Bad luck with H. Mac slings, any advice?

[blooms]

I don't know what it is. I usually order my Ts as slings. I've successfully unpacked 5 pokies, 1 l. violaceopes, 1 c. schotedei, 1 s. philipinus, and 1 a. versicolor. All but my two most recent pokie slings have grown to maturity. My two pokie slings are doing well too. However, for some reason, I have killed both H. Mac slings that I have bought during unpacking. The first one took off and as I tried to put a cup over it, it got smooshed under the edge. The second one got smooshed under the tweezers in a plastic bag as I tried to move it. The thing is that I was watching it fairly carefully when moving it and I never saw it under the tweezers. I don't know if it's their speed(although I know that pokies are very fast and I've never had a problem with them), size (both H. Macs were 1.5 cm slings and all but my s. philipinus were over 3 cm when i bought them) or just an irrational fear on my part (see how i do with the 3 cm s. calceatum sling I have coming).

Here's my unpacking technique. Please feel free to comment if you have a better method. I take the vial and put it in a zip lock bag. Then I zip the bag and unscrew the vial lid. I poke a thin bamboo skewer into the bag to open the paper towel. Then i try to get the sling into one of the corners of the bag and I use tweezers to seal it off from the rest of the bag. I then open the bottom and let the vial and paper fall out and place the zip lock over the container that I'm moving it into. I secure the bottom with a rubber band, slide the lid to the side of the container, then release the tweezers and coax the spider into the container and then slide the lid back on.

Like I said this method has worked for all my slings except the H. Macs. Is it the species, the speed, the size or just me? Any advice would be appreciated.

J

 

[spiderworld]

Just unravil the paper towel in your hand,untill you see where the T is
then point the end that it will run out of into its 'home' then coacs it to run out!
& into its new home. experiance will help through the years

 

[SentinelPokie]

Useful way

See in my opinion that is kind of bad wat u should to is get a plastic tub or in a bathtub and simply pull it out cuz when you put in a bag u risk many bad things happening but sorry to hear bout the h macs wish u luck

 

[AmbushArachnids]

Sounds like the bag is hindering your unpackaging. I just pull out the tissue and let them run right out into a large deli. Sometimes they run all over me but no big deal. If i get some fast little boogers i usually unpack with my shirt off so they cant climb into my shirt and get squashed. I usually do my unpackaging over my bed where there is places for them to hide if they run. Then i usually lift up the blanket and they are right there to coax into a vial. I am more worried about there safety than my own, I dont really care if they bit me. Ill live.

 

[spiderworld]

Sounds like the bag is hindering your unpackaging. I just pull out the tissue and let them run right out into a large deli. Sometimes they run all over me but no big deal. If i get some fast little boogers i usually unpack with my shirt off so they cant climb into my shirt and get squashed. I usually do my unpackaging over my bed where there is places for them to hide if they run. Then i usually lift up the blanket and they are right there to coax into a vial. I am more worried about there safety than my own, I dont really care if they bit me. Ill live.

Sounds like a big job! its not open heart surgery, if you can
coax it off your bed into the vial, why not just caox it strait
into the vial from the start!? like ive done with hundreds with no prob!

Sweet!

 

[AmbushArachnids]

Sounds like a big job! its not open heart surgery, if you can
coax it off your bed into the vial, why not just caox it strait
into the vial from the start!? like ive done with hundreds with no prob!

Sweet!

Well when ever i try to go from vial to vial i get them running up my arm. I get them on my bed so they dont go flying up into my armpit. Its hard to get those pokies and avics off your back.

 

[spiderworld]

Well when ever i try to go from vial to vial i get them running up my arm. I get them on my bed so they dont go flying up into my armpit. Its hard to get those pokies and avics off your back.

Lol! you need to get into the mind of a tarantula, then you will
be able to antisapate its every move, lesson one my son lol

 

[Dangergirl]

Just unravil the paper towel in your hand,untill you see where the T is
then point the end that it will run out of into its 'home' then coacs it to run out!
& into its new home. experiance will help through the years

This is what I do, and I'm a noob

 

[spiderworld]

This is what I do, and I'm a noob

You have done well! you have been in the mind af a tarantula!? fantastic
lol

 

[AmbushArachnids]

If i was to get into the mind of a tarantula, id first have to max out my credit cards on roaches and crickets.. Then fill my room with coco fiber and become anti social.

 

[Anubis77]

When all else fails, I just toss the vial into the larger container and let the spider do whatever. Helped me rehouse a Haplopelma hainanum, though it commandeered the vial into its burrow.

They're hard to kill husbandry-wise at least.

 

[mcluskyisms]

I just sit in the front room where there's lots of space and open the vile and gently pull the tissue out, once its out I open it up slowly with my fingers or you could use tweezers if your worried etc, another tip is to always have the container where your going to keep the sling in ready and prepared next to you with the lid off....

 

[Dangergirl]

You have done well! you have been in the mind af a tarantula!? fantastic
lol

Yup, part of my morning mediatation !! Think like a spider ...
My friends have told me I've become very anti-social of late ...:?

 

[spiderworld]

Yup, part of my morning mediatation !! Think like a spider ...
My friends have told me I've become very anti-social of late ...:?

Then you are doing great! keep up the good work! lol

 

[blooms]

Well my wife saw how distraught I was over losing my H. Mac sling and surprised me by ordering one more. I'm a little worried about unpacking, but I'm going to take your good advice into account. I won't use the bag. Instead I'll do the unpacking in a big plastic bin and point the opening of the vial into the new enclosure. How far could a 1.5 cm or 2 cm sling go before stopping to catch its breath? If it does stop, how long do they stop for? Do I even have to worry about getting bit? Could a 1.5 or 2 cm H. mac even penetrate my skin? If it did, could it inject enough venom for all 150 kilograms of me to feel it?

 

[AmbushArachnids]

Well my wife saw how distraught I was over losing my H. Mac sling and surprised me by ordering one more. I'm a little worried about unpacking, but I'm going to take your good advice into account. I won't use the bag. Instead I'll do the unpacking in a big plastic bin and point the opening of the vial into the new enclosure. How far could a 1.5 cm or 2 cm sling go before stopping to catch its breath? If it does stop, how long do they stop for? Do I even have to worry about getting bit? Could a 1.5 or 2 cm H. mac even penetrate my skin? If it did, could it inject enough venom for all 150 kilograms of me to feel it?

I personaly wouldnt worry about a bit from a .5" h. mac. There is a bite report for one that small. Not near as bad as an adult bite. And sometimes they dont even inject venom. I have held lots of different Ts and never been bit. Even an adult P. murinus after a good threat display Guess i really dont care if i get bit or not. I somehow wlecome it.. Maybe im crazy :? Crickey.. Its just the crocodile hunter in me i guess. ;P

 

[groovyspider]

I personaly wouldnt worry about a bit from a .5" h. mac. There is a bite report for one that small. Not near as bad as an adult bite. And sometimes they dont even inject venom. I have held lots of different Ts and never been bit. Even an adult P. murinus after a good threat display Guess i really dont care if i get bit or not. I somehow wlecome it.. Maybe im crazy :? Crickey.. Its just the crocodile hunter in me i guess. ;P

ha would love for ya to meet my g.rosea all i gotta do is look in the cage ( checking on her,checking water pputting in food) aand she throws up her legs but i love her she was my first

 

[blooms]

I was in my kitchen yesterday and I had an idea. I make my own mead, which uses lots of honey. I have lots of empty honey containers lying around. I realized that the empty honey containers are big enough to hold both the vial and the new container.

I'm thinking about a new unpacking plan: to open the vial and place it and the new container in the empty honey container. Then cover the honey container with plastic wrap to prevent escape. Then I can watch and wait for the spider to climb into it's own new home, before removing the plastic wrap and putting the lid on. If he's taking his sweet old time, I can insert a thin bamboo skewer through the plastic wrap to help convince him to run in. I think this would minimize chances of escape or being bitten as well as the chance of me accidentally killing him.

What do you think?

By the way, my peach of a wife just informed me that she not only ordered me a 1.5 cm H. mac sling, but also a 3 cm S. calceatum sling and a 5 cm P. cambridgei sling. What a lucky guy I am.

 

[flyguycolorado]

If it has you that worked up about moving do this. make that new enclosure just bigger than the vial, open the vial take the top "paper towel/cloth" off and put it into the bigger of the two, put the lid on it, let the T come out "may only take few minutes" then when it finds a spot in its new ‘home’ take the vial out. easy easy easy...

 

[blooms]

My new slings just arrived. H. mac, S. calceatum and P. cambridgei. Can't wait to unpack em. Hope I do a better job this time.