The most pet sand ever(Sicarius terrosus)

[Hanska]

Just got me one of these,
Never had a box of sand with a name before.

 

[The Snark]

Exciting, isn't it?

 

[Hanska]

Really! I even saw it once. Honestly I swear.

 

[Biollantefan54]

Almost as fun as a trap door spider!

 

[pannaking22]

Gotta love those boxes of sand. I have several right now, (un)fortunately . Fun to watch eat though.

 

[Hanska]

Haven't fed it yet.
Oh, and my SO named it "Pixie-dust" in finnish(Keiju-pöly). Dosen't get sexyer than that, does it?

 

[TheHonestPirate]

I want one but that toxicity is a bit off putting to say the least.

 

[Hanska]

I've considered that myself before getting this one. And it is something to think before getting one just 'cause it looks cute when burrowing.
Even more I had a long talk about the subject with my SO.

One can argue(and I've seen this happen) that there's just no records of Sicarius bites on humans and we don't know how toxic they are.
The thing is from Loxosceles bites we have valid information what sphingomyelinase D does in humans and we have research that gives the info that Sicarius spp. deliver a lot more of it in a bite.

 

[TheHonestPirate]

I've considered that myself before getting this one. And it is something to think before getting one just 'cause it looks cute when burrowing.
Even more I had a long talk about the subject with my SO.

One can argue(and I've seen this happen) that there's just no records of Sicarius bites on humans and we don't know how toxic they are.
The thing is from Loxosceles bites we have valid information what sphingomyelinase D does in humans and we have research that gives the info that Sicarius spp. deliver a lot more of it in a bite.

Thats enough to make me uneasy about having it. Just knowing that it could potentially kill me in a very painful way haha.

 

[freedumbdclxvi]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3749972/

The toxicity of Sicarius depends on species, locality and gender. Some species are more toxic than Loxosceles, and some species are less toxic. These species certainly deserve caution and respect, but there seems to be this overhype of their toxicity that fits more in line with Animal Planet.

 

[The Snark]

Thats enough to make me uneasy about having it. Just knowing that it could potentially kill me in a very painful way haha.

Here we go with the same old song. Some Sicarius developed a powerful toxin as prey is few and far between in the hostile environment they call home. But keeping a dangerous animal when you have common sense and have worked out protocols is a matter for concern? It's not a viper, ever ready to go to guns with a large strike zone.
Keep it in context. Concerned about keeping a spider yet think nothing of driving a car or the bees in the back yard or lightning strikes? That is correct. More people are struck by lightning than receive a medically significant spider bite. So establish proper protocols for maintenance and all other possible encounters with the animal.
The protocols are everything. Step by step to avoid exposure. Think of a hospital where employees encounter deadly organisms on an almost daily basis. They aren't dropping like flies because of rigid protocols. Same same.

 

[TheHonestPirate]

Here we go with the same old song. Some Sicarius developed a powerful toxin as prey is few and far between in the hostile environment they call home. But keeping a dangerous animal when you have common sense and have worked out protocols is a matter for concern? It's not a viper, ever ready to go to guns with a large strike zone.
Keep it in context. Concerned about keeping a spider yet think nothing of driving a car or the bees in the back yard or lightning strikes? That is correct. More people are struck by lightning than receive a medically significant spider bite. So establish proper protocols for maintenance and all other possible encounters with the animal.
The protocols are everything. Step by step to avoid exposure. Think of a hospital where employees encounter deadly organisms on an almost daily basis. They aren't dropping like flies because of rigid protocols. Same same.

Definitely agree with you. I may consider one. Ive just read a few things that said its very deadly and painful. Is that ibcorrect?

 

[The Snark]

Definitely agree with you. I may consider one. Ive just read a few things that said its very deadly and painful. Is that ibcorrect?

It probably is, going by LD50 tests. I just want people to keep things in context. We dice with danger on a regular basis. Sticking your finger in the sand to make Sicarius move is along the lines of using a cellphone while in heavy high speed traffic. The difference is the fool with the phone is probably going to hurt others. In all my years of emergency services, I mostly dealt with traffic accident injuries, next would be horses and domestic violence followed by bees and wasps and so on. Haven't yet had a spider bite call.

 

[windscorpions1]

I want one but that toxicity is a bit off putting to say the least.

You know if your worried about toxicity you could get the harmless American alternative Homalonychus sp. They have the same hunting style of their deadly brethren and are harmless....good alternative for anyone who thinks that hunting style of them is amazing and would prefer to not a POTENTIALLY life threatening spider.

 

[TheHonestPirate]

You know if your worried about toxicity you could get the harmless American alternative Homalonychus sp. They have the same hunting style of their deadly brethren and are harmless....good alternative for anyone who thinks that hunting style of them is amazing and would prefer to not a POTENTIALLY life threatening spider.

Where do you get those? any ideas? i want to expand more into true spiders

 

[windscorpions1]

Where do you get those? any ideas? i want to expand more into true spiders

I think Peter at bugsincyberspace had some up for sale....maybe check there?