Effects of urticating hairs on prey items

Dev1lZ

Arachnopeon
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Aug 9, 2019
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I have observed my B. Hamorii sling kick hairs at small cricket prey items and they trend to go into a swaying motion when inside the area. It doesn’t seem to last very long before the prey goes back to normal. What have you witnessed from prey items being affected by urticating hairs?
 

Hoxter

Arachnoderp
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I don't think I've ever seen any of my Ts kick hairs at prey items, they either grab it instantenously or just run away. Would love to hear about what others have to say about it. Tarantulas tend to lay a mat of those hairs before moult so I guess it actually has some bigger effect.
 

mack1855

Arachnoangel
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Im with @Hoxter ,I don't recall ever seeing hair-kicking at prey.I have seen them give a threat posture to prey,
but generally only give me the hair treatment:hurting:.
 

FrDoc

Gen. 1:24-25
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I agree with the folks above. Urticating setae are defensive, not a mechanism for obtaining prey. I have read an anecdote regarding a tarantula that kicked “hairs” at a cricket that was placed in an enclosure where the spider obviously did not want to eat. So, I’m thinking if you did see urticating setae employed against a prey item it was because the spider didn’t want to eat it, but wanted it away.
 

0311usmc

Arachnobaron
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Mar 16, 2017
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I have noticed when using pinky rats as feeders for my theraphosas after a molt that the rat pups do not like the urcitating hairs once on the substrate, they roll over and freak out squirming everywhere. Dosent last long before the tarantula notices. Never had a tarantula kick hairs at prey but my Theraphosas have lots of hairs on substrate at burrow enterances.
 

Andrew Clayton

Arachnobaron
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I don’t know if the urticating hair would affect cricket at all considering they have an exoskeleton similar to spiders and urticating hairs do not affect other Ts. If you’re prey was a mammal with a respiratory system would be affected however as causing breathing difficulties and even death when breathed in
 

Vanessa

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I've seen mine kick hairs at prey when they don't want to eat. It isn't going to affect an animal who has an exoskeleton the way that it affects those with skin and exposed mucus membranes. Even a cricket's eye is covered with exoskeleton, so the hairs aren't going to be able to penetrate anywhere to cause a reaction.
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
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I have observed my B. Hamorii sling kick hairs at small cricket prey items and they trend to go into a swaying motion when inside the area. It doesn’t seem to last very long before the prey goes back to normal. What have you witnessed from prey items being affected by urticating hairs?
It's a defensive mechanism against PREDATORS, OR anything the T perceives as a disturbance! Birds, mammals most likely affected... exoskeletons non-issue in all probability
 

Dev1lZ

Arachnopeon
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Aug 9, 2019
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I encountered it again with my A Genic sling yesterday where I placed two small crickets into its enclosure about 30 mins apart. It had dropped the first one and went over and picked it back up and kicked hairs at the second. The cricket definitely slowed down from crawling around and seemed stunned by them. After a couple of minutes of just swaying in place it was taken down as well. I read the posts about crickets having exoskeletons and the shouldn’t be affected, but somehow they are. My take is that there must be some sort of chemical reaction going on that seems to sedate prey into a stupor. The Tarantula Keepers Guide did surmise that setae may cause a chemical reaction as well as being barbed. I find that interesting as as the cloud kicked up may have an airborne chemical that effects multiple types of animals in different ways. Delving further into it; the mat of setae infused webbing laid down in the molting mat. Especially for slings, this mat would only be effective against small creatures like bugs crawling into the boroughs themselves as mammals and birds are far to large to get in there and of course if done outside of one-they would be only a minor at best delay before a meal to something so large as a mammal/bird. Since so many small insects do possess exoskeletons, there is something that is effective or else the setae would be ineffective to things like ants and the like-that also have exoskeletons-that could get down into small boroughs for a free meal. Perhaps they are covered in a pheromone that is unappealing or perhaps reactive?

I also had watched a video on YT from AntsCanada where GBB webbing had been employed against ants on the move and they stayed away from it.
 
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Vanisher

Arachnoking
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I dont think insects are affected. I think that the urticating hairs are more as a defense against rodents and other mammals with lunghs and nastrals. When they are about eaten by the mammal, they kick hairs in defense that are breathing in, or gets in the mammals eyes
 
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