Urticating hairs

fishwithoutabik

fishwithoutabik

Arachnobaron
Joined
Sep 25, 2007
Messages
320
Ok, I have a question about urticating hairs. So far I have Avicularia, Lasiadora, and Grammastola, but since the only adults I have are Avicularia, I haven't experienced hair kicking yet. My G rosea and G aureo are like 1.5 inches and I handle them, I have also handled their exuvia several times. At this small size, would their hairs be a problem? I would like to pick up some of the notorious "hair kicking" types next week at the narbc thing but I am a bit worried because I don't know how bad the hair is. So should I have already experienced some kind of discomfort or irritation at the exposure to their urticating hair?
 
Stick

Stick

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 6, 2008
Messages
19
Everyone's experiences differ. I, personally, have had no reaction to them at all. I have never been ignorant enough to actually rub my eyes afterwards either. For the most part, people exposed to urticating hairs only suffer mild itching and very slight swelling that can last anywhere from 2-3 minutes to 2-3 days. It all depends on the individual. I always wash my hands with mild soap and warm water afterwards. Like I said, I have never experienced a reaction.
 
F

fictitious

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 25, 2008
Messages
94
I find the hairs are overrated. I can picture a dog going nuts with nostrils full of them but really the pain to human skin is no more than a rash that lasts for about an hour. I've tried washing it off with warm water and it helped, but really it's no more than a minor annoyance.

Edit: After review I am going to restate this comment to include that some people can have a severe reaction but other be unaffected, like is being stated, it depends on the person and the T whether or not its an irritation to you or something more serious.
 
Last edited:
T

Truff135

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 22, 2007
Messages
1,033
That's not entirely true, fictitious. People have varying degrees of sensitivity to urticating hairs. Last week, I believe, someone posted a pic of his post-haired arm and he had developed a serious rash.
I, personally, barely have a reaction to them and I've been haired twice. The second time was slightly worse; the next day my finger had the sensation of a very small papercut - kind of itchy and kind of burning. But it was so minor that it didn't bother me. I always immediately wash my hands after being haired with soap and water, which IMO seems to help. :)
 
Moltar

Moltar

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 11, 2007
Messages
5,438
Avics don't actually kick hairs, they rub them in with their abdomens. It's actually kinda cute and if you didn't know better you might think they were trying to cuddle. Even small slings of NW species(with a few exceptions) have urty hairs. At 1" or whatever they just don't have a whole lot of them. I bet if you took an exuvium and rubbed the abdominal skin on your face you'd get the reaction you are so curious about. I wouldn't reccomend it though.

My advice? Don't be in a hurry to get haired. With many people the reaction is cumulative as in each time you get haired by a certain species the reaction is a little worse than it was before. Some people react violently and some don't. For example, brachypelma urts are murder on me but grammostola's not so much. I'm very passive with my t's tho so i don't get haired that often. It's tank maintenance and cleaning that usually gets me.
 
K

K1j1m

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 4, 2007
Messages
147
when my GBB kicks at me whatever the hairs land on its, swell up, and burn almost. Its not that big of a deal though. Usualy goes away after 2 hours or so. More of an irritating thing then anything.
 
fishwithoutabik

fishwithoutabik

Arachnobaron
Joined
Sep 25, 2007
Messages
320
thanks everybody, this has been really helpful. I understand certain Ts can affect a person more than others, so I guess I will just go for it. Hopefully, I will be one of the lucky ones who doesn't have a major problem with it.

Another question, do the hairs tend to circulate outside of their homes if they are in something like a KK? I ask this cause my Ts live very close to my bed (I have kids and cats, its the safest and only child/cat free spot I have)
 
Stick

Stick

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 6, 2008
Messages
19
No, not usually, but that depends on size and species of the T. If your child is asthmatic, then a hair-kicker probably isn't a good choice of T for you. On the other hand, using extreme caution and subtlty, while dealing with your T and it's enclosure, can prevent a lot of discomfort experienced by everyone.
 
S

Sylvi

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 26, 2007
Messages
94
I got rid of my B boehimi because, for me, the hairs were dreadful. The irritation would last for days and bring me up with contact dermatitis where ever the hair had landed. The itching was awful, and anything I touched in the tank also made me itch. I avoid my blondies hairs like the plague. They don't have as bad a reaction as the boehimi's, but I put the latex gloves on when ever I have to fiddle with the tank as it's covered in hairs. When she has to be moved I get well back from the orange cloud that wafts in the air as she kicks, and I can still feel my throat burn as I inadvertently breath some in. Don't underestimate the hairs!!!!

Edit - I haven't had hairs outside the tank, even when they have kicked alot.
 
C

Corranthe

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 29, 2007
Messages
275
There was this one time that my G. aureostriatum juvi molted when I wasn't looking and the next time I saw him (he burries himself in the moss most of the time) I decided he needed a bigger enclosure. So I put together his new diggs and I moved him on over. But then I decided that I just _had_ to find the old exuvium from that last molt and went digging with my hands wrist deep into his old substrate. :wall:

It itched pretty bad for a couple of hours and then became a faint itch for the next two days.
 
S

Sylvi

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 26, 2007
Messages
94
I've done that too, with my G pulchra. He never kicks hairs, and I decided to clean out his tank. I merrily potted him up, took the tank into the garden, and used my hands to scrape out the soil...........bad mistake........ I always use a spoon now and use gloves.
 
Mina

Mina

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 4, 2005
Messages
2,136
I think it can depend on the size of the T, how much of the "hairs" you come into contact with, and how sensitive you are to allergens/and or if you have sensitive skin. There have also been other people who have developed reactions that have gotten worse over time.
 
desertdweller

desertdweller

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 23, 2007
Messages
1,186
etown_411 said:
There are 5 different types of urticating setae (not actually hair at all)

http://tarantulas.tropica.ru/files/images/urticating_hairs_1.jpg

It only takes a glance to realize why they can be so unpleasant.
Click to expand...
Eeeeeewww . . . . So that's what they look like! No wonder, and as I type this I currently have Ike, my A chal crawling around on me. (It's his exercise time.)

In answer to the question, yeah, normal clean up and regular maintenance should keep any T hairs limited to their tanks, heavy hair-kickers notwithstanding.
 
S

Steveyruss

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 25, 2007
Messages
85
It's not much of a problem, if you get haired don't itch or scratch just wash yourself in water and most of them will go away leaving a minor annoyance. I've been haired by quite a few of my species and non of it has a serious reaction. If you do get haired I don't recommend getting haired by a T Blondi though.
 
omni

omni

Arachnobaron
Joined
Apr 30, 2007
Messages
382
I keep NW types, and had the biggest reaction to Nhandu and Pamphobeteus. I had redness and some itching for 2 1/2 days after housing a handful of 2-3" juvies.
People talk about the "Brachy Itch", but I never noticed any irritation from Brachypelma. Most Brachys are very pretty and known to be hair kickers, if you find a good deal consider getting B. emilia, boehmei, or smithi. Really cute seeing a 1" smithi trying to flick me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top