# Dog / Cat bitten by Tarantula



## bobusboy (Feb 27, 2011)

First off I am not trolling, this is a serious question.


Has anyone here had a pet Cat, Dog or other mammal; which was bitten by a Tarantula which subsequently lived or died?


I've read some threads indicating that cats and dogs are particularly sensitive to the venom of tarantulas (in contrast to humans). But where is the proof to back this up? 

I do not want to hear horror stories or made up non sense, I'm just wondering if it has happened to any one and what they did about it.

Thanks 

PS: If there is a thread somewhere on this I couldn't find it.


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## hassman789 (Feb 27, 2011)

I think in one thread they had some records from australia and I don't remember any of it but I think there was alot of dead dogs...


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## Kathy (Feb 27, 2011)

This has always been a great concern of mine too.  I don't worry too much about the bite because they are secure (hopefully) but also the hairs floating around.  I have not ready any stories on here, but would be interested in alson finding out more about this.


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## bobusboy (Feb 27, 2011)

The only threads I've seen with stories of dogs/cats being bitten are troll threads which makes me wonder if it's ever actually happened in North America (Seeing as that is where a majority of users seem to hail from)


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## webbedone (Feb 27, 2011)

There was a thread pertaining to the bite reports and a venom toxicity article somewhere here on the boards, i will look for it and see if i can find it, but as far as i recal all the dogs/cats/vermin, bitten records death within hours at max.


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## Zoltan (Feb 27, 2011)

hassman789 said:


> I think in one thread they had some records from australia and I don't remember any of it but I think there was alot of dead dogs...


I believe you are referring to this article:

Isbister G. K., J. E. Seymour, M. R. Gray, R. J. Raven. 2003. Bites by spiders of the family Theraphosidae in humans and canines. _Toxicon_ *41(4)*: 519-524.

*Abstract.* Spiders of the family Theraphosidae occur throughout most tropical regions of the world. There have only been three case reports of bites by these spiders in Australia. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical effects of bites by Australian theraphosid spiders in both humans and canines. Cases of spider bite were collected by the authors over the period January 1978-April 2002, either prospectively in a large study of Australian spider bites, or retrospectively from cases reported to the authors. Subjects were included if they had a definite bite and had collected the spider. The spiders were identified by an expert arachnologist to genus and species level where possible. There were nine confirmed bites by spiders of the family Theraphosidae in humans and seven in canines. These included bites by two _Selenocosmia_ spp. and by two _Phlogiellus_ spp. The nine spider bites in humans did not cause major effects. Local pain was the commonest effect, with severe pain in four of seven cases where severity of pain was recorded. Puncture marks or bleeding were the next most common effect. In one case the spider had bitten through the patient's fingernail. Mild systemic effects occurred in one of nine cases. There were seven bites in dogs (_Phlogellius_ [sic] spp. and _Selenocosmia_ spp.), and in two of these the owner was bitten after the dog. In all seven cases the dog died, and as rapidly as 0.5-2h after the bite. This small series of bites by Australian theraphosid spiders gives an indication of the spectrum of toxicity of these spiders in humans. Bites by these spiders are unlikely to cause major problems in humans. The study also demonstrates that the venom is far more toxic to canines.


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## Nerri1029 (Feb 27, 2011)

Zoltan beat me to it.

As for No America I'm going to say that a lack of data points to a few possible explanations:
 1- native species aren't dangerous to dogs/cats
 2- the number of interactions between these creatures is too rare, both being especially wary of the other?

If there were Vets reporting on these it would be easier to find legit data ( not that I've actually searched )


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## hassman789 (Feb 27, 2011)

Zoltan said:


> I believe you are referring to this article:
> 
> Isbister G. K., J. E. Seymour, M. R. Gray, R. J. Raven. 2003. Bites by spiders of the family Theraphosidae in humans and canines. _Toxicon_ *41(4)*: 519-524.
> 
> *Abstract.* Spiders of the family Theraphosidae occur throughout most tropical regions of the world. There have only been three case reports of bites by these spiders in Australia. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical effects of bites by Australian theraphosid spiders in both humans and canines. Cases of spider bite were collected by the authors over the period January 1978-April 2002, either prospectively in a large study of Australian spider bites, or retrospectively from cases reported to the authors. Subjects were included if they had a definite bite and had collected the spider. The spiders were identified by an expert arachnologist to genus and species level where possible. There were nine confirmed bites by spiders of the family Theraphosidae in humans and seven in canines. These included bites by two _Selenocosmia_ spp. and by two _Phlogiellus_ spp. The nine spider bites in humans did not cause major effects. Local pain was the commonest effect, with severe pain in four of seven cases where severity of pain was recorded. Puncture marks or bleeding were the next most common effect. In one case the spider had bitten through the patient's fingernail. Mild systemic effects occurred in one of nine cases. There were seven bites in dogs (_Phlogellius_ [sic] spp. and _Selenocosmia_ spp.), and in two of these the owner was bitten after the dog. In all seven cases the dog died, and as rapidly as 0.5-2h after the bite. This small series of bites by Australian theraphosid spiders gives an indication of the spectrum of toxicity of these spiders in humans. Bites by these spiders are unlikely to cause major problems in humans. The study also demonstrates that the venom is far more toxic to canines.


Yeah I think that is what I saw.


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## sugarshark (Feb 28, 2011)

i m very concerned as well  i have a 70 pond samoyed. would a bite from a mature white giant knee on the nose kill him??


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## Mez (Feb 28, 2011)

If your spider can get nose to nose with a dog, you're keeping it incorrectly.


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## Merfolk (Feb 28, 2011)

Read about a swollen paw and nose but nothing more, unless of course you get into OW and the Aussies venom have a way harder effect on them than on human and provoked recorded quick deaths. I assume that a dog bitten by a Pokie or S calceatum will have a very very hard day... I think that a small pet would die if bitten by those.


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