Pterinochilus murinus
Bite report
OBT, image by Furryscaly
Thank you to 'herpzane' from RFUK for allowing us to use this bite report. He recieved a bite whilst working with an OBT (orange bitey thing, a common name used by hobbyists for Pterinochilus murinus, the Usambara Starburst Baboon) - a four to five inch individual - and the following is a guide as to what happened.
The reason for adding this guide to the website is to show that tarantula bites are not to be taken lightly, the venom of an OBT is by no means mild, but generally considered not as potent as other species such as Poecilotheria spp.
Always remember guys, be precautious and treat these animals with the respect they deserve.
Bite report
Feeling a little Better now and my hand is starting to work again so thought id tell everyone about the joys of getting bitten By an OBT. In short it hurt loads but if you wana know the nasty details then carry on reading. So at 10:30 A.M (approximately, i didnt really look at the clock) on sunday 21st august i was Bitten on the left thumb by an adult female (4/5 inch) orange baboon tarantula whilst at work. I was doing some routine cleaning of the reptiles and moving the OBT to another container.I was Placing a cricket tub over the top of her but she was obviously aware of this and bolted towards my left hand. My thumb holding the lid of the cricket tub had come into contact with her. I flinched and pulled away fast but she was a lot quicker than me. Within a split second she had sunk both fangs into my thumb, fell and then bolted across the floor (she was caught by another member of staff don't panic).
I felt immediate stinging/burning and immense pain in the thumb and it began to swell considerably. Not expecting it to be as bad as it was i left it for 5 mins and it grew much worse. After this the rest of the hand began to swell and i could feel very sharp pains within the lower arm (this was the venom moving through the blood stream). This continued up to the inside of the elbow and then up to the bicep. These sharp pains where also felt within the armpit working their way across the pectoral region and chest area. Chest pains Really began to worry me so made a quick journey to A and E.
Surprisingly i was seen very quickly. Little did i know at this point that strong paracetamol and Morphine had no effect on the bite of this species however this was still given. The only thing that made the pain a little more bearable was the entenox i was given when we realised that morphine wasnt going to work. I was also given antihistamines to help reduce swelling and it did help a great deal, this was around 3 hours later and at this point the only pain i had was in the lower arm and hand. I assume the venom wasn't in large enough quantities to attack the heart as the sharp pains had dies down (in this case). When first bitten My heart rate had risen considerably and body temperature had also risen, but this was mostly down to panic. After a few hours of observation i was let home and prescribed various drugs. Nothing special just more antihistamines and paracetamol/morphine mix. I could feel pain in the hand and lower arm for the next 24 hours before it wore off altogether. After 24 hours of being bitten i was experiencing horrible cramps in most areas of the body but mostly calfs. On one occasion i had cramp in 3 places at the same time (Not fun). Still feeling pretty rubbish but loads better than i was. Seems like a pretty quick recovery from what ive read but hey i wont knock it. Dont think theres much i missed but if you want to know any more then just ask. Stay safe guys. These animals do bite!
Thanks herpzane!
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Thanks!
