Archived Articles : Spider Warning
Warning to all ferrets "Beware of Spiders"
Fatso's story
I saw this spider hooning across the lounge room floor "aha! Here's a bit of fun and maybe a snack"
Dumb Idea! The spider didn't want to play; He bit me instead right on the mouth. It was only a minute or so before I was SICK.
When I say sick, I mean awful sick. I pooed myself (on Mum's clean carpet), vomited up all the lovely steak I had for tea, and to top it off- I felt like I had drunk 4 litres of wine in 4 minutes.
I felt awful. Flat as a tack. My heart was going berserk. I looked and felt like a limp wash rag. My breathing nearly stopped - I was not well. Mum was looking for the first aid book, ready to practise CPR (she would have too because she loves me).
This all happened at 10pm when no vets are open and the emergency number was in the bottom drawer. Mum didn't want to put me down just in case I stopped breathing.
Luck was on my side. The symptoms lasted 20 minutes and I have fully recovered. In future if a spider hoons around my lounge room floor, Mum is going to remove it or me from the temptation to play.
But whatever happened to the spider? He hid behind the bookcase - thinking he'd escape the next day but Mum caught him and he's doing time in a glass jar - life sentence.
Article Published in Issue 63 (March / April 1995)