Sometimes we do things we're not proud of. He was, after all, just in the wrong place at the wrong time and if he had been the kind of cuddly creature that inspired the "awwww" factor instead of the "eeeek!" response, he'd have been treated a lot more gently. We might have even kept him as a pet.
Fuzzy he was, at least the fat, round derriére. Not as hairy as some of his cousins, but enough for us to definitely identify him as a member of the dreaded Theraphosidae family. He somehow cornered himself, only a foot away from the Capt's chair, this morning and sat there for quite a while, hoping he was invisible. But he wasn't.
"Get rid of him!" I cried, doing my Lady MacBeth impression. And so the Capt zapped him with a bit of bug spray, enough to stun him, then trapped him on top of a file folder, beneath a coffee cup. A brave man, my Capt. He carried the beast outside, left him in the brush at the fringe of the golf course. He was still moving — in fact he covered quite a lot of ground before we lost sight of him. I wished him well, hoped he'd recover from his poisoning and hereafter, remember to stay out of houses.
12 comments:
One of the advantages of living at altitude is you rarely (like never) run into the types of critters one encounters in tropical environments.
Plus, the weather is nicer.
I must confess I have a soft spot for spiders. Especially, big spiders. But I never kept one for a pet. They seem to be far better-suited to the great outdoors.
Darn, Steve, if I'd known I would have saved him for you. Or then again (picturing having to feed him every day--what do they eat, anyway?) maybe not.
Felipe - The Patzcuaro Chamber of Commerce is missing a big bet not hiring you to write their propaganda. Whatever else you may say about your hometown, you are unceasingly happy with the climate. But I bet you have your critters too.
We spotted several last weekend in the Elgin/Patagonia/Sonoita area. I regret not picking them up.
i usually i am not afraid of spiders. i trap them in a jar and then set them outdoors. however, i've never seen one like that and if it was as big as it appeared to be in the picture, i'm not sure i would have handled it the same way. you say they are dreaded so i assume they are poisonous-is that correct?
i've been on the go all week, have hiked twice then helped a friend move furniture around as she is getting her house recarpeted. i will try to e-mail you this weekend.
teresa
I hope he didn't get sprayed with that bug repellent know for altering his gene associated with rapid growth.
After they increase in size to the size of a large beach ball they have the uncanny instinct to return to the exact location where they receive the foreign chemical and seek out the prey who started the chain reaction.
Chrissy - You are one gutsy woman! Do you pick up snakes, too?
Anonnymouse - No, apparently their bite is not poisonous, though I've heard it hurts. I confess my dread is more of the kneejerk creeped-out variety. I have friends who say tarantulas make great pets and they handle them all the time. (shudder) Much in their favor: they're quiet, don't need litterboxes and don't take up much space. The photo in my blog was just about exactly the size he was.
Tancho - OK, now if we get any fuzzy beachballs in our bed we'll know what we did wrong.
I only pick up snakes that are not vipers. I use a snake catch for the vipers we have around here. Only really have to worry about rattle snakes and coral snakes here. Most that I have found have been Gopher snakes and King Snakes. Both great snakes to have around. The Rattle snakes just worry me with my cats. But I once asked a vet about getting antivenom for a cat and he had said during his 25 years of care in Arizona, he had never heard of a cat being bitten. I have watched my cats on 3 occasions watching the snake just out of its range. They were the ones that alerted me to it being there.
As far as the tarantual goes, it it venomous as well, but very docile and would have to be pretty ticked off to bite They have a natural urge to borrow, so if it happens again then just put down an empty soup can in front of her and she will probably slowly crawl right in.
Chrissie - A snake catch?! I'm very curious what that consists of. Did you make it, or buy it?
Um, I assume you meant tarantulas have a "natural urge to burrow," rather than "borrow." Right? I'll be sure and try that can trick next time.
I have friend or two with a natural urge to borrow, and it always comes back broken. If it won't break, it doesn't come back at all! But that's another topic, isn't it?
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