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Harper The Hunter


tdierikx
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Hmmm... just came out of the computer room to find Harper playing with a spider... a Funnel Web Spider!!

It's dead and flushed down the toilet now... in an extreme act of bravery on my part (arachnophobe) - but it was definitely a male Funnel Web.

Good thing dogs are virtually immune to Funnel Web bites. Have checked her all over, and she appears fine... in fact a little miffed that I wouldn't let her play with it some more before I stomped it and flushed it.

Bloody thing must have come out due to the rain we had this evening... grrr!

Gonna be fun trying to get to sleep tonight... spiders scare the bejeebus out of me, and I'll bet there will be a Huntsman waiting for me at some point soon too... aarrgghh!

T.

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Areas of my property are full of them and they don't appear to be territorial so just because you got rid of one doesn't mean there isn't one a meter away.

Interestingly they nurture their babies, they catch food for them and can look after them for up to two years. I know this after digging into a nest and surprising a zillion little funnelwebs. So not the cutest babies in the world. If you can catch one then the reptile park likes them for making serum, me I'm more of a shovel and run person.

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Well - the fact that dogs are immune to Funnel Webs must be true... Harper is still fine this morning... *grin*

I'm sure it must have bitten her, as she was picking it up in her mouth and flinging it about - and it was well and truly still alive before I squished it.

Definitely a male too - as I had a good look at the corpse... no mistaking those big arsed fangs. He was only about the size of a 10c piece fully extended.

T.

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Oh no, I didn't realise those bluddy things had made it this far south. I freaked out the other day over a red back :eek:

I'll need to check and see if cats are immune like dogs are. Fleming wouldn't give a stuff if a spidey crossed his path, the fat cat on the other hand.....

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Oh no, I didn't realise those bluddy things had made it this far south. I freaked out the other day over a red back :eek:

I'll need to check and see if cats are immune like dogs are. Fleming wouldn't give a stuff if a spidey crossed his path, the fat cat on the other hand.....

I think part of the problem an owner is faced with is if the cat/kitten already has a compromised immune system either because of being very young or old & ill.

Bites then may have the potential for problems but not necessarily from the animal getting envenomed. ( if that's a word???)

I know kirty is cluey with these tidbits of info.

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Hunter sounds just like Dee.

She will put her paw on lizards' tails and then looks mortified and totally confused when the tail drops off and the lizard runs away. She will drop and watch the tail for a few minutes trying to work out what happened :laugh:

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Hunter sounds just like Dee.

She will put her paw on lizards' tails and then looks mortified and totally confused when the tail drops off and the lizard runs away. She will drop and watch the tail for a few minutes trying to work out what happened :laugh:

ha! ZsaZsa BitchGal Vizsla would bring her Momma the bodies. She would drop them at my feet as if to say 'oops, what happened here' LOL

:)

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Hunter sounds just like Dee.

She will put her paw on lizards' tails and then looks mortified and totally confused when the tail drops off and the lizard runs away. She will drop and watch the tail for a few minutes trying to work out what happened :laugh:

ha! ZsaZsa BitchGal Vizsla would bring her Momma the bodies. She would drop them at my feet as if to say 'oops, what happened here' LOL

:)

Yeah I object to her bringing the occasional mouse to me, dropping it at my feet, then nudging it and looking at me as if to say "Make it run again" :grimace:

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Kibah (RIP) could indentify spiders and knew huntsmans were safe. If a wolf spider ran across the floor she wouldn't touch it, but if it was a huntsman she'd pounce, nip it, fling it (while I ran around screaming in case it came near me) nip it, fling it again, until it was stupified helpless and then she'd eat it.

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Yeah I object to her bringing the occasional mouse to me, dropping it at my feet, then nudging it and looking at me as if to say "Make it run again" :grimace:

The other variation is to snare a mouse & hide it for a day. THEN bring said mouse to Momma for revival.

Trust me, mouse revival is impossible when the human is on top of the table screaming.

Of course, that cues in 'yeah, let's toss mousey in the air, jump & catch it & see what Momma does then. Oh my, is that Daddy I see racing outside too? Are my humans scaredy cats?@

:rofl:

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Oh no, I didn't realise those bluddy things had made it this far south. I freaked out the other day over a red back :eek:

I'll need to check and see if cats are immune like dogs are. Fleming wouldn't give a stuff if a spidey crossed his path, the fat cat on the other hand.....

Umm... they are called Sydney Funnel Web for a reason... been here as long as I can remember... *grin*

Funnily enough, I'm not really all that worried about Funnel Webs, as they are pretty slow and not all that scuttly... unlike bloody Huntsmans who run AT you while you are trying to smash them!

The fact remains that I had been wandering around the house barefoot yesterday afternoon... what if I'd trodden on the bugger and got bitten?

Cats are generally immune to Funnel Webs and Redbacks too MW... so don't panic too much if kitty finds one.

T.

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