Stop Tarantula from climbing in a tub?

[FC360]

Is there anything that can be done to stop a tarantula from climbing up a plastic tub? I'm wondering more about a large tub that I can use as a kind of escape stopper so I can safely rehouse a Tarantula without worrying about it bolting out of the large tub and getting into somewhere that's hard to get the thing out from lol. I keep hearing the suggestion of use a bathtub but that's still got the same issue where the Tarantula can climb the tub and get out. So any suggestion, would vaseline work? I heard using it is a bad idea but thought I would ask.

 

[RezonantVoid]

I use a large plastic tub with a lid on it, but i drill holes around the edges of rhe lid (only drill from the underside so that theres no sharp plastic edges that get pushed through, which could harm the tarantula if it climbs up). That way if the tarantula does end up climbing, i can quickly close the lid and use a poking stick through the holes to make it go back downward. This works fine for all my OW fossorials and terrestrials but arboreals may be a different story. If you're 100% set on stopping them climbing a rehousing tub, you may need to find a non-toxic insect barrier like Fluon

 

[viper69]

An AB member used olive oil with no issues. He learned this from an old AB post. I haven’t tried it yet.

 

[rusted180]

Hmmm.. thought would be nice. I hope olive oil is okay for them. Anyone experimented without issues? I read that old thread as well viper... i think someone mentioned it may harm their lungs?
Like i asked.. anyone use olive oil? It would make the rehousing much less stressful. So far i rehoused 2 slings out of 5 without issues but itd be nice knowing worse comes to worse.. there is a fail safe obstacle.

 

[Chebe6886]

Hmmm.. thought would be nice. I hope olive oil is okay for them. Anyone experimented without issues? I read that old thread as well viper... i think someone mentioned it may harm their lungs?
Like i asked.. anyone use olive oil? It would make the rehousing much less stressful. So far i rehoused 2 slings out of 5 without issues but itd be nice knowing worse comes to worse.. there is a fail safe obstacle.

You would only be putting a very light ribbon of olive oil around the tub so I have hard time seeing how olive oil would really hurt the T. Shouldn’t be enough to create lung problems. All that said, I’d try my best to get it done with out it. They have plenty of techniques that are very much fool proof.

 

[rusted180]

You would only be putting a very light ribbon of olive oil around the tub so I have hard time seeing how olive oil would really hurt the T. Shouldn’t be enough to create lung problems. All that said, I’d try my best to get it done with out it. They have plenty of techniques that are very much fool proof.

Gotcha gotcha.
I think ill do this. I havent had issues so far.. but like i said, it be nice to have a peace of mind knowing the last container has a feature that will prevent it from escaping.
Hmm.. i gotta find that old thread. Somebody mentioned its a bad idea cuz itll hurt em.. but i can see shat you mean. I thin ribbon around the container wall shouldnt doom them.

 

[Thekla]

Is there anything that can be done to stop a tarantula from climbing up a plastic tub? I'm wondering more about a large tub that I can use as a kind of escape stopper so I can safely rehouse a Tarantula without worrying about it bolting out of the large tub and getting into somewhere that's hard to get the thing out from lol. I keep hearing the suggestion of use a bathtub but that's still got the same issue where the Tarantula can climb the tub and get out. So any suggestion, would vaseline work? I heard using it is a bad idea but thought I would ask.

Do you mind telling us what species and size we're talking about?

 

[ConstantSorrow]

I've heard that lightly misting the bathtub with water will prevent them from climbing it or at least slow them down considerably.
And it's definitely, guaranteed safe for the spider.

 

[FC360]

You would only be putting a very light ribbon of olive oil around the tub so I have hard time seeing how olive oil would really hurt the T. Shouldn’t be enough to create lung problems. All that said, I’d try my best to get it done with out it. They have plenty of techniques that are very much fool proof.

I'll definitely look into that oil

Do you mind telling us what species and size we're talking about?

I have a T.Vagans right now and am looking into getting 1 or 2 new tarantulas soon. The first time I rehoused it wasn't fun for me at all. it kept going for the wooden stick and straw I was using it bit it a couple of times too and at 1 point it actually climbed on the straw and starting moving up it towards me so that made me panic lol. In the end I just took the tub put it in the new bigger one and fully removed the lid.

I'm kinda jumpy although not as bad as I used to be, I used to drop my tongs/tweezers when my bearded dragon would quickly jump at the food I was feeding it lol. My biggest concern is having the tarantula bolt and not being fast enough to grab it in a catch cup or injuring it and I know the other people in my house won't appreciate a Tarantula on the run lol

 

[Trenor]

EDIT: This advice is for a tub/tote enclosure climbing issue and not for a bath tub rehouse effort. Do not tape up your bath tub though proper ventilation in a bathroom is not a bad idea.

One issue with olive oil you will probably run into is dust. Initially the oil might work fine but as dust and substrate particles stick to the oil it will stop being slick and become tacky. Then the residue will help the tarantula climb and get gummy from the oil. For my Dubai roaches I use packing tape on the clean tote surface. It is slick enough that the Dubai nymphs are not able to climb past it even though they can climb the plastic tote wall with ease. I have not tried it with tarantulas before, so I do not know if it is too slick for them to climb on or not. If you need something maybe give that a try.

I would try to reduce the fall risk from climbing. Think less hard decorations and such.

From my experience, tarantulas are more likely to climb when it is hotter inside the enclosure. At least, I see mine do that more in the summer when the pet room is hot. To reduce this, I add more ventilation and that seems to help.

They will also climb if the substrate is too moist or it is too humid inside the enclosure. So, make sure you have those things checked off before going heavy into tape and oil and such.

 

[cold blood]

I would be concerned with would be the oil clogging the book lungs and hindering their function...I would just wet down the tub first....I guarantee you water wont hurt the t...can anyone gaurantee olive oil wont? I cant.

 

[Jess S]

You could always wait until the vagans is hungry before rehousing it. When it's distracted by eating, smoothly put a small container over it and slide cardboard underneath, then move to the new enclosure that way. That way it's less likely to bolt.
And yes, spraying a bit of water down the sides of the tub will make it too slick for it to climb.

 

[Trenor]

Well I totally misread that. I thought the poster was having trouble with the tarantula climbing in the tub/tote enclosure. So yeah.....

I've never used a bath tub to rehouse so no help there. I prefer a larger open space so if the tarantula gets leggy I have room to corral it before it can get somewhere it does not belong. Both my bathrooms have cabinets, drains and such so I would never get a rogue tarantula out once it got in/under something in there. I prefer the coffee or kitchen table for rehousing. Keep the catch cups handy and take it slow.

 

[Cas S]

I know people who keep ants use some powder mix and smear it around the top of the enclosure and the ants cant climb on it. Maybe it could work for tarantulas too.

 

[basin79]

You'll have to forgive me here but regarding a rehouse what's wrong with simply putting a catch cup over the tarantula and then sliding a lid carefully under? Them being able to climb is made absolutely redundant.

I know people who keep ants use some powder mix and smear it around the top of the enclosure and the ants cant climb on it. Maybe it could work for tarantulas too.

Ant keepers use liquid PTFE too to keep ants from escaping. The thing is an ant can fall from a huge height and not be injuried due to their size. You don't want a tarantula climbing up a safe distance to suddenly hit the PTFE barrier and maybe fall. From 3 or 4 inches the chances of an injury are low but you still don't want a tarantula falling.

 

[Rhino1]

For a T use a dedicated, non toxic product like Fluon.
I wouldn't really use oil or Vaseline on inverts with sensory hairs on or around the feet, once it has oil on it - it's like that until it molts not to mention that it's feet are suddenly a lot more permeable to water.
Admittedly I do use an ultra thin coating of Vaseline on the tops of my lobster roach colonies.

 

[FC360]

You'll have to forgive me here but regarding a rehouse what's wrong with simply putting a catch cup over the tarantula and then sliding a lid carefully under? Them being able to climb is made absolutely redundant.

Unfortunately with how the enclosure is setup placing a catch cup over my T.Vagans isn't really possible unless it stays outside and doesn't immediately bolt into its burrow.

My original plan for rehousing when it comes time to do so was to have a large tub and place the current and new enclosures inside this big tub then try put a catch cup over Rubes, that's what I call my T.vagans, however my issue is sizing, the cork bark takes up half the enclosure and she's just under a quarter of the size of the enclosure at the moment, also as soon as I touch the enclosure it's down in the burrow so my new idea was to remove the cork bark and see if I can catch it in a cup however after seeing youtube videos and seeing how fast the little bugger can move I'm weary of it bolting due to me destroying it's home and would like a way to stop it from bolting out of the large tub

I've also considered just letting it roam around the large tub and then just placing a catch cup on it but again I'm weary of the bolting lol (sorry if it sounds like I'm a big wuss)

 

[basin79]

Unfortunately with how the enclosure is setup placing a catch cup over my T.Vagans isn't really possible unless it stays outside and doesn't immediately bolt into its burrow.

My original plan for rehousing when it comes time to do so was to have a large tub and place the current and new enclosures inside this big tub then try put a catch cup over Rubes, that's what I call my T.vagans, however my issue is sizing, the cork bark takes up half the enclosure and she's just under a quarter of the size of the enclosure at the moment, also as soon as I touch the enclosure it's down in the burrow so my new idea was to remove the cork bark and see if I can catch it in a cup however after seeing youtube videos and seeing how fast the little bugger can move I'm weary of it bolting due to me destroying it's home and would like a way to stop it from bolting out of the large tub

I've also considered just letting it roam around the large tub and then just placing a catch cup on it but again I'm weary of the bolting lol (sorry if it sounds like I'm a big wuss)

Well here's what I do. Wet down the bath. Place the enclosure in the bath. Have a tub I'm going to actually put the tarantula in and a couple of catch cups.

With tongs I carefully take any decor out. So cork bark, plants etcetera. Also the water dish and any webbing that's loose on the sub. This gives me a space to work in to catch the tarantula easier.

For tarantulas that have borrowed I'll cover/or block the burrow if able and take out some sub first so I can then have room to move more sub to uncover the tarantula.

Obviously you do what you're comfortable with but the above works for me and it's very quick making an already stressful situation for your tarantula quicker.

 

[FC360]

Well here's what I do. Wet down the bath. Place the enclosure in the bath. Have a tub I'm going to actually put the tarantula in and a couple of catch cups.

With tongs I carefully take any decor out. So cork bark, plants etcetera. Also the water dish and any webbing that's loose on the sub. This gives me a space to work in to catch the tarantula easier.

For tarantulas that have borrowed I'll cover/or block the burrow if able and take out some sub first so I can then have room to move more sub to uncover the tarantula.

Obviously you do what you're comfortable with but the above works for me and it's very quick making an already stressful situation for your tarantula quicker.

That's definitely worth a shot so I'll probably try doing that, although the bathtub will be going soon as I'm removing it and having a walk in shower installed instead so it really depends on when I need to rehouse

My first attempt suggested on youtube was to use something like a toilet roll cardboard piece, placing some tissue to block up 1 end and then when the tarantula will go inside as it's a really dark hiding spot and upon doing that I can cover the other side and then just put it inside the new enclosure and done. If that doesn't work that bathtub seems like the next logical choice wetting the sides and also putting things in the tub that it can run into, I do like that idea as I've noticed everytime I disturb rubes it always bolted under the cork bark even before it burrowed. I'll also be trying oil, although not 100% sure about this due to concerns brought up however that being said if it's slippery and the tarantula doesn't stand in the oil I don't see what harm it could cause as the only bit it would touch is a bit of the leg. I have heard of something used for ants which does sound very interesting so might use that instead, and yes I will put it near the bottom of any tub, I'm not going to put it at the top so chance the tarantula climbing right to the top of the tub and then falling down a few inches, I was already paranoid of rubes falling off the lid of it's enclosure and hurting itself, it's never climbing on the lid so that's good

 

[basin79]

That's definitely worth a shot so I'll probably try doing that, although the bathtub will be going soon as I'm removing it and having a walk in shower installed instead so it really depends on when I need to rehouse

My first attempt suggested on youtube was to use something like a toilet roll cardboard piece, placing some tissue to block up 1 end and then when the tarantula will go inside as it's a really dark hiding spot and upon doing that I can cover the other side and then just put it inside the new enclosure and done. If that doesn't work that bathtub seems like the next logical choice wetting the sides and also putting things in the tub that it can run into, I do like that idea as I've noticed everytime I disturb rubes it always bolted under the cork bark even before it burrowed. I'll also be trying oil, although not 100% sure about this due to concerns brought up however that being said if it's slippery and the tarantula doesn't stand in the oil I don't see what harm it could cause as the only bit it would touch is a bit of the leg. I have heard of something used for ants which does sound very interesting so might use that instead, and yes I will put it near the bottom of any tub, I'm not going to put it at the top so chance the tarantula climbing right to the top of the tub and then falling down a few inches, I was already paranoid of rubes falling off the lid of it's enclosure and hurting itself, it's never climbing on the lid so that's good

I've never had a tarantula/spider/centipede get into the bath but it's a nice little insurance policy.

Just don't do what some youtubers do and try to rehouse on their bed whilst recording a video.