Huahini Venom Level

[Hedorah99]

http://www.bighairyspiders.com/bites.shtml#pstriata

I think this dude totally made up the two weeks on involuntary muscle spasms and temporary paralysis. He should have gotten bit 500-1000 times more for this to have been scientifically conclusive. Blah blah blah blah blah............blah blah blah......

 

[Buggzter]

http://www.bighairyspiders.com/bites.shtml#pstriata

I think this dude totally made up the two weeks on involuntary muscle spasms and temporary paralysis. He should have gotten bit 500-1000 times more for this to have been scientifically conclusive. Blah blah blah blah blah............blah blah blah......

Didn't read it, but I don't doubt it. People want to be significant in SOME way, so they blow stories out of proportion. And these bite reports can't be verified. But, with so many people saying that the bites are so much worse and they needed to seek medical attention about it, I'll believe that I need to MAKE SURE I don't get bit by a OW T as best as I can.

 

[Stan Schultz]

... I don't have my copy of the tarantula keeper's guide handy right now, but I'll be checking it later tonight because I know it says some stuff on venom (not too sure what, though). ...

Sadly, the GUIDE is now out of date on this subject and the information there should be taken with a proverbial grain of salt. A new revision will probably hit the market in late 2008 or early 2009.

... However, there is one way I can call your bluff. Stan Schultz actually posts on here, so I am going to PM him a link to this thread and see what he says.

I'm not so sure I can offer any ground breaking insights. The major problem is that the effects of tarantula venom, on a world scale, take a very distant back seat to such other matters as Ebola and HIV. The result is that there isn't a lot of research to report on because of a glaring lack of funding.

And, even if some research is done we have to be very cautious about the way in which it was done because, as I alluded to in the GUIDE, mice, a commonly used research model, probably react quite differently to tarantula venom than we do. Extrapolating from a mouse to a human could produce marked fallacious results. And we have little or no data about the effects of tarantula bites on any other animals. Read that to mean that we have no good models for estimating human reactions to tarantula venom except man himself. How many of you are willing to suffer a bite from P. metallica in the name of science. Not me! I'm a big weenie when comes to pain!

In situations such as this we have nothing else to go on except anecdotal reports by enthusiasts who have been bitten. I've reviewed a number of them and have to compliment the bitten for the quality of their reports. Few if any of them are of the same caliber as piranha and anaconda reports that we're accustomed to seeing in the popular literature, thank God!

One of the major problems with these reports, however, is the lack of formal test results like blood tests and urine tests. Dr. Darwin Vest (http://www.srv.net/~dkv/hobospider/dar.html and http://www.srv.net/~dkv/hobospider/) was collecting such data with the prospect of writing a report or book on the subject. Sadly, his mysterious disappearance sank that project.

If you peruse the bite reports on other lists and on the 'Net in general, you can pick out these general tendencies:

1. New World tarantulas (NWT) are a lot less likely to bite than Old World tarantulas (OWT).

2. NWT are a lot more likely to use a dry bite than the OWT.

3. The wet bites of OWT tend to be worse than those of NWT.

I have grave reservations about using "medically significant" as a way of categorizing the severity of bites. It depends far too much on how hysterical the bitten person (or the bitten person's mother) is.

Also, some people have a lower pain threshold or higher hypochondriac threshold than others and would therefore be more likely to seek medical attention. So, what we're actually measuring is either a secondary effect or the emotional state of the bitten person rather than the bite itself.

My suggestion would be that any who are unhappy with the current lack of definitive data on the subject of tarantula bites should perhaps go back to school, earn a degree in toxicology, and do the needed research. If that isn't possible, the next best effort would be to support, politically and monetarily, the few people who ARE performing such research.

Spending a lot of time and effort on these boards arguing about the current state of ignorance certainly draws attention to the fact that we really are nearly ignorant, but solves no further problems. Real progress can only be gained with cold, hard cash. I've been amazed at the glaring lack of support that the various enthusiast organizations give to any such research. I may be wrong, but of the four major national tarantula societies that I know of, none has a research fund or a program for helping to support graduate students or post doctoral fellows working in any of the fields of arachnid biology. For these starving students (often quite literally), even $1500 a year for a plane ticket to attend a conference is an incredible boon.

Come on guys and gals! Pony up when the hat is passed!

By the way, I note with interest that all who are bitten by things like P. metallica have failed to wear light leather gloves when dealing with them. Tsk, Tsk.

Oops! Battery's going dead. Gotta go!

 

[Moltar]

Thank you Stan for your informative reply. I've been watching this thread but trying to keep out of the line of fire, as it were. I seek information, not confrontation. On the subject of urine/blood analysis following a bite, what types of tests could one of us hobbyists request to add to the knowledge base if we are lucky enough to be bitten by an OWT such as a poecilotheria, chilobrachys etc? Although (like so many of us these days) I am as broke as the proverbial joke, i do have decent health insurance and could probably get these tests run if i were to be bitten.

 

[Stan Schultz]

... What types of tests could one of us hobbyists request to add to the knowledge base if we are lucky enough to be bitten by an OWT such as a poecilotheria, chilobrachys etc? Although (like so many of us these days) I am as broke as the proverbial joke, i do have decent health insurance and could probably get these tests run if i were to be bitten.

Dr. Vest mentioned a few things that were important, but that was 8 or 9 years ago and my memory isn't as good as it used to be. I do remember him saying that they were nothing special, just the same sort of tests that are routinely run as a normal blood and urine work up. I will try to find someone who can shed some light on that question and get back to you.

By the way, you shouldn't confine your efforts only to the Old World species. If you're bitten by a New World tarantula, you display symptoms, and you go to an emergency clinic you should also request these tests AND INSIST THAT THEY SUPPLY YOU WITH A HARD COPY OF THE RESULTS. Also, take a few reasonable photos of the bite when it's about at its worst. Then, get on any of the major Internet Forums (or all of them!) and ask if anyone is professionally interested. Otherwise, save the information in a safe place and if the topic ever comes up again, you've got it ready.

Right now I don't know of anyone who's compiling data on tarantula bites, but if you let it pass, the data is forever lost. If and when we locate anyone who is compiling the data for publication, even 10 years from now, you'll still have all the details.

Remember how rare tarantula bites really are. Enjoy your tarantula bite!

 

[Moltar]

"Enjoy your tarantula bite!"

LOL, thanks i will. I'm in no hurry to get fanged, don't get me wrong. If i ever do though, i'll try to preserve the experience for future generations to enjoy.