Love bites – Do venomous arachnids make safe pets?

Hauke, Tobias J.; Herzig, Volker

doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2020.12.003

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Interestingly, the genus Mesobuthus plays only a marginal role in the exotic pet community. For instance, Mesobuthus is not even among the top 20 most commonly kept scorpion genera (Hauke and Herzig, 2021). However, the species Mesobuthus (Olivierus) martensii is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine under the name "Quanxie" for treating pain, convulsions, or tetanus, and it seems plausible that some of the traded Mesobuthus scorpions are used for Quanxie production instead as pets (Liu and Ji, 2015).…”

Section: Trends Within the International Arachnid Tradementioning

confidence: 99%

Unmasking trends and drivers of the international arachnid trade

Herzig

Hauke²,

Lüddecke

2023

Front. Arachn. Sci.

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IntroductionThe global biodiversity crisis represents a major threat to humanity, with the worldwide animal trade being identified as a major driving force. Although vertebrate trade has been subject to intensified research, the extent of invertebrate trade remains understudied. Recent analyses of arachnids (i.e., spiders and scorpions) suggest that there is a large and still-expanding international market which has the potential to threaten natural populations. Whether or not captive breeding has the potential to decrease collection pressure on wild arachnid populations has not been investigated, nor have the temporal dynamics or the trade purposes of arachnids been examined.MethodsWe herein seek to broaden our understanding of these areas by analyzing arachnid import and export data from two major international wildlife trade databases (CITES and LEMIS).ResultsHistorically, a large proportion of tarantulas and scorpions have been traded for the pet sector. Our analysis of the LEMIS data shows that imports of pet arachnids have declined by up to 55% in the past decade. Furthermore, an annual breakdown of US imports shows that at least 43% of specimens are not traded as pets but for other purposes, including research, souvenirs, and traditional medicine, with the souvenir sector experiencing an unprecedented growth. CITES data for protected tarantulas, but not scorpions, further indicate a shift toward trade with captive-bred specimens.DiscussionThese trends need to be considered in efforts to conserve natural populations. Coordinated captive breeding may represent a path toward increased sustainability by meeting the demand for traded arachnids and also providing an important resource for scientific research across disciplines.

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Section: Trends Within the International Arachnid Tradementioning

confidence: 99%

Unmasking trends and drivers of the international arachnid trade

Herzig

Hauke²,

Lüddecke

2023

Front. Arachn. Sci.

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“…Although spider envenomation commonly results in localized pain, most spider peptides studied to date block Na V and Ca V channels and therefore act to inhibit neuronal excitability. 34,35,52 This however is almost certainly a reflection of "discovery bias" because most spider venom-screening efforts have focused on finding inhibitors of key analgesic targets, such as Na V 1.7 and Ca V 2.2. 47,69,118 Nevertheless, several spider venom-derived peptides with algogenic activity have provided crucial insights into the structure and function of TRPV1 and Na V channels, and these are discussed in greater detail below.…”

Section: Spidersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many species of scorpion use their sting defensively, and envenomation often results in localised pain. 52 Most pain-causing peptides isolated from scorpion venom to date target Na V and K V channels. These include so-called α-scorpion toxins and β-scorpion toxins, which delay fast inactivation and reduce the threshold for activation of Na V channels, respectively; and KTx toxins that block K V and K Ca channels.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Venom-derived pain-causing toxins: insights into sensory neuron function and pain mechanisms

Robinson

Deuis

Klasfauseweh

et al. 2022

Pain

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“…In addition to injuries from wild spiders, some case studies report bites from P. regalis , which are kept as pets worldwide, including in Europe and the UK [ 4 ]. As the species becomes increasingly popular among hobbyists, envenomations are likely to become more common despite advice for safe handling and appropriate housing [ 4 , 5 ]. Symptoms of its envenomation develop over time from hot flushes to severe generalised muscle cramps and aches in the limbs with elevated levels of creatine kinase, which is indicative of muscle damage [ 1 , 6 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indian Ornamental Tarantula (Poecilotheria regalis) Venom Affects Myoblast Function and Causes Skeletal Muscle Damage

Richards

Alqallaf

Mitchell³

et al. 2023

Cells

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Envenomation by the Indian ornamental tarantula (Poecilotheria regalis) is medically relevant to humans, both in its native India and worldwide, where they are kept as pets. Muscle-related symptoms such as cramps and pain are commonly reported in humans following envenomation by this species. There is no specific treatment, including antivenom, for its envenomation. Moreover, the scientific knowledge of the impact of this venom on skeletal muscle function is highly limited. Therefore, we carried out this study to better understand the myotoxic properties of Poecilotheria regalis venom by determining its effects in cultured myoblasts and in the tibialis anterior muscle in mice. While there was no effect found on undifferentiated myoblasts, the venom affected differentiated multinucleated myotubes resulting in the reduction of fusion and atrophy of myotubes. Similarly, intramuscular administration of this venom in the tibialis anterior muscle in mice resulted in extensive muscle damage on day 5. However, by day 10, the regeneration was evident, and the regeneration process continued until day 20. Nevertheless, some tissue abnormalities including reduced dystrophin expression and microthrombi presence were observed on day 20. Overall, this study demonstrates the ability of this venom to induce significant muscle damage and affect its regeneration in the early stages. These data provide novel mechanistic insights into this venom-induced muscle damage and guide future studies to isolate and characterise individual toxic component(s) that induce muscle damage and their significance in developing better therapeutics.

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Love bites – Do venomous arachnids make safe pets?

Cited by 10 publications

References 39 publications

Unmasking trends and drivers of the international arachnid trade

Unmasking trends and drivers of the international arachnid trade

Venom-derived pain-causing toxins: insights into sensory neuron function and pain mechanisms

Indian Ornamental Tarantula (Poecilotheria regalis) Venom Affects Myoblast Function and Causes Skeletal Muscle Damage

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