*cough* missing 1/2" sling...

[Buggzter]

Thanks to my husband, my N. chromatus is loose :wall:. We got our new babies in yesterday, and Tony put all 5 in new tanks - the two 1" and the THREE .5" SLINGS! He put them in the smallest KKs, and he "plugged up" the holes for the teeny ones. But, this morning, the baby was outa there.

I think I know how - the lid can be pushed up, and he might have done that - he was tiny enough to push through that tiny slot. Tony was going to move the three teeny ones back to the vials today, but too late...

SO.... How exactly do you find something that's less then 1/2" in total length? He's the smallest T I've ever seen, though I know they start smaller, and my kitchen is big (that's where the cages were overnight). They were on the counter next to the oven, and the living room is right next to it.

Within 3' of the cage is the trash, the oven, the living room, under the hutch, and in cabnets. He had been climbing his cage and clinging to the top alot, so I'm thinking he might have even gone UP, not down...


Does anyone have any particular ideas for getting this guy back? We've plenty of sugar ants around, so he should have food wherever he is... I'm thinking we might find him in a month when he's shed a couple times. Our house is generally about 80-82*F, and we don't use pesticides period. So I think he'll have SOME chance and survival if we don't find him. Thanks for any ideas!

~Krystie

 

[JColt]

make sure he isnt buried in the dirt. When that tiny I have had them hide so well I thought they were gone. Gently dump dirt in a clear container and wait to see if something moves!

 

[harrypei]

oh man that's gonna be hard...u need bright lights, good eyes and lots of luck. try searching the corners and small hiding places around the area...:wall:

 

[dianedfisher]

I would think that one that tiny can't go far, but I lost one that was 1.5" inside a spider cabinet and didn't find it for over six weeks so "how would I know"? I agree that it may well be tunneled and still in the KK. Good luck on your recovery. Di

 

[Harrod]

I know how you feel. I just had one of my T. purpureus slings pull a vanishing act. I hope it shows up. Goodluck on recovering yours safetly.

 

[Buggzter]

not in the KK...

We're gently pulling the oven out today, hoping the poor little tyke is hiding back there and doesn't get squished on it's way out - otherwise, it'll get cooked shortly since I like using my oven! AHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! I want my teeny baby back....:wall:

 

[sweetmisery]

That sucks. Hope you find it soon... and alive. Heres hoping.

 

[TalonAWD]

I once lost a 3/4" L. parahybana. I saw the web trail but it stopped a couple of inches past its vial. What happened was I opened the vial to let the water droplets dry out and forgot about it and then went to bed!:wall: Woke up to greet my baby and it was GONE! I tore the living room apart for days but its just too small! I never found it and than I moved. So I will never know if it made it. I replaced it with another L. parahybana and it turned out to be a male. I keep thinking that the one I lost was a female dammit!
Good luck!!!

 

[robbie]

oh man that's gonna be hard...u need bright lights, good eyes and lots of luck. try searching the corners and small hiding places around the area...:wall:

my sentiments exactly, also try starting close to the cages and then work your way out. hope you find it soon.

p.s. it has hapened to me before not once but twice. it was my first avic sling (Avic minatrix) and got out thorugh the small air holes i cut into the container once and then again threw the lid, needles to say i got a deli cup for it and a small criket keeper tube inside and never lost her again. still in deli cup but no longer needs the tube she webbed the whole area now and is about 1 1/2" oh yeah i also found her really close to her cage both times so hopfully yours is close by.

 

[Rochelle]

Babies that small don't usually go very far at all... good guess is down the crack between stove and counter? DO re-check the dirt. Even when totally convinced it isn't there...lol Make sure it has access to water while loose.
We "lost" a choco way back when we were renting an old farmhouse; the landlord found it two years later - fat, healthy and all grown up (sorta ) in the basement while doing maintenance work....lolol Lucky thing was - we were just boxing things up for the move! YAY! (he was kinda pissed:razz: )
Maybe you'll get a pleasant surprise after several moults...? In Fla. you should have plenty of natural prey items in your home, even if you don't want them. (I remember when I lived in Venice, as a child.)

Hope springs eternal - good luck, hon!

 

[Buggzter]

not by the stove...

I'm not sure what to think. He's not in the blueberries (8" from the cage), not behind the stove (1' away to 3.5' away), although he could have found a crack somewhere. I'm gonna look through all the pots and silverware tonight to see if he got in the cabnet or drawer right under the cages.

And yes, we have sugar ants coming out of thin air it seems in our place - I got rid of the ant bait as soon as I knew he was gone, so he'll have mini food, plus the baby crickets that seem to get out alot... I'm hoping that if I don't find him tonight, I'll see him in a few months at a bit larger of a size.

Thanks everyone!