Rehousing 7 (8) apiders

[LeonExotic]

This weekend was my big rehousing project. I only had 4 spiders, with 3 on the way Sunday.
The group is as follows:
G. Rosea x2 (1.5")
A. Avicularia (1")
Wolf spider (Lycosa genus 2")

New additons:

A. Metallica
B. Albopilosum
C. Cyaneopubescens

So, Sunday I picked up the 3 new slings from J & T Reptiles in Brooksville, FL (I'll write a review later, A+ breeders). I had already made up everyone's new enclosure the day before So I set up mystation and got to work. The following took 2 1/2 hours to complete:

First up, G. Rosea. Both were calm and moved with ease (Favorite species to work with).

Next, B. Albopilosum. This is supossedly a docile species....but he was a bit of a pain to get out. He really loved that dirt hole. But after a few minutes he was eased in there (currently he has a new hole that he loves).

Now we get to the exciting part- A. Avicularia. First time rehousing any Avic. I had read and heard about their ability to go really quick with no warning, and about the jumping. Still, was not prepared for it to jump out of his home, past the catch cup, and onto the rim of the safety bowl (so he wouldn't escape onto the table). Luckily i got him into the catch cup after that, but even when I put him to the new home he climbed onto the rim and started doing laps at warp speed. I was afraid he was going to fly off again! So this took about 6 more minutes of me chasing him around the rim with a small paintbrush before he found his way inside. After 2 days though his web is really coming along! I didn't expect him to be so productive so quick.

After that fiasco, I figured I might as well get the next one out of the way, A. Metallica. Literally the exact same story as A. Avicularia. Not one difference.

GBB Was a little stressful. I know they're supposed to be skittish, but this guy was kind of mean. He kept turning to face the brush and striking at it. I've never heard of them doing this unless you keep poking them, and I was being very cautious. (Anyone have advice or thoughts on this?). But I got him in in a very cool way. His deli cup was wider than my catch cup, so I lowered the catch cup on top of him (there was no decor in the deli cup he came in, just flat 1" sub with a blanket of web). When I lifted the catch cup, the web had stuck to the rim, bring the entire blanket of web spider and all. The rest was easy enough, just lower spider into new home!

The last part of my long story is the wolf spider. This wasn't supposed to be a rehousing as her enclosure is large enough, but guess who had a baby with her when she was caught? I hadn't noticed until a week after I caught and homed her that there was a little one in there with her! So I moved mama out, grabbed baby, and put him into one of the condiment cups that my new slings came in.

Conclusion:
Hardest rehousing- Avics
Easiest rehousing-G. Rosea

Quick producers/builders:
B. Albopilosum
A. Aviculria
G. Rosea

 

[14pokies]

My A.avics are fast, skittish and agile.. I did a rehousing video of my 3 inch Guyana local and she kept climbing the straw.. I don't condone handling so I didn't show all of that part .

Three out of my four metallicas are very calm.. Like catatonic.. Which is about average for A.mets. The fourth one is more defensive than anything in my collection besides my absurdly psychotic H.lividum.. That damn Avic bites and doesn't let go.. She's nuts! So maybe your A.met is just the odd ball skittish one out of the sac.

As far as the GBB goes they are nervous spiders in general.. None of the ones I have ever owned were slow to kick hairs or bolt if spooked.. I haven't come across one that is actually defensive though.

You will quickly find out that just because you have a species that is said to be calm or said to be defensive each tarantula is unique in it's temperament and habits.. We can make generalized statements about any given Genera that hold true for the most part but there are allways exceptions.

 

[GreyPsyche]

My GBB is calm and only kicked hairs once, never bolted. My gfs avic likes to calmly climb to the top of the enclosure and wait for something (paintbrush or tweezers for maintenance) then she calmly climbs them as well, lol, I don't condone handling either but she usually just goes to my hand then I'll put the catch cup beside my hand and she'll literally just jump into it. It's pretty wacko but neat, lol.

 

[Timc]

My GBB is a total jerk so you're not alone. Last rehouse she refused to move and turned to fight my paper straws no matter how gentle I was. Threat posture and everything. She was almost as bad as an OBT. Almost.

 

[Andrea82]

One of my GBB was defensive once, but that was because it was in premolt. Premolt can be a bit difficult to see in this species, and when I failed to notice she was in premolt and tossed a locust in there she reared up and struck at it, backing away at the same time.
T's that are usually calm can get more edgy when close to a molt.

 

[nburgmei]

One quick thing I noticed from your write-up was you mentioned you were doing your work on a table. If one of your Ts does manage to get out and finds its way diving off a table then it might be bad news. The lower you work the better.

 

[LeonExotic]

My A.avics are fast, skittish and agile.. I did a rehousing video of my 3 inch Guyana local and she kept climbing the straw.. I don't condone handling so I didn't show all of that part .

Three out of my four metallicas are very calm.. Like catatonic.. Which is about average for A.mets. The fourth one is more defensive than anything in my collection besides my absurdly psychotic H.lividum.. That damn Avic bites and doesn't let go.. She's nuts! So maybe your A.met is just the odd ball skittish one out of the sac.

As far as the GBB goes they are nervous spiders in general.. None of the ones I have ever owned were slow to kick hairs or bolt if spooked.. I haven't come across one that is actually defensive though.

You will quickly find out that just because you have a species that is said to be calm or said to be defensive each tarantula is unique in it's temperament and habits.. We can make generalized statements about any given Genera that hold true for the most part but there are allways exceptions.

I get oddballs in all species lol. I got the 1 ball python that strikes first, balls later lol.

My GBB is a total jerk so you're not alone. Last rehouse she refused to move and turned to fight my paper straws no matter how gentle I was. Threat posture and everything. She was almost as bad as an OBT. Almost.

That's exactly how it went down! I wil have to rehome her again in a couple of molts so hopefully by that time she has calmed down a bit.

One quick thing I noticed from your write-up was you mentioned you were doing your work on a table. If one of your Ts does manage to get out and finds its way diving off a table then it might be bad news. The lower you work the better.

That's sound advice, didn't think about that. But the table is actually a little over a foot tall. It's really an entertainment center but i don't need it for my tv. It's low and wide so I have a lot of surface area to chase down and cup an escapee

 

[D Sherlod]

I must have an odd ball Gbb. It comes to the top of its enclosure as soon as the lid is open.
just sits there and hangs out. Waits for me to drop a cricket, then dives after the cricket.
pretty chill little one.

 

[CWilson1351]

I have a moody GBB. When it first came home it was calm as could be. After the first rehousing it would kick if I so much as exhaled near the vent holes. Since the recent rehousing, it has only left it's room (hide) at night to hunt down food and is back in before I see it. Even molted since the move, but still has not kicked it out of the hide. Today was the first time I saw more than legs or rear end since the move in fact.
Just pieced all this together and I think I have a teenager tarantula