What to do when your bathtub is plastic :(

LeilaNami

Arachnoking
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Jun 8, 2006
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So...exactly how am I supposed to rehouse a very angry 5" presumably Haplopelma sp. when my bathtub is plastic? I have already chased an H. mac up the wall. The Haplo is the only one of my Ts that makes me a little nervous. :wall: Mushrooms started growing in her enclosure and I need to clean it out badly. She's got a network of burrows going on in there too.
 

Ghostmooner

Arachnopeon
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Jul 2, 2010
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that's what I keep spare plastic containers for, I guide them into a holed yogart or coffee container with a lid and put them somewhere safe while I do maintanence on their terarium.
 

NikiP

Arachnobaron
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Apr 16, 2006
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I could be wrong, but I wouldn't think a Haplopelma sp. would climbs the walls quite as well as an H. mac?

You could try putting a ring of vegetable oil or petroleum jelly around the top of the tub if you're really worried.

that's what I keep spare plastic containers for, I guide them into a holed yogart or coffee container with a lid and put them somewhere safe while I do maintanence on their terarium.
Hence why the OP needs a bathtub to do it :) Once you get into the faster Ts, it's better to guide them into another cup while in a small room with all exits closed off.
 

WARPIG

Arachnoangel
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Jun 29, 2007
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Get a large clear plastic bag and put it over the entire enclosure and and coax the T into the bag. Works for any T that is too nervous for you to handle.

Plastic or porcelain, all T's can climb a tub and shower regardless of material.

PIG-
 

AvicMetEarnest

Arachnopeon
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Jul 14, 2010
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fungi ecosystem

having mushrooms in your tarantulas enclosure is not bad thing. thats just the fungus growing its own ecosystem. its harmless to your T. you must be using alot of organic substrate like eco earth. mixing eco earth coco husk and eco earth moss and alot of humitidy will cause this fungus growth. alot of people think its bad.
 

BrynWilliams

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Apr 22, 2009
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my runaways have often demonstrated that they can run up wet glass no problem, let alone a bathtub

i think a lot of the popularity of doing transfers in the bathroom/bathtub is that generally it's a smaller and less cluttered enviroment with no furniture or appliances that a T can get beneath/behind. It's definitely not because they can't climb the tub. they most certainly can :)

Warpig's plastic bag method is a big winner, i use it all the time with great success, you can incorporate half a 2l plastic bottle if you want a harder 'funnel' shape to guide the T somewhere (when you take the lid off)
 

Moltar

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Apr 11, 2007
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having mushrooms in your tarantulas enclosure is not bad thing. thats just the fungus growing its own ecosystem. its harmless to your T. you must be using alot of organic substrate like eco earth. mixing eco earth coco husk and eco earth moss and alot of humitidy will cause this fungus growth. alot of people think its bad.
I would disagree... somewhat. A small amount of mold in one or two spots may be harmless but if that mold really gets established and starts growing in larger amounts it can be pretty bad. If the T is sitting in their with mold that is producing spores it can get into their book lungs and cause some nasty problems.

That plastic bag method looks effective, just watch your fingers. I don't really use the bathtub method myself, I just take it slow and easy, try not to freak the spider too badly and have multiple catch cups, rulers, chopsticks, etc on hand. Be prepared for any contingency and whatever you do, do it in the bathroom with doors and drains closed so there's nowhere for the T to escape (bathtub or not).
 

AvicMetEarnest

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jul 14, 2010
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2
yea its fungi

I would disagree... somewhat. A small amount of mold in one or two spots may be harmless but if that mold really gets established and starts growing in larger amounts it can be pretty bad. If the T is sitting in their with mold that is producing spores it can get into their book lungs and cause some nasty problems.

That plastic bag method looks effective, just watch your fingers. I don't really use the bathtub method myself, I just take it slow and easy, try not to freak the spider too badly and have multiple catch cups, rulers, chopsticks, etc on hand. Be prepared for any contingency and whatever you do, do it in the bathroom with doors and drains closed so there's nowhere for the T to escape (bathtub or not).
yea mold is bad! not all fungi are mold and i know this from experience i have a friend that owns a petshop had it for 15 years and he has some pretty awsome fungus growing in some of his reptile and tarantula enclosures.
 

ikarus_black

Arachnopeon
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May 4, 2008
Messages
18
...easy!!

just take it easy - as someone already said- ..... don't give the poor tarantula a heart attack!
 

LeilaNami

Arachnoking
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Jun 8, 2006
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Thanks everyone! I'm going to try to use the plastic bag method. And yes, I use ecoearth as my substrate for her. She only makes me nervous because anything moves and she'll ram into the side of the container to kill it. :eek: I've watched her walk around with three crickets all at once lol. There were mushrooms but there's a lot of white threads and patches going through the front part of the container all the way down in the soil so that is why I need to clean out the substrate. The only difficulty I see with the bag method is the extensive network of burrows she has. I think I'm in for a frustrating experience :D
 
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