Fast/Arboreal Cleaning Tip. Be Patient

Pennywise

Arachnolord
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 31, 2005
Messages
661
Durn those fast/arboreal Ts like OBTs, Maculatas, Pokies etc.. When it's
time to give their enclosure a going over, do you dread trying to corral
them or detain them while your preparing and cleaning them?

I like to totally clean my spiders' habitats every few months by washing
them out, replacing the substrate etc. It cheers me up and I think in
the long run the Ts are better off for it too. The problem is that you
need to get the spider out of there and most of the terrestrials aren't
too bad to just cup out. Even if they are semi quick you can usually
coax them back down to the substrate or even cup them on the side
of the enclosure by herding them with a brush.

Then come the arboreal spiders, fast somtimes unpredictable and
jumpers too on occasion. If you have patience though this can
work and greatly reduces the chance of being bitten or have a
loose spider on your hands.

First pick a minimally furnished area to do it: Bathroom or screen in
porch work well. Carefully and methodically remove every obstacle
from their enclosure like cork bark, branches, plants, even water
dishes so their enclosure is empty except for them. Don't rush
always know where the T is so you can close it back in quickly
if that becomes necessary.

Last, and believe it or not I used a Starbucks paper coffee cup and
lid to do it this last time (just rinse it out and dry it well) or use
any cup and lid combo you have big enough for the spider, just
place the cup on it's side on the substrate with opening facing
toward the center of the tank. This is where the patience comes
in. After several mad chases around the Kritter Keeper accessing
it mainly through the top hatch, my beautiful female 5" HMAC
manage to remain uncuppable. I left the cup in there with some
self assuredness she would eventually go into the cup on her own.
The next day she remained defiantly high on the glass near the
top. 24 hours later she was totally inside the cup facing inward
I removed the top of the enclosure and snapped the lid onto the
cup.

The rest is history. She now resides in a totally clean and rinsed out
KK with all her "toys" No webbing of course, that went first so clear
that away before even starting to remove the other stuff.
 

KJE

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 21, 2004
Messages
808
Wow, that's pretty often for a cage cleaning. Every time you clean the cage it will stress out your t. I wipe mine down when they get crappy, but that isn't very often.

The only one that use to concern me was my P. regalis. Although, I learned quickly that I could just clean around her. She usually just runs back into her web hide while I wipe down the enlcosure. Of course, she's in a 10 gallon set on end so there is plenty of room. Plus, she tends to poop on the door or close to the door so I don't have to reach in where she is.
 

Brian S

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
May 29, 2004
Messages
6,526
Mine are lucky to get a cage cleaning in 2 years. Every few months is too often IMO
 

phil jones

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
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Dec 17, 2006
Messages
1,051
i agree to much to often is not good for the ( t ) all the change can upset them -- phil
 

Mina

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 4, 2005
Messages
2,136
I agree, I wipe down walls, and remove cricket remains, but I don't completely change substrate and take out the T anymore often than once a year. Unless, of course, it is in the course of rehousing a juvie or sling that has outgrown their current house.
Cleaning and moving them really stresses them out, that is why they won't eat after being cleaned or rehoused.
Try just wiping down walls and moving out remains. There really isn't a need to clean that often unless their is mold in the cage, and if that happens, clean it out and work on better ventilation.
 

Pennywise

Arachnolord
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 31, 2005
Messages
661
Never had one refuse to eat because of that. In fact the HMAC ate 2
crickets that same day. No one even mentioned that leaving the cup out
worked for them either.
 

dirk14

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 26, 2005
Messages
90
here's a tip i got not been able to use it yet bu sounds very useful for large aerboreal pokies..

4 inch diameter pvc pipe cut in a length that fits the spider put in the enclosure light up the enclosure for 24 hours or until it gets in the cut pipe.. then put a lid on bothe ends remove pipe..

to transfer back to the clean enclosure light up the pipe
 

elyanalyous

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 23, 2006
Messages
484
i tend to clean mine out once a year (generally in the summer) i do this becasue in the majority of my enclosures there are live plants, and i want to repott them, to i just do a whole change.... i'll do it more frequiently if there are problems in the tank but otherwise its min. 12 months
 

tmanjim

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 24, 2004
Messages
671
I definitely worry about cleaning to often. It will stress out the T. I think this is what killed my A. Huriana last year. The way my arboreals web, maybe once per year or so is working out fine.
 
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