How fast after dying do I have to preserve in Alcohol

[FC360]

My cyaneopubescens chromatopelma died today and I'd like to preserve her by placing her in a jar with 70% alcohol but I don't have any so need to get some and it seems I will have to order it online however, is it ok to leave the poor dead body for a couple of days until the alcohol arrives or do I have to do it right away?

Sorry if I sound insensitive, this is quite a shock to me and I'm really sad that she died and would like to preserve her as she's my first Tarantula

 

[Vanessa]

Sorry for your loss. Ideally, they should go into the alcohol immediately. She will be start decomposing immediately. The only thing I can suggest is that you put her in a baggy, or something, and put her into the freezer. That might help preserve her until the alcohol comes in.
How did she die?

 

[FC360]

Sorry for your loss. Ideally, they should go into the alcohol immediately. She will be start decomposing immediately. The only thing I can suggest is that you put her in a baggy, or something, and put her into the freezer. That might help preserve her until the alcohol comes in.
How did she die?

I'm not sure, the only thing that I can think of is that she got too stressed but I'm not sure what was stressing. She was stressed for a week and I was told to just leave her as she was just settling into the enclosure. I only got her on 10th September

 

[Vanessa]

I'm not sure, the only thing that I can think of is that she got too stressed but I'm not sure what was stressing. She was stressed for a week and I was told to just leave her as she was just settling into the enclosure. I only got her on 10th September

They don't die from stress. It must have been something else.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

My cyaneopubescens chromatopelma died today and I'd like to preserve her by placing her in a jar with 70% alcohol but I don't have any so need to get some and it seems I will have to order it online however, is it ok to leave the poor dead body for a couple of days until the alcohol arrives or do I have to do it right away?

You don't have a pharmacy in your area where you can pick up a couple of pints of rubbing alcohol?

As @Vanessa said though, put it in the freezer ASAP then put it in the alcohol while it is still frozen. It will thaw and dehydrate at the same time. If you wait too long before putting it in the freezer or in alcohol, your dead tarantula will either start decomposing and stink really bad or air dry. You want to get it preserved before that happens.

If you never preserved a tarantula in alcohol before, then keep in mind it will lose it colors quite quickly. Your C. cyan. will turn black and brown within a week. The alcohol will turn brown and dirty too and will need to be replaced until the fluid stays clear.

 

[FC360]

You don't have a pharmacy in your area where you can pick up a couple of pints of rubbing alcohol?

As @Vanessa said though, put it in the freezer ASAP then put it in the alcohol while it is still frozen. It will thaw and dehydrate at the same time. If you wait too long before putting it in the freezer or in alcohol, your dead tarantula will either start decomposing and stink really bad or air dry. You want to get it preserved before that happens.

If you never preserved a tarantula in alcohol before, then keep in mind it will lose it colors quite quickly. Your C. cyan. will turn black and brown within a week. The alcohol will turn brown and dirty too and will need to be replaced until the fluid stays clear.

Ok that's where my confusion is as I kept trying to find rubbing alcohol but nowhere knew what it was however since you mentioned pharmacy I discovered here it''s called Surgical spirit which is a odd name for it to me lol. I will be getting some as soon as the shop opens

As for the loosing colors I knew the Alcohol would become discolored but I wasn't 100% sure about the actual tarantula but I don't mind that I just want to preserve my first Tarantula so I always remember her. I'm assuming I will need to replace the alcohol a couple of times before it stays clear so I'm well prepared to do that

Thank you for the information

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

Ok that's where my confusion is as I kept trying to find rubbing alcohol but nowhere knew what it was however since you mentioned pharmacy I discovered here it''s called Surgical spirit which is a odd name for it to me lol. I will be getting some as soon as the shop opens

As for the loosing colors I knew the Alcohol would become discolored but I wasn't 100% sure about the actual tarantula but I don't mind that I just want to preserve my first Tarantula so I always remember her. I'm assuming I will need to replace the alcohol a couple of times before it stays clear so I'm well prepared to do that

Thank you for the information

I just noticed you are in the UK and your mention of "surgical spirit" reminds me of when I first learned this stuff. The best guides for preserving spiders and other soft bodied arthropods comes from the UK and it took me forever to figure out "spirit" is another word for "alcohol" and "surgical spirit", specifically, translates to "isopropanol" in the US. You guys over there also have so many different types of "spirits", some need a permit; others without, it drove me crazy trying to figure what I needed for myself!

I also wanted to mention that it would be a good idea to drop a card with some info about your tarantula into the jar of alcohol. Some basic details like species, gender, when you bought it, when it died and/ or when you put it in alcohol. Years from now, it will be nice to look at the label and see how old it is. If you choose to include a label, there are some criteria for that too.

Labels need to be made of cotton paper. In the US, this is sold in office supply stores as "cotton resume paper" and comes with a "100% cotton" label on the package. Cut a square piece from a sheet then write whatever details you want with an average pencil. India ink is best, but your average pencil works too. Cotton, graphite (pencil lead), and India ink does not break down in alcohol. Although the pencil will fade over time, it won't be completely illegible. Regular white printer paper, ink from pens, and ink from printers will all break down in alcohol and ruin your nicely preserved specimen. Be sure to place the label in the jar with the writing facing outward so you can read it without opening the jar.

 

[FC360]

I just noticed you are in the UK and your mention of "surgical spirit" reminds me of when I first learned this stuff. The best guides for preserving spiders and other soft bodied arthropods comes from the UK and it took me forever to figure out "spirit" is another word for "alcohol" and "surgical spirit", specifically, translates to "isopropanol" in the US. You guys over there also have so many different types of "spirits", some need a permit; others without, it drove me crazy trying to figure what I needed for myself!

I also wanted to mention that it would be a good idea to drop a card with some info about your tarantula into the jar of alcohol. Some basic details like species, gender, when you bought it, when it died and/ or when you put it in alcohol. Years from now, it will be nice to look at the label and see how old it is. If you choose to include a label, there are some criteria for that too.

Labels need to be made of cotton paper. In the US, this is sold in office supply stores as "cotton resume paper" and comes with a "100% cotton" label on the package. Cut a square piece from a sheet then write whatever details you want with an average pencil. India ink is best, but your average pencil works too. Cotton, graphite (pencil lead), and India ink does not break down in alcohol. Although the pencil will fade over time, it won't be completely illegible. Regular white printer paper, ink from pens, and ink from printers will all break down in alcohol and ruin your nicely preserved specimen. Be sure to place the label in the jar with the writing facing outward so you can read it without opening the jar.

Yeah the whole spirits thing here is very confusing especially since we have petroleum spirits and alcohol based spirits and sometimes the bottles don't mention what it contains.

I never thought of putting a label in the jar with it, I was just going to print of a sticker with the species, sex, birth day (approx anyway), when I got her and then when she passed away. I'll have a look and see if I can find the paper and ink you mentioned though