frozen spider

[Widowman10]

i've got a question about preserving a spider. i recieved a P. lugardi in the mail about 2 months ago, with a badly burst abdomen. she was on her way out, so i decided to try and preserve her b/c she was beautiful! so, i stuck her in the freezer and let her die quickly. my question is, how do i now preserve (or try to) this spider. she's about 3 inches and been in the freezer for almost 2 months now. if i've already frozen her, is it too late to re-position (since she's in a death curl)?

 

[JMoran1097]

you would seriously try to preserve a T with a badly burst abdomen?



secondly, if you tried to reposition her after being frozen for so long, you'd probably break a leg or two. not the greatest idea.

 

[verry_sweet]

A lot of people preserve their T after they pass. I have no experience with it so I cant give any advice.

Widowman good luck.

 

[Ted]

i mount hundreds of arachnids...even with burst abdomens.
you will need to thaw it out.. but first get a medium thick hypodermic needle, a few insect pins,a cotton ball,tweezers, and a thing of superglue gel.
use the needle to suck out remaining stomach contents, if any.
pack the inside with the cotton ball, squeeze the glue over the cotton ball..take the tweezers and try to pull together the edges of the tear, if possible..glue the edges and hold still for a minute or two...the body abdomen should hold to the cotton ball as well inside.
if successful at this stage you can clean out your needle and suck up some glue in the needle.and inject the cavity well.

let dry and then position the legs etc as you desire..preferably mounted using a number two insect pin...whichj you can usually get at a hobby store like michaels or hobby lobby.

i hope this helps.

you can see a Blondi i mounted that way..it had a large hole in its abdomen as well..it is the one to the right in this picture..near the mantids.
it came out very nice, and i do that with black widows, solfugids, etc.

 

[Goomba]

Go to Michael's, the crafts store. In the adhesive and clay section they have a clear plastic caste that you make yourself and pout over stuff. I forgot what it's called, but I'd give it a shot. If not, I'd just dry it and pin it up somewhere.

 

[Widowman10]

A lot of people preserve their T after they pass. I have no experience with it so I cant give any advice.

Widowman good luck.

i mount hundreds of arachnids...even with burst abdomens.
you will need to thaw it out.. but first get a medium thick hypodermic needle, a few insect pins,a cotton ball,tweezers, and a thing of superglue gel.
use the needle to suck out remaining stomach contents, if any.
pack the inside with the cotton ball, squeeze the glue over the cotton ball..take the tweezers and try to pull together the edges of the tear, if possible..glue the edges and hold still for a minute or two...the body abdomen should hold to the cotton ball as well inside.
if successful at this stage you can clean out your needle and suck up some glue in the needle.and inject the cavity well.

let dry and then position the legs etc as you desire..preferably mounted using a number two insect pin...whichj you can usually get at a hobby store like michaels or hobby lobby.

THANK YOU ALL!!!! the info helps!

couple of questions though, ted:
1. when the T "thaws", will it become flexible enough to freely manipulate without damage, i.e. legs not breaking etc?
2. if i don't have a hypo needle, can i scrape stomach contents out through tear?
3. do you just hold edges together while you glue, and they hold?
4. anything special for drying conditions? or just leave it out? (i tried to preserve a wolf and it did not turn out )
5. is there something you prop the T up on so it dries natural-looking instead of all smashed with the legs looking funny?
6. how do you get the fangs to do that?!?!?!
7. sorry for all the questions...

 

[Ted]

THANK YOU ALL!!!! the info helps!

couple of questions though, ted:
1. when the T "thaws", will it become flexible enough to freely manipulate without damage, i.e. legs not breaking etc?
2. if i don't have a hypo needle, can i scrape stomach contents out through tear?
3. do you just hold edges together while you glue, and they hold?
4. anything special for drying conditions? or just leave it out? (i tried to preserve a wolf and it did not turn out )
5. is there something you prop the T up on so it dries natural-looking instead of all smashed with the legs looking funny?
6. how do you get the fangs to do that?!?!?!
7. sorry for all the questions...

no worries..my pleasure to try to help.
1) yes..it will become flexible..no worries..just test it..when it feels like its freshly dead, that is just right..just be gentle with it, and you should be fine..
2)you ''could'' scrape out the contents..it might be risky with a previous injury already...but if you are careful you could do it with a dental tool or something similar..just work steadily and carefully.
3]you can holdthe edge together with the forceps while gluing it..just dont force it..if its not gonna fit, its not gonna fit..the reason i mentioned putting glue over the cotton ball before that step, was so that when you are holding the skin together it will also be sticking to the cotton ball, and will help hold it place in a fairly good position.
4)I find a dust free dry area to cure mine..i often will just put them in the oven[not on on the foamboard and leave them a week..its dry in there and is safer than leaving them around the garage where mice or flies,etc things may damage them...for most inverts, a good week of dying is needed.
5]as far as mounting it in a natural position..i use insect pins..one through the center and position the body and legs the way i like it and let it dry like that.[excercise the legs the way i mentioned for the fangs..when they feel limber..they are ready..but no forcing]
6]before mounting the spider i will use forceps, or even larger needles to gently loosen the fangs[think of it as excercising them..untill they feel flexible..then proceed with the mounting process, positioning the teeth in the end, using a cross pinnning technique.
7]i know this all sounds like longwinded jibber jabber..but its really an art, and will certainly take a bit of practice..not many people do it perfect on their first attempt..but with a little care, you can come close.
8) keep in mind, that, mounting soft bodied inverts is tricky and tedious at best..its not a perfect science, in fact...but it can yield some really nice results and there is lots of room for new ideas and techniques.

i hope this is helpful some!

 

[Ted]

here is another large specimen i mounted that way, ,...this spider was so huge i had to use a number 7 pin!
note the nice natural leg positioning and nice full, natural body and legs..looks alive a year later!
oh..and wanted to tell you..when the specimen is completely dry , i spray them with non aerosol hairspray ..a few thorough coats will do...this helps preserve color, a tad, and hairs,etc alot..

 

[Widowman10]

thanks again man, i really appreciate it!! :worship:

 

[beetleman]

:clap: wow! that's way cool,i luv it,awesome stuff as always,yeah widowman good luck on that it will be cool if you can a little preserved collection going

 

[Ted]

thanks again man, i really appreciate it!! :worship:

anytime..and i hope it will come in handy.

 

[forhorsmn]

This is the resin that you can buy at Michaels.

 

[Goomba]

Thats the stuff. I always wondered how it would work for T's and other inverts.

 

[Ted]

Thats the stuff. I always wondered how it would work for T's and other inverts.

can be super tough to get correct.
gets air buble trapped under legs, etc, very easily..can be tricky to avoid that..also the specimen can get displaced and out of position if you're not careful.
but it, like all else worthwhile, take a bit of practice.

 

[JMoran1097]

yeah, i guess it IS possible then. i wouldn't wanna work with casting resin, but to each his own. i stand corrected and best of luck.

 

[Widowman10]

yeah, i guess it IS possible then. i wouldn't wanna work with casting resin, but to each his own. i stand corrected and best of luck.

thank you!

 

[Ted]

yeah, i guess it IS possible then. i wouldn't wanna work with casting resin, but to each his own. i stand corrected and best of luck.

you were right.. its just that extreme care has to be taken..although most broken legs etc can be pretty easily fixed with super glue gel, or elmers.

i work with castiing resin alot..but only to cast my sculptures in.
i have cast in clear before..but it is a one shot deal..once you make it, it sets up fairly quick and you better have everything just right!

 

[zimbu]

Very interesting read...

Is there any chance we could get a topic like this stickied somewhere? Not even neccessarily on the tarantula forum, just somewhere on the site. I'd love to try my hand at this at some point in the future, but I've never been exactly sure how it's done.

 

[bonesmama]

I've used resin before for molts- check it out-
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=45151
It's stinky and as stated, a bit difficult to work with, but the effort is worth it to me. I would like to try some other products than the Castin Craft, though- there are a lot of things I didn't like about it.

 

[phil jones]

:clap: :clap: :clap: a very interesting read and i enjoyed it all thanks for posting it:worship: :worship: :worship: phil