Show & Tell
Okay, not really a SNAKE, but collaterally related to snake keeping. I find 10-20 of these in snakes cages every year; dead, alive, and sometimes drowned in water bowls. I also find between three and 10 scorpions inside snake cages in all three of our reptile buildings. While I have never proven that any of my snakes were ever impacted by them (since their tough scales largely protect them from the fangs of Arachnids) it’s remotely possible for spiders to be responsible for reptile injuries and perhaps even deaths. No, I do not like spiders, but knowing that their secondary purpose for injecting venom is defense, it’s not as dangerous as one might suspect–to let a spider crawl on your skin, but I don’t recommend agitating them while in contact with you. That reality did not make me complacent, however. I never took my eyes off this Reclusa during photography with my cell phone. Especially when it raced up my arm a couple of times. Thought I was going to need clean underwear during one of those sprints toward my shirt sleeve?