T. Granulosa secreting poison!

sde · Oct 27, 2013

Hi everyone,

So a while back I accidentally found a T. Granulosa juvenile. I was bringing it up to get my camera and noticed it had secreted poison! At first I was really scared because it got a little on me, and it being one of Americas most poisonous species it was pretty concerning. I checked my hands to make sure there were no cuts and then went and washed them. As far as I know this is a rare occurrence so I took a ton of pictures trying to get one that was good, fortunately I think I did. So my reason for posting is because I wanted to share the pictures and ask is this a rare occurrence? Anyway here are the pictures. Enjoy :happy: -Seth

Kaysie · Oct 27, 2013

I've never seen Taricha in the wild (jealous!), so I can only say this about my captive specimens, but I've never seen them Unken or secrete toxin. They are shameless puppies though.

sde · Oct 28, 2013

I'm sure you'll be able to make a trip over here sometime soon! If you do and you want to find some T. grans. I would suggest coming during or right before the breeding season ( usually February or March ), because they have proven extremely hard to find outside of the breeding season. I have never found a adult except before the breeding season, I can find A. gracile. on accident ( which are supposed to be hard to find outside the breeding season ) but have never found a adult T. grans except right before the breeding season ( when there crossing the roads ). Its rather frustrating!

. You can also find A. gracile during this time.

-Seth

Kaysie · Oct 29, 2013

I was out in Oregon last year in October, and it started raining the day after I left

I got completely skunked with sallies.

Azhael · Oct 29, 2013

Those are some lovely photos, well done. And not just showing the toxic secretion but also the Unken position, very nice.
You did well in inmediately checking for possible open wounds and washing your hands. In the future you should probably do that before you think of handling this species, though, hehe.

Kaysie · Oct 29, 2013

I TTXed myself once through an open cut around my thumbnail. It was an interesting experience...

sde · Oct 29, 2013

Thanks about the photos Azhael! Yes you are right I should have checked before hand, but I always get excited and don't care. This is the first time I have seen this species secrete poison but I have seen other do so. I have read that if a little enters through a cut or the like, that the area and surrounding area get numb and tingles. Honestly sounds kind of cool to me

. I guess just because I can say that I have had one of Americas most poisonous species poison in me :wacko:. But at the same time that's a pretty stupid thing to do. -Seth

Kaysie · Oct 30, 2013

I experienced tingling and ataxia in my arm for 24+ hours. It's like when your arm 'falls asleep' and when the blood starts flowing back, you get that pins-and-needles feeling. But in my whole arm, for hours. And you can't move it. TTX is a sodium channel inhibitor that can prevent muscle movement. It wasn't nearly as fun as it sounds.

sde · Nov 1, 2013

Yah that's not what I thought it would be like, I thought it would just make it go numb and tingle. What species TTx'ed you? -Seth

Kaysie · Nov 3, 2013

T. granulosa. She had an abscess and I was giving her injections. "Go numb and tingle" is a pretty big understatement. My arm was completely useless, could hardly move it at all, and the tingling was intense, bordering painful. I was mildly concerned that there was enough toxin that the reaction would go from local to systemic and it would affect my breathing.

It's not something I would like to repeat.

sde · Nov 3, 2013

Did you go to the hospital? that sound worse than I was imagining! one more question ( I think ). how much got in do you think? -Seth

Kaysie · Nov 4, 2013

I didn't. I figured if it got to the point where I felt like my breathing or heart muscle was impacted, I'd go in, but mostly I was curious about the mechanisms of it all. It did numb all the way up to my shoulder, but I don't feel as though it affected the muscles in the chest wall/cavity.

As far as amount, I couldn't say. I always have small cracks around my fingernails, and she'd never oozed on me before, even with the injections. I wasn't that cautious about it. I never actually saw any toxin secretions, but I guess she got me pretty good.

sde · Nov 4, 2013

That sound almost identical to the story I read!

. Could it be about you? -Seth

Kaysie · Nov 5, 2013

Doubt it. Unless I've got a secret fan club.

T. Granulosa secreting poison!

sde

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