Help! My sling has been missing for two days

KaytheTarantula

Arachnopeon
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Feb 14, 2017
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So two days ago I was rehousing a .5inch p. sazimai sling and the precious little monster ran up my arm, into my clothes and onto my back. I gingerly took my clothes off and searched for the sling in there and brushed my hair in case it had burrowed into my bun. No luck. I have to assume it bailed and I didn't notice. Since then, I've done huge sweeps of the room I lost it in. I've left out water dishes, I've lowered the temperature of my room to coax it to warmer places, I've shaken out my shoes and stuffed them with poly-fill, I've left LED lanterns shining into dark places to make them less favorable, I moved all my furniture, crawled through all the dark places with a flashlight, I kept the clothes I was wearing in a lidded bin in case I missed the sling. I'm not sure what more I can do at this point but I'm not giving up yet. Is there anything more I can do?

I saw this:
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20130201143416AAXUJlL
posted in a Yahoo Answers post (cue eyeroll). It says you can use bits of tape baited with feeders to catch missing slings but that sounds cruel and dangerous to their health. Has anyone tried this?
 

user 666

Arachnobaron
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Jan 27, 2017
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Using a glue trap or tape is cruel. The T is liable to rip legs off trying to escape.
 

nicodimus22

Arachnomancer
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Ugh, that's a bad situation. At that size, it's going to be very difficult to locate. I hope you can find it without stepping on it. If you use a red light, you could sit in the room you lost it in at night and scan the floor for movement without alarming it.
 

KaytheTarantula

Arachnopeon
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Feb 14, 2017
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Ugh, that's a bad situation. At that size, it's going to be very difficult to locate. I hope you can find it without stepping on it. If you use a red light, you could sit in the room you lost it in at night and scan the floor for movement without alarming it.
I hadn't thought about red light! I'll give that a shot, thank you
 

Anoplogaster

Arachnodemon
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Jan 15, 2017
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All we can do is wish you luck! It could be anywhere by now. It will find cracks and crevices you never even knew existed. Keep searching, but you may never find it.

This is exactly why I rehouse in the bath tub. And with a small or fast enough spider, I actually go inside the tub with it and keep the shower doors closed:D
 

dopamine

Arachnobaron
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Feb 7, 2010
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341
I don't mean to be a bummer but at that size, your chances of finding him are pretty slim. One thing i can always count on when i lose crickets is to find them crawling up my wall eventually. Maybe tarantulas do the same? Like others have said, try sitting quietly in the room for a while and scan for any movement. Good luck to you.
 

nicodimus22

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Another thought...if it's still alive, it's probably getting desperate for water. Checking around sinks and bathtubs might be worth a shot too.
 

Red Eunice

Arachnodemon
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Mar 2, 2014
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666
Best of luck, after 2 days on the loose, it could be anywhere.
Had an arboreal sling escape while feeding, years ago, took 2 hours to find it.
Got to work late. Boss wanted an excuse as to why. "I had a tarantula escape!" He rolled his eyes, "You and your bugs." and walked away.
 
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Goodlukwitthat

Arachnoknight
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Mar 10, 2015
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Honestly with it being that tiny, you may as well buy a new one. I had a sling, I think it was a G. pulchripes the same size as the one you lost, escape out of the vent holes in it's little cup (honestly didn't think it could fit through them) and I was never able to find it again. Even after moving out of the old apartment, my gf and I never found a trace of a missing sling. The smaller they are, the more difficult and less likely you are to find them again.
 

Anoplogaster

Arachnodemon
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Jan 15, 2017
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Honestly with it being that tiny, you may as well buy a new one. I had a sling, I think it was a G. pulchripes the same size as the one you lost, escape out of the vent holes in it's little cup (honestly didn't think it could fit through them) and I was never able to find it again. Even after moving out of the old apartment, my gf and I never found a trace of a missing sling. The smaller they are, the more difficult and less likely you are to find them again.
Haha.... if the new tenants notice a sudden improvement in their roach infestation, they might find a 7 inch G. pulchripes running around in a few years:p
 

Jeff23

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Jul 27, 2016
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Your T is likely a goner. If your home isn't very cluttered you might get lucky and see it running across the floor or wall during evening after it turns dark through use of a Red light of some sort. Without moisture it may not last long so placement of moist substrate in a few shallow plastic bins or piles of substrate on top of something flat made of plastic might interest a spider (if you have plenty of substrate). You could also place some pre-kill on the substrate to detect if the spider takes the bait. But this is the needle in the haystack search most likely.
 

Anoplogaster

Arachnodemon
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I can throw a bit of optimism your way, based on a couple of experiences I've had....

As a child, my first reptile was an alligator lizard my dad caught for me. Oh, she was my absolute pride and joy! I walked around all day long with her in my shirt pocket. As someone who grew up with a bully problem, she was my best friend. Anyways, one day I didn't close the enclosure properly, and she went missing. I was devastated! Lost her for 9 months. I had completely forgotten about her. But one day, while I was playing video games (old school Nintendo in those days), I saw some movement on the shelf next to me. Guess what? It was Lizzy!!! Saw the tip of her tail hanging off the back edge of the shelf against the wall. After 9 fricken months! I remember it like it happened yesterday!

Recently, I had a crab spider that rode in on some groceries. Neat little thing! I put her in a cup without a lid, as she couldn't climb the side. But slowly, she piled on the webbing and used it as foot holds until she ended up on the rim of the cup. I found her in strike pose (legs spread out) on the rim of the cup. I gave her a tiny roach nymph and she took it. Next day, she was still there! It was the neatest thing.... I had a spider who was free to leave whenever she chose, and chose to stay for the meals:) I moved her to a houseplant, where she quickly set up camp. She molted on the plant. After the molt, I started feeling webs everywhere in my apartment. She was flying them around, and made attachment points EVERYWHERE!!! One day, I found her on my pillow. Well, one night, I was rolling over and felt a thick web on my hand. Without thinking, I pulled my hand in the other direction and noticed the plant shake. In the morning, she was gone:( I must've pulled her off her plant in the middle of the night. A month went by with no sign of her. Until one day, I was leaving my front door and, sure enough, there she was hanging by the light switch!

So maybe your spider hasn't gone very far. Animals have a way of surviving without your help, and are more adaptable than we tend to give them credit for. Just keep your eyes open. Part of the life of keeping critters is the occasional escape;)
 

Olan

Arachnoangel
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Dec 23, 2002
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P. sazimai should come with a warning label. When they start running they don't stop. Mine was disturbed when I lifted her corkbark to remove an uneaten feeder. She bolted out of the container, onto the shelf, onto my hand, up my arm, onto my shoulder, down my back, onto my hip, onto my thigh, where I corralled her.
Good luck finding yours. Pretty tough odds at this point though.
 

runCMD

Arachnopeon
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Jan 21, 2017
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I can throw a bit of optimism your way, based on a couple of experiences I've had....
Sling is a different story but I had a similar experience with a snake as a teenager. Something like 6 mos later my dad's girlfriend screams in the early morning. She couldn't close the shower door and when she looked up she saw Domino hanging down from the track.
 

Rob1985

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Feb 14, 2005
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I lost a P. regalis sling this way. Major bummer I hope you find the little one!

If I remember correctly, there was a member story of and OBT that went missing and was found healthy some time later, having made a nice little home in the tubing of a plastic shelving unit... or something like that. lol
 
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