Congolese Spider Bite ID
September 14, 2013 1:30 AM Subscribe
I know this is a virtually impossible task- any ideas?
I was bitten by what I am assuming was a spider in Odzala National Park in the Republic of Congo just over two weeks ago. It definitely happened while we were sleeping. I woke up with two fang marks that are almost a centimeter apart on the underside of my forearm. I didn't think much of it except, "Wow, that must have been a huge spider." The next day, an area about 8 cm in diameter around the bite was red, swollen, and extremely itchy. I used all my self control to not scratch and was largely successful. The next day the area immediately surrounding each fang mark was tinged yellow and still VERY itchy (the redness and swelling were still there). Each day after that it got a little better and for about a week now the only remnants have been small red spots around the fang marks, which are still visible.
Any spider that would be big enough to make the mark and lives in the area seems like it should have made me way sicker than itchy and swollen. Could it have been something else? I think all the snakes in the area are venomous too.
I'm not worried about dying or anything like that - just curious!
I was bitten by what I am assuming was a spider in Odzala National Park in the Republic of Congo just over two weeks ago. It definitely happened while we were sleeping. I woke up with two fang marks that are almost a centimeter apart on the underside of my forearm. I didn't think much of it except, "Wow, that must have been a huge spider." The next day, an area about 8 cm in diameter around the bite was red, swollen, and extremely itchy. I used all my self control to not scratch and was largely successful. The next day the area immediately surrounding each fang mark was tinged yellow and still VERY itchy (the redness and swelling were still there). Each day after that it got a little better and for about a week now the only remnants have been small red spots around the fang marks, which are still visible.
Any spider that would be big enough to make the mark and lives in the area seems like it should have made me way sicker than itchy and swollen. Could it have been something else? I think all the snakes in the area are venomous too.
I'm not worried about dying or anything like that - just curious!
Were you sleeping in a zipped-up tent or were you sleeping exposed?
posted by cairdeas at 1:54 AM on September 14, 2013
posted by cairdeas at 1:54 AM on September 14, 2013
Response by poster: The tent was open on one side (by design), zipped on the other. We were under mosquito netting.
posted by tealcake at 1:58 AM on September 14, 2013
posted by tealcake at 1:58 AM on September 14, 2013
Do you have a picture of the bite? Try emailing it to a local wildlife expert--maybe a park ranger, an entomologist at the national museum (if they have one), or someone at a local biological research station. Afraid I don't know who that would be for Republic of Congo/Odzala National Park, however.
posted by col_pogo at 2:34 AM on September 14, 2013
posted by col_pogo at 2:34 AM on September 14, 2013
Could it have been a centipede bite? (warning - some of the pictures are pretty graphic)
posted by jquinby at 6:23 AM on September 14, 2013
posted by jquinby at 6:23 AM on September 14, 2013
Best answer: I would assume a rain spider as well. When I was in Gabon they were super duper common, especially near sleeping areas, and they're big enough to have fangs a centimeter apart. If they're common in Gabon then they're probably common in RoC as well, since they're right next door and ecologically similar. Also they are not especially venomous, which would explain why the bite wasn't that serious.
We'll never know for sure, but I would bet that a rain spider crawled into your tent looking for somewhere cozy to hang out, got startled by you when you shifted in your sleep, bit you, and then scurried away. They are not aggressive spiders, but any spider will bite in self-defense. Since they are so much more common in sleeping areas than other large spiders (in fact they were the only big spider that I saw in houses/tents during my three months in Gabon) I would assume that's what it was.
posted by Scientist at 7:13 AM on September 14, 2013 [1 favorite]
We'll never know for sure, but I would bet that a rain spider crawled into your tent looking for somewhere cozy to hang out, got startled by you when you shifted in your sleep, bit you, and then scurried away. They are not aggressive spiders, but any spider will bite in self-defense. Since they are so much more common in sleeping areas than other large spiders (in fact they were the only big spider that I saw in houses/tents during my three months in Gabon) I would assume that's what it was.
posted by Scientist at 7:13 AM on September 14, 2013 [1 favorite]
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posted by tealcake at 1:35 AM on September 14, 2013