Spiders in the fridge?

[Moltar]

Cooling them a bit in the fridge is not going to hurt them. It won't cause psychological distress, they won't catch a cold and there are no concerns of PTSD or Stockholm syndrome.

I've used this method for a few critters; a P. regalis sling (before I was as confident as I am now), a red trap, a couple of high strung ceratogyrus and an OBT. None of them suffered any ill effect whatsoever. The down side is that the smaller the T is, the shorter it lasts. It also seems that they may feel some distress while being all cold and sluggish so when they come back they are ready to freak the heck out. If you haven't completed the transfer/photography/handling by that time you may have more trouble on your hands than if you hadn't cooled them in the first place.

BTW, I rehoused a 3" H. mac on Saturday without the benefit of any cryo-assistance and it went fine. She didn't try to run or bite or anything.

 

[J.huff23]

, you sucks pretty epically . Grow something , and let the t out of its enclosure with out freaking out and grabbing a catch cup.

Now I am not saying she SUCKS . Im saying whoever does it to get pics does . She didn't say she did it , so she is cool.

Do you see how your contradicting yourself?:?

 

[DemonAsh]

Boy, there's a lot of animosity on the AB today. Let me just remind everybody that opinions are like <edit>s - Everyone's got one, and they all stink.. That being said here's my stinky opinion. I have a ton of trouble shooting my Ts.. (perhaps I suck) and while it may have no negative impact on the T, I personally would never resort to such measures.

 

[Roski]

Everyone saying, 'How would you like it if it was you being stuck in the fridge?' is completely off. There's no comparison at all.

For everyone who did, please remember that tarantulas are poikilothermic and do not share our prejudice toward cooling temperatures.

Personally, I would be concerned about the stress induced by handling a T for pictures long before I became concerned about cooling it down for a few minutes in the fridge.

 

[PhobeToPhile]

Wow, this sure has become a heated thread. Here's my two cents on the issue. I think that for species that do live where it becomes cooler, the practice might not harm them too much-to some extent, they are adapted to it. However, something like a T. blondi or A. aviculura? I think that maybe doing it once in a while *may* be okay, but keep in mind these spiders are NOT adapted for these temps, and doing this on a regular basis would, in my opinion, stress the T. Of course, also keep in mind I don't have any experience yet..

 

[bee67]

About the heated plate thing- I don't know if that will work or not, since I've never tried. But I would suggest using an oven or toaster oven at a warm, but not overly hot temperature instead of the microwave- microwaves (especially old ones) have a tendency to unevenly heat things... wouldn't want to have a "hot spot" go unnoticed and then set your T down on it to get burned.

Just a suggestion

 

[Crysta]

I apologize abracadaver, I should have never said 'suck' I guess I was trying to point out a point too hard?

I just don't enjoy posed shots of animals, I am more of a wildlife photographer, so not much of a fashion photographer, I like the moment.

Although I must say, I will contradict myself with the following - I absolutely adore people who create their 'own reality' inside photography, thus creating a shot of 'in the moment'

I am sorry if I insulted you, Abracadaver, by typing the aforementioned. I deserve to be looked down on for that, since it was way out of line.

Crysta

 

[smallara98]

I apologize abracadaver, I should have never said 'suck' I guess I was trying to point out a point too hard?

I just don't enjoy posed shots of animals, I am more of a wildlife photographer, so not much of a fashion photographer, I like the moment.

Although I must say, I will contradict myself with the following - I absolutely adore people who create their 'own reality' inside photography, thus creating a shot of 'in the moment'

I am sorry if I insulted you, Abracadaver, by typing the aforementioned. I deserve to be looked down on for that, since it was way out of line.

Crysta

Exactly . I was only agreeing with her . . . And I am 12 . It does not matter that much . If I used different words and said it nicer , yes that would have been better . I only am "rude and obnoxious" to people when they do dumb things , even though I do more dumb things in life than them . And not to mention , 12 years olds are "punks" . Sorry if I called any one "stupid" . but no one here is , cause they did not even try it to take pictures . I was only saying that people who do it for the pleasure is . Now , this is your choice to accept my apologie or not fellow AB members , but i'm sorry .

 

[Nerri1029]

Mod note

Keep this on topic.

aim your posts on the topic and not any mental or physical trait of the posters in this thread.

 

[Nerri1029]

For everyone who did, please remember that tarantulas are poikilothermic and do not share our prejudice toward cooling temperatures.

Personally, I would be concerned about the stress induced by handling a T for pictures long before I became concerned about cooling it down for a few minutes in the fridge.

This I can't agree with more.

I've used temps to slow down T's before ( though not with a refrigerator ) and not purposefully either mind you.

Getting T's delivered this far north in Oct - mid Nov. gives me the perfect opportunity. If I open the box quickly and have the enclosure handy I get the benefits of a chilled T. ( both definitions of chilled work here )

For me I wouldn't use this method, it's too unpredictable. They warm far too quickly.
If I truly need to subdue a T for inspection of parasites, packing an especially defensive specimen etc, I use CO2

 

[Tapahtyn]

I think im gonna let all my Ts loose in the house and take pictures of them in my natural environment JK...... no seriously I had asked this question somewhere else and I've decided for myself that if I was really good pics I will put them in an acrylic enclosure, I would just feel too bad if something I did made them pass. I might if I had the means of putting them in the fridge in their enclosure, but all of their homes are too big to do that. Good luck

 

[ametan]

I wouldn't recommend it simply because the temporary slow-down may cause you to be less vigilant with the T. And once it warms up (who knows how quickly), you might not being paying enough attention or have it in a safe enough place.

I've seen a lot of mention from Arachnowizzes on here of taking their Ts to large open spaces of grass for photos.

 

[Purpleorange8]

Hey, if someone locked me in a fridge for 10 minutes that would be great. Living here in Arizona is HOT. A fridge would be nice

 

[smallara98]

Hey, if someone locked me in a fridge for 10 minutes that would be great. Living here in Arizona is HOT. A fridge would be nice

Lol . Do you have a fridge , cause you can stuff yourself in there for 10 mins

 

[AbraCadaver]

I apologize abracadaver, I should have never said 'suck' I guess I was trying to point out a point too hard?

I just don't enjoy posed shots of animals, I am more of a wildlife photographer, so not much of a fashion photographer, I like the moment.

Although I must say, I will contradict myself with the following - I absolutely adore people who create their 'own reality' inside photography, thus creating a shot of 'in the moment'

I am sorry if I insulted you, Abracadaver, by typing the aforementioned. I deserve to be looked down on for that, since it was way out of line.

Crysta

No worries, sweety! To be honest, your answer was one of the few I could actually understand, and I got your point.

I get that this is a controversal topic, but going all mental won't help anyone. I also went out of line, and I apologise to everyone I may have been too harsh with.

Smallara; I'm sorry I went out of line, but as a bit of friendly advice, I'd reconsider the way you reply to threads, if I were you. It fuzzes alot of people, and it's gonna make your stay here difficult. I apologise for my comment, but calm down a wee bit, wont you?

 

[endoflove]

I've got phographer friend, which I asked for some advice, because I can never get a decent shot of my T's.. He told me to pop them in the fridge for 10 minutes, and they'd stay still..

It makes sense in the staying still department, but is this safe for the T? Obviously I wouldn't fridge them every other day, just when I wanted pics, but I'm uncertain when it comes to this.. I do like some good pics, but not so much the thought of hurting my T's..

I've also heard warming a plate in the microwave keeps them still, cause they like to lia on the hot plate.. Inputs on this would be great.

Abra

i dident read the rest of the thread but if u do it for a little bit its ok, personaly i dont but to each his own. Naturaly T's cant run verry far but they can move short distances fast i figure that light strokes with a paint brush works best since MY T's will slowly just ease away from it. and i can usualy get them to where i want them

 

[xhexdx]

I've seen a lot of mention from Arachnowizzes on here of taking their Ts to large open spaces of grass for photos.

I know this is a bit off-topic, but I thought it was worth responding to.

I don't understand why someone would put their spider out in open grass that may or may not have traces of pesticides on it in order to take pictures.

Seems a bit careless to me.

 

[Skullptor]

I know this is a bit off-topic, but I thought it was worth responding to.

I don't understand why someone would put their spider out in open grass that may or may not have traces of pesticides on it in order to take pictures.

Seems a bit careless to me.

You don't think someone would know if they used pesticides in their own yard? This sounds way to paranoid to me.

Ok, if you live in an apartment or some place that you're not in control over... I can see this advice...but across the board is silly.