Gizmo - Spider Bite
 

My foster, Gizmo, snapped at me when I went to pick him up this evening...well it is actually the next day now..but a few hours ago. He had a lump on the back of his neck and an open area that looked like an abcess. I was reminded of the recent threads about spider bites and looked at pics of Julia and Teddy Bear (two YT pups who had spider bites) and what he had looked like them. He then started having sudden diarrhea.

I just got home from the EC. Sure enough, they believe it is a recluse spider bite...they squeezed a bunch of pus and cottage cheese looking stuff. There also was some necrotic tissue that had sloughed off already. He told me that he is sure this is going to get much worse. All around is an area of blackened looking tissue. While it looked awful before I went, once they shaved it, it looked so much worse. :( You could see the one round open area before, but now after they squeezed it, the area is raw. :( Poor thing...it looks so uncomfortable.

They gave him an injection of Convenia and also a dose of Metacam. I am to apply warm compresses...and give Metacam once/daily.

Now I am creeped out thinking there is a recluse spider in this house. :( :(

I took a couple of pics with my cell phone...will try to get better pics tomorrow. You can see that at the top and bottom it is very dark.

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This picture shows where the necrosis is starting :(

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The EC vet said that it may need sutures after it is cleared up...and that it is good it is in the area that it is because there is excess skin.

Another spider bite!! Poor Gizmo. That looks pretty bad :(

Max's entire area is now black and I'm just waiting for the skin to flake off. Does Gizmo seem bothered by it? Itchy or anything? I was told by my pest control guy that black recluse spiders only live in very dark, damp areas.

Yeah, it's weird...all at once all of these bites. I did not know about Max until tonight....Cathy told me about him.

I am calling my pest control guy tomorrow. I am thinking maybe my garage might have spiders. I have seen spiders in my hallway and thought they might be coming from under the door to the garage. Gizmo sleeps in my master bath...it is not dark and damp there. :( I did not think they just bit like that...thought they had to be provoked. It's just weird. Not that it matters...have to treat it whatever it is. It is just so big...I knew that it was reddened..I could see that under his hair, but until the shaved it I had no idea how bad it looked. Ghastly. :( The vet is sure there will be a large hole.

Oh..and no....but he would have a hard time scratching it...it is in a spot I don't think he could reach. All I know is that it is very painful to him. Poor little guy.

Just seeing this, and want to send prayers and well wishes to Gizmo, and geez Linda, just when it looked like things were getting better around your place, another emergency.

So sorry, but glad you caught it and got him help quickly. Hope he recovers fully, and you are able to eradicate all spiders where ever they are.

Oh yes, max had a bite! What a disaster that was at the ER. yes, my pest control said the only place they could be (inside the house) is in the corners of the garage. He also said they are fairly rare here. I don't know what Max was bit by. There was no puss or anything that came out. And yes, he's going to eventually have a hole there too. Poor little dogs :(

The # of bites is a bit odd at this point. Thank goodness you read a couple of threads and knew what it was.

Yeah, it's crazy around here. I am going to eat lots of beans come January 1, 2014...supposed to be good luck.

Calling pest control tomorrow. The idea of these things in my house is really creepy.

Yes, the number of bites is really, really odd. If I had not read those threads, I might have waited until morning. Cannot imagine what it might have looked like by then. Thank goodness I saw those threads...and SO glad there were pictures.

I am sorry to disagree with your pest control man but they can be anywhere in the house. We set out sticky traps and catch them in every room here. LadyJane you should ask them to use the powder that goes inside the walls. It is the only thing that will kill a brown recluse and that way the pups can't get in it. Also set the traps under anything close to the wall the pups cant get to.

How terrible and poor Gizmo. That picture shows just how awful a bite can be.....Your year (2013) has been terrible. Prayers for you both.

On a different note, I think I will join you in eating anything that is suppose to be good luck in 2014. Isn't sauerkraut was one of those foods? Yummy, beans and sauerkraut.

And, gentle hugs to Gizmo.

Totally agree with you. We also have fought the battle here with the dreaded brown recluse. At first, we too, had pest control come to our house fighting these mean little monsters to no avail. Then we bought the sticky traps and put these under furniture and such in the attic, house and garage. It was sickening to see how many brown recluse spiders we caught in these glue traps. We continue using these traps, have done away with mulch up close to our house (this attracts these spiders), replaced the mulch with river rock. Also look for "dust" webs. The brown recluse has a very unique web that doesn't look like other spider webs. These spiders are very difficult to get shed of.

Yikes! Poor gizmo!!

Drione
 

This stuff works. Really. And it's fairly safe for a pesticide - you can spray (or puff it rather) into wall sockets etc.. We have used it for paper wasps where we couldn't get to the nest - after using two other method, we finally found this and it took one try. I recommend Drione over the Delta Dust based upon my research and our experience with Drione.

Amazon.com : 1 LB Drione Pest Insecticide Dust w/...
Specific directions on the Brown Recluse

How To Get Rid of Brown Recluse Spiders

How to Get Rid of Brown Recluse Spiders | PestMall Blog

Chemical Treatments for Brown Recluse Spiders
Dust Applications: The Brown Recluse spider isn't called a recluse for nothing. This spider prefers the secretive habitat of cracks and wall voids much more often than an indiscrete corner. Therefore, most of the treatments you will do for brown recluse spiders will involve a residual dust agent (we recommend Delta Dust Insecticide or Drione Dust) puffed into cracks and crevices, wall voids, behind outlet covers and switch plates, and underneath insulation. This is best done with a professional Hand Duster (Read our article on proper dusting techniques).
Video on how to use it:

Oh no, poor Gizmo. I hope he's feeling better.
Linda, I've heard that eating lentils on New Year's day is supposed to bring good luck in the coming year.
Give Gizmo a get well hug!

Oh no poor Gizmo. This looks just horrible. Saying prayers for his recovery.

This really freaks me out. This is the time of year for spiders and spiders are one of the things that totally freak me out.

What kind of sticky traps should be used?? I may get some and put them under stuff.