new Suntiger

[jetfire]

Picked up a gorgeous Venezuelan Suntiger at the Repticon Charleston show this past weekend. It's a hair over 3 1/2" right now. I've googled all the care sheets I could find, I'm just seeing who has any first hand experience with them. Not that I ever have any intention of handling it, but just how bad is a bite,or likely multiple bites (I've heard they are fairly aggressive defensive spiders ), for someone with no known insect bite allergies?

 

[Josh]

Good questions but I have no idea. I'd be terrified if one bit me, but I'm not much of a handler - I'm an observer!

 

[Samuraisid]

Gorgeous T's. I have three

I've never been bitten or come close. Confidence and Respect on the part of the keeper are more important than any speed/venom/defensiveness a T may posess. That being said Ive read a lot of bite reports on this sp. and it doesnt look too bad. Some people have no reaction beyond mechanical damge, while others have missed a couple days of work due to illness.

Tarantulas are 400,000,000 years old. I dont remember the actual chemical formulation, but Tarantula venom is quite different from modern day insects and arachnids. For example, being allergic to bee stings doesnt mean anything when dealing with T's. There is, however, a lot of misinformation out there to state otherwise.

 

[Josh]

It's really very curious to me why these types of things aren't documented. Surely someone has had an incident with just about every T out there in the trade. Why don't medical staff document the type of T (or other insect) and the reaction to it? I realize not everyone has the same reaction but once you have at least a few data points at least it's no longer a complete guessing game... What am I missing here??

 

[Samuraisid]

There is very little money to be made in researching Tarantula venom. There is not one documented death by Tarantula Venom.

 

[Josh]

Maybe not money to be made but what about just the scientific/medical knowledge it would give us. I mean, not many die from bee stings but we still know a great deal about the venom, the reaction, etc

 

[jetfire]

I'm not volunteering to be a Guinea pig, fingers crossed she'll never get a chance to take a bite out of me.

 

[Samuraisid]

Maybe not money to be made but what about just the scientific/medical knowledge it would give us. I mean, not many die from bee stings but we still know a great deal about the venom, the reaction, etc

I completely agreee

 

[Nada]

I've been bitten a handful of times (all by my own stupidity) One such occasion happened to be a 4" male P.irminia.
the bite itself was dry, so I'm probably not much help. felt like a bee sting. a little redness and swelling, and the next day it was back to normal. Morl of mys story; any time you re-house, or introduce a male to a female, always have a catch cup ready.