I killed my Cobalt

[Idiotnewb]

I have owned a tarantula for about a year now. The kind of tarantula I own is considered to be semi-aggressive. We've gotten along fine and she seems to resemble a rosea in tempermant, she doesn't threat pose or flick hairs, usually she will just run away. I thought if this was a semi aggressive tarantula then an aggressive one wouldn't be so bad. I decided to get an aggressive one and since I love blue and for the price the cobalt blue was the new spider I bought.. I had her in a small container that I bought her in which was too small for her. Last night I bought her a new terrarium and tried to put her in it and all HELL BROKE LOOSE.

She flipped out and mad scrambled out of the container that she was in. She charged me and tried to bite me multiple times. She would not calm down she climbed all over the walls while I tried to catch her. She chased me around the room constantly threatening me and I chased her back just trying to get a bowl over her. She finally slowed down just enough that I got the bowl over her and trapped her between the floor and the bowl. I gave her an hour to calm down and tried to get her in the cage. She kept doing the same behavior and nothing I tried worked. She absolutely would not get into the cage. I tried to find information on how to get an aggressive T back into hits home and had none. I am ashamed to say that I decided termination would be the best alternative since I had a very large, very aggresive demon spawn that I could not manage. I made sure it was over very quick.


I know everybody on here is disgusted at me for what I did. I am disgusted at myself I have never ended an animals life nor have had to make that decision. I have never felt such a primal fear of any living creature except for that spider and its evilness. I am not arachnophobic in the least but I am scared to death of that particular one. I realized that I do not have the experience nor the wisdom to own an aggressive tarantula.

I know everybody on here is going to say something mean about me. So be it I deserve it but I did not post this message so people can think I'm some kind of monster. I did it because I read all these messages about new owners wanting to buy cobalt blues as a second tarantula. Don't be an idiot like me because mark my words; these spiders are pure evil, I used to believe that there was no such thing as aggressive T's, only defensive. I was wrong in that belief. Unless you have tons of experience stay away from the aggressive T's because if one of them becomes hostile and escapes you might have to make the same decision that I did.

 

[Moltar]

Well, I won't beat up on you because you seem to be beating yourself up enough already. I'm sure others here will have plenty to say though...

It's certainly regrettable that this happened. Like you said, this is an extreme example of why people should start out with the easier species and move on to the others once they're ready. I wish you'd come here and posted a "what do i do?" thread while you had the guy trapped under that bowl. I'm sure we could have worked something out for you and saved the t. When you're ready to try again we'll answer any questions you have and you can go ahead and make a more informed purchase.

I will say however that on my first H lividum rehousing there was a moment where i felt like doing the same thing. It's a VERY intimidating thing if you've never had to confront a furious haplopelma before. They are very intimidating.

 

[Jorsher]

When I got my OBT, it flipped out trying to get it into its home, and has escaped twice since then. However, I did research beforehand and knew they were fast and aggressive, so I would feel like quite the a-hole killing it.

So, why couldn't you have caught it? I placed a bowl over my OBT when it escaped, carefully slid a piece of paper under it between the floor and bowl, picked it up, flipped it over so the spider was in the bowl, removed the paper, flipped the bowl back over on the container, and gave a little smack to the bowl to get it into the container, then put the lid on. The hardest part was catching it.

 

[AubZ]

You are most certainly right. Admitting to killing a T here will get you a new one torn.
I personally could never see myself doing that. I think that for the hour you left her in the bowl, you should have come straight here first and asked for help. You have no idea just how helpful people here are.

I know it's too late, but let me tell you what you should have done. The bowl you had her trapped with should have a lid. If not get a thin peice of cardboard or hard thin sheet. Slide it under the bowl, put it in the demon's new home, then take a long thin stick and let her out. Later once she has calmed(if they ever do) remove the bowl. I have a huge girl and know what you are talking about so I understand how you felt, but can not condone your actions.
I tried to get my girl out this afternoon to show a friend and I have never experienced the force she attacked the stick with, with any other T. She nearly knocked it right out my hands and I could feel & hear her biting the stick I used. I won't be doing that ever again as I don't want her to break her fangs attacking me, just for showing someone how beautiful she looked. From now, they can look at the pics.

Anyway, I don't think they are all that bad though as once you had her in her new home, she would have burrowed and you would be lucky to see her again.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

I have never felt such a primal fear of any living creature except for that spider and its evilness.

Don't be an idiot like me because mark my words; these spiders are pure evil

They are not evil, jokes by cobalt owners aside. They are wild animals behaving as they are wired to behave. It's a nitpick, but people engaging in anthropomorphization with animals drives me nuts.

I'm sorry this had to happen to you, though. It's a nasty lesson - if a "semi-aggressive" species individual acts like a rosehair, it's not going to prepare you for the real thing.

 

[AubZ]

Lol, I only noticed your nick now and think that you are being way to hard on yourself. I'm sure in your mind it was Me or the T. ;P

I would also crap myself if mine came after me like that. Then I would crap even more to save my T from my misses. I reckon I would have about 5 secs before the pesticide or shoe came running.

 

[Idiotnewb]

I panicked hardcore when it was between the bowl and the floor I couldn't think of that. I should have posted a what do do thread. I live alone and all I could think of was how I brought this on myself. I go into a mild anaphylactic shock when stung by yellow jackets and other venomous insects. I saw how fast it really was and knew if it bit me that I might be in big trouble and I started getting a panic attack. I never felt so alone and so ashamed of what I did. I know that I chose the wrong thing to do and I have no excuse that would ever make what I did right. It wasn't the spiders fault it was my own stupidity for putting it into that situation.

 

[Londoner]

Seriously mate, you've got too much time on your hands if you get your kicks from wasting other people's. Almost as good as your last effort about eating Ts ;P To be fair, at least you've tried to use a bit of terminology this time to sound more believable! Quick tip for ya...If you're gonna keep re-registering as a new member, try to vary the info on your public profile (makes it more believable).

 

[AubZ]

So I guess I was right then. It was the T or You.

I think that this should serve as a warning to others whether they are allergic or not. Doing all your homework on a T is the best policy to follow and to aviod accidents.

I guess I am very sorry for loss under the circumstances and respect you for being open and posting it to warn others.

 

[Moltar]

It isn't absolutely proven but a lot of people believe that one cannot have an anaphylactic reaction to tarantula venom. This is because the venom is composed of peptides rather than proteins and thus unable to link to the histamine (molecules? cells?). It made sense when i read it about a year ago anyway. Again, this is not proven although to my knowledge there is no documented account of a fatal allergic reaction to t venom.

I'd doubt anybody with known insect venom allergies is going to volunteer for the experiment...

 

[AubZ]

etown, I have heard of people that are allergic to bee stings being prone to reaction from T's and they keep a shot of adrenaline(I think) at hand for incase. Is this the same thing as what you saying? They may not have a reaction from T venom?

 

[Moltar]

That's what i'm saying; they MAY not have a reaction. Something about peptides being physically too small to bind with histamine and cause an anaphylactic allergic reaction. There are more than one type of allergic reaction but the potentially fatal, throat swelling type is an anaphylactic reaction.

I don't know 100% that this is true but the argument holds water. I discussed it w/ a biologist friend of my mother and she agreed in concept though. Please, nobody go and do anything foolish because of me...

 

[Idiotnewb]

Londoner I have no idea what you are talking about seriously. I do have a real account on here but I did not post under my real name. I feel bad about what I did and I will learn from my mistake. I do not want to be judged for the rest of my time here since I still do own one tarantula. I used Idiotnewb as my name so that it would be anonymous. My apologies if I have wasted anyones time but I am having trouble coping with my actions and for the past couple of days I've felt like a dirtbag. I need to be able to talk with someone who understands my situation and I don't expect sympathy. I only want to warn other potential new people as to the reality of what might happen. I also was hoping other people might have had experiences like mine and what they did.

 

[LINK MAH BOI]

I think we're missing the point here guys, how did you kill it?

 

[Mina]

You made a mistake. That mistake ended up costing a life.
You have a job to do now. Share your story calmly with others, particularly those new to the hobby. It is your job now to do what you can to stop this from happening again.
Getting a T that you are not prepared to deal with is not a laughing matter, you learned that.
I hope that your story is taken to heart by all.
I understand that you feel bad, I understand that you feel you had no choice. I'm not going to yell at you, I'm not going to tell you you did the wrong thing, I'm not going to question your actions.
No one could make you feel worse than you do now, if you regret your actions.

 

[dirtydirt]

Sounds like a troll

This story does sound like a post a week or two ago. Same troll I'm guessing

 

[dirtydirt]

Post

Was about a guy beating, or eating his T's. If not a troll then a very sad story........ (Good Call Londoner)

 

[WARPIG]

This reeks of someone who is crying out for internet attention. Sorry dude, I don't buy a word of your story..Try a support group, you sound as if you need it.

PIG-

 

[the nature boy]

I think we're missing the point here guys, how did you kill it?

My money's on him either rolling a grenade into the room or using a flame thrower. If he tried a two by four the thing would have ran up it and shredded his face.

--the nature boy

 

[Londoner]

Let's assume you are genuine then. Faced with a situation like that, I don't think there's one person on this forum who would choose to kill a perfectly healthy T (no matter how scared they were). You had the thing contained under a bowl for crying out loud! You could even have left it under the bowl all night untill you got some help. I could understand you posting this if you had accidently injured or killed it (as a warning of what can happen when dealing with defensive species), but telling everyone that YOU chose to KILL a healthy H. lividum seems a stupid thing to do on a forum like this. There are plenty of threads that tell newbies how much of a handfull this species can be, so this just seems obscene!