Aussies left 'gasping' over toddler's adopted huntsman spider
He loved the spider so much he named it and took it to daycare for show and tell.
An Aussie toddler has given over a million people a giant shock after proudly flaunting a surprise inhabitant inside his bug catcher.
Kaila Renee Long shared the viral video of her three-year-old son, Dallas, bringing his small plastic bug catcher over to her, full of pride as he said, "look what I got. [A] spider".
"Where's the spider?" Kaila Renee queries, because at first glance there only seems to be small beetles in the catcher. Then, without warning, a large huntsman spider that had been hiding at the top of the catcher appears — curled snuggly under the toddler's hands.
"He has always loved bugs and all animals [so] I was not shocked. He has brought worse things into the house," Kaila Renee told Yahoo News Australia, the only one unfazed by the surprising reveal.
"He was really wanting to take it in [to daycare] for show and tell. The kids were very excited to meet Skyder the Spider — Dallas has named it".
Audible gasps of horror follow spider reveal
The spider appearing mid-video startled many on TikTok, who, unlike Dallas' mum, did not expect a spider of this size.
"The way I just gasped," one person said.
"I was absolutely the furthest thing possible from ready. My heart just aged 40 years," another shared.
"'Wheres the spider?' *looks up to see massive huntsman* is every Australian's canon event," a third commented.
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Spider now lives in terrarium with family
According to Kaila Renee, Dallas has always been a bug-lover and has caught giant grasshoppers, stick bugs and other insects which he has also taken in to his daycare before.
Unlike other catches before though, Skryder the spider found a special place in Dallas' heart and he didn't want to let it go.
"We have now set up a terrarium, as Dallas was refusing to let us release it," Kaila Renee said.
The family are now getting bark and other supplies to make the perfect little home for Skryder.
Do you have a spider story? Contact reporter Laura Koefoed at laura.koefoed@yahooinc.com
'Harmless' huntsmans are a common Aussie housemate
It's not hard to guess that the spider is a huntsman based on how it looks and it's size. Mark Elgar, Professor in Evolutionary Biology and Animal Behaviour at the University of Sydney previously told Yahoo that huntsmans in Australia are generally big, dinner plate sized spiders that look like this.
Most Australians in the comments quickly figured this out too.
"Huntsmans are actually fairly harmless. They are just big and look scary. I would much rather have these in my house than other spiders," one commenter shared.
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