Things toxic to Ts

[Driller64]

Can someone please give me a list of things known to be toxic to Ts? Since I am trying to keep these rather expensive creatures alive, it would to know what to look out for.

 

[Beary Strange]

Just about any chemical, pesticides, wood from certain kinds trees, cedar especially...even things you might not think much of like dishsoap-anything you wash of theirs with dishsoap must be thoroughly rinsed. Don't use chemicals like bleach in the same room as them (there's a thread on this somewhere where someone's parent (?) cleaned the room the Ts where in with bleach and it killed quite a few of their Ts as I recall). Pesticides might seem obvious, but you might have them around and not realize it, such as on your furrier pets. Those flea and tick meds and spray kill Ts as well. You should be careful what your feeders come in to contact with as well; for example I won't feed mine anything other than organic fruits and veggies because I'm concerned there could be something on them otherwise. This might be a bit paranoid and overbearing but I'd rather be safe than sorry.
Edit: You should really get a copy of the Tarantula Keepers Guide. It goes over this subject, as well as first-aid in the event that something does happen.

 

[Driller64]

Edit: You should really get a copy of the Tarantula Keepers Guide. It goes over this subject, as well as first-aid in the event that something does happen.

I have gotten a copy. In fact I am holding it right now.:tongue:

 

[Driller64]

Just about any chemical, pesticides, wood from certain kinds trees, cedar especially...even things you might not think much of like dishsoap-anything you wash of theirs with dishsoap must be thoroughly rinsed. Don't use chemicals like bleach in the same room as them (there's a thread on this somewhere where someone's parent (?) cleaned the room the Ts where in with bleach and it killed quite a few of their Ts as I recall). Pesticides might seem obvious, but you might have them around and not realize it, such as on your furrier pets. Those flea and tick meds and spray kill Ts as well. You should be careful what your feeders come in to contact with as well; for example I won't feed mine anything other than organic fruits and veggies because I'm concerned there could be something on them otherwise. This might be a bit paranoid and overbearing but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

This makes me afraid to stick my hands in my T's container now

Sent from my SGH-T589 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Stan Schultz]

Just about any chemical, pesticides, wood from certain kinds trees, cedar especially...

Add to your list fireflies. Whodathunk?

... Edit: You should really get a copy of the Tarantula Keepers Guide. It goes over this subject, as well as first-aid in the event that something does happen.

And thanks for all the good words!


Relax. If you keep stressing over your tarantula it's gonna outlive YOU!

 

[Femangel]

Add to your list fireflies. Whodathunk?




And thanks for all the good words!


Relax. If you keep stressing over your tarantula it's gonna outlive YOU!

Fireflies?? Thats why i love this forum, learn something new every day!

 

[Driller64]

Can shampoo used in the shower kill Ts? Because I did some mainatinence on my T cages right after getting out of the shower and putting clothes on.

Sent from my SGH-T589 using Tapatalk 2

 

[jgod790]

I can't say for sure, but as long as it is not strongly scented fragrance soap on my hands, ill just rinse my hands well before doing maitnence or handeling. I always wash my hands with plain soap before touching them, or enclosures. I also won't touch them if I have smoked in the past hour. I don't know if ciggerete smoke smell on your hands effects the T's, but I like to be safe.

 

[prairiepanda]

If you only use common feeders from reputable sources, use clean chemical-free substrate, wash your hands before doing maintenance, don't use any fragrances or fume-producing chemicals in your T rooms, and don't put any pesticides on your pets(a lot of people do), then you should be good so long as your husbandry is sound.

You're not going to find a definitive list of everything that's bad, but generally if you follow these guidelines you can avoid them.

 

[delo]

I'm not 100% convinced about cedar though as all my enclosures are cedar lids and my 90Gallon terrarium is also cedar. All my T's have always been healthy and I've had no issues.

 

[just1moreT]

I'm not 100% convinced about cedar though as all my enclosures are cedar lids and my 90Gallon terrarium is also cedar. All my T's have always been healthy and I've had no issues.

Are you lids made from the red aromatic type cedar ,I have only heard of this type being bad for some animals

 

[Hanska]

I can't say for sure, but as long as it is not strongly scented fragrance soap on my hands, ill just rinse my hands well before doing maitnence or handeling. I always wash my hands with plain soap before touching them, or enclosures. I also won't touch them if I have smoked in the past hour. I don't know if ciggerete smoke smell on your hands effects the T's, but I like to be safe.

I've been careful washing my hands after smoking before I handle any inverts. There is going to be some atleast traces of nicotine in your fingers and that stuff is after all a pesticide.

 

[jgod790]

Nicotine is a pesticide? I'm always careful with smoke, but is there any cases, hear say or documented, about tarantulas having issues due to ciggerete smoke lingering on your hands?

 

[Keith B]

Nicotine is a pesticide? I'm always careful with smoke, but is there any cases, hear say or documented, about tarantulas having issues due to ciggerete smoke lingering on your hands?

I've occasionally had cigarette hands and cigarette smoke itself in the same room and proximity with my tarantulas and haven't lost a single one to anything but old age in 15 years. Most of the nicotine absorbs into your bloodstream. Unless you're allowing an unsmoked cigarette to waft directly into the cage (but I couldn't tell you cause I haven't tried it), they don't seem to struggle with it at all. Scold me for it if you want, but cigarette smoke as being highly lethal has been tested and disproved. Yes, it's a pesticide, but with so little in the smoke it's virtually harmless. Vinegar is another one to add on the "avoid" list. It's wonderful for cleaning hard water spots off of dishes, but sadly, the vapors aren't so good for your pet according to TKG

EDIT: I'm not saying I condone smoking near tarantulas. I just live in small quarters with smokers. Can't wait to move into my house and give them their own room. I'm simply saying if it's -15 degrees outside and you wanna smoke inside, it's not going to kill your T, even if you smoke 10 cigarettes. They don't get sick, they don't cringe, they behave normally.

 

[viper69]

but cigarette smoke as being highly lethal has been tested and disproved.

EDIT: I'm not saying I condone smoking near tarantulas. .

I bet there's a high incidence of book lung cancer in King of Prussia, PA !

I bet the Surgeon Generals and reams of peer-reviewed papers from scientists demonstrate it's not healthy at all. I'm a bit confused on this "disproved" part, seriously I am??

---------- Post added 01-14-2014 at 08:55 PM ----------

Nicotine is a pesticide?

Absolutely it is, that is OLD news to the scientific community, even centuries old news to farmers. Here's a quick link for you

http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/p...-cousin-nicotine-are-good-as-a-pesticide.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC509307/

Have your pick:

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q...a=X&ei=jxfWUvDKHoXzoATq7ILQDA&ved=0CCcQgQMwAA



One of my scientist friends adds it to his homemade pesticide/fertilizer for his lawn, and he has a fairly bug free lawn. We've known this for a long time.

 

[Lilka]

Nicotine is a pesticide?

YES! It is an insecticide.
It was widely used before, also in tobacco dust form. However, it has been mostly replaced with cheaper chemicals due to tobacco's high toxicity to mammals.

Not sure as to effects on a tarantula in above mentioned exposures.

 

[viper69]

Not sure as to effects on a tarantula in above mentioned exposures.

People have studied the effects of nicotine on a T's cardiac physiology, and perhaps other systems too.

 

[ClosetCollector]

Add to your list fireflies. Whodathunk?




And thanks for all the good words!


Relax. If you keep stressing over your tarantula it's gonna outlive YOU!

I apologize for doing this in advance, but I completely loath the Wikipedia, it is not a respectable or acceptable source of information. The disclaimer says the information cannot be guaranteed nor can it assure the information is valid. "The structure of the project allows anyone with an Internet connection to alter its content".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer

This is a giant internet blog anyone can post in.

 

[Keith B]

I bet there's a high incidence of book lung cancer in King of Prussia, PA !

One of my scientist friends adds it to his homemade pesticide/fertilizer for his lawn, and he has a fairly bug free lawn. We've known this for a long time.

Lol Oh suuure.. I tell you I'm waiting to get flamed and you go flame me personally Unless my mature males start shooting blanks (we'll see), they all have had no adverse effects, even slings. They all grow to full size, eat and drink just fine, and every single molt has been successful. I know it's an insecticide in concentrated and prepared forms, but it was asked on here if anyone had personal experience with cigarette smoke or odor near Ts, and I (sadly) have lots. What little wafts around in cigarette smoke has had no noticeable adverse effects so far. If it shortens a females lifespan or something due to book lung cancer (I like that term, creative lol), it'll still be years before I know for sure (raised a lot of pet shop males in my early years), but at least it's a little something we can all learn from it. You can still consider me experimenting for now, but as far as sending a T screaming in pain into a corner and flopping over dead, I consider that calling it absolutely lethal is disproven If they don't die or get sick from prolonged exposure to it, they're certainly not going to die if you're close to the cage with the smell of cigarettes on your hands, and that was the question I was answering to.

 

[viper69]

Lol Oh suuure.. I tell you I'm waiting to get flamed and you go flame me personally

Hey getting roasted by friends is a time honored tradition at the Friar's Club!