- Joined
- Jul 19, 2002
- Messages
- 756
I don't know if any of you remember my "I hate people" thread where I posted that I had to put my spiders outside due to people not wanting to even enter the house with them in there -- but it took it's toll.
Today, after looking in my cage I see nothing but solid ants -- everywhere. It seemed almost as if the ground was actually moving with them. I confess, I don't look at my spiders every day and in this case, it had probably been a week+ since I took a *close* look in my P. Regalis' cage (I fed it once since I brought it back in side, but I didn't notice any ants.)
Well, obviously she was *very* pissed off. (She wasn't in the usual crunched up stressed position, but it wasn't the usual relaxed, everything is great tarantula position, either.) It was 20 minutes before I had to be at work with a 30 minute drive...but I didn't even want to consider leaving her there with the ants there until I got home...So I was 20 minutes late, heh.
But, basicly, when I opened the cage to try to remove her, her level of defensiveness made an Usambara look tame compared to a G. Rosea (if that makes sense
)
Normally, even the most defensive tarantulas will eventually make a break after a little harassment -- but, well, I tapped it on the butt to see if it was even alive (expecting it to just run a little bit) And she was very quick to let me know she was alive. She ran less than a half inch and was instantly turned around, fangs beared. So I go and get a bigger container to put her in and she moves in to her "burrow" (I use 3 pieces of peg board, basicly shaped like a "P" Except the top of the P is up against the glass, giving her a double burrow to hide in.)
I admit, I wasn't very nice about getting her out, but I was desperate -- One more late day and I get a "written coaching" and there were numerous ants in the area. I tried everything, gently poking her, gently blowing, to even spraying in her cage with a spray bottle. She'd just strike at it, wouldn't even move, just held her ground. It wasn't nice, but I figured a little more stress was better than death.
Eventually she came out to the prodding of my tweasers (btw, those 6 inch ZooMed tweasers most places sell aren't enough) but that's when the real display came -- I tried to gently lower my deli cup over her and she'd just attack it. She'd turn every direction striking constantly. Run 2 inches, and strike again. It was damn impressive and I confess, I was pretty damn scared of the possibility of breaking my bite-free record.
I don't think Pokies are a bad thing that people should avoid, and I still think they're vastly over rated in terms of defensiveness -- something this stressful doesn't happen on a daily basis. I just think it's a very good thing to really think about it before you do it. A large pissed off Pokie is not something to play around about.
Now, ASSUMING I brought the ants in with the cage and they didn't actually FIND the cage in my room (They were in the garage, so the former seems like the better bet since my basement (Where my T's are) is entirely carpetted with no past ant infestations that I know of (Hell, this whole house has been ant-infestation free for the 3 1/2 years we lived in it) do you think I'm safe enough to keep everything in the same place? Since ants use chemical trails to find their way, they SHOULDN'T be able to find their way back....right?
Right now I have the tank soaking in water with a coat of....lacquer...over it It was the only thing I could find that shouldn't be deadly should I use the cage later, and it actually created a nice glossy coating over the water to prevent leakage (of ants.) It actually made a nice film to keep them in and hopefully die a horrible death.
Today, after looking in my cage I see nothing but solid ants -- everywhere. It seemed almost as if the ground was actually moving with them. I confess, I don't look at my spiders every day and in this case, it had probably been a week+ since I took a *close* look in my P. Regalis' cage (I fed it once since I brought it back in side, but I didn't notice any ants.)
Well, obviously she was *very* pissed off. (She wasn't in the usual crunched up stressed position, but it wasn't the usual relaxed, everything is great tarantula position, either.) It was 20 minutes before I had to be at work with a 30 minute drive...but I didn't even want to consider leaving her there with the ants there until I got home...So I was 20 minutes late, heh.
But, basicly, when I opened the cage to try to remove her, her level of defensiveness made an Usambara look tame compared to a G. Rosea (if that makes sense
)Normally, even the most defensive tarantulas will eventually make a break after a little harassment -- but, well, I tapped it on the butt to see if it was even alive (expecting it to just run a little bit) And she was very quick to let me know she was alive. She ran less than a half inch and was instantly turned around, fangs beared. So I go and get a bigger container to put her in and she moves in to her "burrow" (I use 3 pieces of peg board, basicly shaped like a "P" Except the top of the P is up against the glass, giving her a double burrow to hide in.)
I admit, I wasn't very nice about getting her out, but I was desperate -- One more late day and I get a "written coaching" and there were numerous ants in the area. I tried everything, gently poking her, gently blowing, to even spraying in her cage with a spray bottle. She'd just strike at it, wouldn't even move, just held her ground. It wasn't nice, but I figured a little more stress was better than death.
Eventually she came out to the prodding of my tweasers (btw, those 6 inch ZooMed tweasers most places sell aren't enough
) but that's when the real display came -- I tried to gently lower my deli cup over her and she'd just attack it. She'd turn every direction striking constantly. Run 2 inches, and strike again. It was damn impressive and I confess, I was pretty damn scared of the possibility of breaking my bite-free record.I don't think Pokies are a bad thing that people should avoid, and I still think they're vastly over rated in terms of defensiveness -- something this stressful doesn't happen on a daily basis. I just think it's a very good thing to really think about it before you do it. A large pissed off Pokie is not something to play around about.
Now, ASSUMING I brought the ants in with the cage and they didn't actually FIND the cage in my room (They were in the garage, so the former seems like the better bet since my basement (Where my T's are) is entirely carpetted with no past ant infestations that I know of (Hell, this whole house has been ant-infestation free for the 3 1/2 years we lived in it) do you think I'm safe enough to keep everything in the same place? Since ants use chemical trails to find their way, they SHOULDN'T be able to find their way back....right?
Right now I have the tank soaking in water with a coat of....lacquer...over it
It was the only thing I could find that shouldn't be deadly should I use the cage later, and it actually created a nice glossy coating over the water to prevent leakage (of ants.) It actually made a nice film to keep them in and hopefully die a horrible death.
