffering from a fatal illness. Perhaps what you saw later on or on the subsequent days came afterwards. Phorid flies are very common around pet store or anywhere where there are large numbers of crickets and appear within minutes of death, like most flies that feed on carcasses. There are many parasites that occur in nature and for spiders this means pretty much flies, wasps and nematodes. None of these parasites are common here in Canada (most parasites are very host specific and we have no tarantulas (soil nematodes commonly found here do not parasitise tarantulas)), even in wc animals imported from the tropics. I have dealt with tarantulas for nearly three decades (longer than nearly anyone in this country and longer than most outside of it) and can assure you of this. Also, if they are so easy to treat, then I have no idea why you refused the replacement. I have no idea what "supplies" you needed to throw away. I unpack my tarantulas with my hands and those can be washed quite easily.
The spider also did not drown. Again, your photo shows the paper towel immediately after unpacking and it is not even wet and clearly has not been wrung out. The different "look" of dead tarantulas is actually useful in diagnosing why they died and this is why I ask for photos. Replacement or not, I love these animals and aspire to provide the best conditions for them both here and in transit. I'm not altogether sure that is a scar (on her left side), but if it is, scars are scars and do not indicate being "eaten alive". They can be caused by a bad moult, a bite from a cricket that has been grabbed by the spider or any number of other factors.
Spiderlings in the Canadian hobby are indeed nearly always CB and this is even more true of spiders from closed countries (Mexico), listed on CITES (Brachypelma) and rare species (klaasi). Why on earth you feel justified to tell anyone that this is definitely a wc specimen is beyond me. Anyone who has watched my list over the years has seen these appear on my list as 1/3" spiderlings and grow over time. You told me yourself that you had been watching my list and felt that I had extremely healthy spiders and that after such terrible experiences with the only two other spider dealers in the country, you were looking forward to dealing with me. What a turnaround.
You have accused me of lies, but what lies have I made? I never resized the photos, Fauna did and this has been followed up on. The email thread I posted was exactly as it occurred, removing only the messages prior, relating to shipping quotes et al and not pertaining to this matter. Indeed, this whole thing does look fishy. We are all waiting for the lab result and the reason for a second lab to be involved. I am still puzzled by your explanation of why you didn't accept a replacement or ship back the emilia and by the way, shipping was 63$ for priority shipping including heat pack and styro. Your total of 90$ for shipping was due to your insistence of sending a money order (which you instructed me to forge your signature on) when I told you to send an EMT (cost $1.50, cleared within an hour) or deposit directly to my account (free and instant) at the same bank you purchased the money order from. You say that "there are other matters with this T", but what are they and why haven't you mentioned them to anyone yet?
Everyone else:
Yes, there were other photos sent by Chris, but none any clearer. These two were the clearest of the bunch to my eye and not altered in any way. Here are a couple of snapshots of the last two siblings that I have. I apologise for the quality, it is a lousy cell phone camera!
Female ventral:
Female:
Male:
All of these photos show healthy spiders, the male having recently moulted. Cheers,
Bruce
Arachnophiliacs (Bruce Carr)
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