just about crapped my pants yesterday

[xgrafcorex]

WHAT !!!!!!!!!!

Who would want one of them as a pet !

Me! I used to own lots (over 40) of spiders..mostly tarantulas but some jumping spiders, a handful of scorpions, a few centipedes and 3 snakes.

Edit..if there is a pet thread, I'll post some pics.

Here's what the eggs look like

Ha those look like honey roasted and salted peanuts or something.

 

[Sawblade]

Here's what the eggs look like

MMM, pretzel bites.

 

[knightrider]

Those things remind me of those face-huggers in Alien. And they hiss? That is really scary. Shake those boots out each and every time!

 

[jazzpaintball]

Those things remind me of those face-huggers in Alien. And they hiss? That is really scary. Shake those boots out each and every time!

yea they hiss.
For anyone that lives down south (like fort jackson area, lol)
the hiss sounds like a cow-killer, or a velvet ant, what ever you call it

those things creeped me out even more than the camel spider

 

[lonesoldier84]

 

[jazzpaintball]

damn, i need to get a hold of the medics and get them to order some for the next unit so that when they have a freaking camel spider crawl into their boots.....

 

[xgrafcorex]

If you want to crap them again: http://www.600riders.com/forum/bar/17957-post-your-pets.html

 

[jazzpaintball]

If you want to crap them again: http://www.600riders.com/forum/bar/17957-post-your-pets.html

lol, those guys dont bother me at all. The camel spider didnt even bother me, it was just that he was in my boot, and all the other camel spiders i have seen up here was about 2 inches long. Something 10x the size coming out of my boot onto my feet while you are barely awake makes you jump lol

 

[Have2BeFree]

You big meany, the poor lttle spider was just trying to have a rest in the shade when you startle d it!

Serously though, I hate to kill anything but I would have beat that thing to a mushy mess. Yuck! Please check your boots from now on.....hope you are home soon!

 

[BastardWaif]

When I worked on radars in Thumrait (Oman) back in the early 80's, we used to catch camel and wolf spiders and pot them in acrylic to make paperweights. Someone walked off with my camel spider, but I still have my wolf spider paperweight - he's about 5" across. Here's a picture of it:

FWIW, camel spiders get their name from the fact that they eat camels! Really!! They wait until the camels sit down and go to sleep at night, then they creep up on them and eat the soft fleshy bits (e.g. under the camel's legs). Apparently, they inject a form of local anesthetic just before they bite, so the camels don't feel anything. You can clearly see scar tracks on the camels where they've been "eaten". Scary!

Newbies to Oman were told a cautionary tale about an Airworker who, on his day off, fell asleep on the beach and woke up to find half of one of his lips missing!!!

Cheers,
Dave F.

 

[jazzpaintball]

When I worked on radars in Thumrait (Oman) back in the early 80's, we used to catch camel and wolf spiders and pot them in acrylic to make paperweights. Someone walked off with my camel spider, but I still have my wolf spider paperweight - he's about 5" across. Here's a picture of it:

FWIW, camel spiders get their name from the fact that they eat camels! Really!! They wait until the camels sit down and go to sleep at night, then they creep up on them and eat the soft fleshy bits (e.g. under the camel's legs). Apparently, they inject a form of local anesthetic just before they bite, so the camels don't feel anything. You can clearly see scar tracks on the camels where they've been "eaten". Scary!

Newbies to Oman were told a cautionary tale about an Airworker who, on his day off, fell asleep on the beach and woke up to find half of one of his lips missing!!!

Cheers,
Dave F.

LMFAO!!!!!!!!

I like the wolf spider, that is cool

Although, ALL of your information on the camel spider is wrong.

Camel spiders are actually named Sun spiders, sun scorpions, wind spiders, wind scorpions, as well as the camel spider. The only reasoning behind the 'camel' part in the name is for the idea that it lives in the desert, same as the camels.

Yes, their bites are painful and they can get infected (the only danger to humans) but they have no anesthetic to be able to eat your lips without you knowing. Or eating camels. Around here, the only things they go after are dead animals, and A LOT of geckos.

 

[BastardWaif]

That's amazing.....so I was lied to for 2 whole years when I worked in Oman then!!! Nice to know the truth (finally!) thanks to the 'net. Interestingly, the camel spiders in Oman looked a little different than the ones in that now famous picture - they were quite hairy (desert brown hair).

Hmmm, well the camels DID have long scars under their legs (in the soft fleshy bits)......I wonder what caused that then?

While we're on camels, I recall one early morning as I opened the door to my bait and stepped out into my small yard to go to my shift, there was a camel right in front of me - it snorted right in my face and then turned and picked up a piece of cement bag and trotted off chewing it (they liked to eat the cellulose in the paper apparently!). Bloody thing gave me the fright of my life - had to change my pants - but the thing I'll never forget, ever, is the stink of its breath - YEUCH!!!!

Here's a joke for you that was popular in Oman when I was out there - you may have heard it before, or not. Enjoy:

There was this airworker (feel free to substitue a new butt of the joke here as you like - e.g. army private, whatev) who'd been over in the middle east waaay too long. On one of his days off, he took a trip out into the desert. Out in the remote desert on a sand dune, he sees a young female camel. It's been a LONG time since he was home, and the camel is looking pretty good to him. He thinks "there's no one around....no one would see.....no one would know......I'm going for it.....I'm going to F that camel!!". So, he walks over to the camel and tries to grab it from behind, but the camel isn't having any of it, and trots off. He sets off in pursuit. The camel takes him over a couple of dunes, staying just out of his reach. Then, suddenly, he hears the sound of a woman's voice "help me, help me!!". "Wha?" He looks around and sees a beautiful local girl buried up to her neck in the sand, so he walks over to her. "Please sir, you have to help me....my husband caught me with another man and has buried me here and left me for dead. If you dig me out, I'll give you anything you want. ANYTHING!". "OOOOHHHHKAAAAYYYY!!! YES!!!!" says the airworker, and so he digs out the girl, who he sees is actually stunningly beautiful once she brushes off all the sand. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!" she says "and now, kind sir, what is is it that you would like me to do for you?". To which he replies "Fantastic.....if you could just hold this 'kin camel still for me for a bit.....that'd be great!".



Cheers,
Dave F.

 

[Hellgate]

At Camp Swift east of Austin we would tell new Soldiers of "El Chupacabra" (use your best Jack Black here). It's a Mexican wives tale of a monkey dog looking thing that drinks goat blood. We'd tell them to stay in a AO at night, don't leave food laying around, don't go off by yourself, etc. Basically all the things we need Soldiers to do. Now they beleived us because we warned them of Fire Ants and Chigger. Once the got bit by one of those things they knew we weren't lying. Well right next to Swift is the University of Texas Primate Research Center. And all through the night you hear monkeys screaming. So the Soldiers from outside of Texas would ask what the hell is that? "El Chupacabra!" Then one of us would head out into the woods and make noise, rustling around, shaking trees, etc. One young Soldier was so scared he ran off! We were dying!