Introduction: Grammostola rosea (Chilean rose tarantula) is a common exotic pet belonging to the Theraphosidae (tarantula) family. Case reports of theraphosid bites in adults commonly describe local tissue damage and local pain. Muscle spasms have also been described as a result of the bites but are rarer. We present a case of severe and persistent muscle spasms after a G rosea bite, which is uncommonly reported in the literature.
\nCase Report: A 42-year-old woman was holding a G rosea tarantula when she was bit on the forearm. Within hours, severe local muscle cramping occurred. Due to worsening cramping, she initially presented to the emergency department the day after the bite, and again on the following day. She was admitted on her second visit and treated with diazepam, cephalexin, diphenhydramine, baclofen, cefpodoxime, doxycycline, prednisone, and topical hydrocortisone. Her laboratory testing was unremarkable, and while medical management may have mildly improved her symptoms, painful cramping persisted. After discharge, her paroxysmal muscle cramping continued for four weeks before completely resolving.
\nConclusion: While local tissue damage and pain are common, G rosea bites may lead to severe muscle cramping that persists for weeks. Standard laboratory testing may be completely normal in these cases. Muscle cramps may be persistent and are difficult to manage.
\n","language":null,"license":{"name":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0","short_name":"CC BY 4.0","text":"Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.\r\n\r\nNo additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0"},"keywords":[{"word":"tarantula"},{"word":"Grammostola rosea"},{"word":"Envenomation"},{"word":"muscle cramp"}],"section":"Case Reports","is_remote":true,"remote_url":"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/33z5m3xx","frozenauthors":[{"first_name":"Brian","middle_name":"Thomas","last_name":"Gooley","name_suffix":"","institution":"Minnesota Poison Control System, Minneapolis, Minnesota","department":""},{"first_name":"Kirk","middle_name":"","last_name":"Hughes","name_suffix":"","institution":"Minnesota Poison Control System, Minneapolis, Minnesota","department":""},{"first_name":"Mark","middle_name":"","last_name":"Gooley","name_suffix":"","institution":"Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota","department":""},{"first_name":"Daniel","middle_name":"","last_name":"Keyler","name_suffix":"","institution":"University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota","department":""},{"first_name":"Richard","middle_name":"","last_name":"Vetter","name_suffix":"","institution":"University of California Riverside, Riverside, California","department":""},{"first_name":"Jon","middle_name":"","last_name":"Cole","name_suffix":"","institution":"Minnesota Poison Control System, Minneapolis, Minnesota","department":""}],"date_submitted":"2024-06-24T14:15:13.869000Z","date_accepted":"2024-11-19T16:49:20.804000Z","date_published":"2025-05-28T18:32:00Z","render_galley":null,"galleys":[{"label":"PDF","type":"pdf","path":"https://journalpub.escholarship.org/uciem_cpcem/article/24973/galley/38478/download/"}]}