PhilinYuma
Well-known member
Sorry, I didn't read this thread before. It's a long time since I worked with spiders, but I'm on vacation with my son who took me to visit an old friend who is an avid arachnophile (actually,he dropped me off and fled!) and who let me work on a few of the cages with her to keep my hand in under her discrete supervision.
She has three adult Psalmopeus irminia and always uses tongs when cleaning their cages. She also has a mean looking P.cambridgae, but it is not nearly as attractively marked as its cousin. Long ago, she promised that if I were bitten/stung by something really serious, she would euthanize me rather than see me suffer. A true friend.
A couple of thoughts on this species, occasioned by some comments above, that might prove useful:
You already know that they are lightning fast. You should also know, if you don't already, that at any age thay can decide to attack you, running across their enclosure to do so, without any provocation.
This species, like most rapid runners, does not, so far as I know, shoot abdominal hairs.
On approaching adulthood, they almost always build a tunnel web to lurk in, although a few never do.
T bites are usually described as being "like a bee sting." The bite of this species, particularly if it is a sling, can be almost unnoticable, but an adult's bite is not only painfull; it can cause temporary numbness, sometimes involving the whole arm if a finger is bitten, and nausea and vomiting, so I would rate it as potentially worse than a bee sting and well worth avoiding! Friend tolerates venom pretty well, but always keeps a loaded syringe of diphenhydramine ready against the possibility of anaphylaxis, and I suggest that any venomous invert keeper keeps a few benadryl caps handy (does anyone have anything better/faster acting?). I can't think of any T offhand, though, whose bite is fatal.
Meanwhile, I enjoyed yr pix, and you are obviously taking good care of your youngster. Keep us up to date!
