Poki victims, please share your stories!

[Agno]

So...since I'm on and off on whether to get a Poki or not (which will eventually happen at some point) I've tried to research on their venom. Almost every case I've read has ended in the hospital in pain but with no life threating situation. Also, as far as I've read, there's no specific anti-venom or any standard treatment for it.
Some of the treatments used were: Morphine, Diazepam, Paracetamol, Benadryl, steroids and also supplements like Calcium, Vitamin D, Glucosamine and Magnesium for relieving the muscle cramps.
There was also a case in Srilanka where the patient was treated with intravenous Calcium gluconate injections (i'm attaching a PDF, hope it works).
I was wondering if any of the Poki species is less venomous than the others?!
Please all you Poki victims out there, share your stories!

 

[Agno]

Oh and also, does it make any difference whether the Poki is a sling or grown up?!

 

[Psyrocke]

I know you are asking for Poki victims, as I do not own one I am not but have you checked our Tarantula Bite reports section here? There is a few videos, and you could probably message a few who have posted about theirs.

Here is a thread with some videos

A medical article I am sure you've seen since it seems you've done your research

A thread by @Thistles where their tiny sling tried to bite, be a good resource to ask, super friendly user

Hope any of this is helpful!

 

[Agno]

Thnx a lot! Will check right away! Kind of my fault for posting the question here, had to jump right away at the section you mentioned.

 

[Psyrocke]

No, totally makes sense to post here, and there isn't a ton of threads in bite reports but its a start?

 

[Enn49]

I found This treatment when I was searching
"Cetirizine (10mg tablets), and Prednisolone (5mg tablets) – a steroid and an anti-histamine respectively. 10mg of each tablet each day, for five days".

 

[Nicolas C]

Here you have a bite report from André Leetz (famous french spiders breeder - cf. Cyriocosmus leetzi). Bite from a P rufilata, unfortunately told in french (but not too hard to translate with google):

http://www.poecilotheria.com/berichte_biss_poecilotheria_rufilata.html

 

[Agno]

Pretty much, if you get bitten, be prepared for an unpleasant week!

 

[Psyrocke]

That is indeed what it is seeming like

 

[Thistles]

Hmm I didn't get a notification! I just found this thread on my own. Sorry!

I wasn't properly bitten by that naughty sling, and I've never been bitten otherwise, so I've never personally experienced it. There are a lot of bite reports out there, and for sure the best approach is "don't get bit!" I'm not a doctor, but it seems to me that the muscle cramping is pretty serious and if the wrong person got enough venom in the wrong spot, it could be extremely dangerous. Your heart's a muscle. You don't want that cramping! There have been people with cramping symptoms for up to 2 years after they were bitten.

There are YouTube videos, made by users who were bitten, talking you through their symptoms, and some other forums also have bite report sections more extensive than the ones here. I'd give it a googling and see what pops up.

With hot snakes, people are advised to get an aggressive nonvenomous snake first and to treat it as if it were venomous. Every time that water snake tags you, tell yourself that if it were your dream venomous snake you'd either be dead or the hospital would own your house. Once you're experienced and confident enough with your psycho nonvenomous snake, you can move up! Take a similar approach if you're not certain about the pokie. The best bet is to be confident in your ability to manipulate the spider safely for both of you and to remain calm should something go wrong.

 

[Psyrocke]

Hmm I didn't get a notification! I just found this thread on my own. Sorry!

I wasn't properly bitten by that naughty sling, and I've never been bitten otherwise, so I've never personally experienced it. There are a lot of bite reports out there, and for sure the best approach is "don't get bit!" I'm not a doctor, but it seems to me that the muscle cramping is pretty serious and if the wrong person got enough venom in the wrong spot, it could be extremely dangerous. Your heart's a muscle. You don't want that cramping! There have been people with cramping symptoms for up to 2 years after they were bitten.

There are YouTube videos, made by users who were bitten, talking you through their symptoms, and some other forums also have bite report sections more extensive than the ones here. I'd give it a googling and see what pops up.

With hot snakes, people are advised to get an aggressive nonvenomous snake first and to treat it as if it were venomous. Every time that water snake tags you, tell yourself that if it were your dream venomous snake you'd either be dead or the hospital would own your house. Once you're experienced and confident enough with your psycho nonvenomous snake, you can move up! Take a similar approach if you're not certain about the pokie. The best bet is to be confident in your ability to manipulate the spider safely for both of you and to remain calm should something go wrong.

Maybe because I tried to tag you AND link you in the whole thing instead of just a piece of that sentence?

 

[Thistles]

Maybe because I tried to tag you AND link you in the whole thing instead of just a piece of that sentence?

Oh, maybe. Very possible! You overloaded the forum, haha. Broke its little electronic brain...

 

[Agno]

I was confused at first because I was reading stories very different from each other:
1. there's those who state the Poki was just standing still on their hand and suddenly they got tagged.
2. there's others who admitted their fault in approaching them the wrong way.
3. there's those who have a lot of videos handling the Poki and everything seems fine.
I assume a tarantula can be unpredictable even for an experienced hobbyist since they are primitive creatures and won't be tamed so I understand that getting bitten means it's gonna be only my fault.
I've seen some pretty funny videos out there of FAIL rehousing, using some very 'creative' methods with paper tubes and stuff.... no wonder why some get bitten.

 

[Psyrocke]

Oh, maybe. Very possible! You overloaded the forum, haha. Broke its little electronic brain...

I guess it needs a bigger electronic brain then haha

 

[Thistles]

Yeah these are wild animals without even a proper brain. They run on instinct and are highly unpredictable. Not every spider on your skin is going to try to bite, but some will. The safest course is to avoid letting them get onto you! I said before that I haven't been bitten, but there have been a few occasions on which hotter spiders have managed to crawl onto me, and in one case, up my pajamas (I was new to the hobby and an Idiothele mira wasn't in her burrow like she was supposed to be!). If you're hesitant, I'd suggest getting a Psalmopoeus (my loves <3) or a Tapinauchenius (Psyrocke's loves, lol) so you get used to super speed. Psalms are generally more defensive than Poecs and Tappies, so they can be your super aggressive water snake stand in.

 

[Kymura]

Oh, maybe. Very possible! You overloaded the forum, haha. Broke its little electronic brain...

Rarely even shows the new posts. Just needs an overhaul I think.

 

[kormath]

Yeah these are wild animals without even a proper brain. They run on instinct and are highly unpredictable. Not every spider on your skin is going to try to bite, but some will. The safest course is to avoid letting them get onto you! I said before that I haven't been bitten, but there have been a few occasions on which hotter spiders have managed to crawl onto me, and in one case, up my pajamas (I was new to the hobby and an Idiothele mira wasn't in her burrow like she was supposed to be!). If you're hesitant, I'd suggest getting a Psalmopoeus (my loves <3) or a Tapinauchenius (Psyrocke's loves, lol) so you get used to super speed. Psalms are generally more defensive than Poecs and Tappies, so they can be your super aggressive water snake stand in.

just saw this one also.

Crawled up your pajamas, i bet that's a story to tell, probably entertaining for anyone there also, and i don't picture you squealing like a typical girl

 

[Thistles]

just saw this one also.

Crawled up your pajamas, i bet that's a story to tell, probably entertaining for anyone there also, and i don't picture you squealing like a typical girl

Nah, no squealing, but that was the fastest strip in history! Guys, if you're trying to get a girl's pants off, bring a tiny tarantula!

The spider in question is my female Idiothele mira. At the time she was maybe 1" DLS and living in a container with an opaque lid. She wasn't in her burrow, and I didn't look sufficiently well. When I opened the lid, out she came. At the time I was sitting on the floor cross legged, so she ran right up my pants leg, the first dark hidey-hole.

 

[kormath]

Nah, no squealing, but that was the fastest strip in history! Guys, if you're trying to get a girl's pants off, bring a tiny tarantula!

The spider in question is my female Idiothele mira. At the time she was maybe 1" DLS and living in a container with an opaque lid. She wasn't in her burrow, and I didn't look sufficiently well. When I opened the lid, out she came. At the time I was sitting on the floor cross legged, so she ran right up my pants leg, the first dark hidey-hole.

and up popped @Thistles like the puppet form the jack in the box toy

 

[Thistles]

and up popped @Thistles like the puppet form the jack in the box toy

Now I do all tarantula maintenance in skirts. Or nothing. Y'know, like a normal person.

I'm going to regret this comment.