Stromatopelma calceatum

Bite report by Bop Baerts

 

 

"Stromatopelma calceatum, mature female. I got bitten while I was removing some food residues with a pair of tweezers of 30 centimeter large...

The female was in her hideout, all calm. I was about 20 centimeters away from her, removing the food residues. She came towards me from the back of the enclosure (I got a hollow tree stump for my arboreal tarantulas). I never saw a tarantula jump this far; she litteraly jumped 20 centimeter off the ground and my pair of tweezers, all in less than a second. So... She bit me three times in my thumb, all three were full of venom.

I put her back in her enclosure, I put hot, very hot, water on my thumb (hoping the protein of the venom would clot a bit).

I'm 192 centimeter tall an I weigh 105 kilograms; no ailments or disorders (except for my hobby!)"

 

30th May 2013:

10:30:

"I just got bit, but it doesn't feel any worse than a bee sting."

 

10:35:

"The wound starts to tingle. The thumb and area around it are swelling."

 

10:45:

"On a scale from 1 to 10 the pain is a clear 8."

 

11:00:

"It feels like hot needles are put into my hand and like there's boiling water flowing through my veins."

 

12:00:

"The pain just became a 9, the boiling water feeling is flowing through to my shoulder and I'm starting to have trouble breathing. It's time for a visit to the doctor."

 

14:00:

"Everything was fine, the pain is still there and I got these huge cramps everywhere."

 

22:00:

"The pain in my arm is finally getting a bit less, but my hand still feels like a dwarf with nail shoes is dancing on it."

 

23:00:

"The arm feels alright, it's just feeling a little sensitive."

 

31st May 2013:

03:00:

"After some sleep the arm still feels alright. I got cramps everywhere, though. And the dwarf is still there, too."

 

08:00:

"The arm became a bit more sensitive than before, but the hand became less sensitive. The cramps are still there."

 

16:00:

"The hand is starting to feel alright, just a little sensitive. The thumb is still very painful when it's being touched, the arm still got cramps.

 

1st July 2013:

"The pain is gone, but the thumb is still very sensitive."

 

3rd July 2013:

"The thumb feels like it should be, it's just still a bit swollen and crampy."

 

6th July 2013:

"The cramps are pretty much gone. Sometimes they still breakthrough, though"

 

"Conclusion: don't get bitten!

I hope newbies will think twice before they consider buying a species like these. I never want to experience anything like this anymore.

 

The tarantula is doing well, by the way. I'm still in love with her; I think I just visited her the wrong time of the month."

 

Thanks Bop for letting me use your bite report!