Sticking T's in a fridge....??

[EightLeggedFrea]

I've all about this, too. I've heard some do it when they need to move around particularly feisty species like Haplos or OBTS. But I just can't work up the courage to try it myself.

 

[D-back]

Actually I heard that it doesn't really slow them in terms of speed or aggression...BUT I did hear that it can slow their metabolism.

Two weeks ago, I've bought 2 lividum slings. I had to go for them personally. It took 10 minutes by foot. It was quite cold outside ( under 10 F ).......I tried to isolate them with not much success....When I got home, they were moving, but they were slow....I mean SLOOW.....After 2-3 hours everything was back to normal...

 

[Jojos]

Do what you want with yours but I can honestly tell you I will NEVER do this. I will try finding another way! For me it's not an option.

But I want to tell you I don't judge you at all because I'm a beginner and because I have young children, I will try to get Ts that are not too agressive...

My opinion

Edit: I think that RobC has a good method for packing any Ts. Almost the same technique for moving. You just have to check on You Tube or search for his videos on his posts here.

 

[kbekker]

Actually I heard that it doesn't really slow them in terms of speed or aggression...BUT I did hear that it can slow their metabolism.

It couldn't do one and not the other. Speed and aggression of metabolically regulated.

 

[reptist]

cooling benifits

I have used the fridge method with 100% success when breeding females that would not let a male near them, ie: L parahybana, C cyaneopubescens, and even a bitchy B vagans who was frustrated w/ a overly skittish and self concious male that kept teasing her by getting her up and then if she even shifted or moved at all he would practicly flip himself over backwards all 8 legs getting 2 or 3 steps in before touching the ground and rocketing into whatever happened to be directly in front of him when he managed to get any traction, the 3rd time he got his palp to touch the prize and flipped out again this time he managed to almost topple her as well in his panic and she took a couple steps toward him and extended her fangs well past the point of pleasure to the point where he was now going to find out what his fear was all about!

I stoped her, to her dislike, and since I had used the refrigerator method w/ success on a Salmon Pink that was hell bent on eating all the dates I managed to find her I tried it on her and after 6 mins in the kenmore the two got along much better and the breeding actualy produced a nice healthy sac.

The parahybana breeding also proved sucessful w/ the hatching of a nightmare of a sac, but I had to cool her for about 10 mins to get the results I was needing, prob cause she was so much bigger than the vagans and since these two I have also cooled (6 min), bred, and hatched an average sized GBB sac.

I have not noticed any lasting effects of the cooling and due to the fact that all three of the individuals I used it on spared the male, (the GBB and L para had both eaten at least 1 prospective mate prior to the cooling) all 3 "cooled" breedings were very direct and not at all excited or agressive, add to that 3 of 3 sucessfull sacs and I can assure you that my next man eating female will be spending some time "chillin" before I introduce even a good sized male for her to breed with.

In my case the benifits of cooling have greatly out-numbered the dangers/risks/harm of the temperature drop, except for the para. who if I had it to do over i would not breed period, I was seperating slings for 2 wks after work to get the kids ready to feed, and then feeding alone would be a 3 day process, you wont find me breeding this species again anytime soon thats for sure, just too darn many of them to justify the time and effort especialy at the low prices they fetch as slings, anyway this is just kind of another aproach/reason that cooling can be and has been used in the hobby to manage some individuals with no apparant harm to the T, PEACE. B.

 

[MadCat2k3]

Well I guess there are those that look as our T's as the same as our dogs and cats, our children, etc.

I wouldn't stick my cat in the fridge to cool it down if it was aggressive

T's will be less tolerant to major temperature shifts, and the long term effects of doing it could kill your T. Going from 28 degrees C to 5 in a very short time is going to cause problems for anything living that is not designed to adapt quickly. Someone correct me I'm wrong but T's are not designed for quick temperature difference adaptation.

But by all means, if you guys feel it helps, that's fine, and I'm sure it isn't going to do much damage if done rarely.

 

[the nature boy]

I wouldn't stick my cat in the fridge to cool it down if it was aggressive

Better to stick with the freezer.

 

[Protectyaaaneck]

I do it with my crickets when they wont stop jumping around but I wouldnt do it with my T's. For now at least. There might be a problem down the road that "might" require this method but for now I'm just gonna be happy with my little speed demons.

 

[kbekker]

Well I guess there are those that look as our T's as the same as our dogs and cats, our children, etc.

I wouldn't stick my cat in the fridge to cool it down if it was aggressive

I would hope you realize the major difference between doing this to an endotherm and doing this to an ectotherm. The fact they they are ectothermic is key in understanding their care.

 

[MadCat2k3]

I would hope you realize the major difference between doing this to an endotherm and doing this to an ectotherm. The fact they they are ectothermic is key in understanding their care.

Of course, but the comparision was not about that. It was about not doing something that I feel could "damage" my pet eventually. I would not purposely do anything that could result in something bad happening to my pet/s.

 

[Nerri1029]

I have used both.
But then packing/ handling a rare - expensive T is risky either way.

I prefer CO2 But I only used that once years ago when I was not so experienced.

I have used the cooling method but never used a refrigerator.
I just go out to the garage and do the entire packing there. ( living UP NORTH has its advantages )

MOST of the T's I've packed up or rehoused I have not needed any help other than my tube method. So I reserve the cooling or CO2 for the extreme cases.

 

[Paulie B]

Only time I feel a T should go to the fridge is when you intend to put it out of pain by putting it into the freezer. I think "cooling" them off for other reasons is totally uneccessary and somewhat cruel. Just my opinion by the way.

 

[Jmugleston]

I typically don't do this, but I had a recent cause for an exception. My wife helps me care for my ever growing collection and somehow one of her hairs got into a cage when she was feeding them. The hair was picked up with a roach and the spider somehow tied itself up in it when the hair became tangled in a food bolus. Typically I'd just restrain the T and cut the hair, but this was one of my more aggressive Poecilotheria regalis. I threw her in the fridge for about 5 minutes, not enough to really slow her down, but it was enough to give me the few seconds I needed to reach in, cut the hair, and remove it.
So unless it was absolutely needed I wouldn't put them in the fridge. Short term exposure didn't hurt this girl (from what I can tell), but for packing, cage cleaning, or transferring, I'd stay away from the fridge and just be careful.

 

[Jojos]

I typically don't do this, but I had a recent cause for an exception. My wife helps me care for my ever growing collection and somehow one of her hairs got into a cage when she was feeding them. The hair was picked up with a roach and the spider somehow tied itself up in it when the hair became tangled in a food bolus. Typically I'd just restrain the T and cut the hair, but this was one of my more aggressive Poecilotheria regalis. I threw her in the fridge for about 5 minutes, not enough to really slow her down, but it was enough to give me the few seconds I needed to reach in, cut the hair, and remove it.
So unless it was absolutely needed I wouldn't put them in the fridge. Short term exposure didn't hurt this girl (from what I can tell), but for packing, cage cleaning, or transferring, I'd stay away from the fridge and just be careful.

Now THAT is a good reason. That I understand.

 

[MadCat2k3]

Only time I feel a T should go to the fridge is when you intend to put it out of pain by putting it into the freezer. I think "cooling" them off for other reasons is totally uneccessary and somewhat cruel. Just my opinion by the way.

I think it may come down to different views of what people see in a Tarantula.

For some they are a hobby.
For otheær they are part of the family (companion/pet/whatever name you want to give it)

I don't think as a pet it can be a hobby, vice versa. Correct me if I am wrong, English is not my first language, but if one views looking after T's as a recreational activity, I suppose the rules change a lot. A pet is a bit of a bad word because it shows dominance as in ownership, but I suppose, the rules are also different. It is more of a responsibility if they are a pet and not a hobby.

For me, it all comes down to this.

As a hobby it enables people to do all sorts of things that another would view as cruel.

 

[Jmugleston]

In my experience Ts handle being cold far far better then they do being hot.

I just stuff them in the shipping container lol. Resistance is futile!

Amen.

I have used the fridge method with 100% success when breeding females that would not let a male near them, ie: L parahybana, C cyaneopubescens, and even a bitchy B vagans who was frustrated w/ a overly skittish and self concious male that kept teasing her by getting her up and then if she even shifted or moved at all he would practicly flip himself over backwards all 8 legs getting 2 or 3 steps in before touching the ground and rocketing into whatever happened to be directly in front of him when he managed to get any traction, the 3rd time he got his palp to touch the prize and flipped out again this time he managed to almost topple her as well in his panic and she took a couple steps toward him and extended her fangs well past the point of pleasure to the point where he was now going to find out what his fear was all about!

I stoped her, to her dislike, and since I had used the refrigerator method w/ success on a Salmon Pink that was hell bent on eating all the dates I managed to find her I tried it on her and after 6 mins in the kenmore the two got along much better and the breeding actualy produced a nice healthy sac.

That is hilarious.

Well I guess there are those that look as our T's as the same as our dogs and cats, our children, etc.

I wouldn't stick my cat in the fridge to cool it down if it was aggressive

Nor would I. I'd just throw it in with my retic and let the snake take care of it.


I'd be much more worried about using CO2 than using the fridge. We use CO2 to slow down the roaches in some of our entomology labs. If you're not careful and leave them in too long, you slow them down too much.....and they never move again.

Provided they don't freeze, they should be fine if cooled in the fridge for a short period of time. That is one of the many benefits of being poikilotherm.

 

[US Arachnids]

I would never put my T's in a fridge. lol my T's are worth to much money an I can't afford to lose a T for a dumb idea like that. Besides I care about my T's to much for something like that.
Hands down I dont think anyone should!

 

[Moultmaster]

original wording was fine

If someone is so bad at working with fast Ts that they have to stick them in a fridge to slow them down, they shouldn't be keeping those Ts at all.

Exactly! People who do that to their T's shouldn't be allowed to keep any animals period!

 

[Talkenlate04]

Exactly! People who do that to their T's shouldn't be allowed to keep any animals period!

That is a steaming pile of poo that holds absolutely no truth to it whatsoever.

 

[cagey]

Well I guess there are those that look as our T's as the same as our dogs and cats, our children, etc.

I wouldn't stick my cat in the fridge to cool it down if it was aggressive

Whoa. I am not supposed to be sticking my son in the refrigerator? Oops. My bad.