# vinegaroon spray



## dtknow (Mar 7, 2012)

Anyone know how big of a deal vinegaroon spray is. Esp. considering educational presentations? The spray is 84% acetic acid-20-90% is considered corrosive. I've handled a few and provoked one to spray and I suppose if you keep them away from eyes it isn't a big deal.


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## MrCrackerpants (Mar 7, 2012)

dtknow said:


> Anyone know how big of a deal vinegaroon spray is. Esp. considering educational presentations? The spray is 84% acetic acid-20-90% is considered corrosive. I've handled a few and provoked one to spray and I suppose if you keep them away from eyes it isn't a big deal.


I use them in my arthropod education outreach. When they are near the children I place my cupped hand over their "whip". This was if they spray it only hits the palm of my cupped hand and does not get into the children's eyes. I have never had a problem this way.


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## dtknow (Mar 7, 2012)

Excellent. I figured that would work as well. They are pretty mellow creatures so I'd bet you may never have had one actually go off.

What'd be funny would be to make little collars out of litmus paper and put that around the whip.


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## Galapoheros (Mar 8, 2012)

They get pretty calm after only a few minutes of handling.  When you first come across them in the wild they put on a big posing show!, then they spray and run like hell!  But in captivity they don't spray as much.  It's mostly irritating to sensitive skin, sometimes around the fingernails and esp. on the face.  But even then you just wash it off, it's not a big deal.


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## John Apple (Mar 8, 2012)

been sprayed on the arm...softer tissue seems to discolor a bit more than the 'worked' hand tissues....slight burning is all


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## Michiel (Mar 8, 2012)

Don't get it in your eye or mouth, the rest is no biggie...

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## dtknow (Mar 8, 2012)

Michiel: Whats funny is their is a study where they sprayed various prey items with it and fed them to snakes. The snakes happily ate the prey items. Also, a wide variety of both vertebrate/invertebrate predators succeeded in consuming vinegaroons if the secretions landed only in the mouth.


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## Galapoheros (Mar 8, 2012)

Ime the spray is very affective on mammals and probably evolved to mostly irritate the eyes and sinuses.  I've seen a toad eat a baby vinegarone, I didn't think it would, it happened too fast, the vin had no time to spray.  Usually if an animal gets hit once it will leave the vinegaroon alone after that, I experimented with my old dog and neighborhood cats haha!  Prob doesn't feel good on a sensitive wet nose, all in the name of science, and it was funny too,  ...I'm eeeeeevil.


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## zonbonzovi (Mar 8, 2012)

I've found Mastigoproctus to be less quick on the draw than their Asian counterparts.  I also repeatedly warn the kids not to stick their face too close when it's show & tell time.


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## Deroplatys (Mar 9, 2012)

My malaysian ones are very docile, my first adult female one only sprayed me once when i sprayed her enclosure with water. With the offspring though they were a little more touchy. Never got sprayed in the eye but got sprayed in an open cut the other day, that hurt, a lot. Have been temped to put it on chips though ^_^


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## Michiel (Mar 9, 2012)

dtknow said:


> Michiel: Whats funny is their is a study where they sprayed various prey items with it and fed them to snakes. The snakes happily ate the prey items. Also, a wide variety of both vertebrate/invertebrate predators succeeded in consuming vinegaroons if the secretions landed only in the mouth.


Thanks! I stand corrected...

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## Banshee05 (Mar 9, 2012)

dtknow said:


> Michiel: Whats funny is their is a study where they sprayed various prey items with it and fed them to snakes. The snakes happily ate the prey items. Also, a wide variety of both vertebrate/invertebrate predators succeeded in consuming vinegaroons if the secretions landed only in the mouth.


you know the papers you read this?!?


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## The Snark (Mar 9, 2012)

As with most acids, the rule of thumb is to have clean or even sterile water on hand if contact is possible. Flooding immediately with water will render the acid harmless except in eyes. Eye protection should be worn as the damage can be severe and instantaneous.


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## dtknow (Mar 10, 2012)

Banshee

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022191099001304


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