S Raja Tarantula

[Malcolm Lozada]

JapaneseEncephalitis and Dengue Fever: These mosquito-borne diseases have been reported from Raja Ampat. You might want to consider vaccination for Japanese Encephalitis. Avoiding mosquito bites is the only protection available against Dengue Fever.

Hospitals in Raja Ampat: There is a hospital in Waisai that can provide first aid, but for anything serious you would probably need to go to Sorong. Especially if urgently requiring treatment on a weekend.

Rumah Sakit Angkatan Laut naval hospital does not provide western standard facilities, but operates a 24 hour emergency care facility and is probably the best option for initial treatment of serious illness or injury.

Just an update on the rabies vaccine situation, since comments below (and information from locals and workers) seem to be inaccurate: after asking directly at the hospitals both in Waisai and Sorong: there is currently no post-exposure rabies vaccine anywhere nearby. Given that there is no record of rabies in the area, this might not sound tragic, but on the other hand, with many stray cats and dogs, some may consider it safer to get a vaccination beforehand.

Re medical care: Arborek has a simple but adequate clinic with a trained medical professional at very reasonable cost. I had minor foot surgery for a badly infected splinter in the sole of my foot. Proper local anesthetic, sterile procedure and discharge meds despite the basic facility. Your homestay host can even help with getting care even on Sunday after church if necessary. Thank you Isai!

Re open wounds and seawater: while saltwater can even help healing of minor abrasions, be aware that seawater does have plankton and bacteria. Snorkeling and scuba are not recommended at all if you have cuts or open wounds.

Re outer ear infections: use ear drops to make sure ear canal dries after swimming and snorkeling. Bring some commerical or home-made drops (isopropyl alcohol and glycerin, or vinegar based, are two that work to break surface tension and allow water to drain from ear) Otherwise plankton/other stuff in seawater can give you a painful infection.

Scratches, cuts and insect bites can get infected easily, and ear infections are not uncommon if you spend a lot of time under water. You need to ask a health professional about the best antibiotics for these and other risks presented by a tropical environment.

Hi, thanks a lot for all infos about RA, you are very precious. I am planning trip to RA and stay in Gam, surely. I am totaly scared of the opportunity of seeing crocodiles. I read they are in the Passage area, you heard of any attacks or iF they moved to another area, too? THX

We have heard nothing more about the Kabui Passage animal mentioned above and assume it has moved on. Many people have safely dived and snorkelled the Passage since its presence was reported almost a year ago.

Bottom line is that there is no place in Raja Ampat with zero possibility of a crocodile being present. Taking a few simple precautions, however, will reduce the risk of actually encountering one to as close to zero as possible.

Hi, we am looking at traveling to Raja Ampat with our 2 children. Can you please let me know if the tiny stinging jellyfish you mentioned in the write up above are there all year round or is there certain times of year that they can be avoided?

The homestays that have both onsite dive centers and great house reefs are all on Kri. You can find those quickly by simultaneously applying the Location>Kri and Activities>On site dive center filters on the accommodation page.

Hello my name is Paolo Belloni, now I am on holiday in ubud, Bali. My plan was to flight to Raja Ampat the 27 of April but yesterday I got bitten by a monkey and I started the post exposure vaccino anti rabbies. I only want to know if I can find the third injection of vaccino (verorab) in Raja Ampat, in one hospital in sorong or also in a small island like waisai. Thank you very much

Looking forward your help

Paolo

Thank you for this very helpful information, I keep getting mixed messages about taking malaria medication, so I think I will take it! Looking forward to an amazing dive trip to this beautiful remote place.

Thanks again for the info.

Ps. Previously to raja we will be staying in Bali. We have already started to take all the necessary vaccines, bought life vests for the kids, first aid kit and so on, but are still a bit scared and would like to hear if you have some advice or comment?

Hello

I am planning to go to RA in Dec . Is that season is malaria prone.

Secondly I am a novice in diving just dived else where in thiland two/ three times.(PADI I did in 2010 in Andaman seas). I am planning to go with Raja Ampet Dive Resort for few shallow dives ( not more than 10Mdepth) and where current is not there.

With this my question is the dive school is experienced to take care of novice diver like me. Is it safe to dive in shallow depth where current is not strong.

Pl advice.

Praveen

Hello,

My husband and I are planning to stay in Raja Ampat for the week in October 2016. Do you have any updates or changes on infection disease situation? What kind of vaccination we may need?

Thanks, Evgeniya

In the event of a medical emergency requiring more than basic first aid, your only option is the same as that for local people: Make your way as quickly as possible to the hospital in Waisai. (Then on to Sorong if necessary.)

The Indian tiger spider is informally labeled with that name as a result of the stripes on its body. The scientific name for the genus is Poecilotheria, and the new species is known as Poecilotheria rajaei. As a group, they are most closely related to the group of very large South American tarantulas that includes the Goliath Bird-Eater, a foot long species of tarantula which as its name implies sometimes eats small birds.

The new spiders are generally arboreal, but from the looks of it as deforestation has been greatly reducing their habitat in recent times, they have begun to move into old and abandoned buildings. The rapid deforestation of recent years appears to be quickly pushing them towards extinction. Which is unfortunate as they are a rather distinct species.

Holy crap! I have seen this spider in Colorado, USA. We live in the mountains and I opened our garage door to see what I first thought was a grey tarantula. It was very unusual to see something like that in the mountains. It was covered in grey fuzzy hair like a tarantula and was bigger than the tarantulas I had seen in my travels. I left it alone but have been searching for what it is for several years now. It is in Colorado as well just to let people know!

The tree-dwelling spiders native to India and Sri Lanka are defined by their exceptional ability to hide. Tucked in silken retreats beneath rocks or in the hollows of ancient trees, they have discretely coexisted with locals, remaining unknown to the rest of the world.

Covered in metallic blue hairs with patches of intense saffron and bands of black and white, the peacock tarantula has an impressive track record of remaining hidden despite its striking iridescent appearance. It remains so well hidden that 102 years passed between its first two recorded sightings.

this species is from south-east india where they can be found hidden in burrows most of the day. juveniles and adults are a deep psychedelic blue. not much is known about their behaviour, but they are obligate burrowers and not heavy webbers.

blue baboons are native to socotra island, yemen. the island has a tropical desert climate and semi-desert climate with temperatures of 24-27C and humidity of 60-65%. the species won best in show 2014 at the british tarantula society exhibition and is well known for living peacefully in family groups. mother blue baboons care for their spiderlings, share food with them and protect them fiercely.

this stunning black, brown and electric blue tarantula is native to the humid tropical rainforests (humidity 70-80%) of myanmar and thailand where it burrows deep beneath the earth. adult legspan can reach 5 inches. these spiders tend to be nervous and defensive and are well known for being extremely quick. for this reason they are not recommended for new keepers.

this striking black and gunmetal blue tarantula is found in the rainforests of peru and bolivia, originally discovered in madre de dios. temperatures often reach 30C so the species often shelters beneath leaves, tree trunks and branches, or digs burrows up to 1.5m deep. compared to others in the typically skittish pamphobeteus genus, the bolivian blue leg is said to be more docile.

ceratogyrus is a tarantula genus found in southern african zimbabwe, botswana, malawi and mozambique. these tarantulas are protected by the transvaal provincial nature conservation ordinance and are well-represented in nature reserves and national parks. members of the genus are easily identified by their unusual foveal horns, which can range from pointed to blunt or forward-pointing or backward.

blue colouration evolved independently at least eight times in tarantulas. narrowband blue reflectance may be a result of a compromise between being chromatically conspicious and needing to be more difficult to detect - this is because some predators in tropical forest understories are sensitive to yellow-green wavelengths rather than blue.

the lsd earthtiger is a distinctive, ground-burrowing species from the western ghats of kerala state, india. adults are black overall with a stunning polychromatic metallic blue and purple lustre on the carapace and abdomen. these metallic spiders can be found in deep, vertical burrows in muddy embankments. fortunately this species is found within reserves like the periyar tiger reserve as well as low elevation evergreen forests and tea plantations. more info can be found here!

in the wild, b. baumgarteni (left) and b. boehmei (middle) are separated by a river, limiting their chance to naturally hybridise. in captivity however, the two have been intentionally crossed with success. many of the resulting hybrids are now sold as boehmei with many buyers not knowing that their animal is not a pure spider.

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