Sicarius

[Jay Sav]

Hey fellas, I'm new to these boards here and looking for a little bit of info. I want to eventually own some sicarius sp in the future, but know that I'm not ready to take on that responsibility at the moment. I have breeded and raised latros for about 3 years now and am looking for another challenge. What would be a good species of spider to house that would be a good stepping stone in working toward that goal? Any help is apprieciated, and thank you.

 

[Venom]

Hey fellas, I'm new to these boards here and looking for a little bit of info. I want to eventually own some sicarius sp in the future, but know that I'm not ready to take on that responsibility at the moment. I have breeded and raised latros for about 3 years now and am looking for another challenge. What would be a good species of spider to house that would be a good stepping stone in working toward that goal? Any help is apprieciated, and thank you.

I would recommend an Arctosa littoralis wolf spider, as they have the sandy habitat requirements, and insane running speed of the Sicarius, without the venom. After that, a Loxosceles deserta. Make sure you know the cost of an "oops" with Sicarius before purchasing.

 

[Asgard]

I would recommend an Arctosa littoralis wolf spider, as they have the sandy habitat requirements, and insane running speed of the Sicarius, without the venom. After that, a Loxosceles deserta. Make sure you know the cost of an "oops" with Sicarius before purchasing.

A single "oops" can be.....definitive!

 

[Jay Sav]

Oh, I'm fully aware of how deadly or dismembering an "oopsie" would be.


Thanks a lot for the info, ill look into those species.

 

[tom]

I find that Sicarius tend to bury themselves in the sand and are not very intresting as tarantulas as they surely cannot be hand carried due to the fact they do bite readily as all of us already know.I actually find Loxosceles more interesting to watch and of course Geolycosa.But I do not handle any of my spiders except the occasional Aphonopelma or Grammastola.just had to comment. Cheers ,Tom

 

[What]

...they surely cannot be hand carried due to the fact they do bite readily as all of us already know...

Actually, according to the few members here that have handled them, and my working with them to take photos they are very reluctant to bite.

 

[jsloan]

Actually, according to the few members here that have handled them, and my working with them to take photos they are very reluctant to bite.

Are there any actual bite reports that confirm the toxicity of this spider?

 

[What]

Are there any actual bite reports that confirm the toxicity of this spider?

Not that I have seen/heard of. Just unconfirmed accounts from locals relayed via the exporter. IIRC one involved the loss of most of someone's hand and another almost all of the calf muscle. But from my reading of the LD50 tests, which I seem to have lost , the venom's work did involve a lot of tissue digestion(to the point that the animals were just skin bags filled with organ juice).

 

[Comatose]

Actually, according to the few members here that have handled them, and my working with them to take photos they are very reluctant to bite.

I'd be reluctant to test that...

 

[Venom]

Are there any actual bite reports that confirm the toxicity of this spider?

You may be interested to read the following excerpt from a study done on Sicarius venom:


"It is striking that venoms of L. laeta and Sicarius yielded an order of magnitude more total venom protein upon electrostimulation than the other Loxosceles species surveyed (Table 1). Furthermore, SMD activity per unit total venom protein was comparable between these species and the Loxosceles species that have well-documented and serious dermonecrotic effects on human tissues. If the severity of lesion formation is positively correlated with absolute amounts of SMD, bites from L. laeta and Sicarius may be capable of inducing more severe reactions than other species. Analyses of the effects of Sicarius venoms in rabbits indicate that dermenecrotic lesions develop more rapidly after Sicarius bites than after bites of South African Loxosceles (Newlands, 1982; Newlands and Atkinson, 1990a)."

--Quoted from: http://www.lclark.edu/~binford/SMDDistribution copy.pdf

The study was performed by the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, University of Arizona, Tucson.

The research indicates that we can posit a very high degree of cytotoxicity in humans, especially since it appears to be at least on par with the venom of L. laeta, which is very well documented:

http://gorgas.dom.uab.edu/2008cases/080218d.html

Actual bite reports from Sicarius are scarce, and usually anecdotal, but in light of the above, there is very strong experimental data to support the extreme level of danger attributed to the genus.

 

[jsloan]

--Quoted from: http://www.lclark.edu/~binford/SMDDistribution copy.pdf

The study was performed by the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, University of Arizona, Tucson.

I can't, for the life of me, understand why anyone would deliberately handle these spiders!

 

[Venom]

I can't, for the life of me, understand why anyone would deliberately handle these spiders!

I could think of smarter things to do, lol!

 

[EightLeggedFrea]

My Sicarius is actually reluctant to bite, and I find she doesn't even run as fast as I've heard. I'd actually recommend them if you think you're ready. They aren't hard at all to care for really.

 

[Venom]

My Sicarius is actually reluctant to bite, and I find she doesn't even run as fast as I've heard. I'd actually recommend them if you think you're ready. They aren't hard at all to care for really.

The same can be said for land mines.

 

[v4climber]

Please see: http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=132194

 

[jsloan]

Also interesting:

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?p=1208387

 

[Comatose]

I just don't understand why anyone would handle one...seems like eating your cereal with a hand gun.