Tarantula bites VS dog bites

[gumby]

So I got this information off a law office web site and I was thinking to myself "self Ill bet there are no t half this many T bites in the world every year." so I thought Id post it and see if anyone knew the stats for T bites, or spider bites.

Each year in the United States, approximately 4.7 million people become victims of a dog bite injury. This means about two percent of the American population. Of these people injured by a dog bite, approximately 800,000 (or 0.3 percent of the US population) require medical care.

 

[Meribre]

Hello!

So I got this information off a law office web site and I was thinking to myself "self Ill bet there are no t half this many T bites in the world every year."

You won't lose your bet :clap: However, I can't imagine of any official statistic, neither in the US nor elsewhere which would support this view. Nevertheless, I know people who have been keeping tarantulas for the past 20 years and they weren't bitten a single time. When dealing with tarantulas one should exercise a minimum degree of cautiousness, known as "Common Sense". I've read a couple of bite reports on the internet and in most cases the reason for having been bitten was carelessness by the keeper (for which the t can't be blamed).
A tarantula never seeks to bite the keeper unless provocated or improperly kept.

Best regards,
Mario

 

[rattler_mt]

nah no way you would loose your bet, good luck finding stats on the T bites though.

IIRC a common point brought up by venomous snake keepers was that horses kill far more ppl every year in the US than venomous snakes(though most of this was the result of falling of the horse and causing fatal head and neck trauma)

dogs do bite alot of ppl every year and contrary to popular belief im more afraid of the common rez mutt than any pittbull, in fact one nasty lil bastard got me last week and is currently being held by the county health department for 10 days. to bad i was in town or i would have shot the bugger as he nailed me while i was on the way to the truck which happend to have a rifle in it. no bark no nothing, out of nowhere the lil bastard snuck up and grabbed on to my leg above my shoe while i walked down a public sidewalk. im more afraid of a stray dog out on the sidewalk than the deadliest invert kept in my own home

 

[Arlius]

I'm more afraid of a cat bite than a dog or T bite. Dog's can be handled, T's are just painful. It's the cats mouth that worries me, you couldn't ask for a more germ infested bite from a pet (not going overboard and including animals that feed this way, like the Komodo)
Cat bites always require medical attention (unless its your cat, and you clean it well...) while with a dog, unless it may have rabies (usually fairly obvious...) you never need medical attention (except in the case of physical damage, say where they rip your nose off <very common, and very rarely the dogs fault, though they are ALWAYS blamed>) but the same goes for cats.

 

[cockroach52]

you can't compare the two. a far greater number of people have contact with dogs, and for a much greater period of time.

an invert is not really a pet in the sense it can care for you, or even recognize you as an individual.

if you put a leash on your spider and take it for walks, and maybe spend time petting it and playing fetch, then feel free to compare the two.

out of everyone 1000 people, how many have picked up a tarantula, and how many have pet a dog?

 

[rattler_mt]

i think even if you only include those ppl who come in contact with T's versus those who come in contact with dogs and even the playing field that way. dog bites are probably still way more common in ppl who come in contact with dogs that bites from T's with ppl who come in contact with T's

my comment about horses vs venomous snakes could be argued that the horse isnt intentionally hurting the ppl however parents will routeenly put children on a horse they arent familiar with(hell even growing up in farm country im leary of getting on a horse i dont know and im comfortable around horses) while most venomous snake keeper keep their snakes in secure enclosures away from the general public. there for the general public is in less danger from a private snake keeper than an individual who is giving out rides on his favorite horse.

 

[gumby]

what if we add into the mix the amount of Ts vs dogs owened. Ive raised dogs and Ts and never been bit by either but If you take into account dealers of both animals id imagine dog breeders get bit more often then T breeders. in addition to that I think T breeders usually have 800-1000 or more Ts and dog breeders have maybe a 100-200 usually

 

[Bedlam]

I'm actually taking a statistics class right now in university.....

Main thing is that you're comparing apples vs. oranges, minutes vs. hours, kilometers vs. miles. So taking a statistic like amount of times a human is bit by a dog vs amount of times a human is bit by a tarantula isn't really acceptably legit.

Only way to get a legit statistic is to break it down. Function on most calculators will have something that looks like nCr. In this case, n=amount of owners and r=amount of bites (reported). Then you'd get a decent number which you then multiply by 100 to get a percent. (Please dont think I'm a nerd.)

Things you have to take into consideration include the fact that a VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY small fraction of the amount of bites are reported...dogs or tarantulas.

A basic statistic like # of reports / population x100 doesn't mean squat!

wow....and here I am thinking I'll never use any of this stats crap!

 

[gumby]

no I like that way too: is/of %/100. the only issue is collecting the data for correct stats

 

[Bedlam]

the only issue is collecting the data for correct stats

Which is impossible to know. I know my dog bit me plenty of times when he was alive and I didn't report it. And if I ever get bit by one of my tarantulas, I wont report that either unless I need medical attention.

MAYBE something like this might work too:
#owners/#bite reports x100
That would give you a statistic which you could then compare to another statistic found using the same formula. Otherwise the integrity of the data is lost.

 

[angelarachnid]

One thing i dont see mentioned here is the amount of people who DONT keep dogs that get biten by them.

As in many countries local and national governments will try to ban keeping spiders and snakes under the guise of "public safety" having figures of the hospital admissions for Horse, dog, cat, rabbit, and hamster bites/scratches/attatcks are very usefull compared to the numbers for spider/reptile bites.

I appreciate (thogh havent got a clue) about using the actuall statistacal methods, but for me the quantities of one against the other help me show that there are far more dangerous animals being kept as opposed to spids and reptiles.

Ray

 

[Bedlam]

I completely understand, Ray, but the simple fact is that when trying to compare something so different you've gotta narrow down your criteria in order to get a legit statistic. I thought about the amount of people that get bit by dogs that aren't theirs, but the statistic wouldn't be able to be compared to something like a spider or reptile simply because a spider or reptile is contained. Their ability to even have a chance to bite someone else is completely dependant on the owner (I know I dont let other people even handle my spiders).

A comparison of people bit by dogs they dont own vs. people bit by cats they dont own might be doable, but since spiders are contained they dont have any ability to create a comparable statistic.

I'm sure it's obvious to any one of the people on this board that is informed and knows the real dangers in keeping spiders (or lack of danger). But dont forget that people are attempting to ban an entire species of dog.


The thing with statistics is that any statistic can be created, used and often abused. That's why it's so important to come up with legit statistics that accurately represent reality. Since animals like spiders and reptiles aren't registered, there's no real way to meausre anything really. It is completely unknown how how many people own a tarantula in a specific country. Without basic data like that, no real figures can come up.

 

[angelarachnid]

Hi Bedlam

I thought about the amount of people that get bit by dogs that aren't theirs, but the statistic wouldn't be able to be compared to something like a spider or reptile simply because a spider or reptile is contained. Their ability to even have a chance to bite someone else is completely dependant on the owner (I know I dont let other people even handle my spiders).

I am not disagreeing with you but would like to debate part of this further.

Now then as most of the people who keep spiders and reptiles (mostly) know what they are doing and what to do when they get bitten. I would have thought that the majority of hospital admissions through spider and reptile bites would be from wild specimens not captive? Especially in Canada and the States as compared to the UK where there are more species of reptiles and spiders,venomous or not.

So surely then we would be able to draw?make? (and i dont have a clue about this) a statistic based purely on attacks by non owned/captive animals ? dont know if i made that clear?

But then i dont think hospital records diferenciate between wild and captive/owned animals. or do they?

If we could work something out this could be a very god piece of data we can use against the Anti animal keepers.

Ray

 

[Bedlam]

Hey Ray.....I see what you're saying. And you bring a really valid point too!
I'm sure valid statistics could be created in places that are natural envorinments to more aggressive spiders as those bites probably get some hospital treatment.

But as for North America there's just no way to get a statistic that can be used to compare against a pet like dogs. Especially since there are many places that dont legally accept tarantula keeping, figures cant be found that hold their integrity like those of dog owners.

It's similar to comparing people that smoke cigarettes and people that smoke pot. While we know exactly how many cigarettes are sold in each city, underground growth/sale/usage of pot makes it literally impossible to monitor to a decent number.

Basically, it's not that a statistic cant be formed. It's that a statistic with similar validity cant be formed, which would be needed to create a figure that would represent bites. With tarantulas being underground and mainly unreported, dogs would end up looking worse. Guaranteed.

 

[gumby]

I think we can make a sttistic here but we may just need to change the data a little I think instead of directing it to Tarantulas we could make it spider bites and only take data recorded as needing medical treatment. and do the same with dogs this was what I origionally thought but I may have said Ts. I think the main idea was kind of lost here because humans being bite by any animal can be compared. So the answer may be bites spider vs. dogs reported as needing medical attention. does that sound a little better?