Baby animals!!

[kap]

I have gotten bitten by a spider two times. I don't know what kind those were but they were not poisonous otherwise I would be at the Pearly Gate cursing up a storm. I must have gotten on their side of the bed

[Stephanie]

I'm a stickler for terms. When dealing with spiders and snakes...none are poisonous. All spiders have venom and so do some snakes (ie, venomous snakes). The term venomous indicates that the toxin has to be injected in order to do harm. The term poisonous is much more vague and incorrect in this case (it means that the toxin has to be ingested or seep through the skin, etc).

If these two terms were interchangeable, then we could possibly have venomous tree frogs! Instead, they're known as poisonous tree frogs because their toxin seeps through the skin!

Anyway, sorry for going a little OT there. I was going to point out that even with the really "dangerous" spiders in the US (such as black widows and brown recluses), most bites aren't considered life threatening (unless you have a weakened immune system, etc).

That being said, I wouldn't want to be bitten by a brown recluse or a black widow....but outside of those two, spider bites are really harmless.

I highly suggest reading wikipedia's entry on spider bites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider_bite . One relevant line from the entry: "Many spiders do not have mouthparts capable of penetrating human skin. While venoms are by definition toxic substances, most spiders do not have venom which is sufficiently toxic (in the quantities delivered) to require medical attention, and of those only a few are known to produce fatalities."

[kap]

Thanks for the educational piece, Stephanie. Now I have a right to brag to my S/O and watch her rolling her eyes

[Stephanie]

LOL kap! You should be on some of the snake lists I'm on. All the newbies say "poisonous" and all the old timers go into a similar explanation to what I gave. I can only imagine their eyes roll a lot too.

But once you've been a herper (herpetologist) long enough, making that distinction serves a purpose.

[kap]

[quote Stephanie]
But once you've been a herper (herpetologist) long enough, making that distinction serves a purpose.
Oh, herper! You bet I'll make a distinction on pronunciation of that word!

[Stephanie]

Yes, that too has a big distinction. Of course, as herpers, our choice of names is rather limited. Ophidiophile doesn't sound so good either (of course, not all herpers are ophidiophiles and not all ophidiophiles are herpers either!).

I do, however, limit myself in big "herp" talk. I'm known to call my pituophis by their common names (same with my elaphe/pantherophis and my thamnophis and lampropeltis too!).

I have to draw the line somewhere.

[Racer X]

there are a few verified cases of necrotizing fascitis as a result of spider bites here in the US, usually brown recluses. So the venon may not get you, but the bacteria they carry, and the holes they put in you MAY. It's a french site, but about a medical study published in Atlanta.

[kap]

Now I have had plantar fasciitis but necrotizing fascitis? Hmmm, googling away ...