Preserving tarantula options..resin or the other method

[C0kaCoLa]

Hi.. I would like to know if there are other way to preserve tarantula nicely?
The method that i keep reading on is the resin method. I just want to ask if the oven drying method will work for tarantula?? The oven drying method I mean is the one we used to preserve scorpions and other insects.. like clean them with alcohol then fix them on a foam then put in oven for 1 or 2 months..Does it work for Ts?? any other methods besides resin?

 

[presurcukr]

Not that I would do, but you can Freeze dry them .I would never kill anything just to display it in a box .They are more fascinating when alive.

 

[v4climber]

Not that I would do, but you can Freeze dry them .I would never kill anything just to display it in a box .They are more fascinating when alive.

I think they mean once the T is dead...

---

There are a number of people that stuff the T's and mount them on a scene... Search the forums for "preservation" and "preserve"

 

[C0kaCoLa]

yup i mean after the T is dead.. Howdo I freeze fry them?? Do i need some kind of expensive machine?? and I dont want to put the T in the freezer forever.. I want to be able to display in my room or somewhere else just like my scorp.. What should i do?

 

[Skullptor]

I have seen them mounted in a small shadow box before. The thing I don't like about non-resin mounting is the setae will eventually fall off and you have a lot of loose hair moving around the box.

Take a large old cassette tape holder and pull out all the ribs. You can mount like butterflies and put a sheet of acrylic over it. Looks better than it sounds. If you really want it to look good glue some felt fabric on the inside. You can find cassette holders next to nothing at flea markets. I made a few and they cost less than the cost of the polyester resin.

 

[barabootom]

Use a piece of styrofoam and spread the tarantula with pins. As it dries it will smell pretty bad. Nothing special needs to be done. Put it in a dry place for a few months. I put mine in the basement in a cardboard box with mothballs near our dehumidifier. It will slowly dry out. The abdomen will shrink up somewhat but usually not too bad. You must use mothballs or other insects will get into it and eat it. Once it has completely dried, you can remove the pins and it will hold its position unless it gets humid. As it dries check it to be sure you don't have any mold. If you get any mold, move it to a drier location. To permanently keep it, you should either store it in a case with mothballs or mount it in a frame. If you mount it, get a good frame from a frame shop and seal the inside of the frame with silicone. That will help keep out moisture and bugs. I would also use UV glass so the colors on the T don't fade. Once framed, the tarantula should last for a century unless it gets too humid. I'm planning on putting a frame together for my son. Here is an 8 in A geniculata female that was CB and raised from a sling. She died a natural death after a molt. She has been drying for about 6 weeks and is almost dry. I can remove the pins now if I wanted to.

 

[C0kaCoLa]

ok thanks barabootom.. i might need to get more details on how u do it..but before that i still have questions..

will the internal organs of the T dry as well?? afraid it might have fungus or other organisms invading the internals..

when drying and preserving this way, can be change its shape as we like or we can only preserve it flat like the one in your pic?

 

[barabootom]

will the internal organs of the T dry as well?? afraid it might have fungus or other organisms invading the internals..

The internal organs will also dry out. If you think you have worms or something in the T, the mothballs should kill them. Use paradichlorobenzene mothballs and not naphthalene mothballs. If you have a fungus it will stop growing once the T dries. If you can see a fungus you might want to dry it faster, I'm not sure how you would do that economically.

when drying and preserving this way, can be change its shape as we like or we can only preserve it flat like the one in your pic?

You can position the T in any shape you want. Once it dries it will maintain that position unless it gets humid. Once when I was 15 or so (many years ago) I mounted a pamphobeteus fortis into a threat pose and put it in the bananas of a local grocery.

 

[eL Tre]

Once when I was 15 or so (many years ago) I mounted a pamphobeteus fortis into a threat pose and put it in the bananas of a local grocery.

omg what if you gave some old lady a heart attack =P

 

[dtknow]

How old was this geniculata female when she passed?

 

[the nature boy]

surprise!

I talked a bartender into placing an exuvium in a drawer in the cash register. The other bartender, who happened to be female, was surprised--and not pleasantly so--when she went to get out some change. lol.

--the nature boy

 

[Skullptor]

You should consider the resin method. It is the only permanent method and it's really easy to do. I make these and use them as drink coasters. The benefits out way the costs.
1. glues the legs of the spider onto a piece of acrylic with super glue.
2. build a mold box around the piece. This is just something that will contain the fluid until it hardens. Mix the resin and pour. After it hardens, remove the mold box and sand the piece smooth.

The key is building a good mold box. Have a palm sander with you when you pour. This will act as a shaker table to help free up air bubbles. Here is an example of my drink coasters:

You can see that the sides magnify the view

You can also see how it looks with minimal air bubbles entrapped. There would be air bubbles trapped on every setae if you don't prevent it.

You can see the line of the acrylic sheet at the bottom.

 

[crpy]

how did you get the scratches out from sanding?

 

[v4climber]

how did you get the scratches out from sanding?

I don't think he sanded, he put the mold on the sander and the sander shook, just like the vibrating coolers they use to get completely air-bubble free ice...

 

[Skullptor]

how did you get the scratches out from sanding?

Similar to wood with using finer grit as you go. I used a sanding chalk too.

 

[barabootom]

omg what if you gave some old lady a heart attack =P

They talked about the giant banana spider at the store for quite awhile. The manager probably still thinks it came in with the bananas.

 

[Skullptor]

I don't think he sanded, he put the mold on the sander and the sander shook, just like the vibrating coolers they use to get completely air-bubble free ice...

I used the sander for this purpose also.

 

[barabootom]

How old was this geniculata female when she passed?

I'm not sure on her age. I received her as already mature. She did produce eggs a couple of times. I don't know why she died. There was no apparent reason, just an unlucky day.

 

[barabootom]

You should consider the resin method. It is the only permanent method and it's really easy to do. I make these and use them as drink coasters. The benefits out way the costs.
1. glues the legs of the spider onto a piece of acrylic with super glue.
2. build a mold box around the piece. This is just something that will contain the fluid until it hardens. Mix the resin and pour. After it hardens, remove the mold box and sand the piece smooth.

The key is building a good mold box. Have a palm sander with you when you pour. This will act as a shaker table to help free up air bubbles. Here is an example of my drink coasters:

Very nice coasters. What kind of resin cost is there on an 8 inch T? How difficult is it to get rid of bubbles? How long do you have to vibrate the drying resin? I'll have to give this a try.

 

[Skullptor]

Very nice coasters. What kind of resin cost is there on an 8 inch T? How difficult is it to get rid of bubbles? How long do you have to vibrate the drying resin? I'll have to give this a try.

One can should do fine which is around $15.00 at Michaels. It's not difficult it's just that you're under the gun before it sets up. You only have minutes to work with and sometimes you get some that you struggle with. Of course tarantulas are harder due to the the amount of setae. Once it starts to set up you're done. You can get creative and pour in stages to embed things.
This is a bottom view of one.

This was poured in stages to give the appearance of it floating. The same piece just a side view.

You can see an air bubble next to the fang. It looks horrible when you have a lot of them. Along with the shaker table made with a hand sander, I also have a tool that I can gently rub the legs to dis-lodge any stubborn air bubbles.