squished?

pdrake

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i just put my brocklehursti in a 1/2lb deli container for shipping. he looks a little squished to one side. will he be okay?
 

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skadiwolf

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the Ts i've received were in small containers with a bit of moist soil on one end, a little space, and then some gently folded up and moist paper towel pieces. a few tended to be moved up underneath the towel pieces or kind of burrowed within them. i didn't see them 'squished' however by lack of room.

mayhaps rethink the container? (shrug) it's hard to picture exactly what you mean...
 

skadiwolf

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okay...moron that i am i didn't wait for your picture to load before. :p

i think, personally that is far too small for the T.

however, i have never had a very large T shipped to me. i can say though that all the containers had room at least twice as large as the T itself.

those are my thoughts, i certainly hope more people offer advice. personally, i would never ship an animal that was so obviously in discomfort for fear it would strain and therefore injure itself in order to shift position.
 

pdrake

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okay, he's moved around a little. doesn't look squished now. actually i think it will be okay. he can't move up and down, just a little side to side and front to back. all his legs are in a normal position. i'm just worried. he's my first one i ever got.
 

skadiwolf

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if you're truly worried, why not PM a few of the private dealers on here and ask what they think?

a little extra time can't hurt. :) besides, you might feel a lot better about it.

just go with your best judgement, but if you have some time, i'd definitely wait for some more replies. i've never shipped nor received adult Ts and hesitate for you to put your T at possible risk on merely one opinion.
 

WYSIWYG

SpiderLoco
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Originally posted by pdrake
okay, he's moved around a little. doesn't look squished now. actually i think it will be okay. he can't move up and down, just a little side to side and front to back. all his legs are in a normal position. i'm just worried. he's my first one i ever got.

From what I can see of the pix, I really think he looks too quished. I really think you would be better off putting him in a tall plastic container and turning it on its side to give him some more room. You can put moist paper towels below him,stick him in, and put more moist paper towels above him.

Hope that helps. (Got your PM so am answering here). :)

Wysi
 

pdrake

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okay, i put him in a bigger container. 1/2lb margerine container. i just don't want him to get shaken around.
 

WYSIWYG

SpiderLoco
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re: Shipping Critters

No, he won't LIKE it, but he'll just have to live with it for a couple days. Personally, since you're not shipping him until tomorrow, I wouldn't pack him up tonight. I'd pack him up maybe an hour or two before you actually have to leave. Unless you have dozens of tarantulas to pack and need the extra time to get them all packed, I see no need to inconvenience him for any extra time.....but that's just my opinion. Someone here may disagree. :)

Wysi
 

pdrake

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well, i just didn't want to worry about it in the morning. i have to go staight to work. i don't want to chase a t all over the house in the morning. heh.
 

pdrake

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he's going overnight too. so it shuld just be for less than 24 hours.
 

WYSIWYG

SpiderLoco
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Originally posted by pdrake
he's going overnight too. so it shuld just be for less than 24 hours.

Ideally, you don't want him to be able to move around much. If he's moving alot, you'll need to add some more moist papertowels. You don't want to take any chances.

Hope that helps. I'm going to bed. Good luck to you ;)

Wysi
 

rknralf

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Typically when I pack, I make them as snug as possible without squishing the tarantula. I line the container with paper towels (slightly damp) and leave half hanging out of the container. When I put the tarantula in, I fold the hanging out pieces over top the of the tarantula to keep them from being in contact with the hard sides. I also make sue that the container is taped shut afterwards to avoid an attempted escape during transit.
Put the container in the box and pack it so it won't move around during shipping.
Good luck!
Ralph
 

chid

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Originally posted by pdrake
i just put my brocklehursti in a 1/2lb deli container for shipping. he looks a little squished to one side. will he be okay?

Pdrake.
The best instrunctions I've seen for packaging T's are here
click here

Hope this helps.
Chid
 

invertepet

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You don't want the spider to have room enough to crawl around, otherwise the buffeting the package is no doubt going to receive could cause a ruptured abdomen. That container actually looks fairly decent. This isn't a contest for comfort for the tarantula, it's a safety issue. It looks like there's sufficient paper towel around it to allow limited movement, which is exactly what you want. As long as it's not so squished that NO movement is possible and it could get crushed from any additional pressure, it should be fine. The key is lots of lightly moistened paper towel to act as the buffer.

Back in the early 90's, I got spiders from Europe that were shoved into the corner of plastic baggies and tied off with twisties! No air, no movement possible. Interestingly, the mortality rate was very low, even though the trip was 4-7 days on average.

bill
 

pdrake

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just an update. he arrived safely and is soon going to get some, or get et. heh. thanks for all the advice.
 

WYSIWYG

SpiderLoco
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Originally posted by pdrake
just an update. he arrived safely and is soon going to get some, or get et. heh. thanks for all the advice.
That's really GREAT news! I'm glad to hear it. :)

Wysi
 

WYSIWYG

SpiderLoco
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Re: Re: squished?

Originally posted by chid
Pdrake.
The best instrunctions I've seen for packaging T's are here
click here

Hope this helps.
Chid
I went to visit that site and it was very informative. I'll keep it in mine for future reference. Thanks for sharing that. :)

Wysi
 

NorthwestInverts

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Bill is exactly right. the idea is not alot of room, or to make it comfortable... actually just the opposite here. lightly moist paper towel bascially surrounding the T is what I do and very little room at all. The idea is to cushion the T and you wont have any surprises.

Dean

Visit The Tarantula Stop
www.tarantulastop.com
 
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