Speaking of Urticating Hairs,

Poec54

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Mar 26, 2013
Messages
4,745
Last weekend I went to a local reptile dealer to look at a new Avicularia shipment they had just gotten in from Guyana . They had unpacked 200 (half) into deli cups and an employee mentioned to me that they were itching from it. I assured them that those Avics (metallica) don't kick hairs, but maybe there were some loose hairs in the packing containers or the room. I unpacked the other 200 myself into deli cups and by the end of it the inside of my wrists were itching. Then I sorted out 150 of the thinnest ones (recently-shed) and fed them. I didn't see any of them kicking or pressing hairs. Besides an occasional runner, they were calm and well-behaved. No threat poses.

Last night I fed/watered a few dozen of my OW's (Chilobrachys, Haplopelma, and Phlogius) & Avic adults and subadults (metallica, versicolor, and urticans). By the time I was done, the inside of my wrists and forearms were itching (and still are this morning). I didn't any open up any other NW cages. I have ceiling fans running and maybe they stirred up loose hairs from the Avic cages or other NW's in the room (from previous sessions).

Anyone else run into this?
 

Beary Strange

Arachnodemon
Joined
Aug 30, 2013
Messages
670
I have-I like to mess around with webbing after rehousing, you know, see how far it can stretch, bend and stuff (I'm not the only one who plays with webbing right? right? ''>> ) and after playing around with my A.versicolor females' webbing after their rehouse I had crazy itchy hands. My guess is that they rub up against their webbing, it sticks and voila, itchy webbing and Avic webbing is usually all over the place so maybe that's what happened?
 

Storm76

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 30, 2012
Messages
3,797
I can relate to it, Poec. The day before yesterday, while doing maintenance and opening all those enclosures, cleaning out bolusses and refilling waterdishes, it naturally included my Avics. By the end my hands and arms were itching like crazy. Mind you, I didn't touch anything except the outside of the enclosures. For the rest, I used my tongs and my hands were never inside the enclosures. The T's were sitting calmly in their corners and none moved at all really. Even my hair-kicking A. versicolor was just sitting calmly in her web-tunnel without moving.

Bottom line: I've noticed that over the years I'm keeping my T's, Avicularia seem to cause the itching way quicker and more intense than any of my others. Exception my B. boehmei and A. geniculata.
 

dementedlullaby

Arachnobaron
Joined
May 8, 2014
Messages
300
I have-I like to mess around with webbing after rehousing, you know, see how far it can stretch, bend and stuff (I'm not the only one who plays with webbing right? right? ''>> ) and after playing around with my A.versicolor females' webbing after their rehouse I had crazy itchy hands. My guess is that they rub up against their webbing, it sticks and voila, itchy webbing and Avic webbing is usually all over the place so maybe that's what happened?
This is probably on the money. I wonder if old molts also leave behind some hairs sometimes? I would imagine so :).
 

Grey

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jul 17, 2014
Messages
0
I've read that they like to rub the hairs off onto their webbing as a deterrent to predators and the like. I also imagine that it weakens their prey similar to barbed wire fence would weaken us or slow us down.
 

Poec54

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Mar 26, 2013
Messages
4,745
I've read that they like to rub the hairs off onto their webbing as a deterrent to predators and the like. I also imagine that it weakens their prey similar to barbed wire fence would weaken us or slow us down.
That's a strategy used by the hair-kicking species. The surprise is to have this happen with Avics. I definitely got two good doses of spider hairs working with Avics in the past week; either it's from them, or from other NW hairs in the room being stirred up. But with members chiming in, maybe it IS Avics. They may make more use of their hairs than has been assumed. Just because the majority of them don't kick hairs doesn't mean you're walking away from a multi-Avic encounter without itching.
 

BobGrill

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 25, 2011
Messages
1,669
I thought only versicolor was capable of actually "kicking" hairs.

Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk 2
 

Poec54

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Mar 26, 2013
Messages
4,745
I thought only versicolor was capable of actually "kicking" hairs.
Maybe the other Avics 'shed' to protect their retreat or when they're under stress. None of the 200 Avic metallica I unpacked kicked hairs or had bald spots, but several of us were itching from working with them. Seems to be a connection, which was reinforced last night when I worked with some OW's and Avics. Just because you don't seem clouds of hair doesn't mean they aren't using the hairs in some manner. We're used to the blatantly obvious kickers, you can't miss them. But maybe Avics are more subtle. They're intelligent, alert spiders and have some quirky behaviors. This might be another one.
 

Hobo

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Staff member
Joined
Jul 27, 2009
Messages
2,208
They definitely make use of that hair.
I recall numerous threads and posts of people claiming that their avics loved being pet, as they would lean their butts/bodies in their direction whenever they were scratched/pet.
If only they knew it was quite the opposite.
 

Storm76

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 30, 2012
Messages
3,797
They definitely make use of that hair.
I recall numerous threads and posts of people claiming that their avics loved being pet, as they would lean their butts/bodies in their direction whenever they were scratched/pet.
If only they knew it was quite the opposite.
Honestly, I never understood that statement from people. Especially not those, that supposedly were "knowledgable"...
 

Pociemon

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 25, 2007
Messages
911
I am severely allergic to urticating hairs, so much i get respiratory problems and other nice problems. I can be in a room with NW T´s if there is no work going on there that day with them, otherwise i am in big trouble. I have had alot of avics before and still have some, and i never had any issues with them whatsoever. I guess it is some loose hairs that bothers you, maybe in the containers!
I can work with my hands in avics enclosures and remove their substrate without any problems, so my best guess is these loose hairs...
 

philthyxphil

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jul 22, 2014
Messages
46
I am glad that I saw this thread! I am new (collecting for a few months) and as my T room filled up, I noticed that just sitting on the floor or even basic feeding/cleaning causes me to itch on my hands and arms. I do have an avic sling, along with a couple of other new world T's
 

BobGrill

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 25, 2011
Messages
1,669
I am glad that I saw this thread! I am new (collecting for a few months) and as my T room filled up, I noticed that just sitting on the floor or even basic feeding/cleaning causes me to itch on my hands and arms. I do have an avic sling, along with a couple of other new world T's
Try using duct tape or masking tape for immediate removal of uricating hairs. Works pretty good for me.

Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk 2
 

Hellion299

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 30, 2008
Messages
79
Getting haired is just a part of life. Lol. Small price to pay to enjoy all these beautiful creatures.
I tend to get it the worst from Brachys and Pamphos.
 
Top