I want a togo!

[goodoldneon]

Yesterday, while cleaning her enclosure, my H. mac made a successful escape attempt – and a second botched attempt. I’ve been keeping t’s for close to a year – prior to purchasing a particular species, I perform a ton of research. I own a P. irminia, and did not purchase an H. mac until I felt comfortable around the sun tiger. I won’t lecture you or attempt to dissuade you from purchasing a togo, but, I will warn you that their speed simply cannot be overestimated. My reflexes were absolutely no match for her speed and agility – the word “teleportation” get’s throw around quite frequently, and for good reason. Before I could react, she bolted from her enclosure, hid behind the microwave and… I lost her. I moved the microwave within seconds of her escape, but she had already found another hiding spot. She ran up the wall and into the space between the wall and the cabinets – a half inch at best (she’s 4 inches). I lucked out – I poured a pitcher of water down into the crack (guessing that was where she was hiding – she could have been anywhere) – a minute or so later, she slinked out of her hiding spot. I captured her with a small Kritter Keeper.

Upon completing maintenance on her enclosure, I cautiously attempted to prod her back in – once again, she teleported, jumped down onto the carpet and made a run for it. Fortunately, while cleaning her tank, I put her temporary home on an AC vent, the cold air seemed to slow her speed considerably. I've rehoused her three times without incident - a testament to their unpredictability.

I hope she is fond of her new set up, as it will be quite some time before I rearrange the furniture. I don’t know what I would have done if I was unable to catch her – the thought (not to mention the reality) of an adult H. mac roaming about the house was not a pleasant one – for my wife, daughter or myself.

The escapee's mugshot:

 

[Anonymity82]

Beautiful T! I hope mine looks like that when she reaches full size. As for the rehousing I do all of mine in the bathtub. I close the closet doors and the AC vents. Throw a towel on the ground so she can't go under the door and out of the bathroom. As she gets bigger I'll probably add some places to hide in the bathtub so it will increase the chances that she'll hide somewhere nearby.

---------- Post added 07-18-2012 at 11:51 AM ----------

I couldn't tell you if my H. mac is lightning quick or not. I've only seen it three times (once when I rehoused it) since I got it in October 2011 at ~0.5 inch. I've found exuviums on eight different occasions, and the prey items I put in there disappear. I did catch a glimpse (and a picture!) of most of it last week. It has grown significantly.

Not a spider I would recommend as a second T.

Mine barely hides at all. She has a burrow but she's usually outside of it. She's only about .75". She's molted once already but she's refusing to eat so maybe she'll be molting again. I've had her for around 2 months and I'm pretty sure she only at once in my care. Maybe twice.

 

[goodoldneon]

To help ensure she remains (at least somewhat) visible, I cut a cork log in half and placed it against the side of her enclosure. She webbed the entire length of the log, closing it off, but she spends most of her time adjacent to it – out in the open, more or less.

I should note that other than striking at feeding tongs – on one occasion – she has never shown any signs of aggression or defensiveness. She prefers to retreat to the safety of her hide when I change her water, remove boluses, etc.

And yeah, in the future, any situations that require her to be removed from her enclosure will take place in the bathroom – following all precautions. Unfortunately, I allowed past experience to serve as a guide, and it turned out to be a rather crappy one, this guide.

They are, without a doubt, stunning tarantulas – should you choose to purchase one, please learn from my mistakes – BE CAREFUL and realize that this spider will always best you where speed and reflexes (and in my case, intelligence, apparently) are concerned.

 

[Anonymity82]

We all have to learn either from our own experiences or someone else's.

 

[Formerphobe]

I close the closet doors and the AC vents. Throw a towel on the ground so she can't go under the door and out of the bathroom. As she gets bigger I'll probably add some places to hide in the bathtub so it will increase the chances that she'll hide somewhere nearby.

This is pretty much what I did with some of my OW rehouses that had to be dug out of burrows or peeled out of webs. Plastic wrap covering vents, faucets, overflow drains, toilet seat. Provided random 'hidey holes' in the tub, floor and counter (toilet paper rolls stapled on one end work great and are disposable/recyclable). (FYI, other family members aren't so pleased when you forget to remove plastic wrap from toilet...)

 

[Anonymity82]

(FYI, other family members aren't so pleased when you forget to remove plastic wrap from toilet...)

Hehe. I bet they wouldn't be! I'm still very new with rehousing OW tarantulas so it takes about two hours to rehouse my OBT and half of that time is spent thinking on my next move. She's now in her probable permanent home and I hopefully wont have to move her for years! It's exciting but not something I want to do often.

 

[Formerphobe]

Hehe. I bet they wouldn't be! I'm still very new with rehousing OW tarantulas so it takes about two hours to rehouse my OBT and half of that time is spent thinking on my next move. She's now in her probable permanent home and I hopefully wont have to move her for years! It's exciting but not something I want to do often.

Of late, I have taken to using the large clear trash bag method, which is less of a hassle than sealing up the entire bathroom and incurring the wrath of my daughter when she encounters the plastic wrapped toilet seat. I did this with my female OBT. She, too, is now in her probable permanent home. Packed my male M. balfouri teleporter extraordinaire for shipping via plastic bag, too. Went very smoothly. Whew! IMO, OW of any kind warrant every possible precaution. Or maybe I'm just a wuss. LOL

 

[Anonymity82]

Not a wuss! Safety first!! I have to learn this bag method. I need to see someone do it first in front of me.

 

[Armstrong5]

If you want one then do your research and start with a sling or juvie and go for it! I know I let the whole OW thing freak me out for awhile and what happened to me is I after about a 2 years in the hobby I finally broke down and bought a regalis sling and fell in love with old world. The problem I ran into was by that time I had around 40 T's all NW guys and a lot of them I was no longer very interested in. Dont get me wrong I love them all but all Im saying is if you want one go for it just remember when rehousing them to always remain calm because most problems happen when you freak out which is very easy to do. I dont have a togo but I have a H. mac and she is one of the calmest OW I have with exception of my P. miranda's. I would much rather deal with a togo my king or my mac than my 8" ornata. IDK I will quit rambling but other than rehousing if you have them in the right set up with a hide that they like they usually wont just bolt for no reason....not to say they cant because they could but usually dont. I guess I said all that to say if you want one go for it! OW are the best and I now have 14 pokies and this is coming from a guy that said he would never get a pokie because they were to big and fast!

 

[jayefbe]

I dont have a togo but I have a H. mac and she is one of the calmest OW I have with exception of my P. miranda

Togo starburst is the common name (which should be avoided anyways) for Heteroscodra maculata (H.mac).