I recently received a very disturbing bite report (Poecilotheria striata) that was much worse than others I had ever heard before. Previously I'd expressed the opinion that warnings about Poecilotheria bites were overstated - I've changed my mind.

I was bit by a 5"+ Mysore Ornamental while I was taking some of the substrate
out of the jar I was temporarily keeping it in (around 5pm). I accidentally
touched its leg and she ran straight to the top of the jar. I quickly tried
to cover the jar with my hand but like all Poecilotheria species she was so
fast she ran onto my hand and the second she got on my hand she sunk her
fangs in-on the top of my left hand right my pointer and middle knuckle. She
stayed on my hand for about 15-20 seconds then I flung her off my hand back
into the jar. The bite felt like a bee sting but about 50X worse. About 20
minutes later my hand swelled up twice its size but the pain wasn't that bad.
Half an hour after that I started to get an immense burning feeling in the
top of my hand and in the middle of my palm but the swelling started to go
down. As time went by the pain traveled to my fingers and into my wrist and
I had a tingling/painful stream going straight up my arm going into my chest.
I started to get really tired and almost passed out but I kept myself awake.
About 5 hours after I was bitten the pain in my hand became unbearable. It
felt like I had a red hot knife going straight through the middle of my hand
and my fingers felt like they were smashed with hammers. I took benadryl
among other things so I could try to sleep through the pain. The pain was so
intense that it wouldn't let me sleep. I finally passed out around 7 in the
morning. When I woke up around 1pm the pain was easily ignorable so I
thought the worst was over. About 5 hours later I was at work and my legs
started to get sore. After a while all my muscles got sore and I was walking
like I was 95 years old and I started getting minor cramps in my calves. I
got home about 9pm and went straight to bed. Shortly after I started getting
cramps in my feet that were ridiculously painful and the joints in my hands
and knees were sore. The rest of the night I would wake up to these painful
cramps taking turns in all my muscles up and down my body from my feet
muscles straight up to my jaw muscles (every single muscle in my body went
through these cramps-I'm not exaggerating). My jaw muscles clenched shut and
I couldn't open my mouth for about 10 minutes. Around 11am the next morning
I was paralyzed for about 2+ hours. Any time I would move any part of my
body it would immediately cramp up. Once the cramps stopped I could hardly
move because my muscles were so sore and if I moved my arms, legs, feet... in
certain directions they would cramp so I had to move carefully. By that
night I was still getting cramps but they weren't as painful or frequent.
For the next two weeks I was still getting cramps in my legs and pain in my
hands and joints. I also noticed that I lost some muscle mass in my chest.
Then I woke up and my left shoulder joint was in intense pain. After two
weeks of still having symptoms from the bite and the feeling that I was
melting away and now with this pain in my shoulder I decided to go to the
doctor. I happen to know a Doctor from India (where the Mysore Ornamental is
from) who worked in India and treated many tarantula and snake bites. He put
me on steroids and pain killers and ran a bunch of blood tests. This
happened in the beginning August and now I am fine but occasionally get
cramps in my legs and hands.

Josh Peacock <IIIVeNoMouSIII@aol.com>


The severity of the bite made me feel that it would be irresponsible to not post a warning here. Though I had previously heard three or four reports of medium-term (a couple weeks) effects of Poecilotheria venom in the form of cramping and muscle problems, this case was much worse.

As pretty as they are, I must STRONGLY recommend against anyone, except very experienced keepers who are aware of the risks from getting any Poecilotheria species. I repeat, unless you are experienced and are willing to take the risk, DO NOT get a Poecilotheria. I'll go ahead and extend a warning to all species with a history of "hot" bites. Old-world tarantulas, as a rule, are not suitable for beginners. They should espescially not be sold to kids, and if you have Poecilotheria or other bitey tarantuals and have children in your home, it is very important that they know to stay away from them.

Please consider getting a more suitable pet species instead. Avicularia are wonderful spiders (my favorite!) and they've never put anyone in the hospital. Species like B. smithi are really popular because they're great spiders, not because they're boring! Look at them -- they're cool! You don't have to get some exotic species to prove you're a big tough guy.