Need tips on skinning myself alive...

[maxident213]

Just a pointless rant thread, I feel like venting to some folks who will actually understand...

Today I rehoused :

1 x N. chromatus
2 x A. geniculata
2 x L. parahybana
2 x B. vagans

Sweet merciful crap, I am itchy! I absolutely love my big hairy NWers, all my favourite species fall in this category, but damnation, this is almost too much. I've been keeping Ts for approx. ten years now, and in the past three years my sensitivity to U-hairs has increased drastically. (T. blondi, I'm looking in your direction...)

Latex gloves are useless. Benadryl cream is useless. Using a strip of tape to try to remove the hairs seems to help a little bit, along with pulling out my arm hair. :wall:

I love my NWers and I have no plans to stop keeping them, but man, at times like this I question my sanity. It doesn't make me look forward to my future in this hobby. I wonder just how much more my sensitivity is going to increase. I used to be able to clean out my NW enclosures without so much as an itch of discomfort. Now, if I'm not super-careful just lifting out a water dish, the small amount of hair wafted off the substrate has me in fits for the rest of the night.

This does reaffirm my love of genus Phormictopus though - none of mine ever kick hair, at all, ever. They stand their ground and challenge me head-on. Infinitely preferable. :worship:

Sorry for this long-winded rant, I just need to occupy myself with something. My hands, wrists, and forearms are covered in hives, and the cheese grater in the kitchen is calling my name.....


PS - I love all these little buggers and I always will.

 

[Exo]

Weird, all my Ts are NW and none of them kick hair, sure sucks to be you.

 

[maxident213]

I should've been more clear - the Ts themselves aren't kicking much hair, I mean I just cup 'em and transfer 'em and the deal is done. It's the cleaning out of their old enclosures that drives me up the wall - dumping out the old substrate and washing all the cage furnishings and everything that they've been lovingly blanketing with U-hairs for the last year.

The Ts themselves are sweethearts who don't give me much trouble. :clap:

 

[Exo]

I should've been more clear - the Ts themselves aren't kicking much hair, I mean I just cup 'em and transfer 'em and the deal is done. It's the cleaning out of their old enclosures that drives me up the wall - dumping out the old substrate and washing all the cage furnishings and everything that they've been lovingly blanketing with U-hairs for the last year.

The Ts themselves are sweethearts who don't give me much trouble. :clap:

Oooh, now I get ya. That is exactly why I often give my Ts cages that are a bit bigger than neccessary, so I don't have to rehouse them as much.

 

[Fyreflye]

I wonder if you could be having an allergic reaction to the hair, in addition to the irritation of having them on/in your skin? It's not unheard of to develop an allergy to something you've never had a problem with before.

Latex gloves are THIN, and are best used to keep germs and gross things off of your hands. While T hairs are small, i'm sure that they are bristly enough to pierce a latex glove and poke into the soft flesh underneath. Have you tried using a pair of thick rubbermaid gloves (like dishwashing gloves)?

Also, antihistamines sometimes work best when used preemptively. It MIGHT help to take a benadryl about an hour before you work with your T's, and/or even apply a cortisone cream to your hands before you glove up.

Just a few ideas! It wouldn't be a bad idea to ask your Dr. for advice next time you're in for a check-up (gods forbid you get the flu this season!).

 

[Mack&Cass]

I remember one time we were rehousing our MM B. albopilosum and I wasn't thinking and I started removing his old cocofibre with my bare hands. Worse night of my life. I seem to be very sensitive to Brachypelma hairs, I've been haired by some Grammostola sp. and my reaction hasn't been nearly as bad. We just rehoused our P. sp. Platyomma and I'm so glad I had him in a deli cup, he kicked at least 6 times.

Mackenzie

 

[jayefbe]

^ My Pamphos kick like they're doing the can-can. Every time I go into their tank to clean or fill the water dish they go nuts with the kicking.

 

[Teal]

Well, if you want to skin yourself alive properly... you'll need to start by cutting off your feet...

That sucks though! I would hate to be so affected by U. hairs. My B. smithi tried to hair me once, but I barely had the lid open so it didn't work lol

 

[codykrr]

man..you should read the "been haired" thread i made..in the tarantula questions nd discussions section...got a grusome pic of a T blondi hairing. also i lrehoused 2 LP the other night shirtless. just to see if my reactions are getting worse..no welts this time, but im still freaking itchy..2 days later!

 

[Tindalos]

wait a second.....
if your not reactive to the uhairs
you can be over time?
holy crap im scared now.
and i got a nhanda collorvillwhateveryouwannacallitus
it's a sling
im scared to see that grow up now....
i was unaware tarantulas will leave their u-hairs
around... i thought over time they became harmless...

 

[codykrr]

nope..it starts off somewhat harmless and get worse with each exposure..some react worse than others...mainly i get welts, hives, bumps, and my skin burns like fire!

edit. but i used to not have any reaction at all.

 

[Mack&Cass]

wait a second.....
if your not reactive to the uhairs
you can be over time?
holy crap im scared now.
and i got a nhanda collorvillwhateveryouwannacallitus
it's a sling
im scared to see that grow up now....
i was unaware tarantulas will leave their u-hairs
around... i thought over time they became harmless...

Hah, oh yes. When my B. albiceps was in premolt I watched it kick its hairs all over its molt mat. You need to see this picture: http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=164784&page=2
it's post #19, you'll be floored.

Also, there's a term for when you get more sensitive to something the more it happens (ie getting haired, and then the next time you get haired, you have a worse reaction and so on) and I cannot for the life of me remember what it is. Someone will remember what the term is I'm sure.

-Cass

 

[Fyreflye]

wait a second.....
if your not reactive to the uhairs
you can be over time?
holy crap im scared now.
and i got a nhanda collorvillwhateveryouwannacallitus
it's a sling
im scared to see that grow up now....
i was unaware tarantulas will leave their u-hairs
around... i thought over time they became harmless...

Well the hairs aren't poisonous or anything (...right?). So the only real 'danger' is your personal reaction to them, be it mild or severe. Yes, a person CAN develop allergies to things they've always been ok with, but that doesn't mean that YOU will, or that the hairs will even bother you that much.

Think of it like a dog or cat: they shed, and leave their hair and dander all over the house they live in. If a person who is allergic to pet hair comes to that house, they can have a reaction even if the pets are outside or in another room. Dogs and cats, however, don't flick their hair at you in defense, nor is their hair abrasive like a T's.

 

[maxident213]

Thanks to you all for the tips, advice, & sympathy... I knew you all would understand. It's been a few hours and things ain't so bad now.....

@Tindalos: Yes, there are many accounts of people becoming more & more affected by the U-hairs if they are repeatedly exposed to them. It doesn't happen to everyone, and for years I thought it wouldn't happen to me, but I sure feel differently now. As Fyreflye suggested, I may possibly be developing an allergy to them. I've been sleeping in a room full of tarantulas every night for ten years. I suppose this is the cross we T keepers must bear.

There is a condition called Dyshidrotic Dermatitis that I have heard of long-term T keepers acquiring, I have seen a few of the lesser symptoms in myself before, I sure hope I don't progress into the more extreme ones over time.

Thanks again to all for the round table.

 

[LRB]

If you've already been haired and are itchy with the hives, bumps, whatever, I agree next time try some Benadryl beforehand, but the best stuff after is Zanfel. It's wicked expensive ($39.95 for 1 oz tube) but the stuff works. It is located in the poison ivy/oak section of medicine aisle usually. You just mix the paste in your hands with some water and then scrub away at the affected area and the itching subsides within a minute. Welts were gone a few minutes later. I could barely tell they had been there. It's great stuff!