How to rehouse a fossorial

[Royalty]

My I.Mira is probably going to need a rehouse either the next molt or the one after that. I am not sure how I am going to do it yet. I have heard of people flooding them out, is that a good idea?

 

[docwade87]

Check out Tom Moran’s videos on YouTube. Matter of fact he may have one on how he rehoused his I. Mira. Either way he’s got great videos on how to and proper care. He’s probably one of the best when it comes to safe rehousing techniques IMO.

 

[Royalty]

Check out Tom Moran’s videos on YouTube. Matter of fact he may have one on how he rehoused his I. Mira. Either way he’s got great videos on how to and proper care. He’s probably one of the best when it comes to safe rehousing techniques IMO.

I have watched his pokie ones, did not know he had an I.Mira :O

 

[docwade87]

I have watched his pokie ones, did not know he had an I.Mira :O

If there isn’t a video, I’m sure he has one. He has Ts of all sorts!

 

[RezonantVoid]

1- Big plastic tub with lid, drill 5-7mm holes all around each corner of the lid from the underside (if the T bolts, poke it back down through these holes in the lid)

2- place enclosure inside tub, have a catch cup (one with a lid) ready and a spare container large enough to dump any decorations and excess substrate into. Take off enclosure lid and make sure the lid to the plastic tub is easily and quickly accessible.

3- remove and store decorations and substrate around the burrow until T is visible. Preferably before digging all the way to bottom where the T is, put the catch cup over what remains of the burrow. Use a skewer or similar to poke through the substrate in front of the T, slowly forcing it into the catch cup.

4- once T is inside catch cup, put the lid on and remove the cup. Replace the old enclosure inside the plastic tub with the new one, and put the catch cup with the T inside into it over the starter burrow you've likely made. Slide the catch cup lid off and poke or gently shake the T into the new enclosure.

5- done

 

[viper69]

My I.Mira is probably going to need a rehouse either the next molt or the one after that. I am not sure how I am going to do it yet. I have heard of people flooding them out, is that a good idea?

With my Mira I was lucky enough to scoop her out in her burrow a bit- I gave her the forever home very early on.

I’ve never flooded myself- can certainly make a T cranky!

Mira like to be underground more than most, if you can scoop it out within burrow that may be your best bet, but each T is different

 

[draconisj4]

My I.Mira is probably going to need a rehouse either the next molt or the one after that. I am not sure how I am going to do it yet. I have heard of people flooding them out, is that a good idea?

I tried that once in desperation, didn't work. I ended up with a wet, very unhappy spider that still wouldn't come out of her burrow. I finally had to carefully dig her out anyway. I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[Royalty]

With my Mira I was lucky enough to scoop her out in her burrow a bit- I gave her the forever home very early on.

I’ve never flooded myself- can certainly make a T cranky!

Mira like to be underground more than most, if you can scoop it out within burrow that may be your best bet, but each T is different

I think I might upgrade her "early" as well.

I don't want to deal with the dirt so much. I mostly keep arboreals and my other fossorials are small so rehousing was not too bad dirt wise. There is probably no avoiding it. I think I have a "plan of attack". I will dig around the borrow first and then see if I can remove the T and it's whole "sock". I think I know which direction the borrow goes.

 

[Reezelbeezelbug]

I've flooded 3 times, first time the spider stayed down there and I had to dig them out of the mud. 2nd time it went perfect, as the water level rose, the T rose little by little. 3rd time was just like the first, T stayed at bottom and wouldn't budge and got fully submerged. I won't flood anymore. It's nice when it works, it sucks when it doesn't.

 

[Venom1080]

Usually just slowly and painfully. Im perhaps overly cautious to not squish them during rehousing.

Best outcome is when you can see the spider. Poke something through the substrate in front or behind it and nudge it up and out of the burrow.

 

[CommanderBacon]

I've found that rehousing my fossorial Ts always involved a lot of digging and took some time. I tend to do it inside of a shallow bin in the bathtub while kneeling on something soft, but when I got to the bottom of the burrows, I was able to scoop them out on some dirt with a spoon and they didn't panic too much, if at all.

Digging them out sucked tho.

 

[JPG]

Bring a dubia and knock on the door.

 

[Royalty]

I've found that rehousing my fossorial Ts always involved a lot of digging and took some time. I tend to do it inside of a shallow bin in the bathtub while kneeling on something soft, but when I got to the bottom of the burrows, I was able to scoop them out on some dirt with a spoon and they didn't panic too much, if at all.

Digging them out sucked tho.

Before my H.mac was rehoused it was really fossorial so it had a tunnel that turned out to be ALL the way to the bottom. I had to dig it out with a plastic spoon (I wanted to be careful so I avoided the metal) I have a flimsy plastic shovel thing that came with a bucket for a toddler to use at the beach. I LOVE it for packing the substrate. I will probably use that around the other corners than the spoon closer in. I like using a pipe cleaner (with the end twisted in) for poking t's out when they are in a space I can't get to with a paint brush.

I will probably update this thread once I do it, but it is not needed yet. I will probably wait for next molt. Got to see her full body tonight (not just feet) turns out she has not molted yet but is in heavy premolt. It thought she had a recent one since i saw a piece of molt tossed out a few nights ago, but it is possible it was an old one.

 

[Ungoliant]

My I.Mira is probably going to need a rehouse either the next molt or the one after that. I am not sure how I am going to do it yet. I have heard of people flooding them out, is that a good idea?

I don't recommend flooding them out. It's a crapshoot, with a good chance of just making a mess.

I carefully dig them out and cup them. I. mira generally tries to hide in its burrow.

 

[Royalty]

I don't recommend flooding them out. It's a crapshoot, with a good chance of just making a mess.

I carefully dig them out and cup them. I. mira generally tries to hide in its burrow.

She always dives in whenever I open it if she is poking out. Last night was the first time i have seen her full body since I got her.

 

[Enceladus]

I actually just rehoused my tarantula for the very first time yesterday (my first T ever) and it's a fossorial. I put the old enclosure in the bathtub and over the course of an hour or two, slowly dug out the substrate using a combo of small, plastic spoons and large wooden kitchen spoons (did it slowly to be safe, both for me and the T). Once there wasn't much dirt let and the T was fully exposed, I place a toilet paper roll with one end closed off inside. I walked away and came back 20 mins later and the T was inside the tube. I then just placed the tube inside the new enclosure and within an hour the T was out of the tube and inside the starter burrow I made.

I was extremely nervous and anxious going in. I've been thinking about this rehouse for over a year and watched a ton of videos (a lot of how rehouses went wrong, which probably created the anxiety). So, I just went slowly and thoughtfully and everything went well! Woke up this morning to a pet hole because the T had been busy last night expanding its starter burrow into a tunnel and it's now not visible, just how I like my pet holes