Unwanted pet
- Thread starter melev
- Start date
Lunchbucket
Premium Member
I'll agree your lawn looks darn good. Wish mine was that thick 
Lunchbucket
Lunchbucket
Ladipyg
New member
Beautiful clear shot..nice job on your sons spotting abilities and your photographic ones...
Many big tarantulas look alike in appearance...to me that one almost looks like a Chilean Rose-hair due to the rose/copper colored hairs over the rear...When people get tired of pets, they often just release them thinking it's okay. In Arkansas, I see lots of tarantulas all the time, as well as scorpions and copperheads...a very good reason to wear leather gloves at the wood pile. I never hurt them as their benefits out weigh the risk.
Brown recluse are the WORST...my son almost lost his little finger to one of those...didn't realize it was a spider bite and when he finally came over to show it to me, the toxin has almost "digested" half of his finger. Surgery and weeks and weeks of industrial strength antibiotics administered at home finally worked. Big tip...never and I mean NEVER smack a spider when it's crawling on you...spiders and tarantulas walk with their fangs spread open...whacking one on your arm may just drive the fangs and venom into your skin. Better to get into the habit of brushing a spider off...less risk. Do a Google search to see what a spider bite looks like...2 puncture holes instead of one and usually triangular shaped..and to see the results of a recluse spider bite. Don't be smug about living north...my son was bitten in Chicago and my second son, a pilot, was bitten on the thigh in a hotel in OK city during a layover. Even with quick attention, he ended up with a baseball sized hole when all was said and done.
Given the odds, I'd rather be bitten by a tarantula. I own 6 of them, including an over 6 inch Haitian bird eater and have never (knock wood) been bitten ...
Many big tarantulas look alike in appearance...to me that one almost looks like a Chilean Rose-hair due to the rose/copper colored hairs over the rear...When people get tired of pets, they often just release them thinking it's okay. In Arkansas, I see lots of tarantulas all the time, as well as scorpions and copperheads...a very good reason to wear leather gloves at the wood pile. I never hurt them as their benefits out weigh the risk.
Brown recluse are the WORST...my son almost lost his little finger to one of those...didn't realize it was a spider bite and when he finally came over to show it to me, the toxin has almost "digested" half of his finger. Surgery and weeks and weeks of industrial strength antibiotics administered at home finally worked. Big tip...never and I mean NEVER smack a spider when it's crawling on you...spiders and tarantulas walk with their fangs spread open...whacking one on your arm may just drive the fangs and venom into your skin. Better to get into the habit of brushing a spider off...less risk. Do a Google search to see what a spider bite looks like...2 puncture holes instead of one and usually triangular shaped..and to see the results of a recluse spider bite. Don't be smug about living north...my son was bitten in Chicago and my second son, a pilot, was bitten on the thigh in a hotel in OK city during a layover. Even with quick attention, he ended up with a baseball sized hole when all was said and done.
Given the odds, I'd rather be bitten by a tarantula. I own 6 of them, including an over 6 inch Haitian bird eater and have never (knock wood) been bitten ...
burton14e7
New member
Is there anything you can do to make your house spiderproof? I've heard of having wires installed in your walls that emit frequency to keep bugs out...but what about spiders? Now that I've moved to Texas...I'm scurd.
Ladipyg
New member
Myrddraal...everyone is allergic to those hairs...it is the number one defense mechanism of tarantulas. Most tarantulas would rather "flick" hairs than waste venom on a bite for a non-prey item. A good indicator of a specimens temperament is to look at the hind end...if there is a large bald spot, it indicates a short tempered, usually aggressive spider. The hairs are replaced with every molt. They are like itching powder, and are very light weight. When flicked by the rear legs, the hairs can move a considerable way on the air currents. It's bad enough to get them on your arm, but in the eyes or nose is guaranteed to bring on a prolonged fit of sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes, the works.
Ladipyg
New member
No, that one in the picture isn't bald at all. They will actually flick down until you see a huge beige patch where there is no hair. It looks almost shiny when they have really been at it. The one in the picture has a hairy butt as it were. The thorax on the pictured speciman is light colored but it still has hair.
Ladipyg
New member
No, that one in the picture isn't bald at all. They will actually flick down until you see a huge beige patch where there is no hair. It looks almost shiny when they have really been at it. The one in the picture has a hairy butt as it were. The thorax on the pictured speciman is light colored but it still has hair.
original-reefland
Reefer
How long did it take you to stop screaming and get down from the chair? 
jwedehase
New member
Being from central CA, I know what you're talking about Raddogz. I used to live in the foothills, and every October the tarantulas would come out. I used to catch them and keep them, but I never saw one eat in captivity. Marc, that's a male, and October is mating season. He's not hungry, he's out to find a mate, breed, and die.
BeanAnimal
Premium Member
Man do I hate spiders.
