silly question

[Clinton Hogben]

Just out of curiosity has anyone on this forum ever actually been bitten by a "T"
It seems we have lots of info out on the web about a "T" bite being like a bee or wasp sting or on larger spiders we have the physical mechanical damage of 2x1 inch fangs sinking into your finger but no mention of anybody really being bitten

Just curious


Clint

[Mark Pennell]

Clinton
The last BTS journal contained I excellent article on the effects a T-bites.
Also on this web site is an article written by Ray hale on the subject.

Have a look in the article section from the main page.

Regards
Mark

[Colin D Wilson]

Hi Clinten,

Yup been bitten, Selenocosmia lanipes ...puncture wounds on right middle finger tip, hurt like hell, didn't feel like a bee or wasp sting to me as they hurt me even more !! sounds weird i know but

As i've posted before on another thread about the effects of venom the three that stick in my mind.....

"Vipera Berus (adder) whilst on conservation trip, two holes in the calf and a burning sensation for a few days.

Selenocosmia lanipes whilst feeding (my they're quick) two holes, big red rash, sickness diorhea, Very heavy flu feeling, tightness in chest.

common queen wasp, whilst removing the nest from loft (idiot !!) big red rash and swelling , couldn't move hand fully for a week."

There are some bite reports in the last BTS journal.
EDIT..*OK mark got there before me....again!!!*

Colin

[Peter Lacey]

p142 of Stanley Schultz The Tarantula Keepers Guide - can't recommend this book enough, but I'm trying

The bite is likely to be a dry bite, the pain is likely to be a slow uncomfortable ache rather than the instant pain of a bee or wasp sting. The only likely problem is if you are allergic to the venom. However, if you have Old World Ts things may be a bit more serious. This is what I've read, I've never experienced a bite because I haven't been in the hobby long enough and I never touch my Ts.

[Peter Lacey]

Ray Hale - The Cause and Effect on the bite of Selenocosmia lanipes.

http://www.thebts.co.uk/selenocosmia.htm

[Oli Dodds]

Here is a very good bite report, written by the victim 'as it was happening'.
Bite is from a Poecilitheria species....
Long, but interesting.

http://www.goldenphoenixexotica.com/bite.html

Oli

[mary walters]

Someone I know got bitten by an Orange Fringe, it affected his arm so badly he was in John Radcliffe hospital on a drip for a week. He had already been told not to handle it but he did....
Oh, and apparently the proffessor there jumped up and down with glee at his first ever Tarantula bite mmmm

[Andrew Ferguson]

A quick passage from Jerry G. Wilson's book The Guide To Owning A Tarantula.

Most side-effects of bites seem to respond well to treatment with bee-sting kits, but never take chances. You are dealing with a largely unknown field here, and you would not like to be the corpse given credit for being the first to die from the bite of a "harmless" tarantula.

I guess when I (eventually!) get mine, I'll be heeding the good advice of limiting any handling to almost none. I've been biten by dogs, cats, ticks, fleas and been stung by bees and fallen into a huge nettle growth. It hurts. I don't want to add another bite / sting to that list.

[James Box]

i've been fortunate enough never to have been bitten or stung. i have, however, had BAD experiences with urticating hairs!!! not sure if i'm unusually sensitive or if everyone gets wide-spread, bumpy rashes that itch uncontrollably?
the thing that works for me is to run my hands under HOT water, uncomfortably hot water, at that point where it feels almost cold. that or holding tightly to a hot mug of tea as long as i can. the heat increases the itching, but as soon as you're away from it, the sudden cold brings great relief.
as for bites, i believe with a certain amount of care and respect, you can avoid them even if you get close on occasion...however, there are times when you may have to get close to a ferocious tarantula for its own good, ie if something's wrong and you have to nurse it back to health...you can get bitten then, but some consider it worth it, for the good of a fellow creature.
not having experienced it, i'd personally rather it stayed that way, though!
but hopefully when push comes to shove, i'd take risks like that for a sick or injured T.

Mary...what's an Orange Fringe??? and here's you preaching about scientific names teasing!

[Louise~Nichols]

Clint...yup I've been bitten...and by a few unexpected types!! lol
Fangs...depending on where they get you, varies from painful to *help I've forgotten how to speak English*.

A few of my bites...in no particular order:

H.Lividum
P.Regalis
G.Rosea
A.Versicolor
B.Klaasi
C.Crawshayi
And...most recently G.Pulchra! Right on the knee, so there was a nice scraping sensation across the kneecap.

Symptoms from them have ranged from swelling and aching at the site of the bite to vomiting, irregular pulse and blood pressure (P.Regalis), dizziness & vertigo, serious headaches...or straight out flu symptoms, which was all I got with a Crawshayi.

[Oli Dodds]

Mary...what's an Orange Fringe??? and here's you preaching about scientific names teasing!

I think she means "Lampropelma sp" from Borneo.
Oli

[Ray Hale]

Blimey Louise, thats some record. What are you doing juggling them.

Ive been bitten by Haplopelma lividum and has it says elsewhere Angela by a Selenocosmia sp.

I admit I dont handle then and both were during mating and by a male on his way out if the tank

Take it easy. And lets see some articlles. Its all good research.

Ray

[Louise~Nichols]

LOL Ray...nearly juggling them!!
My dad had B.Smithi when I was growing up, so I've had a lifetime of unorthodox ways...I kinda used to play with them as if they were hamsters...oops! Now I'm far wiser these days, so handling is for breeding, checking, nursing etc.

Some bites have been acquired during re-housing, others with matings, one was when I assisted a moult (carapace stuck), and the Avics...well..they were just swines, the territory was a no-go zone!!

Well...if it's of interest...I'll drag my diary out and write up the information I saved regarding the bites (including treatments)...fret not though...in my escapades as human guinea pig I'll probably end up being bumped off by a killer garden snail! LOL

[Nicola Dolby]

Hi, I've never successfully been bitten, although my H. maculata tried when she was a juvenile.I couldn't find her in her container and picked up the bark she was on, startling her. Fortunately she tried to bite me on the thumbnail and her fangs didn't go through. As for other bite reports, there is a good one from Graeme Wright in the back issues of the BTS journal (P. ornata) and there is the one on this site from Ray Gabriel (P. pederseni). I still remember the words said to me when I got my first tarantula; "If your going to get bitten, make sure its not by a Poecilotheria or a Baboon spider". As has been said above though, we are human and from time to time we make mistakes. The trick is to know your spiders and remember they'll only bite if they are frightened.

[Peter Lacey]

... remember they'll only bite if they are frightened.

Sorry, did you say when they're frightened or when we're frightened?