Guinea pigs

[Captain Firecat]

Hi all.

Just wondering, if a brachypelma vagans got out, how dangerous would it be to a guinea pig? I have no intention of letting them meet, but the only place I can safely site the spider will be in the same room as the piggies, so an escape could put them in contact.

I'm guessing from size the piggie would at least get very ill (piggie = little over 1kg), and hopefully the spider wouldn't even get in (it would have to climb over a foot high grid), or would go anywhere else.

I have an exo terra setup (or will) and I'm thinking the old 'book on the lid' approach I adopt with my snakes will serve me well again, so the chance of an escape, while I'm not there in particular, will be very very slim, but just as a worst case scenario?

 

[R.NUTT]

The brachypelma genus as a whole is not very reputable for their venom potency the vagans is no exception to this suit. Although a tarantulas bite has completely different affects on certain animals. On a human a vagans vite would only cause irritation and redness. I doubt the same can be said for what it would do to a guinea pig. Honestly I don't think you have much to worry about as I very much doubt a brachypelma would climb one foot upwards considering they are terrestrial for the most part. Honestly I wouldn't worry yourself likelihood is that he/she will be hiding in a dark snug spot.

 

[MatthewM1]

If it got the chance to bite one im sure it would be potentially fatal. Urticating bristles in the airways of critter that small could be quite harmful as well.

 

[Captain Firecat]

Thanks both. I don't know much about T's, so the comment about them hiding away is reassuring (to my piggies, not so much ti my wife and her shoes...).

I keep snakes and have had 1 escape in... 18 years, and that was stupid young me leaving a small snake unattended. She was in my sock drawer in the end If my snakes escaped and felt the urge I imagine they would be much more dangerous to the piggies, they could easily get in, easily kill the piggie if caught unawares and would be more likely to be there as it would be light and warm. But I never worry about that.

I suppose it is unknown things, I know my snakes are staying put, I don;t know that spiders don't come with blow torches and can escape any container, so I worry

 

[Quandry]

While they are likely to hide away, when my B. vagans sling got out, I found it all the way up a shelf under a potted plant. It started out on the lowest shelf...

 

[Poec54]

What, do you have guinea pigs running all over the house?

While NW's have less potent venom than OW's, it's still a serious matter for a small animal. Bites near the head, neck, and certain organs are going to be more serious. Don't forget, there's a good amount of mechanical damage from the two huge fangs.

Cages need to be escape proof, and the lids always have to be securely fastened every time they're put back on. If you do that, it shouldn't be an issue. That means no screen on the lids or sides, as terrestrials can chew right thru that, fiberglass and aluminum both.

 

[Captain Firecat]

No, the piggies are in a long cage, I'd assume a T could scale/pass through easily.

My tank should be escape proof...

 

[Poec54]

My tank should be escape proof...

Is that your Tasmanian Devil's cage?

 

[Captain Firecat]

Is that your Tasmanian Devil's cage?

Ok that went over my head...

 

[MassExodus]

Just as a side note, did you know when tarantula venom was injected into mice, the Grammastola rosea was quicker to kill them then an Hmac? I'll get the link if someone requests it. I'm too tired right now..And Cap, yes, the vagans would kill your guinea pig if it bit him, I'm almost sure of it. But he wouldn't try to bite an adult piggie, I don't think..Hmmm, maybe, maybe not....and the piggie would probably stay away from him. Unless he was one mean piggie...

 

[MassExodus]

Just as a side note, did you know when tarantula venom was injected into mice, the Grammastola rosea was quicker to kill them then an Hmac? I'll get the link if someone requests it. I'm too tired right now..And Cap, yes, the vagans would kill your guinea pig if it bit him, I'm almost sure of it. But he wouldn't try to bite an adult piggie, I don't think..Hmmm, maybe, maybe not....and the piggie would probably stay away from him. Unless he was one mean piggie...

Here's some data taken from Escoubas, Pierre & Lachlan Rash. "Tarantulas: eight legged pharmacists and combinatorial chemists." Toxicon 43 (2004): 555-574:

0.1 microliter of crude venom injected intracerebroventricularly (ICV) in mice:

Species - Time to death (min)

Cithariscius crawshayi - 3
Stromatopelma calceatum - 3
Paraphysa sp. - 4
Poecilotheria regalis - 4
Grammostola actaeon - 5
Grammostola rosea - 5
Heteroscodra maculata - 5
Hysterocrates hercules - 5
Theraphosa blondi - 5
Paraphysa scrofa - 6
Pterinochilus murinus - 6
Avicularia urticans - 8
Grammostola pulchra - 8
Selenocosmia lyra - 8
Ceratogyrus meridionalis - 10
Cyclosternum fasciatum - 10
Cyriopagopus paganus - 10
Eucratoscelus constrictus - 10
Haplopelma lividum - 10
Tapinauchenius latipes - 12
Hysterocrates gigas - 15
Megaphobema velvetosoma - 16
Poecilotheria fasciata - 18
Ceratogyrus marshalli - 20
Pamphobeteus antinous - 25
Ceratogyrus brachycephalus - 40
Ephebopus murinus - 45
Brachypelma boehmei - 50
Megaphobema robustum - 50
Aphonopelma anax - 60
Aphonopelma chalcodes - 60
Aphonopelma pallidum - 60
Aphonopelma seemani - 60
Avicularia avicularia - 60
Brachypelma albopilosum - 60
Brachypelma angustum - 60
Brachypelma auratum - 60
Brachypelma emilia - 60
Brachypelma smithi - 60
Brachypelma vagans - 60
Crassicrus lamanai - 60
Lasiodora parahybana - 60
Megaphobema mesomelas - 60
Pamphobeteus vespertinus - 60
Psalmopoeus cambridgei - 60
Tapinauchenius gigas - 60
Vitalius platyomma - 60

Copied from Frankus Lee's channel on Youtube.

This is just a small sample of the tarantulas available in our
hobby.