So I cooked my versicolor....Someone make me feel better please....

abstract

Arachnodemon
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Feb 25, 2003
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I went out of town for a day, and left my spiders sitting in the corner with a heater that I have been using to keep them a little warm.

I get back today, find my versicolor scrunched up in the bottom of his container - dead. My Rosie had tunneled itself in the corner of his enclosure, but seems to be doing okay. I have a curlyhair sling that seems to be doing allright now, but is moving around a little slow....Also have a P. Irminia, who also seems to be doing fine.

I think the enclosure that I had the versicolor in just wasn't getting the proper circulation, and he just had a final sauna before heading up to spider heaven.

I had used the heater before, but I guess unattended it got a little hot for the little buggers. I am REAL mad at myself right now, but at least I only had a 25% casualty rate.

Has anyone else ever done anything irresponsible (other than dropping) that has resulted in casualties? It would make me feel a lot better knowing that I'm not the only one that has - also, do you guys have any recommendations to check the health of the survivors? The temp gauge in Rosies container read 100 - so I'm assuming they've all been subjected to that kind of heat for more than a few hours......
 

Venom

Arachnoprince
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What a bummer. But don't feel too bad, I killed three wolfspiders of the same species before I figured out they need good ventilation! It was a nice species too, large and cool looking! But anyway, live and learn, and if you look at it differently, you have the perfect excuse to buy another T !
 

pategirl

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I'm still hating myself for what I did to what would have been a lovely H. gigas. I had been keeping it alive and feeding it fairly well with no problems, and one day I decided to put its container on a heating pad for a little bit and I accidentally turned it up on high....the poor little thing pretty much boiled because I forgot about it. I know better than that now, though. :)
 

Ultimate Instar

Arachnobaron
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Abstract, versicolor slings have a reputation for being a little more delicate than other Avicularia. I had one die for no apparent reason. I have two others that are doing very well so I don't think it was a problem with husbandry. Like Venom said, live and learn.

Karen N.
 

slice9

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Feb 26, 2003
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I think the rosie will be OK, from the Tarantula Keepers Guide by Stan Shultz -

"Roses come from the borders of the Atacama Desert in Northern
Chile at least as far south as Santiago. The Atacama can be one of the harshest environments on the planet! There are parts of it that have never had rain in recorded history. The temperatures there may reach 135 F (57 C) or higher in Summer. "


So if this species can survive that in the wild 100 F shouldn't be too much of a problem. Just make sure its got plenty of water and some moist substrate.

Also this is a perfect example of why NOT to place heating pads on the bottom of tanks like some people do. Like you said the rosie burrowed itself deeper to get away from the heat, this likely saved its life. If you had a heating pad on the bottom it would have just cooked itself.
 

abstract

Arachnodemon
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Thanx for the replies!

Thank you guys for all the reply's - I actually am trying one more thing as a last attempt......I read in the TKG that if a tarantula is extremely dehydrated (maybe due to overheating?) you can place it in a dish of water with the booklungs elevated and dry.

I'm not too hopeful - but I figger I'll let it sit there for another 30 min or so...can't hurt anything.

The rosie and irminia are both active now, and the curlyhair is also doing a little webbing - so I think the rest of them are doing fine.
 

nemesis6sic6

Arachnoangel
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that's sad

What would be the most proper and succesful way to raise a versicolor by the way?
I dont want mine to die
they seam inocent and blue
and I love them to death
can any one tell me how to set them up to the best way possible?
 

abstract

Arachnodemon
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Thanx for the replies!

Thank you guys for all the reply's - I actually am trying one more thing as a last attempt......I read in the TKG that if a tarantula is extremely dehydrated (maybe due to overheating?) you can place it in a dish of water with the booklungs elevated and dry.

I'm not too hopeful - but I figger I'll let it sit there for another 30 min or so...can't hurt anything.

The rosie and irminia are both active now, and the curlyhair is also doing a little webbing - so I think the rest of them are doing fine.
 

abstract

Arachnodemon
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all hope is lost

Yeah - so after about 45 minutes of face-in-the-water, I saw him move! Unfortunately - it was only my nudging that made him do so. Sadly enough, this little, innocent, blue creature was laid to rest (to the tune of the braveheart theme), next to my tree in the backyard - which is now adorned with a red ribbon marking his passage.

I figure he'd like to be buried next to the tree - due to his arboreal nature :)

Live and learn.
 

RugbyDave

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i've never used heaters, so i cant sympathize, but..

i can empathize -- sorry mate. If you get real into this, you know you're going to lose some beautiful T's in some mighty stupid ways..

at least you can learn from this right? look at the positive side.

again,sorry buddy
peace
dave
 

D-Man

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Use an infrared heat lamp (60w is plenty) - you can get them in the reptile sections of pet stores. Pick up a reflector to go with it. They run under $20 for the lamp and reflector and don't eat up all the wattage like a space heater. This one lamp keeps 3 slings and 2 juvies toastie (not toasted). I'm having excellent results, but you have to be able to sleep through a red room - I dig it!

If you're going to be gone for awhile, you can place the lamp farther away. It's better to have them in the 60f range in front of a lamp than toasting with a heater in 100f+ if ambient temps rise. It's in the mid-80's during the day now where I live - I run a ceiling fan, set the lamp farther away, and crack some windows (shades closed) to keep it in the 70-80's in my T's cages. They're happy, they told me so ;) !

Dario
 

Arachnopuppy

Arachnodemon
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I had past experiences with fish and heaters, so I never use heaters on tarantulas.
 

TarantuChimp

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In britan its goes down bloody cold in the early hours of the morning and after hearing that story, sorry man :( I am worried that my heat mat might be to harsh, can u get mats thet set temps?
u guys are lucky i bet u get nice weather, currently its raining cats and dogs out side.

T minus 2 weeks to T time
 

danread

Arachnoprince
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Tarantuchimp,

I live in the UK too, and i find heatpads to be completely fine, and very necessary in winter unless you can afford to heat you house to a decent temperature 24 hours a day. Just place the heat pad on the outside of the tank, on the back, resting against a wall, and only let it cover 2/3 of one side of the tank. That way, if the T feels too hot, it can move away or burrow to the other side of the tank. If you really are worried about overheating in the middle of summer, you can always buy a seperate thermostat unit (try www.easyexotics.co.uk/shop) that will turn off the heatpad once the tank reaches a set temperature.

Cheers,

Dan.
 

TheSpiderHouse

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I went to walmart and spend 20 bucks on a digital ceramic room heater. Its small and you can set it too whatever temp you want and maintain the entire room on very little electricity expense. It still gets pretty cold at nite here, so I leave it on 70f auto setting. If its over 70, it shuts off, under 70 and it turns on. Basically it doesn't run during the day because the room is around 75F, just during the nites. Pretty much guaranteed to not fry a T that way. Might help.
 

Rookie

Arachnoknight
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Has anyone else ever done anything irresponsible (other than dropping) that has resulted in casualties? It would make me feel a lot better knowing that I'm not the only one that has
Sorry to hear about the unfortunate incident. I only have one T, and luckily he/she's survived me so far, but i did almost squish him once. Peso (my 2.5" G. Pulchra) got away from me during a botched handling session, and I was sitting cross-legged on the floor. i scrambled to look for him/her, and almost squished him with my own knee! I know it's not a fatality, but i hope it makes you feel a little better. We all have to remember that invertebrates are not exactly immortal creatures...and sometimes their delicacy is their end. Sorry again about your loss (i plan to buy a versi next, they're a beautiful T).
Paul
 

abstract

Arachnodemon
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Thank you for the compassionate reply's - after a couple of days I've started to get over this tragic loss and put together some semblance of a life.... :)


Delonigan - "I went to walmart and spend 20 bucks on a digital ceramic room heater." - This sounds like a spectacular idea. I was looking for some type of thermostat-type thing, because I want to keep the s'lings kinda warm for powerfeeding, yet avoid killing them!

Thank you all again - good people hang out in this forum.
 

whoami?

Arachnoknight
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Originally posted by RugbyDave
i've never used heaters, so i cant sympathize, but..

i can empathize -- sorry mate. If you get real into this, you know you're going to lose some beautiful T's in some mighty stupid ways..

at least you can learn from this right? look at the positive side.

again,sorry buddy
peace
dave
I'm probably wrong, but don't you have that backwards?
 
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