Our newest pets

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Thanks NA for the info! I had no idea they weren't as dangerous as all that.

Originally Posted by tracilicious

Btw, we put Triton in with Ursula and he got eaten.

Heehee! Putting this at the end of the post won me over. I love me some nature carnage.

I think it's awesome that you're teaching Indy how to use sharp objects. Here's to real world learning!

[BarTopDancer]

Originally Posted by Cadaverous Pallor

I think it's awesome that you're teaching Indy how to use sharp objects. Here's to real world learning!

What she said!


[omg wtf is wrong with me! I keep clicking on this stupid thread! It's almost like There's a monster at the end of this book!]

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by Cadaverous Pallor

I love me some nature carnage.

Come over to our place on most any weekend and you will get to see a baby mouse or two get devoured.

[Not Afraid]

Black Widow Spider bites don't inject much poison and death is rarely a symptom.

If a black widow spider bites a person, do not panic! No one in the United States has died from a black widow spider bite in over 10 years. Very often the black widow will not inject any venom into the bite and no serious symptoms develop. Wash the wound well with soap and water to help prevent infection. If muscle cramps develop, take the patient to the nearest hospital. Some victims, especially young children, may be admitted overnight for observation and treatment. There is treatment for a black widow spider bite that can take care of the symptoms. Various medications are used to treat the muscle cramps, spasms and pain of a bite. Black widow spider antivenin is seldom necessary.

The venom of the female black widow spider is 15 times as toxic as the venom of the Prairie Rattlesnake. Only a minute amount of the toxin is injected in a single bite by the spider however, so they are rarely fatal. By comparison, the relatively large amount of injected rattlesnake venom results in about 15 to 25 percent mortality among those bitten.

The bite itself is often not painful and may go unnoticed. But the poison injected by the the Black Widow bite can cause abdominal pain similar to appendicitis as well as pain to muscles or the soles of the feet. Other symptoms include alternating salivation and dry-mouth, paralysis of the diaphragm, profuse sweating and swollen eyelids.

Persons with heart conditions or other health problems may require a hospital stay. (Heart and lung failure may result in death.) A physician can evaluate the severity of the bite, and give specific antivenin or calcium gluconate to relieve pain if necessary. Healthy people recover rapidly in two to five days.

First aid measures: Apply an ice pack over the bite location and keep the affected limb elevated to about heart level. Try to collect the spider specimen in a small jar or plastic bag for examination by a spider expert, even if you have crushed it. Treatment in a medical facility may be necessary. Call the Poison Center for additional information. Poison Centers across the country now have a new national emergency phone number - 1-800-222-1222

[BarTopDancer]

YUK!

Why do I keep reading this thread??

[Not Afraid]

This thread has led me to reading lots of stuff on the internet about poisonous spiders. I'm still trying to verify some facts, but apparently there are only 2 dangerously poisonous spiders in North America - the Black Widow and the Brown Recluse. Neither are very deadly, but neither bite can be very fun to deal with. Black Widows are most dangerous to cats and horses - their venom can kill either of them.

It's been fascinating reading! There is lots of unwarranted fear surrounding spiders. I certainly share that fear at times.

[Mousey Girl]

Originally Posted by Not Afraid

This thread has led me to reading lots of stuff on the internet about poisonous spiders. I'm still trying to verify some facts, but apparently there are only 2 dangerously poisonous spiders in North America - the Black Widow and the Brown Recluse. Neither are very deadly, but neither bite can be very fun to deal with. Black Widows are most dangerous to cats and horses - their venom can kill either of them.

It's been fascinating reading! There is lots of unwarranted fear surrounding spiders. I certainly share that fear at times.

A close friend of mine lost her dachshund to a pair of black widows that had nested in the doghouse.

[tracilicious]

I've been bitten by an Arizona Desert Recluse (cousin to the brown recluse). It was not fun. I didn't get very sick, as it was on my ankle, but I do still have a scar. A friend of mine got bitten on her stomach and was sick for nearly a month. It ate away at her flesh and she still has an indent about the size of a silver dollar under her belly button.

So I have no fondness for brown recluses, but I do love me some bugs. (As long as they aren't crawling on me or hopping around!)

[Not Afraid]

Black Widow venom affects the nervous system while Recluse venom acts directly on the tissue immediately surrounding the bite which then heal slowly or not at all.

And, then there are those who are really paranoid about spiders.

[scaeagles]

Brown recluse spiders are majorly nasty. My former business partner got bit by one and it ate a hole the size of a chicken egg in his leg before he even noticed it.