# Red Trapdoor how poisonous?



## EDED (Feb 22, 2006)

how harmful is the venom?

mine escaped, i guess it didnt like its burrow

need to know because i am living with other people in the house.


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## P. Novak (Feb 23, 2006)

they are actually pretty venomous!

how did it escape?


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## Scorpiove (Feb 23, 2006)

Yeah they are venomous you should think about finding it.  You should also research before buying something potentially venomous.  It can save a lot of trouble.


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## juggalo69 (Feb 23, 2006)

The deal I have with the people I live with is, anything gets out I have to move everything else out long enough to bug bomb the whole house. Hopefully you find yours, if not its an option.


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## roberto (Feb 23, 2006)

*The venom of these spiders is rumored to be pretty potent.*

I have not seen any first hand accounts on toxicity, but the general consensus is that a bite will probably land you in the ER and have lasting effects. As far as what those effects are? I could never find any info on that one.
If my trapdoor escaped I'd be scared <EDIT>, it's a monster from hell. Check your shoes before you put them on. Check all the low areas of your living area, these spiders can't climb well at all. Check behind your fridge and oven and the backs of closets. And use a long stick, not your hands.


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## roberto (Feb 26, 2006)

*Eded*

Have you found the spider? Give us an update.


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## P. Novak (Feb 28, 2006)

yes... an update please.


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## EDED (Feb 28, 2006)

no spider yet

no bites yet, so thats good at least.

ive been hearing mixed thoughts about the toxicity of this not-so- well known spider from various people and places, so im not going to fumigate my whole house. i will assume that the spider is as toxic as tarantulas and take my chance. hopefully i will get bitten not my family members if it comes down to it, and hopefully its dead already.


side story if people are curious how it escaped.. ive had the spider for 8 months in a mayo jar, kept the lid unscrewed sitting on top just to block its explosive poop behavior, so it lived happily with me for awhile, then it molted, then one day it was outside its burrow, noticed that it didnt have any palps (still female) so i had no clue why it came out, why would a trapdoor spider leave its trapdoor after months and months of normal behavior???, anyways, i changed the substrate thinking that it was too damp, the spider took a long time to build its new burrow, but it did and ate one cricket, next day, i found the lid on the floor, with the spider gone, 

ive looked everywhere, ive sprayed pesticide in non-spider rooms around the house so i hope everyone is safe thats all.  just gonna have to wait till i find it dead or it finds me.


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## P. Novak (Mar 1, 2006)

ahhh alright, well so far good news! although sad for the spider, although it put iot on its self, by leaving.


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## Ewok (Mar 1, 2006)

how big was the spider? You could also try those sticky traps for mice to catch the spider.


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## Bayushi (Mar 1, 2006)

i've seen a few sheets on the trapdoor spyder and they always say "medicinally significant" under the venom toxicity.  Now i know it seems kinda like a generic catch all phrase...
 but you do have to wonder exactly how bad it's bite would be.

  Hope you find the spider and it's in good condition and noone gets tagged by it


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## WithCerberus (Mar 1, 2006)

I know that a lot of the sellers label these as "hot" but i was just wondering if anyone has seen any of the hard evidence. I mean trapdoors are very aggressive and it would probably hurt like hell to be bit but is it really any more serious than a wasp sting? Has anyone here been bit? Anyways, just curious and questioning.
peace,
Bobby


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## alucard1965 (Mar 1, 2006)

I would check anywhere that is warm like heater ducts and things like this.I had a red legg years ago that got out a few times and it would always go lay on the heat regester.GOOD LUCK


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## lpw (Mar 9, 2006)

Hmmm, is there any _evidence_ (published toxicity studies, personal accounts, _anything_) that substantiates the claim that these spiders produce medically significant venom?  I've been tagged at least twice without _any_ ill effects.  This was quite a few years ago when I was a very inquisitive lad and wanted to substantiate the rumours for myself.  I felt that the best way to do this would be to actually let the spider bite me.  "Bite me!" I said, and it did.  With great trepidation I awaited the onset of massive systemic symptoms.  Hemorrhaging, fever, loss of conciousness, damn it, I was even prepared to die.  What I got was... nothing.  Nada.  Not even a bit of swelling.

In my experience, I would rather get bitten by one of these than a mosquito.  Not to mention some of the other pesky winged creatures of northern Ontario...

Disclaimer:  I am _not_ saying that these spiders are harmless.  I just haven't seen any concrete evidence to confirm that their venom is medically significant, and my personal experience seems to refute it.  Mind you, I constitute a very small sampling space.


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## Scorpiove (Mar 10, 2006)

lpw said:
			
		

> Hmmm, is there any _evidence_ (published toxicity studies, personal accounts, _anything_) that substantiates the claim that these spiders produce medically significant venom?  I've been tagged at least twice without _any_ ill effects.  This was quite a few years ago when I was a very inquisitive lad and wanted to substantiate the rumours for myself.  I felt that the best way to do this would be to actually let the spider bite me.  "Bite me!" I said, and it did.  With great trepidation I awaited the onset of massive systemic symptoms.  Hemorrhaging, fever, loss of conciousness, damn it, I was even prepared to die.  What I got was... nothing.  Nada.  Not even a bit of swelling.
> 
> In my experience, I would rather get bitten by one of these than a mosquito.  Not to mention some of the other pesky winged creatures of northern Ontario...
> 
> Disclaimer:  I am _not_ saying that these spiders are harmless.  I just haven't seen any concrete evidence to confirm that their venom is medically significant, and my personal experience seems to refute it.  Mind you, I constitute a very small sampling space.


There is more than one species you know .  Were you bit by one that is claimed to have the toxic venon?  Not all are said to be as toxic as the others.


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## lpw (Mar 10, 2006)

Scorpiove said:
			
		

> There is more than one species you know .  Were you bit by one that is claimed to have the toxic venon?  Not all are said to be as toxic as the others.


Yeah, that's true...  Hence the disclaimer in my previous post .  That one was sold to me as as _Gorgyrella_ sp., African Red Trapdoor Spider.  That's all I know, and I suppose the guy at the pet store knew no more, either.  He did caution me about the venom, though.  So let me broaden my question a little:  Is there concrete evidence which indicates that *any* _Gorgyrella_ species is highly venomous?  Note that my question derives from pure ignorance, in the sense that I don't really know anything about African trap door spiders, and I haven't had the time to dilligently research the topic.  Just thought I'd dip into the pool of knowledge at AB to find a quick answer .


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## atropos (Mar 10, 2006)

This is an article about austrailian species, also including funnelwebs.

It's not much, but at least it's something

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/..._uids=15019472&query_hl=3&itool=pubmed_docsum

I also have a trapdoor, Gorgyrela sp. "Silver" from Tanzania, it's very aggressive it just attacks.

I hope I helped some people.

Reactions: Like 1


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## lpw (Mar 10, 2006)

Thanks atropos, that is a very informative article.  The authors conclude that Australian trapdoor spider bites caused only minor effects.  Of course, it would be presumptuous to consider this conclusion valid for African trapdoor spiders.  A similar study would have to be performed with African Mygalomorphs.  Of course, there is much less motivation for such studies in regions of the world where rich folk do not abound.

I guess I'm just wandering whether in the public's eye trapdoor spiders are confused with funnel web spiders, like _Atrax robustus_, that do tout a potent venom.  Such confusion would be particularly likely to arise when the bites are inflicted mostly by wandering males.


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## Drachenjager (Mar 10, 2006)

*trap door*

I was bitten once by some type of trap door spider in central Texas, no clue what kind or anythign else just that it had a burrow with a top tha tpopped open when it came after food. it didnt hurt much and was a bit red for a while but noting bad. but, i wouldnt want to try again. may have been a warning slap


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