hi guys.

i have just been presented with the opportunity of rescuing a Poecilotheria striata. the person apparently found it in some fruit she found at an exotic fruit supermarket in slough. anyway, the tarantula in question is about 4cm apparently, and extremely aggressive. She sent me a photo on another pc - will find it and post it here soon, and it is definitely a striata. i have found some care sheets, and checked it out, but just found an account of a person that was bitten and envenomated by one, and it caused a significant reaction. this species seems to have a potent venom. having handled various venomous snakes, it does not deter me, but i thought it best to ask if anyone has any experience with this species, and whether they can tell me more about their venom.

cheers,

Alex

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My adult female:



Pokies are extremely fast, literally speed of light! And generally shy, but if you poke them about then they will bite and their venom is rather potent. None of mine have ever posed a threat to me though. I keep striata (6 juves and 3 adult females, 2 of which are mated woohoo)

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what makes you so sure its a P striata?

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I was thinking that also. There are loads of black and white pokies.

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it's always the last thing you expect from buying fruit but for me it's first thing I look for, i'm always looking through bananas see if there any avics hiding away lol.

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"Tell me and I will forget, Show me and I will
Remember, involve me and I will understand"-Confucius 450BC


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqTzgNP2BK8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qZX9Dv0AI4

Well, if it was in an exotic fruit shop in Slough (I assume that's a shop that sells exotic fruit and not simply a fruit shop that's a bit exotic) the produce in question could have come from either India or Sri lanka - and it would have had to come from one or the other for the spider to be a Poecilotheria. I would say that it would be virtually impossible to identify it accurately from a dorsal photo - if you have a ventral picture, then maybe. In any case, post up the picture when you can see what it's like. Would be interesting to see whatever it is.

And in answer to your question on the effects of the bite? Simple - don't get bitten. I have had over 20 years experience with this genus and have never been bitten, but I know people who have. The symptoms range from some initial soreness and stiffness around the site of the bite with potentially muscle spasms for a week ar so, presumably dependent on how much venom is injected. A couple of paracetomol (assuming you're not allergic to them) usually helps.