Bad accident, need advice

[arachnophobespiderkeeper]

So, I have my T's placed on a short side table. I also, have a cat. My cat has never, ever, jumped on the side table. Any time she attempted to, she was met with a spank on the bum and being kicked out of the room. She KNOWS. not to jump up there.

what'd she do today?

she jumped up there.

and she happened to knock over my B.Vagans sling. It fell on the floor in the container. I picked it up instantly and tried (and succeeded) in not hitting my cat for it.

I'm really worried. it fell hard enough it caved in its den and its just a little sling. it was moving, but is right now curled up. it IS still alive though, and usually curls up when scared. I'm positive its stressed out and im not quite sure what to do. Do I just leave it (after relocating it to a place my cat wont jump to) and hope it survives the night? or should I move it to a tarantula ICU? (small container with wet paper towel)

is there anything I can even do? other then punish my cat, of course.

I really hope this doesn't kill it, I heard stress can kill tarantulas and well, if anything was going to kill it stress wise, it'd be this.

 

[KezyGLA]

No ICU. Leave it in its tub with a fresh water dish. Place enclosure outwith the cats reach in future

 

[ShyDragoness]

If it was a large T I would be more concerned but given its a sling it should be alright- do NOT put it in an ICU, unless you want it to die. Leave it in its enclosure and keep and eye on it- there isnt much else you can do

 

[arachnophobespiderkeeper]

No ICU. Leave it in its tub with a fresh water dish. Place enclosure outwith the cats reach in future

only issue, is its a very small sling and therefore, a very small container. No room for a water dish. I'll put some water droplets around the outside (they tend to hang around for multiple days, so its not like they'll be gone in the next few hours)

I could always temporarily relocate her to a bigger container that can house a water dish but i dont wanna stress her out more.

 

[ShyDragoness]

only issue, is its a very small sling and therefore, a very small container. No room for a water dish. I'll put some water droplets around the outside (they tend to hang around for multiple days, so its not like they'll be gone in the next few hours)

I could always temporarily relocate her to a bigger container that can house a water dish but i dont wanna stress her out more.

Can you provide pictures of the enclosure? If water droplets hang around for afew days it sounds like you might not have great ventilation

 

[arachnophobespiderkeeper]

If it was a large T I would be more concerned but given its a sling it should be alright- do NOT put it in an ICU, unless you want it to die. Leave it in its enclosure and keep and eye on it- there isnt much else you can do

really? I thought if anything a sling would be MORE likely to die from this. Alright. I'll leave it as is, and just let it relax and de-stress on its own, and check up on it tomorrow and hope for the best. Doesn't seem like i have many other options.

 

[arachnophobespiderkeeper]

Can you provide pictures of the enclosure? If water droplets hang around for afew days it sounds like you might not have great ventilation

right now, the enclosure is a pill bottle with holes in it. I am not sure how great the ventilation is, it seems fine? i also keep the top of it slightly open since its too high for the sling to ever reach (plus they never come out of their burrow anyways). I honestly wasn't prepared to have this second sling, I got it as a freebie with no real warnings or anything, so I was just forced to take care of it or let it die (nobody i know wants T's) so I'm sorta doing the best I can with what I have available to me. I planned to transfer this T into a bigger house when I.. well, HAD a bigger house for it.

I definitely want to take the best care of my T's that I can, but not everybody can afford a fancy terrarium for slings :x sorta gotta make due till its a bit bigger.

 

[ShyDragoness]

right now, the enclosure is a pill bottle with holes in it. I am not sure how great the ventilation is, it seems fine? i also keep the top of it slightly open since its too high for the sling to ever reach (plus they never come out of their burrow anyways). I honestly wasn't prepared to have this second sling, I got it as a freebie with no real warnings or anything, so I was just forced to take care of it or let it die (nobody i know wants T's) so I'm sorta doing the best I can with what I have available to me. I planned to transfer this T into a bigger house when I.. well, HAD a bigger house for it.

I definitely want to take the best care of my T's that I can, but not everybody can afford a fancy terrarium for slings :x sorta gotta make due till its a bit bigger.

Hahaha I sure as hell cant afford a fancy terrarium for my slings! Theyre all in deli cups or smaller deli cups~ pictures would help !

 

[arachnophobespiderkeeper]

Hahaha I sure as hell cant afford a fancy terrarium for my slings! Theyre all in deli cups or smaller deli cups~ pictures would help !

alright, it'll take a moment, as its. well. an actual pill bottle of mine, and I really rather people not know the medications I take or my full (dead as well) name lol so I have to blur some things.

 

[miss moxie]

right now, the enclosure is a pill bottle with holes in it. I am not sure how great the ventilation is, it seems fine? i also keep the top of it slightly open since its too high for the sling to ever reach (plus they never come out of their burrow anyways). I honestly wasn't prepared to have this second sling, I got it as a freebie with no real warnings or anything, so I was just forced to take care of it or let it die (nobody i know wants T's) so I'm sorta doing the best I can with what I have available to me. I planned to transfer this T into a bigger house when I.. well, HAD a bigger house for it.

I definitely want to take the best care of my T's that I can, but not everybody can afford a fancy terrarium for slings :x sorta gotta make due till its a bit bigger.

There are plenty of cheap options out there. Next time you go to the grocery store, ask the deli section for a 16 oz. (the short one) deli container and lid. If they don't give it to you for free they might charge you a quarter for it or something. Or you could just buy egg/macaroni/tuna/whatever salad and transfer it into a bowl when you're home, clean it out and there is a perfectly acceptable enclosure with plenty of room for a water bottle lid as a water dish. Holes can be added with a needle held over a candle flame, or you can buy a cheap soldering iron. Just have to be careful not to make the holes too big.

 

[arachnophobespiderkeeper]

Hahaha I sure as hell cant afford a fancy terrarium for my slings! Theyre all in deli cups or smaller deli cups~ pictures would help !

this is its enclosure for the moment:

(more holes on the other side, unable to be seen from this angle tho)

and heres my poor T hiding. only its abdomen is really visible

I will admit it could probably do with some more holes, but Its not easy to put them in a container like this, which is why i keep the lid open a crack (since its way too high for a T to reach)

edit: forgot to add, it looks a bit foggy right now, as i placed it by my open window temporarily so i can easily see it/watch them. I dont plan to keep it there and its usually not fogged up, so I felt the ventilation may of been ok.

Holes can be added with a needle held over a candle flame, or you can buy a cheap soldering iron. Just have to be careful not to make the holes too big.

That is a good idea though! I may do that to add more holes to this enclosure, as its currently the perfect size for them.

 

[miss moxie]

I will admit it could probably do with some more holes, but Its not easy to put them in a container like this, which is why i keep the lid open a crack (since its way too high for a T to reach)

That is a good idea though! I may do that to add more holes to this enclosure, as its currently the perfect size for them.

Tarantulas can climb, with ease. They have tiny little claws on each foot, called tarsal claws. Here is a .25" sling, climbing up and my finger to keep them from climbing out.

 

[ShyDragoness]

this is its enclosure for the moment:

View attachment 252802 (more holes on the other side, unable to be seen from this angle tho)

and heres my poor T hiding. only its abdomen is really visible

View attachment 252803 I will admit it could probably do with some more holes, but Its not easy to put them in a container like this, which is why i keep the lid open a crack (since its way too high for a T to reach)

That is a good idea though! I may do that to add more holes to this enclosure, as its currently the perfect size for them.

I would definetly not leave the lid cracked open- Ts can climb glass(poorly) and plastic if they want to ! There is enough space for a tiny waterdish- you can use a piece of upside down lego or even a tattoo ink cap/pot(which is what I use for my slings), but if you cant find anything small enough I would move it into a delicup with a small bottle cap filled with water! As a temporary enclosure it should be fine for now- keep an eye on it and rehouse it as soon as you can!

 

[arachnophobespiderkeeper]

Tarantulas can climb, with ease. They have tiny little claws on each foot, called tarsal claws. Here is a .25" sling, climbing up and my finger to keep them from climbing out.

im well aware that tarantulas have little hook feet (which are, frankly, adorable) but I've never personally seen my T attempt, let alone succeed, in climbing up the walls. It almost never leaves its burrow and even if it did climb up, it'd need to push the lid up as well (since i only leave it open a crack and these pill bottles have very odd lids)

I mostly did it to keep alot of airflow. i may try the hot needle trick and make more holes so I can close the bottle entirely.

 

[arachnophobespiderkeeper]

I would definetly not leave the lid cracked open- Ts can climb glass(poorly) and plastic if they want to ! There is enough space for a tiny waterdish- you can use a piece of upside down lego or even a tattoo ink cap/pot(which is what I use for my slings), but if you cant find anything small enough I would move it into a delicup with a small bottle cap filled with water! As a temporary enclosure it should be fine for now- keep an eye on it and rehouse it as soon as you can!

I dont really have any lego or ink caps etc;; due to me being.. well, pretty much an adult and having no kids 'round, we have no reason to have lego. I always found that a very odd thing for people to suggest since its not a thing alot of people may have. Atleast where I live. its too expensive anyways.

Either way, I will try to move it to a small delicup or something around the same size. I never intended this container to be super long term anyways.

 

[ShyDragoness]

im well aware that tarantulas have little hook feet (which are, frankly, adorable) but I've never personally seen my T attempt, let alone succeed, in climbing up the walls. It almost never leaves its burrow and even if it did climb up, it'd need to push the lid up as well (since i only leave it open a crack and these pill bottles have very odd lids)

I mostly did it to keep alot of airflow. i may try the hot needle trick and make more holes so I can close the bottle entirely.

If you do definetly move the T out of the pill bottle before making more holes with a hot needle

 

[arachnophobespiderkeeper]

If you do definetly move the T out of the pill bottle before making more holes with a hot needle

really? I am always so confused since people keep giving me mixed signals. some people tell me that moving the T alot like that will stress it out, so I try not too. But then people say not to do it while the T is in there... it's very confusing

for now, I think im going to leave the T for a day or two and just watch it, and if it de-stresses and seems to be OK,i'll rehouse it to a bigger container that can hold a water dish.

 

[ShyDragoness]

really? I am always so confused since people keep giving me mixed signals. some people tell me that moving the T alot like that will stress it out, so I try not too. But then people say not to do it while the T is in there... it's very confusing

for now, I think im going to leave the T for a day or two and just watch it, and if it de-stresses and seems to be OK,i'll rehouse it to a bigger container that can hold a water dish.

Moving the T will stress it- but burning holes in plastic creates fumes that you might not want to expose you tarantula to- you can also risk burning/maiming the tarantula if it moves while you are making the holes

 

[arachnophobespiderkeeper]

Moving the T will stress it- but burning holes in plastic creates fumes that you might not want to expose you tarantula to- you can also risk burning/maiming the tarantula if it moves while you are making the holes

That makes sense. alright, I wanna give the T some time to relax, im worried any extra stress will do it in, and I still dont even know if it'll survive this. Is it true stress can kill a T? which is pretty much what worries me the most here.

 

[ShyDragoness]

That makes sense. alright, I wanna give the T some time to relax, im worried any extra stress will do it in, and I still dont even know if it'll survive this. Is it true stress can kill a T? which is pretty much what worries me the most here.

In some situations yes- when my mother was a child her teacher brought in their tarantula and all the children handled it, the next day it died from stress apparently. You dont need to make any immediate changes to the enclosure and its probably a good idea to give it afew days but definetly dont leave the lid cracked open- adult tarantulas can squeeze through a 1cm gap and I have no doubt your little one can probably get out through the gap if it wanted to.