How fragile are slings ?

[Nik2894]

Hey guys,

I received a H. Pulchripes sling yesterday looked about 3-4cm and it was doing great, rehoused and all was well.

I woke up this morning and unfortunately she was in the death curl so I put some water into her mouth parts as her legs were still moving. Her legs eventually uncurled but she didn’t make it and was completely unresponsive when I checked her again.

this is the first death in my collection and it makes me wonder if it was being shipped or something I had done? All of my other 15 slings were fine this morning and some of them are 0.5cm-1cm. Also all of my larger T’s were fine.

just wondering if there are certain species that are quite sensitive to different factors or could this have been due to shipping her? She was only in post for 12 hours and like I said was lively when I rehoused.The abdomen didn’t look shrivelled and no injury I could see.

So upset about this , was my favorite
Species

 

[octanejunkie]

Sorry for your loss

My experience with H. pulchripes is a hardy sling that webbed heavily within 48 hours of arrival. Now it is in premolt and has refused it's last two feedings.

Hard to speculate why yours didn't fare well. How was it shipped to you: in a vial, wet, dry?

 

[fried rice]

Hey guys,

I received a H. Pulchripes sling yesterday looked about 3-4cm and it was doing great, rehoused and all was well.

I woke up this morning and unfortunately she was in the death curl so I put some water into her mouth parts as her legs were still moving. Her legs eventually uncurled but she didn’t make it and was completely unresponsive when I checked her again.

this is the first death in my collection and it makes me wonder if it was being shipped or something I had done? All of my other 15 slings were fine this morning and some of them are 0.5cm-1cm. Also all of my larger T’s were fine.

just wondering if there are certain species that are quite sensitive to different factors or could this have been due to shipping her? She was only in post for 12 hours and like I said was lively when I rehoused.The abdomen didn’t look shrivelled and no injury I could see.

So upset about this , was my favorite
Species

Where did you buy it? Backwater reptiles and underground reptiles should be avoided. I recommend arachnoiden.com and net-bug.net. Im sorry for your loss.

 

[octanejunkie]

Where did you buy it? Backwater reptiles and underground reptiles should be avoided. I recommend arachnoiden.com and net-bug.net. Im sorry for your loss.

OP is from Scotland... I suspect a breeder in the EU

 

[Colorado Ts]

Its hard receiving a new sling, only to have it die. I brought in a group of 6 Aphonopelma seemanni (Blue Phase) slings. Most of them did well, but 1 just never snapped out of it after shipping. After a week, it died. To me, this was heart breaking.

Sorry for your loss.

 

[CommanderBacon]

I'm so sorry for your loss, friend. That really sucks It's not unheard of - being shipped can really stress out a spider - but it sucks when it happens

The only spider I received via mail that died afterward was an A hentzi juvenile that had attempted to molt in transit. It popped its carapace but didn't have the energy to complete the molt and it died. I think that may happen from time to time, but most vendors won't ship if a spider is visibly in premolt.

I would not have expected a spider the size of yours to have fared poorly in shipping, so I'm also curious what the shipping container was like.

 

[Nik2894]

Hi guys,

Thanks so much, completely gutted

I have never received any from EU.is this to be avoided if poss? sorry not had much experience in the hobby. Always try and responsibly source ie local exotic shop who has a great deal of knowledge or uk company.

I received from a small business in the UK, the T was packaged inside the usual vial which had damp tissue paper inside. I was also sent a first instar LP as a freebie which is doing well right now so I’m at a loss

i had it in a small Tupperware that only had an inch or so gap between the lid and ventilation also substrate was slightly damp and I provided her a water dish. I’m genuinely at a loss as to what happened.

I can only assume it’s been internal issues or the sling has been thrown about in the post... I did receive an adult female Grammostola pulchra from a large responsible UK company and when I rehoused , I noticed she had kicked a lot of hairs in fact the whole tub was covered in tiny black hairs and her abdomen was completely bald.
I received these packages at the same time and date so I wonder if the post office has been quite rough in handling

Thanks for all your input guys , I’m just so gutted and hoping it was nothing I have done I do have baboon species too.. she was doing so well until this morning

Also I forgot to mention that the package did not have a heat pack and Scotland is still experiencing 3 degrees at night so I wondered if it was the cold

 

[octanejunkie]

I have never received any from EU.is this to be avoided if poss?

I meant not the US lol

Also I forgot to mention that the package did not have a heat pack and Scotland is still experiencing 3 degrees at night so I wondered if it was the cold

Tell us about the unboxing/rehousing behavior of this sling, specifically.
Did it walk out of the vial or did you have to coax it off the paper towel?

 

[Nik2894]

I meant not the US lol

Aww sorry my bad lol

 

[The Grym Reaper]

I have never received any from EU.is this to be avoided if poss?

Na, I'm in England and have ordered Ts from Poland without issue.

the T was packaged inside the usual vial which had damp tissue paper inside.

substrate was slightly damp

As far as I'm aware (Baboons aren't really my thing so someone correct me if I'm wrong) a lot of Baboon species don't really do well with moisture and should be kept dry even as slings (unlike NW terrestrial species which should all be kept slightly moist as slings) so spending the night in a stuffy vial full of moist tissue probably didn't help it.

 

[Nik2894]

Good to know for

Na, I'm in England and have ordered Ts from Poland without issue.




As far as I'm aware (Baboons aren't really my thing so someone correct me if I'm wrong) a lot of Baboon species don't really do well with moisture and should be kept dry even as slings (unlike NW terrestrial species which should all be kept slightly moist as slings) so spending the night in a stuffy vial full of moist tissue probably didn't help it.

Good to know for future as I’ve looked at ordering from Poland

I would say that was only very slightly damp, couldn’t have squeezed any water out of it. But yeah you are right , they do prefer dry substrate so this could definitely have been a contributing factor to its death spending the night with damp tissue I could have also made things worse by thinking it was dehydrated and putting water in her mouth now I think of it

 

[octanejunkie]

I could have also made things worse by thinking it was dehydrated and putting water in her mouth now I think of it

A wet q-tip (cotton swab) to the mouth is an option to eye dropper to the face... but i doubt that was the issue nor that you caused it

 

[viper69]

You were shipped a bad animal, that clearly was dehydrated due to some reason. Get your money back. These are hardy animals. Other species are more delicate, but not these.

 

[spideyspinneret78]

I wonder if there was something wrong with it beforehand, and the stress of being shipped pushed it over the edge. It happens sometimes unfortunately. If conditions are appropriate and the tarantula is packed correctly, a healthy animal is very likely to survive shipping. Impossible to find out the exact cause, but rest assured it wasn't your fault.

 

[Ian14]

I would contact the seller and ask for a replacement. I'm assuming it was sent via Royal Mail next day delivery? Most dealers guarantee live arrival

 

[Nik2894]

I would contact the seller and ask for a replacement. I'm assuming it was sent via Royal Mail next day delivery? Most dealers guarantee live arrival

yeah it was Royal Mail, thanks for all the advice. I will contact the seller and see what they say

 

[Ian14]

yeah it was Royal Mail, thanks for all the advice. I will contact the seller and see what they say

Hopefully you will get a replacement sent. I have 9 ts, 8 were slings one a juvenile, and all sent via Royal Mail. All arrived healthy and are growing well. I have 6 arriving in the early hours from Poland.

 

[Nik2894]

Hopefully you will get a replacement sent. I have 9 ts, 8 were slings one a juvenile, and all sent via Royal Mail. All arrived healthy and are growing well. I have 6 arriving in the early hours from Poland.

I have another arriving on Tuesday so managed to get this mess sorted out . The little freebie L. Parahybana molted just fine and it was 0.5cm.

I’m just glad it’s nothing I have done. Hope your delivery arrives soon btw I am hoping to order from Spidersworld next month.

 

[Ian14]

I have another arriving on Tuesday so managed to get this mess sorted out . The little freebie L. Parahybana molted just fine and it was 0.5cm.

I’m just glad it’s nothing I have done. Hope your delivery arrives soon btw I am hoping to order from Spidersworld next month.

I'll let you know. Price wise, I was looking to get a mystery box from The Spider Shop but I was a bit wary as having got one before half the spiders they sent weren't on their stock list. So I had no way of seeing if I got a good deal!
Comparing the two, it was better value buying spiders I wanted and paying for courier delivery from Poland than taking a gamble here in the UK. The price of each spider was also much less! UK livestock couriers charge around £45 yet from Poland to the UK is £22.

 

[Nik2894]

I'll let you know. Price wise, I was looking to get a mystery box from The Spider Shop but I was a bit wary as having got one before half the spiders they sent weren't on their stock list. So I had no way of seeing if I got a good deal!
Comparing the two, it was better value buying spiders I wanted and paying for courier delivery from Poland than taking a gamble here in the UK. The price of each spider was also much less! UK livestock couriers charge around £45 yet from Poland to the UK is £22.

I agree , while I do like the Spider Shop, I did get a few species that wasn’t listed however i didn’t mind as I only bought a £30 mystery box so one 8cm Nhandu and 5 slings is a good deal for that price I feel

I have seen some folks get some awesome spiders from Mystery Boxes from various suppliers but I think obviously the more you spend the more you get

My last mystery box was very arboreal heavy lol. Was a fun rehouse thanks bud!