OBT panic

ember

Arachnosquire
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Feb 13, 2007
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So yesterday, I get a shipment of spiders in. We have been anticipating this package and the whole family is really excited...

I move seven slings into new jars without a hint of a problem. Easy as pie. They all eat pinheads and settle in nice. Good for me.

I go to move the large OBT to her new tank. I have the habitat all set up, my paint brush and long feeding tongs by my side, and everything in the bathtub 'just in case' the transfer is not totally smooth and I have a spider on the loose (but that never happens).

Well, I open the deli cup and the SECOND air touches the spider she is out and in half a blink she has scaled the bathtub and is UP THE FRIGGIN WALL. I have an OBT on my ceiling. I have this moment of shock... what is this African burrowing spider doing on my very American ceiling?!

It took me over an hour. I was pouring sweat. I was cussing like a pissed off drunk sailor. She ran like mad all over my walls and ceiling. I thought for certain that she was going to fall to her death, and it was making me a nervous wreck. I was not afraid of a bite.. I could not get f'ing close enough to GET bitten. That would have been FINE. It was the spider falling over 8 feet to her death that I was freaked out about... oh, and just general escape.

Well, I did finally get her into her tank. Like I said, it took over an hour. I had to mist her off of the ceiling with a spray bottle, and use my damn hand to get her into the tank. She could sense the deli cup; if I even thought about reaching for it, she would book it across the ceiling or walls.

She is all webbed up nicely in a tunnel right now, a cricket already met its end.

SIGH. That was insane. I am glad that it is over, and that SOME HOW the poor spider did not fall to her death.

This is the same tarantula that the wonderful supplier was able to easily manipulate over to check sex. I guess the shipping here pissed her off, because I have never seen such madness with a tarantula. Once I did get her blocked off, she was totally fine with my hand as the transporting object into the tank. Friggin weird.
 

Sunar

Arachnoknight
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Mar 28, 2006
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LOL That is a funny story. I'm glad she's doing fine in her new home.

~Fred
 

monitormonster

Arachnoknight
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Mar 12, 2007
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That's awesome.....nice job with that insane situation. Glad to hear the spider is doin' good
 

ember

Arachnosquire
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Feb 13, 2007
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P. murinus... Big, fast, beautiful orange burrowing spider. OBT is an acronym for Orange Baboon Tarantula, I think, but is fondly referred to as an Orange Bitey Thing. They are not uncommon, but this is our first one.
 

syph

Arachnopeon
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Jan 27, 2007
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yeah thats shipping for you, ive recieved packages the postman was spinning in the air and catching..twice . needless to say the spiders were angry both times they bit the paint brush and one bolted.
 

phil jones

Arachnoprince
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Dec 17, 2006
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hi when i got my one she been in a cold room for about 3 hours so i open her tub she was sent in and very gently touched a back leg with a chop stick well she turned round and 3 times she bit the stick the last time holding on for about 20 secs!!! then she just walked out in to her new tank as calm as you like and was happy looking around her new home ? you never can say how they will be i think the cold slowed her down ? and she was happy to get in a warm tank lol ---------- phil
 

cacoseraph

ArachnoGod
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heh, this was the first (and by far the most) tara species to make it to the floor with me.

the babies are truly derranged and will jump off anything. juvs and subadults are hardly any better.

good telling of the story :)
 

william

Arachnosquire
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Mar 18, 2006
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oooo i thought you were talking about a Citharischius crawshayi.glad to know its ok
 

mikeymo

Arachnoknight
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Jan 14, 2007
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that is a good story and i'm glad it had a happy ending. I almost bought one of these guys this week. I decided against it because i heard they were a handful... haha. :embarrassed:
 

Giantsfan24

Arachnosquire
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Mar 28, 2007
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I am in class right now and had to fight from laughing out loud. I recently got one and beieve it or not, it is actually handlable(the owner held it right in front of me). So weird how most are pretty crazy and some are not. Even weirder is that my N chromatus is worse than my OBT.
 

Midnightrdr456

Arachnoprince
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Jan 17, 2006
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Yeah I just received a 4" H. Maculata from Michelle (Oldhag) here on the boards. Same thing once it realized the container was open it lunged at my fingers and proceeded to run and give a very prominent threat display. I know the nervous feeling, but mine was for my own fingers, since the spider was on the bathtub floor!
 

ember

Arachnosquire
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Mine was on the bathtub floor, too... for, oh, 1.5 seconds.
 

dianedfisher

Arachnobaron
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Mar 14, 2007
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Hee Hee

I felt like I was right there with you! Great description. I have 3 P. Murinis coming on Tuesday and I can't wait. We are meeting half way and they are coming via car, so hopefully they will be nicer to me than your T. Di
 

galeogirl

Arachnoprince
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I learned my lesson with OBTs a long time ago, I put the deli cup into their new cage before I open the lid.
 

ember

Arachnosquire
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Feb 13, 2007
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You would think that would work, wouldn't you? Humph...
 

IdahoBiteyThing

Arachnobaron
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Mar 2, 2007
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lmao

I am LMAO over that one, you should post more! As an OBT fan, I can totally picture it going ballistic on your oh so American Ceiling. Thanks for the day brightener!(glad it had a happy, albeit nerve-wracking ending) Tony{D
 

galeogirl

Arachnoprince
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If they're really agitated in the shipping container, I usually give them some time to cool down before I transfer them. Both of my current OBTs are downright mellow, it's my parahybana you have to watch out for. {D
 

edesign

AB FB Group Moderatr
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Apr 23, 2004
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I learned my lesson with OBTs a long time ago, I put the deli cup into their new cage before I open the lid.
You would think that would work, wouldn't you? Humph...
it does if you get creative and prevent it from being able to escape ;) loosen the lid on the deli cup but don't open it and put it in the new tank. Close off all possible escape paths, I usually end up using towels since they can be made to whatever shape I need (i.e., wad/fold them up). Then use long tweezers or a metal clothes hangar (bent to whatever shape is required) to open the deli cup lid by poking them through a slit in the towel. The benefit of this is that it leaves practically no way for the spider to escape unless the towels shift. This sometimes require a second person and is kind of cumbersome...but it's better than chasing an OBT around. i learned my lesson the first time too lol. no escape, but it came close and had fangs gnashing the deli cup from underneath the lid next to my fingers trying to hold it closed without hurting any of the three legs it had managed to partially stick out. Oh fun memories :D

Work slowly, take your time...once you get the lid off start to unfold/remove the paper towel wads, eventually the spider will come out. Now the hard part is removing the deli cup and lid (unless you want to leave it in to become part of the nest) because you have to have an opening the same size...which will inevitably be large enough for the spider to escape. I ended up sticking mine in the refridgerator for 3-4 minute intervals until it had slowed down enough to be manageable (maybe 10-12 minutes total). This will NOT harm the spider as long as you don't forget it's in there for a longer period of time, which is why I say 3 or 4 minute intervals so there's pretty much no chance of harming it...unless you're trying to cool it down enough to where it can't move which is just plain dumb ;)
 
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