Urticating Hairs

bness2

Arachnoknight
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Sep 21, 2002
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I keep reading cautions about the uirticating hairs of new world tarantulas, but have had no first-hand experience as yet. I have had three rosies, and none of them ever flicked hairs at me and I have never itched after holding them. I haven't even bothered taking the precaution of washing my hands after holding them.

So, what's going on? Do Ts just drop the hairs, or must they actively "fling" them into the air? Do some people have allergic reactions to just holding Ts, and if so, is it from the hairs? Lastly, I know rosies are considered one of the calmest species, but I have heard of people having problems with their hairs. How many here have had trouble with rosies?

Any other stories about urticating hairs would also be appreciated. I assume that when my current slings get bigger I may discover more about them on my own. I have a collection of four different new world species I just got last week. All of them are 1" or less in size right now, and I don't plan on attempting any handling until they get bigger, especially my pink toe, which made a valiant attempt to escape when I unpacked it. It appears to be a good jumper too.

Bryan
 

chaset

Arachnosquire
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Hairs

When they flick hairs, they use there hind legs to brush there abdomen, its very noticeable. I have honestly never had any reaction yet.
 

Bearacuda42

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Hairs!!!

;P ;P =D :? Now for some strange reason out of all the Ts i do have none seem to bother me even when they do fling hairs. Now take for instance the cheverons... Those are the only Ts that seem to make me itch even though they dont fling hairs at me , for some reason all i gota do is open its cage and wow ,, i start itching right away and it burns and iretates the crap outa me.. i dont know on this one or why,,,You go figure?????? ;P =D :? :?


Geez Ma, did you get fleas from that T ???
 

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JacenBeers

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I have been flicked by my Salmon Pink Birdeater and my old Red Knee and the hairs bother the hell outta me. I get itchy and once I robbed my face and had them on my lip and nose and they looked like acne and it hurt and stung and was just generally terrible and irritating.
 

Devildoll

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my rosie was the only one that ever bothered me. kinda bad rash for a few hours... but nothing major.. she never flicked, i only got it from holding her.
 

kellygirl

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i've had my rosie over a year and she's never shown any signs of agression and i've never had any reaction while holding her. my other little guys are still pretty small so i dont feel comfortable holding them much. except for my a. avic--you guys were right, they are adorable, especially when the walk/prance around! i'm so glad i got one! anyways, i have all new world and i have yet to encounter a flicker..."yet" being the key word.

kellygirl
 

SkyeSpider

Spider Queen
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Out of all of my species I've kept, the only one that's ever hit me with hairs has been a rosehair (although my T. blondi has tried!). I had an allergic reaction to the hairs, and my entire arm swelled up and turned pinkish-red for about a week. I didn't suffer much in the way of itching, though.

All this said, it's only happened once in seven years ;)

-Bryan
 

Henry Kane

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Worst I ever got was a tie between my boehmi whick kicked them at me and got me pretty good! Stung and itched like hell! Or, my P antinous which didn't kick , I must've got a bristle (right in the side of my finger) cleaning it's tank. That 1 bristle (I could actually see it!) felt like a thorn! Stung for a couple hours and finally went away.

Atrax
 

veronyka

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Hmm..my red knee hairs me sometimes but I get no reaction from that either. Neither of my rosies has ever haired me. Actually, they seem to like the attention and they just kinda paw at my fingers when I reach in. But I've heard that the hairs really bother you when you allow them to get in or around your face. So I guess, if you get haired, don't put your hand near your face until you wash it.
 

Dasgre0g

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Aug 22, 2002
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HAHA. Obviously you guys have yet to experience T blondi. That whole rumor about them having very irritating hairs is very very true. I recently relocated a few of the bastards in my house and still itch to this day.
Hell, 3/4 of the time when they arrive after purchase, I start itchin the minute i open the box.
Good luck all. * scratch scratch *
 

bness2

Arachnoknight
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Originally posted by Dasgre0g
HAHA. Obviously you guys have yet to experience T blondi. That whole rumor about them having very irritating hairs is very very true. I recently relocated a few of the bastards in my house and still itch to this day.
Hell, 3/4 of the time when they arrive after purchase, I start itchin the minute i open the box.
Good luck all. * scratch scratch *
Does this hold true for slings as well? I am sure the adults are worse, but are the little ones a problem too?

Bryan:? :?
 

Immortal_sin

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my worst reactions are from my L parahybana, and my B smithi.
In fact, my smithi is such a kicker, I wear a face mask when I'm doing anything in her tank. She gives me asthma :(
Holding my L parahybana makes me itch terribly also. I usually take a shower after handling her!
I can't imagine how I'd do with a T blondi...makes me itch just typing about it :D
Bryan, don't know about slings..imagine that they would irritate also? :?
 

Valael

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I don't get any immediate sort of reaction, although I'm assuming my biggest cause of problems is my curly hair, because I handle it more than any of my other kickers.


I guess my reaction is kinda minor compared to some people. After being kicked at, I feel fine. A few days later, I might accidently itch a spot where hairs where, and I itch like mad. No pain or anything, and I can usually stop with just minimal will power, but if I keep going at it, god it's irritating.


Oh, and I also "pull a dog" (or something) and start itching with my teeth. I think dogs are on to something when they start chewing on their balls, although I might have to pass on that one.
 

JacenBeers

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My reaction from my curly hair is quite minor. My reaction from my L parahybana is devastating to me and so is how I reacted when haired by my B smithi. Those are nothing compared to the T Blondi. I almost cried.
 

Bearacuda42

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Dont have any reaction from T.Blondi

;P ;P =D ;P I still dont have any itchy probs with my goliaths.. they dont bother me at all and im always working with and around them.. The only ones that bother me the most and at all are those darn cheverons...sitting here looking at mine is making me itch.. i hate talking about the itchies...LOL!!!!! ;P ;P ;P
 

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MrT

Arachnoking
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Those hairs itch the heck out of me. In fact my hands are reacting as I type. Its like I've been working with insulation.
One time I was cleaning a cage and got one in the web of my first and second fingers. I got in so deep I had to cut it out with a blade. Another time I got one in my eye. The eye got real red and took a week to clear up. I keep safty glasses on my desk now days. Don't get me wrong, some people react worse than others, its sure not so bad I'd give up my T's. I've pretty much gotten use to it.:D

Itchy Ernie
 

Wade

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Sometimes I wonder if there isn't a certain amount of phsychology going on with the reactions. For the first couple of years I kept Ts I never had a reaction to the hairs, then suddenly I seemed to become very sensitive, especially to certain species. Is this because I became sensitized to it through exposure, OR is it because I was hearing so many stories about the bad reactions others had had? I swear, I can't even look at my Brachypelma boehmei without breaking into hives! Since I'm not really prone to hypochondria, I think the reactions are real, but then again, simply seeing a t kick hairs makes me start scratching.

Wade
 

bness2

Arachnoknight
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Originally posted by Wade
Sometimes I wonder if there isn't a certain amount of phsychology going on with the reactions. For the first couple of years I kept Ts I never had a reaction to the hairs, then suddenly I seemed to become very sensitive, especially to certain species. Is this because I became sensitized to it through exposure, OR is it because I was hearing so many stories about the bad reactions others had had? I swear, I can't even look at my Brachypelma boehmei without breaking into hives! Since I'm not really prone to hypochondria, I think the reactions are real, but then again, simply seeing a t kick hairs makes me start scratching.

Wade
Wade,

The reations to the hairs are actually a histimine reaction, or an allergic reaction. As with any potential allergen, some people are more sensitive than others, at least initially. As the immune system gets exposed repeatedly, it either continues to ignore it or it mounts an attack against the perceived invader.

I would imagine that the reaction to T hairs is similar to reactions to poison oak or ivy. Some people have no trouble at all, and all others have to do is pass within 10 feet of a plant (ME unfortunately, it's always the botanists who suffer worst :( ). My wife was totally immune to poison oak for many years. Then one day she was clearing it from our yard and she accidentally poked herself with the sharp end of a broken branch. She had a bit of a systemic reaction to it and now she has the classic contact dermititis almost as bad as I do.

Fortunately, it seems, from what others have said here, that the T allergy problem is easily solved by not handling and leaving the critters in their cage. Then whenever you need to open the cage just don a hazmet suit =D =D

That's my professor of Biology 2 cents worth. :)
 

MrDeranged

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In some people, it is definitely prone to getting worse over time. For an example, we have Mark Kent. Mark is a British dealer/breeder who used to post on the Arachnid_World list on yahoo quite often. When he first started, he never used to have a reaction to urticating hairs. Over time and repeated exposure to them, he's become hypersensitive. He can't even go near B. smithi without breaking out in hives. It got so bad that he can't go near them anymore and I believe that his son is taking care of the new world species for him. If you go through the archives on Arachnid_World, I believe that there are a few posts pertaining to this....

Scott
 

Al Muoio

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Sep 8, 2002
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I think the urticating hairs are just on the new world T's. The old world are more agressive but dont have the urticating hairs.
 
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