So I think I may be allergic to my Tarantulas....

Necromion · Sep 1, 2015

as of late Ive started to experiance small red welts and a massive amount of itching towards my tarantulas, predominately when i either have one crawl up my arm or after handling. in the past i just attributed it to my LP' and her hairs... but it seems to even be happening when i do something as simple as move one of the tanks... so im left with the thought of I may legit be allergic to my T's or may is it possible that there are that many lose hairs in my LP's tank that just by moving her tank they are getting airborne and into my other T's tanks?

now admittedly im not all that worried about it, as i just suffer and move on, but it does have me curious if there is a solution (short of get rid of my T's) and if there are others out there experiancing this.

14pokies · Sep 1, 2015

Your becoming sensitive to they're hairs it happens to lot of us after years of keeping NW terrestrials... Grin and bare it or switch to Old world Ts if you have enough experience...

MikeC · Sep 1, 2015

I happen to be very sensitive to NW hairs, which is why I primarily deal with OW these days.
I never noticed it "getting worse" over time, so I can't really offer any help in that regard. It was pretty much as bad as it was from the get go.

However, I can say that members of Lasiodora have pretty nasty hair. As do Phormictopus, and some Brachypelma. Worst I've across was Theraposa, those would kick incessantly, and could welt me up from under a screen lid. Please, be very, very careful not to get those in your eyes. If you must, wear some goggles or glasses.

There's also a good chance that your LP is a generous hair-kicker, and has littered it's tank with hair. Most movement, air circulation, or general maintenance will cause those to float around and affect you. If that tank is close to your others, there's a slight possibility that they've been deposited there as well.

My first suggestion is to keep handling to an absolute minimum and wear gloves, if you desire to keep that up. Best case is to stop altogether. There's really no benefit to the spider.
Past that, the occasional full replacement of substrate and thorough rinsing of all decorations could help with any hair buildup, but I find that pretty detrimental to keeping a spider un-stressed. With proper maintenance, it's pretty unnecessary to do with any frequency.

Necromion · Sep 1, 2015

experiance isnt the issue here, its more my own curiosity atm.

but right now i have multiple old world under my belt, including S. calceatum and P mettalica for example.

pyro fiend · Sep 1, 2015

its def loose hairs. my buddys sensitive to them of all nw sp [especialy his L. klugi] and if he touches any of the catchcups without his gloves, he will break out within minutes, when he works with nw [my duties now pretty much lol] he has to wear long sleeve Tee's and dons his infamous black gloves [his wifes a tattoo artist so they are plentiful lol and just throw them away] and safety glasses

others here are sensitive as well and stick mainly with NW iv noticed ;P but very much possible loose hairs are everywhere especialy if you have a screen top or they kicked wiel lids open wev found that out too when dusting o.0

edit: dang took me a few mins to type that up with taking calls at work i was beaten to the punch

MikeC · Sep 1, 2015

pyro fiend said:
edit: dang took me a few mins to type that up with taking calls at work i was beaten to the punch

Reaffirming duplicate opinions are never bad!
At least we aren't telling him to start shaving his spiders. :biggrin:

Necromion · Sep 1, 2015

PTX said:
Reaffirming duplicate opinions are never bad!
At least we aren't telling him to start shaving his spiders. :biggrin:

THis almost tempts me to try this XD

but in truth, this answers my question and possibly confirms my own suspicions.

pyro fiend · Sep 1, 2015

PTX said:
Reaffirming duplicate opinions are never bad!
At least we aren't telling him to start shaving his spiders. :biggrin:

"oh yea shave your T, if it tried to bite you just flick it in the chelicera, itl learn" lmao

MikeC · Sep 1, 2015

Necromion said:
THis almost tempts me to try this XD

but in truth, this answers my question and possibly confirms my own suspicions.

You would likely be the first. Video proof, please.
And have a friend post your obituary when you're done. :biggrin:

Issehalsey · Sep 1, 2015

Since being pregnant, I've been slightly more affected by my tarantulas hairs.. Although, still not enough to leave marks or anything. Just an itch for a few minutes. Before, I never even felt them.

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Necromion · Sep 1, 2015

PTX said:
You would likely be the first. Video proof, please.
And have a friend post your obituary when you're done. :biggrin:

that would be hilarious to try with my calceatum no?

but in all seriousness guys, thank you ^.^

MikeC · Sep 1, 2015

Issehalsey said:
Since being pregnant, I've been slightly more affected by my tarantulas hairs.. Although, still not enough to leave marks or anything. Just an itch for a few minutes. Before, I never even felt them.

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First off, congrats!

Secondly, was that during pregnancy? If you've had the baby, is it still noticible?
That makes me very curious. I'm wondering if your body was re-routing whatever energy it was using to ward off the hairs into the pregnancy, leaving you susceptible.

pyro fiend · Sep 1, 2015

Necromion said:
that would be hilarious to try with my calceatum no?

but in all seriousness guys, thank you ^.^

erm... Stromatopelma calceatum is OW.. so good luck gettiung it to even kick at you

but no problem bud ^_^ stay safe!

Necromion · Sep 1, 2015

pyro fiend said:
erm... Stromatopelma calceatum is OW.. so good luck gettiung it to even kick at you

but no problem bud ^_^ stay safe!

I know its why it works so epicly well no?

MikeC · Sep 1, 2015

pyro fiend said:
erm... Stromatopelma calceatum is OW.. so good luck gettiung it to even kick at you

but no problem bud ^_^ stay safe!

It's still one of the "fuzzier" OW.
E. Pachypus also comes to mind. I nicknamed mine "Peachypus". You know, peach fuzz and what not?

Always happy to help where I can!

Issehalsey · Sep 1, 2015

PTX said:
First off, congrats!

Secondly, was that during pregnancy? If you've had the baby, is it still noticible?
That makes me very curious. I'm wondering if your body was re-routing whatever energy it was using to ward off the hairs into the pregnancy, leaving you susceptible.

Thank you

I am about to be 20 weeks, and I started noticing it a couple months ago. I had one notorious kicker (now deceased), and I could never feel her hairs. Now I could walk by my shelf and my wrists and hands will get itchy. I own mostly NW, and I haven't had a lot of molts recently either. So I don't know if maybe hairs have got on other things I happen to touch, or they're rubbing them off and floating around. I was also wondering how I would react after I have the baby. Thankfully, it's not enough discomfort to make me stop feeding/watering and other maintenance. My hubby can do rehouses and mating though

lol.

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MikeC · Sep 1, 2015

Issehalsey said:
Thank you

I am about to be 20 weeks, and I started noticing it a couple months ago. I had one notorious kicker (now deceased), and I could never feel her hairs. Now I could walk by my shelf and my wrists and hands will get itchy. I own mostly NW, and I haven't had a lot of molts recently either. So I don't know if maybe hairs have got on other things I happen to touch, or they're rubbing them off and floating around. I was also wondering how I would react after I have the baby. Thankfully, it's not enough discomfort to make me stop feeding/watering and other maintenance. My hubby can do rehouses and mating though lol.

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You'll have to keep us updated. I'm sure there's a sub forum that would accommodate baby pics. :biggrin:

I'd hazard a guess that there's residual hairs scattered around where you keep your enclosures. A good dusting may help.
You might also have one spider that'll kick randomly, or at the slightest disturbance, which would continue to spread them.
One of my Pulchras will kick at crickets before eating them. He's a pansy.

Gloves are your friend in situations like these. And/or delegating the hubby to maintenance duty.

Issehalsey · Sep 1, 2015

PTX said:
You'll have to keep us updated. I'm sure there's a sub forum that would accommodate baby pics. :biggrin:

I'd hazard a guess that there's residual hairs scattered around where you keep your enclosures. A good dusting may help.
You might also have one spider that'll kick randomly, or at the slightest disturbance, which would continue to spread them.
One of my Pulchras will kick at crickets before eating them. He's a pansy.

Gloves are your friend in situations like these. And/or delegating the hubby to maintenance duty.

I do have an LP that likes to kick sometimes. What a male

lol. It tends to only be a mild itch. Only thing it bothers are my tattoos on my wrists. They tend to raise up if I scratch them. Other than that, it's gone within a few minutes. I don't mind at all, as long as I stay far enough away from getting bit.

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pyro fiend · Sep 1, 2015

Necromion said:
I know its why it works so epicly well no?

lol ok makin sure you wasnt goin super noobie on us ;D lmao

PTX said:
It's still one of the "fuzzier" OW.
E. Pachypus also comes to mind. I nicknamed mine "Peachypus". You know, peach fuzz and what not?

Always happy to help where I can!

lol true it is fluffy after all thats why its a "feather leg" lol but was makin sure they knew it wasnt a nub moment

Necromion · Sep 1, 2015

pyro fiend said:
lol ok makin sure you wasnt goin super noobie on us ;D lmao

I did a lot of homework when I got my first calceatum, but even then he still had many surprises for me... one of which was doing a rehouse and having him run up my tongs and deciding to stop on my forehead...was a fun day that day

So I think I may be allergic to my Tarantulas....

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