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Camel spider bite puts soldier in hospital


Still Waters

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When Lance Corporal Sammy O’Gorman learned he was being sent to fight in Iraq, he immediately thought of the dangers of deadly roadside bombs.

But it was not an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by insurgents that nearly cost the 28-year-old his life.

L/Cpl O’Gorman spent three months in intensive care and underwent 17 operations – after being bitten on the thigh by a giant spider.

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I shouldn't have read this. And I shouldn't have scrolled down to read the comments either, like this one:

"I was in Iraq 12 years ago and woke up with one of these lanqiuishing for a bit of shut eye on my nice warm face. All 9 inches of him. luckily, was much worser looking first thing and the spider legged it at a guess around 15 miles an hour out the door."

I would die. :no:

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I have seen a picture of the camel spider before. Won't be clicking the link. He survived; that's good enough for me.

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My husband got to see some of these spiders while deployed twice, luckily they never had a close interaction.

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My skin is itching as I think about this arachnid. Omg. *shudders*

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One of my friends has her Ph.D. in Egyptology,and archeology.Shes been on numerous digs in Egypt,and she told me stories about these things.

She said they have tried to kill them,like crushing it with a rock,and it squirts blood,and you think it's dead,but it's not.It feigns death.

She said the blood squirt is a self defense mechanism ,so you think it's dead,but then it gets up and runs off.

She said they also follow you.Shes seen them following people and herself,but if it's light out,it actually goes inside the outline of your shadow,so you dont see it.

Shes never been bitten,and generally ,you only have to worry about them out in the desert,not in cities,but they sneak into tents and so forth,and crawl up on people while they sleep.

I mean gross.

Edited by missymoo999
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I had to register just to comment on this one. I've been to Iraq 4 times and have never seen a camel spider the size of the one in the picture. Everything I've read about them has their largest size being up to 5 inches. The pics of the mammoth camel spiders are fake. Trust me, they're still creepy, but not near what the media tries to make them.

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I had to register just to comment on this one. I've been to Iraq 4 times and have never seen a camel spider the size of the one in the picture. Everything I've read about them has their largest size being up to 5 inches. The pics of the mammoth camel spiders are fake. Trust me, they're still creepy, but not near what the media tries to make them.

Yeah, my son said the same thing. (Deployed 2x's to Afghanistan, 2x's to Iraq).

Info on camel spiders.

6 inches according to this.

Nibs

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Any kind of bite that is left to fester for two weeks before it is dealt with with result in potential infection.

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Any kind of bite that is left to fester for two weeks before it is dealt with with result in potential infection.

True, but admitting he got an infection because he was too much of a pillock to get the bite treated when it happened doesn't sound as heroic as "been attacked by a huge spider, who infected/injected me with lethal bacteria".

Edited by Leonardo
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Maybe this will stop immature soldiers throwing these horrible things on their fellow soldiers in the middle of the night.

So many seem to be unable to get it through their heads that, with moral being vital in a war zone, the last thing you need to do is throw a huge camel spider on someone with nerves that might already be really wrecked, and if you're like me, has an incredibly bad case of arachnophobia. If someone did that to me, then frankly the 'I'll watch your back, you watch mine' mindset would seriously be damaged. If you don't have arachnophobia then you won't understand.

Edited by TheSpoonyOne
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I was in Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War. One night I was filling my Hummer at a fuel point. One of those things went running by, then back, then back the other way. Each time getting closer to the pump. So, I picked up a good size rock and when it ran by again I tossed the rock - and by some miracle I actually hit the thing!

I was feeling smug, thinking it couldn't possibly have survived. Then, I saw that rock move and the creature popped out and ran away! Well, since I didn't want to have to fire my pistol at the fuel pump I hung up the pump and got the H out of there. I still think about that and it creeps me out.

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One of my friends has her Ph.D. in Egyptology,and archeology.Shes been on numerous digs in Egypt,and she told me stories about these things.

She said they have tried to kill them,like crushing it with a rock,and it squirts blood,and you think it's dead,but it's not.It feigns death.

She said the blood squirt is a self defense mechanism ,so you think it's dead,but then it gets up and runs off.

She said they also follow you.Shes seen them following people and herself,but if it's light out,it actually goes inside the outline of your shadow,so you dont see it.

Shes never been bitten,and generally ,you only have to worry about them out in the desert,not in cities,but they sneak into tents and so forth,and crawl up on people while they sleep.

I mean gross.

Either your friend or you are trying to pull someones leg.......;)

I also doubt this story of 17 surgeries from a bite....Even if it became infected.

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I should have added these to my last post......These two are the reliable replies, and what I would trust as true stories coming from Iraq........Pretty sad when people pretend that they risk their lives for our country.

The ones that really do are hero's....

Wild Deuce, Thanks for Serving !

HerNibs, please thank your son also !

Anyway, 2 below are great information........Last one.....not so much at all.

I had to register just to comment on this one. I've been to Iraq 4 times and have never seen a camel spider the size of the one in the picture. Everything I've read about them has their largest size being up to 5 inches. The pics of the mammoth camel spiders are fake. Trust me, they're still creepy, but not near what the media tries to make them.

Yeah, my son said the same thing. (Deployed 2x's to Afghanistan, 2x's to Iraq).

Info on camel spiders.

6 inches according to this.

Nibs

Sorry, I do not believe this bottom one at all, and shame on you for imitating a soldier.............:blush:

Just my opinion, unless the rock was the size of a quarter.....And I am not to sure military vehicles are filled at fuel pumps in the sand.......Also, Soldiers call them " Humvees ", civilians call them " Hummers ".....

Nice try though.

I was in Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War. One night I was filling my Hummer at a fuel point. One of those things went running by, then back, then back the other way. Each time getting closer to the pump. So, I picked up a good size rock and when it ran by again I tossed the rock - and by some miracle I actually hit the thing!

I was feeling smug, thinking it couldn't possibly have survived. Then, I saw that rock move and the creature popped out and ran away! Well, since I didn't want to have to fire my pistol at the fuel pump I hung up the pump and got the H out of there. I still think about that and it creeps me out.

Edited by Sakari
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Considering Marks_Thoughts,posted exactly what I said my friend told me,and he witnessed it himself,I dare say it's proof you just disblieve everything because you haven't had experience yourself,so everyone else is lying.

My friend has been to Egypt numerous times,and she and I both ,have better things to do than to make things up about a spider .

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From Camelspider.org, given by HerNibs.

They are not dangerous, but because of their appearance, and the many myths circulating about them, primarily by soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, Camel spider have a reputation as brutal and merciless desert animals.

Camel spiders, like Solifugids, are nocturnal animals. Soldier claims that Camel Spiders chase people in the Iraqi desert but it is, of course, also according to scientists, the shadow that the animals are seeking.

Camel spiders are neither dangerous nor venomous, and humans have nothing to fear from Camel spiders. The hoax about how dangerous Camel spider bites are is purely an anecdote. Although a bite is probably painful, only the bacteria in its mouthpart will be capable of hurting you.

Camel spiders can move at velocities of almost 10 miles per hour. They oxygen uptake capacity is high which explains why they can move that fast. A side-effect of their high metabolic activity is a short life-span.

When stretched out, Camel spiders can reach a length of five inches although the average size is somewhere between ½-3 inches. Their abdomens have 11 segments and there is no intermediary segment separating head from abdomen. They have two clearly visible eyes and five so called "racket organs". These organs are probably rudimentary eyes, as scorpions have five very small eyes.
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Camel spiders are not really even actual spiders. They are more scorpion than spider and are not dangerous. They might make you hurt yourself getting out of their way, but they are not dangerous to humans. As has been stated there are a million myths about these things, but none are true. They don't chase people, they don't kill people with their bite, they don't grow to the sizes reported. I hate spiders, but this is just a load of BS. As unsanitary as that area is, any open wound can get infected if left untreated. This could lead to blood poisoning, which obviously is life threatening, but not because of some spider venom.

Mike

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Spiders Creep Me Out Period. I've Red Somewhere That During Sleep People Swallow A Certain Number Of Spiders During Their Lifetime .. I Don't Know Whether This Is True Or Not ..

Moral Of The Story: Sleep With Your Mouth Shut!!

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had one living under our weapons conex box. I don't know if it was the same one, but one of them liked to come inside our hooch (door wouldnt close completely). I always just tightened down my sleeping bag as much as it could.

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  • 2 weeks later...

From Camelspider.org, given by HerNibs.

Thank you for bringing some scientific understanding to the issue. I wouldn't expect news organizations to have access to anything like say, the internet for actual facts.

I once saw a 300 pound painter going berserk trying to kill a 6" long skink with a shovel. Fortunately for the skink, he was too terrified to have good aim. When I asked him why he was behaving like a madman he assured me that this was a dangerously poisonous (I assume he meant venomous) animal and would bite you. I assured him I had been bitten by dozens of them as a kid because they don't like being caught and that you usually have to put them under a sink full of water to make them let go, unless you want their tiny teeth to cut you by pulling them loose. But aside from a pinch no big deal. He did not seem convinced despite the fact I was obviously not dead. I was just glad HE did not kill me with the flailing shovel!

Also have had people tell me snakes "charm" birds, craneflies are giant bloodthirsty mosquitos, bats are blind and will try to get tangled in your hair, whip scorpions and harvetmen are dangerous, the list could go on and on. Of course you must kill every snake, insect and arachnid because they are all "poisonous".

Makes one wonder about the state of our scientific "education" in America.

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Thank you for bringing some scientific understanding to the issue. I wouldn't expect news organizations to have access to anything like say, the internet for actual facts.

I once saw a 300 pound painter going berserk trying to kill a 6" long skink with a shovel. Fortunately for the skink, he was too terrified to have good aim. When I asked him why he was behaving like a madman he assured me that this was a dangerously poisonous (I assume he meant venomous) animal and would bite you. I assured him I had been bitten by dozens of them as a kid because they don't like being caught and that you usually have to put them under a sink full of water to make them let go, unless you want their tiny teeth to cut you by pulling them loose. But aside from a pinch no big deal. He did not seem convinced despite the fact I was obviously not dead. I was just glad HE did not kill me with the flailing shovel!

Also have had people tell me snakes "charm" birds, craneflies are giant bloodthirsty mosquitos, bats are blind and will try to get tangled in your hair, whip scorpions and harvetmen are dangerous, the list could go on and on. Of course you must kill every snake, insect and arachnid because they are all "poisonous".

Makes one wonder about the state of our scientific "education" in America.

:tu:

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  • 3 weeks later...

Just be thankful they're not common inside houses :no:

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