Escape P. regalis... I think I'm going crazy.

[Dyn]

I found out one of my adult P. regalis females got out of her cage the other day when I was feeding. Door didnt shut properly.

I'm freaking out because we watch small children at my house all the time along with my one year old whos always here. I've torn the room apart that the spiders and snakes are kept in but cant find her. We have rather large vents on the ceiling she could easily crawl into which could pretty much lead her anywhere in the house.

I have no idea what to do other than fog the house to make sure none of the kids get bit.

 

[Mez]

Look up, and in things, which i bet youve already done. Good luck, make sure you always have a catch cup on hand when looking for it!

 

[Najakeeper]

Get a flashlight, wait 'till dark and do not sleep. Wrong spider to roam around freely, especially an adult. Good luck.

 

[Dyn]

I spent all last night doing that.

I dont think I've ever been this sick to my stomach

 

[Najakeeper]

I would say take it easy but that's no option with the kids. I have kept venomous snakes for 10 years and had 1 mildly venomous coral cobra baby escape on my 3rd year or so. That snake would not be able to hurt an adult but I dreamt of death neighbor kids for days until I found the little bugger very close to her cage. So I feel for you. Keep looking to small spaces.

 

[Speedy]

Oh gosh... I don't know what to tell you other than good luck and keep going what you're doing..

I know this will sound stupid, but did you completely dismantle her enclosure so you are 100% positive?

 

[Dyn]

yea.. no way shes still in there.

 

[Spidershane1]

I hate to say this, but I think gassing the house might be in order if she does'nt show up soon. Let the kids know to be on the lookout while you search, but if nothin comes up then you might have to bugbomb.
Although no tarantula has killed anyone, even childen(that I know of), I'm sure a pokie bite to a child would not be a pretty sight. Plus if you watch other peoples kids, that could be a huge liability & some pissed off parents to boot.
For now, just have your kid sleep in a room where you KNOW the spider is not in, and when you put him to bed stuff the doorjam with a towel and tape off the a/c vents. Watch him as close as possible during the day, obviously.

Keep looking & take off all the vents and look in with flashlights, mirrors attached to sticks, etc. I would hate to have to gas one of my pets, and it will be a huge hassle to get all your critters out of there and stay at someone else house for a couple days, but the human kids have to come before the arachnid kids. I'm sure you understand.

Good luck, I hope you find her soon.

 

[SpidSquid]

Oh wow, good luck! My mom runs an in-home daycare, so I can imagine the fear if a T got out at her house; especially a P. regalis! I know when my friend's P. irminia got out, she was found three days later tucked up in a lamp shade.

 

[paassatt]

The legal implications brought up by another user should trump anything else. As much as I love tarantulas, especially one as remarkable as an adult P. regalis, there's nothing I love more than not having to defend myself in court. I couldn't imagine someone's child in my care being bitten and the consequences that would come along with that.

Hopefully the lights-off-use-a-flashlight method works for you. A couple days ago I had an adult E. murinus escape and after tearing my room apart, about 12 hours later in the late night/early morning hours, I found the rascal moving about the carpet in a corner of the room. The same room I tore apart hours earlier searching for it. The moral of the story is even if you can't find it after searching the room, there's a good chance it really is there. The buggers are crafty and good at not being found, even if they're right under your nose the whole time.

 

[Dyn]

My T/reptile room is also sort of a storage room.. two big dressers book case books piled up everywhere a gun cabnet... 6 speakers with small holes she could climb in, 4 or 5 old TV's... Theres so much theres no way to properly go through and check everything. =\ I go search for about 30 minutes get discouraged... take a break for about 10 minutes go back to looking.

 

[Draychen]

Most escapee tarantulas are found in one of three places:
#1 (MOST common): The bathroom.
#2: Behind the fridge.
#3: Under sinks

With a P. regalis, I'd suggest the bathroom and sinks to be your primary points of searching. Depending on where you live, of course. She probably wont go through your vents if you have the heater running constantly (for instance). She'll try to find someplace nice and dark and fairly cool (75 F or so) to shack up. You probably aren't going to locate her at night moving around, unless she's hungry... especially if she's already comfortable. Keeping that in mind, I'd suggest to restart your search. DEFINATELY keep the children away from the house until the matter is resolved.

IF you do have to bug-bomb the house, be wary that tarantulas are extremely hardy and resilient against most forms. It can take weeks for them to die, in which case, I have seen them display DKS-like attitudes (Not to mention the chemical can hang around long after the initial spray.. meaning the rest of your collection is at risk for a long time after returning home. IF you do have to bomb it, use something that is effective on ticks as well: those sprays will dry the tarantula out FAST). On a positive side, unless your P. regalis has a diferent attitude than all those I've seen, it'd rather run and hide than defend it's self. Extremely venemous kitten comes to mind.

Good luck!

 

[Dyn]

yea.. I really dont think she will end up biting most likely run. And stay up high.

The ac isnt always running but it has been running some. It was running when I noticed she was out.

She got out right after she had eaten... so I'm sure shes not hungry at all which is also disheartening.

 

[Spidershane1]

Yeah most regalis' aren't that bitey, but if a child rolls over onto while its sleeping, then it wont hisitate to bite. T's also like to hide in cramped secure places, such as the folds in a blanket, I'm just saying. Xhexdx woke up to find his escaped H lividum crawling on him while he was sleeping in his bed. I'm not trying to instill fear or anything, but there is the possibility.
I would go through and take EVERYTHING out of that room, one item at a time. If it takes all day, it takes all day.

 

[Dreadz]

Wow that has to suck, im sorry to hear that for you. The best thing to do is wait it out and set something out maybe a few towels pinned up high that she would feel safe to hide under. And then check them every few hours to see if she ends up taking refuge under one. Last thing I would do is gas the house cause it could possible kill you other T's, and you never know she could be right there in front of you the whole time. Hope this helps and i hope you find her.

 

[Rob1985]

Yeah most regalis' aren't that bitey, but if a child rolls over onto while its sleeping, then it wont hisitate to bite. T's also like to hide in cramped secure places, such as the folds in a blanket, I'm just saying. Xhexdx woke up to find his escaped H lividum crawling on him while he was sleeping in his bed. I'm not trying to instill fear or anything, but there is the possibility.
I would go through and take EVERYTHING out of that room, one item at a time. If it takes all day, it takes all day.

if I could think of any T I would not want crawling on me while sleeping... def. H. lividum. lol :}

 

[nesok]

Dreadz has a good idea with the towels. I would pin a couple up with folds or wrinkles, and maybe even moisten one (damp, not soaked). Good luck!

 

[xhexdx]

Xhexdx woke up to find his escaped H lividum crawling on him while he was sleeping in his bed.

Someone's been reading through my posts.

That incident did result in a bite, by the way. It's in the bite reports, which is where I assume Spidershane1 heard about it.

Anyway, here's my two blunt, to the point, cents:

If there are kids in the house, it's irresponsible to keep spiders like that anywhere that poses a risk for something like this to happen. I have two sons, one is almost 3, the other is 11 days old. The spider room has glass sliding doors that SEAL and LOCK, so if I do make a mistake, anything that escapes is contained in that room and can't get into the rest of the house.

I realize my particular setup isn't something most people have, but it's your responsibility to protect yourself, your children, and anyone else in your home against something like this from happening. Those spiders need to be in a room, cabinet, closet, or something that is sealed off from the rest of the house.

All that being said, if I were in your situation, I'd vacate and bug bomb the house. One spider isn't worth thousands of dollars in hospital bills, angry parents, cops knocking on your door, and potentially having the rest of your spiders taken away.

Don't wait. Bomb the house.

 

[Sleazoid]

All that being said, if I were in your situation, I'd vacate and bug bomb the house. One spider isn't worth thousands of dollars in hospital bills, angry parents, cops knocking on your door, and potentially having the rest of your spiders taken away.

Don't wait. Bomb the house.

Agreed, not to mention if a child were to get bit and get very sick, it would look extremely bad on the hobby.

 

[Speedy]

I have to agree. Get everything living out of the house and bomb it good. You have a baby to worry about.