Noob Question But its important.

Staley

Arachnobaron
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Ok I have never shipped anything before. and i am about to have to ship an Indian Ornamental.... LOL. Is there really anything worse to try and ship for your first time? lol. Its a Mature Male P Regalis. And its Vicious ,Fast, and probabally Pissed off.
Any Tips on how to catch this little demon and safely package it will be greatly appreciated. Plus i need to know how to lable the package.
 

ballpython2

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http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=16807

My first shipping was two OBTs. I used the method from the thread and it went off without a hitch...until i didnt recieve payment :evil: . Anyways, that thread should tell you what you need to know.
You can put a tarantula in the frigde for about 5 -20 mins and this will slow them down a lot and you should quickly and properly wrap him up the correct way and put in the box...if you take too long to wrap him up after you cool him down...he will without warning come back alive and either bite you or run away quickly...
 

Staley

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WOW both were very helpful and i will use everything you have give me. Thanks SOOO MUCH lol . How potent is Pokie Venom? i mean what side affects are we talking about here? from Best case senerio to worst possible
 

spider_fan

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Anything from a dry bite that is just puncture wounds, to envenomation, which can mean muscle cramps for up to two or three weks after the bite in some cases.
 

Snipes

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You can put a tarantula in the frigde for about 5 -20 mins and this will slow them down a lot and you should quickly and properly wrap him up the correct way and put in the box...if you take too long to wrap him up after you cool him down...he will without warning come back alive and either bite you or run away quickly...
NO! Do NOT do this. Thats a sure way to kill a tarantula. If you were to fridge him, i would say even 5 minutes is pushing it.
 

Windchaser

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Personally for tarantulas like this I like to use a 20 oz soda bottle.

1. Put some holes in the bottle for air.
2. Cut the bottom off. Generally there is a line around the lower part of the bottle that you can use as a guide to cut off the bottom. Try to make your cut as straight as possible.
3. Line the inside of the top half of the bottle with paper towel or tissue. Leave a tube in the center similar to a cave in the paper towel.
4. Place some paper towel in the bottom section of the bottle.
5. Open the tarantula's enclosure and position the bottle at the point where the tarantula will attempt to escape when you bother it. Tarantulas will generally try to climb up when getting away from something, so putting the bottle above them is generally a good place to start.
6. Use a straw or paint brush to nudge the tarantula, guiding them to the bottle. They will generally try to seek the safety of the bottle to get away from you.
7. Once the tarantula is inside the bottle fit the bottom back over the lower portion of the bottle.
8. Tape the bottom on to the top portion of the bottle and pack for shipping.
 

ballpython2

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NO! Do NOT do this. Thats a sure way to kill a tarantula. If you were to fridge him, i would say even 5 minutes is pushing it.
5 minutes isnt pushing it at all.... i got all my information from that big thick tarantula keeper's guide...
 

green_bottle_04

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WOW both were very helpful and i will use everything you have give me. Thanks SOOO MUCH lol . How potent is Pokie Venom? i mean what side affects are we talking about here? from Best case senerio to worst possible
muscle cramps, nausea, increased heart rate, sometimes fever, sweating (either from fever or cold sweats) headache. its not a fun one.
 

green_bottle_04

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5 minutes isnt pushing it at all.... i got all my information from that big thick tarantula keeper's guide...
id say 10 minutes will be sufficient (depending on how cold you keep your fridge set at) but this method doesnt always work. if its a big spider in say a 10 gal. tank...its a little harder to fit that in the fridge than a kritter keeper would be. so....eventually you WILL have to figure out other ways of getting the spider into a container without chilling so you might as well get used to it now.
 
I

Inverted

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I would never refridgerate a spider just to try and slow it down for packing. They sometimes get cold enough as it is. I have seen the effects of a spider getting to cold from being shipped and the nervous system damgae that may be caused by it. A fridge can cause the same damage and I don't think it's worth it.

I would not be concerned about a pokie being overly toxic they just have a tendency sometimes to bite especially if cornered. A mature male can actually be handled quite easily because I have not seen a male yet that gets angry enough to bite. They just want to breed and at that point food means very little to them as well.
 

green_bottle_04

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I would never refridgerate a spider just to try and slow it down for packing. They sometimes get cold enough as it is. I have seen the effects of a spider getting to cold from being shipped and the nervous system damgae that may be caused by it. A fridge can cause the same damage and I don't think it's worth it.

I would not be concerned about a pokie being overly toxic they just have a tendency sometimes to bite especially if cornered. A mature male can actually be handled quite easily because I have not seen a male yet that gets angry enough to bite. They just want to breed and at that point food means very little to them as well.
spiders dont have nervous systems. and i would be concerned with a pokies venom as it is pretty toxic. if you had ever been bitten by one you would most definately sing a different tune.
 

Stylopidae

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spiders dont have nervous systems. and i would be concerned with a pokies venom as it is pretty toxic. if you had ever been bitten by one you would most definately sing a different tune.
Spiders do have nervous systems, actually. They're just wired a bit differently than ours. A lot differently, actually.

As far as venom goes, pokie venom can be pretty bad but I think the method Windchaser described is probably the best you can get. I'm probably going to switch to that method myself ;)
 

green_bottle_04

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Spiders do have nervous systems, actually. They're just wired a bit differently than ours. A lot differently, actually.

As far as venom goes, pokie venom can be pretty bad but I think the method Windchaser described is probably the best you can get. I'm probably going to switch to that method myself ;)
your right i should have been more clear. they do have nervous systems...just not in the way that most people view what "nervous system" means in comparison to our own.
 

Thoth

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Cooling is a common accepted method of slowing invertebrates, whether or not cooling a t has any true lasting health effects on the t is undetermined (nothing but anecdotal evidence as far as I have seen).

With that said it is too variable a method. There are several factors affecting how long before a t becomes fully active (and possibly pissed off) and one generally doesn't know when that will happen. People will tend to become complacent since they cooled their t and are less careful in handling than they would be with a fully active one. So one can suddenly find themselves with an active ts they are not fully prepared for.

Windchaser's method works well, just don't freak out when transferring your t.
 
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Staley

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Obviously you have never seen A Mature male P Regalis. Because anyone that has knows that they are Chained Lightening. I Truely Understand what it means when pople say they teleport.
 

Windchaser

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Obviously you have never seen A Mature male P Regalis. Because anyone that has knows that they are Chained Lightening. I Truely Understand what it means when pople say they teleport.
Not sure who you are addressing this to but I did want to point out that some of the folks who responded definitely have experience with P. regalis. I have transfer quite a few tarantulas using the method I described including P. murinus which in my opinion are faster than a P. regalis. Just know that they can bolt and stayed relaxed. I have found that transfer goes much smoother when you remain calm. This also helps to keep the tarantulas calmer.
 

Snipes

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5 minutes isnt pushing it at all.... i got all my information from that big thick tarantula keeper's guide...
TTKG also says to put the female into the males cage when breeding :)

Anyways, use WC's tips, I'm sure he has enough experience with this to know what he is talking about.
 

Thoth

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I think he might be referring my advice not to freak out when dealing with his t.

No I haven't dealt with a mature male P.regalis, I have a P.ornata, transferred several very fast moving species (and not the most docile), such as P.irminia, P.murinus, C.cyaneopubescens, and the australian ts. Yes I still stand by don't freak out. A little fear is healthy, it keeps one cautious but if one is scared to the point of hands shaking or jumping anytime the t moves then they should rethink theirr choice of ts.
 
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