Has anyone lost a T while rehousing it?

user 666

Arachnobaron
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I was just transferring a P. ornata to its new enclosure today when it apparently vanished.

Edit: It is a 1" juvenile, and yes i do maintain a good working environment.

I did not see it escape, but I also can't say for sure that it went into the new enclosure when I transferred the substrate (I like to make the new home smell like the old).

Has anyone had that happen?
 
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EulersK

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So... did you find your spider? o_O You seem awfully calm about losing a pokie.

But no, that's never happened to me. Rehousing would be the most difficult time for a spider to get out of my sight, personally.
 

Chris LXXIX

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Ah ah, that's the nightmare scenario of wife/ladies - husbands/boyfriends that aren't into T's unlike their other half :-s

You should watch btw in the new enclosure, since you aren't sure. The rest is the usual story: search.

No, never happened to me as well.
 

cold blood

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Transferring the substrate?? For smell?? Seems pretty pointless.

Nope, never lost a t in a transfer...I do that in the tub where I have space and nothing to hide a t.

Good luck with the retrieval of your ornata, not a t I'd want wandering about the house.
 

TownesVanZandt

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Eh, I have seen some tarantulas bolting out of their old enclosures while digging them out in order to rehouse them. But, of course, I have never had one "vanishing" as you put it. How do you rehouse your spiders? Do you simply toss the contains of the old enclosure into the new one?
 

Rittdk01

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I had my lone pokie run out of his enclosure and on to the bottom when rehousing. I stayed calm and gently nudged him up the side and he ran in. No offense, but I don't know how you could lose one? I keep my eyes on the spider 100% of the time when rehousing or cleaning.
 

Rittdk01

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Just read the other thread. Maybe the pokie and the curly are making a prison break together?
 

user 666

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Eh, I have seen some tarantulas bolting out of their old enclosures while digging them out in order to rehouse them. But, of course, I have never had one "vanishing" as you put it. How do you rehouse your spiders? Do you simply toss the contains of the old enclosure into the new one?
Mostly I do it at my desk, where i can have a clean sightline.

In this case it was a pill vial. I removed the leaf, noted the T slipping into the substrate, and set the leaf aside. I then started scooping out the substrate bit by bit in the hopes of exposing the T. I didn't see him, so I started transferring the substrate wholesale.

Usually i would put barely any substrate in the new enclosure, and stop once the T was transferred. This time I never saw the T.

It is weird, I know.
 

cold blood

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Mostly I do it at my desk, where i can have a clean sightline.

In this case it was a pill vial. I removed the leaf, noted the T slipping into the substrate, and set the leaf aside. I then started scooping out the substrate bit by bit in the hopes of exposing the T. I didn't see him, so I started transferring the substrate wholesale.

Usually i would put barely any substrate in the new enclosure, and stop once the T was transferred. This time I never saw the T.

It is weird, I know.
Ahh, so it was a wee one...yeah they can get into just about anything in a blink. I was picturing my 7.5" ornata.
 

cold blood

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it was under an inch across.
If you find it...or next time, its best just to start a pokie right off in a 32oz deli cup. Not only does it provide the space for it to grow to around 3", but you will never need to re-house it as a tiny, super fast, yet fragile little sling. Fast ts, especially arboreals, do just fine in larger enclosures, even at 2i.
 

user 666

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If you find it...or next time, its best just to start a pokie right off in a 32oz deli cup. Not only does it provide the space for it to grow to around 3", but you will never need to re-house it as a tiny, super fast, yet fragile little sling. Fast ts, especially arboreals, do just fine in larger enclosures, even at 2i.
It was going into an AMAC box (4x4x5). So yes, I was thinking along the same lines.
 

Trenor

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It was going into an AMAC box (4x4x5). So yes, I was thinking along the same lines.
I would recommend the delis over the AMAC boxes for pokies. They like to go down when they hide where as Avics tend to go up. You don't want a pokie running out the bottom of your box when you open it.
 

user 666

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I would recommend the delis over the AMAC boxes for pokies. They like to go down when they hide where as Avics tend to go up. You don't want a pokie running out the bottom of your box when you open it.
See, this post is part of why I joined this forum. I know how little I know. Thanks!

And don't worry; I made this enclosure with the lid on the top. I had noted that it ran down, not up, so I made the new enclosure to suit.

And I also got lucky with the missing Ornata; it was in the new enclosure all the time. I just now spotted it.
 

Walker253

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I lost a P irminia sling on a shipment I received. FedEx was 2 hours late and I was late for work. It was a freebie, I got careless, and broke every rule I have. Poof! It was gone. The area lost it in literally had an infinite amount of hiding places withing a few feet.
I was talking about it the other day, hoping I would find 3" irminia some day. More than likely, it dried up and died. I still scan the area at times though.
 

The Grym Reaper

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Na, had a couple of close calls with my P. irminia and C. huahini slings, luckily they didn't run very far and stopped long enough for me to get the catch cup over them.
 

Anoplogaster

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Early on, I had my H. mac (when he was just past the sling stage) bolt out during the first rehouse and send me on a wild goose chase for the better part of a couple of hours. I was very impressed by the speed! I named him Houdini:)

And yeah, there's no need to use the old substrate. Seems like that was what distracted your attention from your T. Whenever you rehouse, I suggest setting up the new enclosure completely and ready for the T before even disturbing them in the old enclosure. Being prepared makes the situation run smoothly and less fiddly. Digging all that substrate out will cause the spider to be on edge. A burrowed spider only needs gentle prodding. Don't try to dig them out of the burrow...... encourage them out. Keep it calm:)

This is another reason I do this in the bath tub. When a spider bolts, its natural instinct is to find structure. They hate being completely exposed. And there is nothing that makes them feel more exposed than a white bath tub. So if the new enclosure is already there, 9 times out of 10 they will go straight to it once they notice it.
 
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