PLEASE HELP

[kristakacz]

So my 1" B. hamorii sling closed off its burrow about a month ago and I havent seen it since. I've just been waiting to see it again whenever it was ready. today, however, I was cleaning my room and found a spider in a shirt that was laying on the ground. it was slightly grayish with orangeish/redish legs and maybe slightly bigger than my sling. I went to lay my shirt flat on my bed while I went to grab my catch cup and then it was gone. I checked all my blankets, the floor, in between the mattress, everything.

if it's not my T, then I'm not worried about finding it, I'll just let it move on. but if it is, I want to know so I can grab it and build a better enclosure. should i check my T's hide? its in a tunnel under the cork bark so I'm sure if I just peak under the bark I should see if my T is there or not. I know you shouldn't disturb a closed burrow but this may be an emergency. pleeaaase help

Also, there's no sign of a breakout in my T's enclosure. its a sling enclosure from Jamie's Tarantulas and everything is in tact.

 

[SharkNATO]

Wait to hear from more experienced keepers, but this is a situation where I would consider checking the burrow

 

[Vanessa]

Yes, of course you should check to see if your tarantula is still in the enclosure.

 

[PidderPeets]

It's been a long time since I used them, but if they're still the same, a 1" sling should not be able to get out of a Jamie's sling enclosure. Take a picture of the enclosure and post it.

Is this your only T, or do you have others? If you have others, I would check to see if you have any escapees in those enclosures first.

Try seeing if you can find the spider. Then you have it no matter what and you can try to determine whether it's your T or not. You can also look online for spiders native to your area to see if you can identify the spider as your T pr a true spider before you go crazy looking. Some true "grayish spiders with orange/red legs" that come to mind are Trachelas tranquillus and Dysdera crocata. Not exactly species that look like tarantulas, but anything is possible in a split second scenario.

 

[kristakacz]

It's been a long time since I used them, but if they're still the same, a 1" sling should not be able to get out of a Jamie's sling enclosure. Take a picture of the enclosure and post it.

Is this your only T, or do you have others? If you have others, I would check to see if you have any escapees in those enclosures first.

Try seeing if you can find the spider. Then you have it no matter what and you can try to determine whether it's your T or not. You can also look online for spiders native to your area to see if you can identify the spider as your T pr a true spider before you go crazy looking. Some true "grayish spiders with orange/red legs" that come to mind are Trachelas tranquillus and Dysdera crocata. Not exactly species that look like tarantulas, but anything is possible in a split second scenario.

I also have a C. versicolor sling but its been a busy bee today making a web so its totally fine. it also isn't in the same enclosure.

and i had thrown some clothes a little bit ago on the floor to do laundry. so it's difficult to check everything without throwing it somewhere else after I've checked it and giving the spider somewhere new to hide. I just keep checking everything over again. i have no clue how it ran off in a matter of 5 seconds

Yes, of course you should check to see if your tarantula is still in the enclosure.

I did try to lift the bark just a little and a ton of substrate came with it. im terrified that if its in there I could hurt it, let alone stress it out

 

[Smotzer]

So my 1" B. hamorii sling closed off its burrow about a month ago and I havent seen it since. I've just been waiting to see it again whenever it was ready. today, however, I was cleaning my room and found a spider in a shirt that was laying on the ground. it was slightly grayish with orangeish/redish legs and maybe slightly bigger than my sling. I went to lay my shirt flat on my bed while I went to grab my catch cup and then it was gone. I checked all my blankets, the floor, in between the mattress, everything.

if it's not my T, then I'm not worried about finding it, I'll just let it move on. but if it is, I want to know so I can grab it and build a better enclosure. should i check my T's hide? its in a tunnel under the cork bark so I'm sure if I just peak under the bark I should see if my T is there or not. I know you shouldn't disturb a closed burrow but this may be an emergency. pleeaaase help

Well we won’t be able to tell you if that was your tarantula or not without a picture or anything, you’ll have to figure out if your Brachypelma is still in there or not. Only one way to find out, let us know . Slings can escape out of incredibly small spaces!

 

[Vanessa]

I did try to lift the bark just a little and a ton of substrate came with it. im terrified that if its in there I could hurt it, let alone stress it out

Okay, here are your options.
Find the other spider to confirm if it is your tarantula.
Check your tarantula's enclosure to see if they are still in there.
Believe me, if your tarantula has escaped, it is going to be in FAR more peril than you checking for it in it's enclosure - if it is a spiderling it will likely die if it has escaped.
Your spider, your choice.

 

[PidderPeets]

I also have a C. versicolor sling but its been a busy bee today making a web so its totally fine. it also isn't in the same enclosure.

and i had thrown some clothes a little bit ago on the floor to do laundry. so it's difficult to check everything without throwing it somewhere else after I've checked it and giving the spider somewhere new to hide. I just keep checking everything over again. i have no clue how it ran off in a matter of 5 seconds

Well you're not gonna mistake a versi sling for a hamorii or a true spider, so that's one thing out of the way.

That speed is also why I'm wondering if it was a true spider. B. hamorii really aren't all that fast. But different people might have different perceptions of speed.

If you can very carefully scoop away some of the substrate covering the burrow of the sling (with a spoon or similar), I would do that just to check. Like a I said, I don't think a 1" sling would be able to get out of a Jamie's sling enclosure, but it shouldn't hurt to check. Again, posting pictures of the enclosure would be helpful too.

 

[kristakacz]

I just checked the enclosure, my sling is still inside. thank you everyone for your advice and encouragement. a lot of substrate came out with the bark so im just going to wait until it comes out then rebuild the enclosure (since there is more vertical space now)

 

[quirinus]

Glad it's still there. I'd love to see a pic of that spider that looks like hamorii but isn't are there even T's in Virginia?

 

[Smotzer]

I just checked the enclosure, my sling is still inside. thank you everyone for your advice and encouragement. a lot of substrate came out with the bark so im just going to wait until it comes out then rebuild the enclosure (since there is more vertical space now)

Very glad to hear you didnt have a Harry Houdini!

 

[kristakacz]

Glad it's still there. I'd love to see a pic of that spider that looks like hamorii but isn't are there even T's in Virginia?

I wouldn't say it looked like my hamorii, but it was slightly larger with similar coloring, i didn't get the best look before i lunged for the catch cup haha

 

[EpicEpic]

Breathe. Glad all is OK

True spiders/Slings can be easily confused for eachother within a few seconds of pandemonium.

Don't worry. Little hamorii is just fine. Even if it was mid molt when you picked up the hide....it would likely still be fine!....so don't worry for a second!

All is good at kristakacz spider room

 

[kristakacz]

Breathe. Glad all is OK

True spiders/Slings can be easily confused for eachother within a few seconds of pandemonium.

Don't worry. Little hamorii is just fine. Even if it was mid molt when you picked up the hide....it would likely still be fine!....so don't worry for a second!

All is good at kristakacz spider room

thank you thank you thank youuu

 

[kristakacz]

update for anyone that's curious; I tried to lure my T out of its enclosure to put it in the new one, and it wanted no part of it. so I just planned on waiting until it came out all the way on its own. the next morning it closed off the hole again and make a further burrow that I can see inside of.

I can just imagine it saying "GO AWAY MOM IM NOT LEAVING MY ROOM"