Spider in bunny cage

[Rufus]

Eeeeeeeeeeeee! This morning I went to give Rufus his salad and a big spider had set itself up in the corner of his cage. I think it was a redback! A redback is deadly, I got bitten by a tiny baby one once and spent hours throwing up and had to have steroids injections. I’m so freaked out! I killed it and everything but I just can’t stop thinking about it!

Nothing much I can do about it, so I guess I’m not asking for advice, just venting my terror!

[Dwarf Sparrow]

*shudders* I would still be freaked out, too!

[Kayota]

Geez… My house is full of steatoda spiders which are harmless, if I saw a black widow or something I’d freak out lol

[Roberta]

I can’t remember, is Rufus an indoor or outdoor bunny ?… Not that it makes much difference to a redback, nasty little horrors…
Just wondering if there is something you can do to prevent a recurrence..
Also check and make sure it hasn’t left an eggsack in the cage anywhere..It’s the time of year for it.

[Rufus]

Rufus is indoors I went back out and wiped down the area with wet paper towel to make sure there weren’t any eggs. I’m so happy I’m not at work today. At least I can keep an eye on him and keep him out of his cage for the day. I feel sick thinking what could have happened if I fed him just a bit later.

[CheriB603]

Eeeek! That sounds nasty!

[Sindri]

I guess it must be that time of year because just the other day I went to clean out Usagi’s cage and on the side of his litterbox was a spider. I freaked out and and dropped it. I almost put my hand on that spider. I am also noticing more spiders around the house. I guess its getting cooler here and they want to come inside. I am not sure what type of spider it was. Definitely know that creepy feeling you are having.

[Eepster]

Bites from venomous animals often only effect certain related species. What can be deadly for primates may have little or no effect on lagomorphs. This video goes into more detail about this, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myh94hpFmJY. I’d start by calling the vet, or the Australian equivalent of poison control to find out if lagomorphs are effected by or immune to the venom.

[Roberta]

Bunnies are immune to the venom of our Funnel Web spiders which are the nastiest ones here, fatal in a very brief time… Red Backs and White tails however are a different matter. White tails have a necrotic venom that destroys the tissues and many cats and dogs have suffered limb loss because of them. I haven’t been able to find a great deal on bunnies and Red Backs but what little I have found indicates the are also susceptible to the toxin.

[Rufus]

That’s amazing that bunnies are immune to Funnel Webs!! That was the next thing I was going to worry about because they are crawling all over here. I’m just keeping a close eye on him and the whole house and trying not to think about it too much. *sigh* Australia huh? So many things that can kill you at any given moment! After the spider in the morning I spent the arvo looking at our evacuation plans because of all the bushfires!

[Eepster]

Posted By Rufus on 10/17/2013 08:35 PM

That’s amazing that bunnies are immune to Funnel Webs!! That was the next thing I was going to worry about because they are crawling all over here. I’m just keeping a close eye on him and the whole house and trying not to think about it too much. *sigh* Australia huh? So many things that can kill you at any given moment! After the spider in the morning I spent the arvo looking at our evacuation plans because of all the bushfires!

During hurricane Irene and Sandy, I took Porky out of his nice roomy condo and put him in the small petstore cage he came from the shelter with.  I felt bad for him being cramped in that thing all night, but I didn’t want to have to try to grab scared wet bunny in the dark if the river made it up to our house.  Having him in the small cage meant we could just grab the whole kit and caboodle, and go.

I can’t believe many rabbits spend their entire lives in those pet store cages.

[Tigi]

Rufus, thoughts for you and anyone else who could be potentially affected by the bushfire! How scary must that be. Hopefully the evacuation plan will be all for naught because of cooler weather over the weekend.

I freaked out as well when I found a big spider around my bun (not a redback but still scary looking). I spent hours googling and keeping an eye on him just in case a trip to the emergency is needed. To be sure I actually put the spider in a container in case I need to show the vet. Thank god all is good.

[Rufus]

Thanks Tigi! It looks like things are a bit better under control now but it’s going to be a loooong summer!
I’m trying very hard not to think about the spider! There’s nothing you can really do to avoid them around my place so I just try not to focus on it too much! When I was little, someone told me that an average Australian eats at least ten huge spiders in their sleep during their lifetime. I used to get nightmares of waking up to find a massive spider in my mouth! Stupid urban legends

[Author]

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