heat and dead p. metallica

Alice

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 29, 2006
Messages
976
hi all,

well that's a real bummer... the last two days were really, really hot here in germany, and it went up to about 33° celsius in my appartment - nothing i could do about it. i lost one mantis to the heat, and what's worse, my biggest p. metallica juvi (around 3 inches) seems to be dying as well. :wall: i think it's female to boot :wall:

when i came home yesterday, i noticed the metallica crouching on the ground of her container - somthing she doesn't normally do. so i had a better look at her, and she was nearly unresponsive. i got her into an icu asap and cooled her down a bit with an ice pack near the icu. then i left her completely alone and in the dark.

she did not move during the night and today, she was completely unresponsive - so i think she's dead or rapidly nearing her end. :(

she was very close to a molt - do you think the heat could have been too much and she just couldn't get through the molting process? i'm a bit clueless, never had something like that happen.
fortunately, it's a bit cooler today, and i started leaving the shutters down during the daytime.

so has anyone else lost ts to the heat this year?
of course for me it had to be the metallica :wall:
 

Psych0

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 28, 2007
Messages
28
I've lost a cambridgei sling and almost a fasciata sling. I'm nervous too because I have 33-34 Celsius in my room and a can't do anything. I hate the weather the climate change and everything that is involved in it. Why it is much easier to heat T-s. I don't have an air conditioner.:mad: :mad: :mad:
 

YouLosePayUp

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 17, 2005
Messages
843
Contrary to popular belief even if you don't have air conditioning you can do something. Add cool water to the substrate, mist the walls. You may have to do it a few times throughout the day, but could just be the defining factor if your T makes it or doesn't. You can also make a mini A/C unit using a 12 V fan and some ice.

Sorry about the losses.
 

Nitibus

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
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Feb 7, 2007
Messages
728
You could also cool those gel packs and put them around the sides of the enclosure below the substrate. This would in effect cool the whole tank.
 

WARPIG

Arachnoangel
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Jun 29, 2007
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821
If you have access to a homes basement, you can store T's there until the heatwave passes. My basement is about 10-15 degrees cooler then my house, and saves me from having to run the AC 24/7 for the T's.
 

Alice

Arachnoangel
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Sep 29, 2006
Messages
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unfortunately, we don't have a basement currently (moving to a new appartment in about 2 months). i tried the cold pack and misted well, but it wasn't enough :(
 

Psych0

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 28, 2007
Messages
28
If you have access to a homes basement, you can store T's there until the heatwave passes. My basement is about 10-15 degrees cooler then my house, and saves me from having to run the AC 24/7 for the T's.
But won't it stress the T that the temperature is lowered so much suddenly?
 

cheetah13mo

Arachnoking
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Joined
Oct 10, 2006
Messages
2,151
But won't it stress the T that the temperature is lowered so much suddenly?
More stress is better than waiting for your pet to die so, I would be tring something. Mist the wall of the enclosure and put it close to a fan. The combination of moisture and moving air will draw the warmth up and out of the enclosure. Without airconditioning, that's the best you can do aside of sudden and drastic temperature drops with ice. If you use ice, closely monitor things because that can cause problems. Good luck and sorry for the losses already. That's too bad.
 

beetleman

Arachnoking
Old Timer
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Jan 5, 2005
Messages
2,874
:( ahh that sucks sorry for your loss,i live in fla. so i know the deal w/heat.ive lost some ts aswell in the past because of the heat down here.
 

harrypei

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 30, 2006
Messages
289
hi all,

well that's a real bummer...QUOTE]

an AC is what you need :eek:

I've lost some slings in the past but i doubt it's due to heat...I have a fan in my spider room that runs 24/7 to keep the air circulating. now that it's summer, i keep the room around 86~87 F during the day and 77~78 during night.

always a bum when u lose something, and a potential female P.metallica...:wall:
 

Alice

Arachnoangel
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Joined
Sep 29, 2006
Messages
976
well, i'm about to pack up and go home (work sucked). i'll update tonight and maybe post a pic.
 

Alice

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 29, 2006
Messages
976
no need, she was definitely dead by the time i got home: motionless, limp, ans fallen in abdomen :wall:
 

Snipes

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 25, 2005
Messages
1,385
I'm sorry for your loss :( . It was exactly that hot a few days ago here and my room gets very very hot. I lost a male D. diadema, but all the ts survived. I agree that cool water works. Although they may not like it, it does seem to cool things off.
 

Merfolk

Arachnoprince
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Dec 13, 2005
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I doubt it's the only cause. In India, temparatures often go higher...
 

Snipes

Arachnoprince
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Feb 25, 2005
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1,385
but in India there arent little glass/plastic cages :)
 

dukegarda

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
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Mar 22, 2007
Messages
497
I'd think it was something to do with ventilation. Like this room, it has poor ventilation and heats up 5 degrees Celsius higher than the rest of the house on hot days.

Sorry for your loss.
 

KaineSoulblade

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
May 24, 2007
Messages
177
The heat is killer. That's bunk it got the metallica of all T's.

I would say this suggests that if you live somewhere the summers are hot and you invest lots of money into T's. It would be a wise investment to spend a couple hundred on a decent air conditioner.
 

spid142

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 9, 2006
Messages
492
sorry

Really sorry to hear about the metallica, too bad the heat got that one. Not only the money, but also they are beautiful Ts.
 

Alice

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 29, 2006
Messages
976
well, up untill about 2 years ago, germany wasn't the kind of country you'd go to on summer vacation... however, we got a weird mixture of extremely hot days and extremly stormy ones with the climate change. :wall:

it couldn't have been ventilation, i have tanks with circular ventilation. today it's much cooler and pouring, and my other two metallicas (slings) both molted without problems. my other ts are better as well (my small subfusca girl didn't look too well when it was so hot either, but she's perked up), but still it got another big fan for the room.

thnx for all the sympathy!
 
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