T venom

[vangarret2000]

I know that tarantula venom isn't that harmful to humans and I have heard people and websites say that there are no known deaths from tarantula bites. Is this actually true? Are there not people that are allergic to the venom like someone might be to bee stings? Allergy to bee stings can be fatal so it would be surprising that people wouldn't have fatal allergic reactions to tarantula venom.

[TryBallPythons]

This is a really interesting subject. There has actually been significant research around Tarantula Venom in the past few years. It is believed that tarantula venom can not bind with antihistamines in your body which would cause an allergic reaction. I believe it is due to the composition of their venom being primarily peptide based as opposed to protein based like most venomous animals. I am not sure if this has been definitively proved or not, but it makes for a very interesting discussion.

With that being said though, certain species of tarantulas do have more potent venom than other species. Although it would likely never become life threatening, it will cause significant pain and illness (such as muscle cramping, flu like symptoms, etc.). Typically Old world species have significantly more potent venom than new world species IE Poecilotheria, Haplopelma, and other asian or African species would have more potent venom than lets say Brachypelma, Avicularia, or Grammastola.

Layne (Ordomallus) could provide more valuable feedback, he is the "tarantula guy" and has the best knowledge on the forums when it comes to inverts.



Rob

[tegu_man]

interesting subject, now that it's been mentioned I do know of deadly spiders but not sure they are tarantulas.

[GONESNAKEE]

The size & the health of whom is bitten is always a factor as well.
A sickly infant will be much more at risk than a healthy adult.
I would think Spiders such as Widows & Recluses would be more dangerous than most Ts, Mark

[joeysgreen]

If you die of allergic reaction, the venom isn't what killed you. In most instances of allergic reaction, a previous exposure is necessary to prime your immune system to over-reaction. I'd fathom to guess that Tarantula bites arn't that common, so that puts the odds in your favor. Though with the millions of bites that have undoubtably occured over history, I'm sure someone probably has had an uncharacteristicly lethal reaction; heck, watch 1000 ways to die and you see it can happen in the most unlikely scenerios

Ian

[OrdoMallus]

i have honestly researched that subject to death as much as i possibly can. and the only answer I've been able to find is what rob has said. the composition of their venom is such that we don't have the proper reactors to have allergic reactions. although this technically is not at in concrete. i do agree with this until i see something otherwise.

Ian is also right in that you'd likely need a second or third instance to have your immune system but honestly the likelihood of being bitten is entirely up to you. i currently own 100+ inverts (lol and I've cut back) for years now answer I've never been bitten. lol although I've had a few instances of being very close several times. Haplopelmas don't like to go into shipping containers btw lol. But never been bitten yet. lol sometimes i wanna just go down into the invert room and try make something angry enough so they tag me a good one. lol i should practise what i preach that its not much worse than a bee sting. but i can't honestly say I've every been bit. if i do ill make sure to do it with a bit of style and least get tagged by an adult pokie or something to make sure i do it right lol.

the other thing that can also have a huge variant on pain amount of swelling, etc. is how much venom ia injected. size of specimen. and how your body tolerate it.

layne

[OrdoMallus]

sorry to double post but honestly you are at more risk of secondary infections from a tarantula bite than their venom. just like any cut can get infected and cause major discomfort and pain and possibility of worse. tarantula are large anyways. 90% of the time they are going to physically overpower their prey and kill them through mechanical means as their fangs are definitely large enough in comparison to prey items.

im more afraid of peoples dogs and cats than i am of invests. least my tarantulas don't lick their own junk and try to lick my face.

[Stan Schultz]

In 45 years of watching for reports of deaths due to tarantula bites, I have only heard of two or three.

They all occurred during the nineteenth century or earlier. As a refresher, this is before the days of "real" medicine, and the subjects could have easily died of peripheral causes or even their medical care. (Recall please that this is the era of blood letting as a standard medical treatment!) You can see the type of report I mean by visiting BATHURST COURIER - 1860 - 61 and using your browser's search function (usually <Ctrl> F) to look for tarantula.

And, even at the beginning of the 21st Century we are not immune to irrational hysteria, medical induced injuries and death! See the following.

http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/06/04/...e-indian-town/

http://www.ksee24.com/news/local/Dea...157043075.html

http://in.news.yahoo.com/video/panic...141926310.html

I haven't been able to find any "official" references like a death certificate or autopsy report. In most cases such simply wouldn't have been made in those times, and even if they did exist, could we believe them?

And, while people occasionally die of other spider bites, these are as remarkable for their scarcity as for their tragedy.

Further, as others have noted, humans apparently do not suffer allergic reactions to spider bites, especially tarantula bites. In fact, if you perform a search of Pubmed you'll be lucky to find more than 4 or 5 references to it. It would seem that one of the best ways to get your name in the literature would be to develop an allergy to a spider bite!

And, there are a bunch of people who, though highly allergic to bee stings, have shown no unusual reaction whatsoever when bitten by their pet tarantula. The allergy doesn't "cross over."

Lastly, the bare faced fact that the stock response to any idiopathic bite or minor skin infection in the emergency room is to dispense an antibiotic, blame it on a spider bite, and "call me if it isn't better in the morning" has become one of the mainstays of arachnoculture's medical kit of bad jokes! In fact, it's pretty much the only one!


Enjoy your little 8-legged threat to life as we know it!