How dangerous are medically significant Ts?

[Silver.macaroons]

I'm interested in your guys thoughts on this conversation I had with my sister. So I keep mostly new worlds that don't have medically significant venom and I asked her if she would be comfortable staying over if/when I start keeping old worlds and she said she doesn't think I should keep old worlds at all because I live alone and that's too dangerous. At this moment I don't have any desire to get OW but I definitely see myself keeping them in the future even if I'm still living alone but that did make me wonder how dangerous are they and what exactly does "medically significant" even mean?

 

[Nurse Ratchet]

A Word about Tarantula Bites

Feels Just Like a Bee Sting…If the Bee was 7″ Long! When I decided that I was going to acquire some new tarantulas after keeping a G. porteri for many years, I started researching some …

tomsbigspiders.com

 

[Tarantulafeets]

Every experience of a bite can differ, as someone could get a dry bite (no venom), or tagged in a different location, or someone might be allergic (this is when you might need to go to the hospital) but as long as you respect and do things properly, you won't get tagged. Use tongs and catch cups, plan out rehousings, and make sure you know where the spider is before opening the enclosure. You can start out with more "laid back" OW if you like, like the Ceratogyrus genus. If you know what you're doing, OW can be fun, and there are many beautiful species out there. You can try out transitional species like Psalmopoeus or Ephebopus, some NW that are a bit faster and venomous.

 

[Silver.macaroons]

Every experience of a bite can differ, as someone could get a dry bite (no venom), or tagged in a different location, or someone might be allergic (this is when you might need to go to the hospital) but as long as you respect and do things properly, you won't get tagged. Use tongs and catch cups, plan out rehousings, and make sure you know where the spider is before opening the enclosure. You can start out with more "laid back" OW if you like, like the Ceratogyrus genus. If you know what you're doing, OW can be fun, and there are many beautiful species out there. You can try out transitional species like Psalmopoeus or Ephebopus, some NW that are a bit faster and venomous.

That's my thoughts like when I feel I am ready to add them to my collection I will be responsible and careful about it. I don't think the risks to a responsible and experienced keeper are enough to not get one just because you live alone. I think she hears medically significant and thinks that means it's basically a bomb that could go off at any moment. It did make me realize that I don't even really know what that means and when I Google searched it it said "medically significant" means its potentially lethal but I never heard about someone getting killed by a tarantula even a old world.

 

[Enn49]

I began in the hobby with OWs, my first T being an OBT. I was fully aware of their reputation but fell in love with their colour.
Treat them with respect and you shouldn't have any fear of them tagging you.

 

[m0lsx]

When I was learning to handle snakes, I was always told the most dangerous snake in the world is the one you have in your hand. Not every bad bite is venomous. for example, I have two 8.5 inch T's. One is a T stirmi, the other an LP & I would not image a bite from either of those would be nice.

I was taught very much the same thing when I was learning to do roadside vehicle recovery. The minute we start to think any situation has any more or less potential, than any other. That is the minute we have got something wrong.

 

[Silver.macaroons]

When I was learning to handle snakes, I was always told the most dangerous snake in the world is the one you have in your hand. Not every bad bite is venomous. for example, I have two 8.5 inch T's. One is a T stirmi, the other an LP & I would not image a bite from either of those would be nice.

I was taught very much the same thing when I was learning to do roadside vehicle recovery. The minute we start to think any situation has any more or less potential, than any other. That is the minute we have got something wrong.

I agree but you can also say living alone with a dog is dangerous but it's not enough to say never do it but yes don't live alone with a tiger that's maybe too dangerous. Correct me if I'm wrong but i don't think tarantulas of any kind need two people in the room with just in case of the slim chance it finds a way to escape.

 

[Arachnoclown]

The word "medically significant" just puts fear into the hobbyists. Once you get that old world bite out of the way the fear "hype" is now gone. I've been bitten by a couple of the nastiest old worlds an I now have less fear of being bite now then before.

 

[Silver.macaroons]

The word "medically significant" just puts fear into the hobbyists. Once you get that old world bite out of the way the fear "hype" is now gone. I've been bitten by a couple of the nastiest old worlds an I now have less fear of being bite now then before.

Yeah I agree theres a lot of hype and fear around it. I'm not one to handle my Ts and I have a healthy respect for them old or new world but because of that world "medically significant" my sister thinks if I ever was to get one I could potentially get bit and die before I could get help...

 

[pongdict]

Medically significant venom because it can cause issues with breathing, may affect blood pressure, cause neurological issues, heart palpitations, dizziness, and etc. Now if you are a healthy individual it may not matter much. But if you are taking medications for lets say, heart issues or blood pressure, a bite from an OW specie may require a trip and stay at the hospital. Just treat any tarantula, NW or OW with respect and never underestimate them and you should be fine.

 

[Arachnoclown]

No one in the history of man has died from a tarantula bite.

 

[Silver.macaroons]

Medically significant venom because it can cause issues with breathing, may affect blood pressure, cause neurological issues, heart palpitations, dizziness, and etc. Now if you are a healthy individual it may not matter much. But if you are taking medications for lets say, heart issues or blood pressure, a bite from an OW specie may require a trip and stay at the hospital. Just treat any tarantula, NW or OW with respect and never underestimate them and you should be fine.

Thanks! You explained it very well. I always wondered what that actually ment other then something a beginner shouldn't start with and a bite is much more serious. I struggled to explain it to my sister since I didn't have a clear answer to what that ment and I don't want to ether down play or exaggerate how bad a bite is.

 

[Vermis]

I began in the hobby with OWs, my first T being an OBT. I was fully aware of their reputation but fell in love with their colour.
Treat them with respect and you shouldn't have any fear of them tagging you.

I started with cambridgeis and eventually got a pokie and an OBT. The latter one was one of my favourite spiders, but I never forgot how fast and aggressive she was. She wouldn't let me. Always careful, no complacency.

You father did business with Hyman Roth,
Your father respected Hyman Roth,
But your father never trusted Hyman Roth!

 

[Lentulus]

Peanut related deaths in the USA = 150-200 annually

Tarantulas related deaths since folks started keeping track = 0

 

[Oursapoil]

I have nothing against man's best friend, but let's just say that you are much safer with our 8 legged babies
"Fatal dog attacks in the United States cause the deaths of about 3000 to 5000 people in the US each year,[1] and the number of deaths from dog attacks appears to be increasing.[2] Around 4.5 million Americans are bitten by dogs every year, resulting in the hospitalization of 60 000 to 130 000 people each year in the United States (2005).[2]"

 

[WolfSpider]

No one in the history of man has died from a tarantula bite.
View attachment 63492

True. No deaths from T bites EVER. In Southern Africa, children hunt and eat OBTs. Bites in the mouth area are common. Again, no deaths.

 

[octanejunkie]

I'm interested in your guys thoughts on this conversation I had with my sister. So I keep mostly new worlds that don't have medically significant venom and I asked her if she would be comfortable staying over if/when I start keeping old worlds and she said she doesn't think I should keep old worlds at all because I live alone and that's too dangerous. At this moment I don't have any desire to get OW but I definitely see myself keeping them in the future even if I'm still living alone but that did make me wonder how dangerous are they and what exactly does "medically significant" even mean?

You have more chance of getting hit by a bus or slipping in the shower than dying from tarantula venom.

I'm not sure what living alone would have to do with anything; it's not like you are in the enclosure with them, unsupervised, like a school trip to the shark tank but the teacher missed the bus.

Much ado about nothing.

 

[Silver.macaroons]

You have more chance of getting hit by a bus or slipping in the shower than dying from tarantula venom.

I'm not sure what living alone would have to do with anything; it's not like you are in the enclosure with them, unsupervised, like a school trip to the shark tank but the teacher missed the bus.

Much ado about nothing.

Honestly I'm not really sure what she was getting at but I think she thought that I could get bit and it would kill me before I could get help or something. I didn't think they are THAT extreme but I wanted to hear from other keepers before trying to explain that to her. She thought that the term "medically significant" ment if it bites you you need to get medical treatment and anti venom right away or you will die but I have never heard of someone dying from a T bite so I was pretty sure she was wrong.

 

[octanejunkie]

Give her a copy of Out of Africa and say "yea, not that"

 

[CritterKeeper79]

I don’t have years of experience like some keepers here. As someone who jumped straight into OW t’s. If you set them up correctly and pay attention to behavior, movements etcetera. I find OW tarantulas to be less random. I know my OBT is going straight to one of it’s borrow holes. H. mac is going for it’s burrow. P. irminia which isn’t an OW but has an unfounded reputation imo is going behind it’s cork bark.
All bites happen due to the keepers, not the tarantula. Using tongs to coax your spider out like a YouTuber will get you bit. Not paying attention to where the T is when doing maintenance, will get you bit. If you’re responsible and always on you toes and us precautions, I don’t see how you could get bit? I don’t attempt to tong feed, I drop prey on web or burrow doors. I’m mindful of where the T is. I grab water dishes with tongs, not my hand. I plan on never getting bit. I treat them all like Magneto in the plastic cell. However if I did get bit I’d know there’s zero chance of dying.

P.S. I know accidents can happen. I’m not trying to disrespect those who’ve got bitten. If you’ve got bitten though, I bet you took the time to establish why after or what mistake you made.

Also, have your sister watch Jacks World Of Wild Life videos where he intentionally let’s a brown recluse bite him. Then another where he let’s a southern black widow bite him. I bet she doesn’t realize they’re not as fearsome or deadly either. Now watching his video about black widow. You can tell he’s in pain but he doesn’t die. That’s the moral of the story. Will it hurt, yes.. Will you die? No.