Don't Make These Mistakes

[MizM]

Well, I got my first two slings in December 2002, and now I'm up to 11 of them! So, I thought I'd share some of the really stupid things I did so that those of you who are new to slings, or those of you who are thinking of slings can learn from my mistakes!! (And the rest of you can laugh, not AT me, WITH me!!)

1. Don't use anything larger than a paper clip to melt holes in the container - I just used my hole punch... not even THINKING. Well, my first little blonde, an aphonopelma sp. that I got from Swifty, vanished... duh.:?

2. Don't use TOO large of a container - I put one 3/4" sling into a plastic container about 4"x4"x2". He/she/it dug so deep that it took me 1/2 hour of V-E-R-Y C-A-R-E-F-U-L-L-Y going through each piece of vermiculite to find him/her/it. I almost had a coronary, I was scared to death, I was sure he/she/it had escaped or died!! Now, I just use salsa containers from El Pollo Loco!!

3. Never, NEVER, clean your sling's containers near the kitchen sink! If there wasn't a big fluffy mound of Dawn suds in my sink, my c. cyanopubescence would be in the sewers, eating sewer pinkies right now. Luckily, she kinda floated on the suds and couldn't run, after I wiped her off, there wasn't a trace of grease, but it could have been a disaster!!

Now... as I'm still living, I'm still learning... do any of you have any dumb sling stories that I can learn from? And... be kind to me in your posts, everyone makes mistakes!!!!!=D

 

[RugbyDave]

hey terrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrri

sorry about the Aphon loss...
at least your learned something from this right? there's always some kind of positive out of a negative experience...

also, if you use too big of a container, the sling can potentially have a hard time finding food..

any luck with the renegade sling?

my Pt.sp is still running through the walls i think.

you should post some pics of the new fellas

peace
dave!

 

[Immortal_sin]

never use a compartmentalized fishing box to store slings in...you know the kind that have one lid, with 6 little compartments?
I learned the hard way, after cutting one in half that was trying to escape while I was shutting the lid
I've also done the 'too small of a sling in too big of a container' trick too!

 

[Arachnopuppy]

Funny how your first one also happened to me just about a week ago. I used a hole puncher and I was sure that the sling was too big for the hole.

 

[Buspirone]

Here's the usumbara sling I just got. I moved it from the vial it came in into this 1.1 cup container(the lid which isn't in the picture is clear too). I drilled 1/16" holes around the top under the lip. So far so good. All the others are staying in the vials they came in until they molt.

 

[Code Monkey]

Originally posted by MizM
3. Never, NEVER, clean your sling's containers near the kitchen sink! If there wasn't a big fluffy mound of Dawn suds in my sink, my c. cyanopubescence would be in the sewers, eating sewer pinkies right now. Luckily, she kinda floated on the suds and couldn't run, after I wiped her off, there wasn't a trace of grease, but it could have been a disaster!!

You're even luckier than you realise. Had you actually gotten the sling soapy, it still probably would have died as it destroys the normal surface tension of water and lets it flood into their book lungs.

In the lab I'm in when we cull an old roach colony our "euthanasia solution" is just a bunch of hot, soapy water. It pretty much equals instant death for an invert.

 

[Olan]

My only sling problems are escapes from holes that are too big. Back when my C. cyaneopubescans was a baby he got out twice. Luckily I found him both times and no longer underestimate how small of a hole a spider can fit through.

-Olan

 

[defour]

And still more...

Good suggestions. I've got a few more.

1) Never, ever leave a lit cigarette in a tarantula cage, unless it's a real moisture-loving species like Theraphosa blondi. I made this mistake with a curly hair and it ended up a short and smelly hair.

2) Don't kiss old world T's on the lips. This is pretty much self explanatory.

3) Sleeping with a tarantula in your bed is a terrible idea, regardless of what your intentions were. You're asking for a dead tarantula, sore nether regions or a weird disease. Don't do it.

Those are all the mistakes I've made personally, but I still have to feed the spiders tonight. If I commit any new sins, I'll let you know.

Steve

 

[SpiderTwin]

One bit of advice:
Don't leave an eggsack with the mother past the incubation due date, I did this and had over 100 G. rosea slings running all over inside a kritter keeper. What a nitemare to catch them all to seperate them.

As for my onesy-twosy slings, I have done ok so far.

 

[D-Man]

I've been pretty lucky. No problems, so far. My first T's were slings and I read heavily and asked questions before hand. Thanks for sharing, Terri.

D

 

[LPacker79]

When the parahybana slings from Tony came, I had already put holes in their little condiment cups. After opening the package and seeing how tiny they were, I had to tape up the holes that were on the sides of the cups as they were way too big. The ones on the lid were the perfect size.

The moral? Don't put holes in ANYTHING until you see the size of the sling.

 

[krystal]

steve—
you are so freakin' funny!

 

[sunnymarcie]

My turn

When I was putting 1 of my Usambara slings into its new home,
I opened the vial and WOOOSH! Off like a jet it went across
the table. I had a plastic bowl handy though. I caught him.
Boy was it fun trying to get him into the new jar
And this T is only about an inch in size. I can't wait to see if
it gets faster as it gets older I think I'll name him "Lucky"

I have a cat and 2 dogs, this tiny guy would not have gotten very far

 

[chid]

My dumb sling story was trying to catch an escapee with a deli cup, I cut off the bottom 2 sections of 2 legs being to rough with the cup.
Now I would just let it run round a bit to tire it out and then get it in the cup, not try to cover it up when in hot persuit across the table.
Chid

 

[deifiler]

Originally posted by SpiderTwin
One bit of advice:
Don't leave an eggsack with the mother past the incubation due date, I did this and had over 100 G. rosea slings running all over inside a kritter keeper. What a nitemare to catch them all to seperate them.

As for my onesy-twosy slings, I have done ok so far.

I left my egg with the mother until it hatched (H.Livdium)

The only real mistake I made was about 9 years ago, I left my spider (B.Albo') container open whilst I ran to the next room to get some water, I returned to find my dog eating the poor thing

We don't have any dogs now though, but I can't help worry about how curious the cats can be...

 

[MizM]

Re: And still more...

Originally posted by defour
Good suggestions. I've got a few more.

1) Never, ever leave a lit cigarette in a tarantula cage, unless it's a real moisture-loving species like Theraphosa blondi. I made this mistake with a curly hair and it ended up a short and smelly hair.

2) Don't kiss old world T's on the lips. This is pretty much self explanatory.

3) Sleeping with a tarantula in your bed is a terrible idea, regardless of what your intentions were. You're asking for a dead tarantula, sore nether regions or a weird disease. Don't do it.

Those are all the mistakes I've made personally, but I still have to feed the spiders tonight. If I commit any new sins, I'll let you know.

Steve

O.K. Buddy, give me SOME credit for intelligence... I ALWAYS extinguish my cigarettes before dropping them in the cage!=D

Wow you guys, I don't feel so all alone now... plus, some good tips! This fishing tackle box was one of my bright ideas, but luckily I thought about what would happen if I had it filled with slings, opened it to feed, and they all started jumpng out!! But, darn, it was SUCH a cool thought!

And thank God for regeneration, I too have cut off little toesies, but failed to mention that since it's not really a fatal mistake. (Is it?!?!?)

 

[skadiwolf]

well, i haven't had any accidents yet. (KNOCK ON WOOD) i usually read up obsessively and try to ask advice on every little paranoid worry i have. it might annoy people but damn does it pay off! |D

so, suggestions & things that have worked for me:

let's see...i use rubbermaid containers with snapping lids for my slings, i use a small nail to poke holes in the tops. this works extremely well for humidity concerns. HOWEVER, be careful that they aren't in a very humid area as water droplets will begin to form inside from 100% humidity and these can just as easily drown your slings. i learned this quickly but thankfully disaster was averted as i check them like every day. lol.

um...always make sure you know where your T is (slings especially) before opening or closing the container.

killing flightless (evil) fruitflies and tiny crickets by squashing their heads will not only keep them from leaping out the T container you so carefully just placed them in, it will also keep them from scaring your adorable slings and get them to eat.

that's all i can think of at present.

 

[ithuriel]

my secret shame....
my a.genic which lived in a jar. it was starting to get much to big for the jar but wouldnt leave it. the little rascal had actaully made a burrow in this jar:? and used to bolt into it every time i opened the lid.
anyway , one day i got a little complacent and threw a cricket in. my genic came out to see what yummy treat was there for it but the cricket refused to move. after waiting for some time ( i was quite tired by the way) i decided to nudge the cricket with a biro that was handy big mistake. the little pig mistook my pen for the cricket n grabbed hold of the pen i reacted without thinking n pulled the pen out of the jar with the little pig hanging onto it by its fangs the genic then jumped n landed on the side of the jar.
i decided to try n nudge her gently back in but she wouldnt budge. i did not want to handle her because i think she was scared to death already , me also:8o but i remembered i had an empty critter keeper in the house so i went n got it , took the lid of n placed it over the jar. after five minutes she slowly crept back into the jar , then once in dived inside her burrow unhurt but a little shaken=D she has long since left her jarhome n now lives in a swanky yellow lidded critter keeper

 

[TheSpiderHouse]

A while ago I was cleaning the poop off the side wall of my Usumbara's cage, and managed to drop the cage in my lap. As my Pterror runs across my boxers, I think I squealed like a school girl. The thought of a bite in that area is a bit unpleasant. Anyway, at that time the sling was only an inch to an inch and a half, and probably couldn't break the skin, especially through boxers. However, he could have run in the fly hole and I think I would have fainted. Anyway, little bugger was a bear to track down and get back in his new home. Just thought I'd share that visual with everyone so they could laugh at me.

 

[Olan]

I had the same thing happen to me, ithuriel. I was feeding my PZB who had made a burrow in her tank. I was nudging the cricket towards her burrow with a paper clip. Suddenly she jumped out and got ahold of the clip. I was so startled that I jerked my hand away, sending her flying 10 feet across the room. Luckily she was only 1" at the time and the fall did not hurt her. I no longer underestimate her speed.

-Olan