Tarantula Anesthesia?

[babiephish]

Long story short. Didn’t see loose strands of dried hot glue in A.Avic enclosure. He somehow got it wrapped around him and was stuck to one of the leaves. I cut him free so he could walk around again but he still has some tied around his midsection between his carapace and abdomen, and I’m almost positive I could cut him free if there was a way to flip him over without him moving. I can see there is room for me to snip it off without hurting him from the under side, but not from the top.
Is there any safe way to sedate a 1 inch sling? I’ve heard the fridge but how will I know when to take him out? I do not think he will be able to molt it off with how he is tied up.

I don’t want to hear criticisms, that can wait. I just want to know how to help him. Once I do this I will make sure no more strands remain in the enclosure. I never want this to happen again and will never hot glue to the inside of the enclosure, only on the outside.

Please help.

I don’t want to stress him out more by going in and cleaning up the enclosure right now. He’s probably scared. I want to wait until he’s okay. He was already out yesterday.

 

[8 legged]

Personally, I would leave nature to run and stay out of it.

 

[DaveM]

Do you have access to dry ice? CO2 is an easy and safe way to knock out a spider for a short time. The gas is more dense than air, so it will sink and stay low in a plastic bin with an open top, displacing oxygen. Add dry ice pellets far to one size of the bin for several minutes for enough of the gas to sublime and fill the bin. Then add the spider's enclosure (far away from the pellets, which are dangerously cold), perhaps laying the enclosure on its side so that it can fill with gas. Probe the spider (gently) from minute to minute to assess its responsiveness. It might require something like 30 seconds - 3 minutes depending on the concentration of CO2 that reaches the spider. Then work quickly. The spider will wake up pretty fast when returned to normal atmospheric oxygen. Obviously, don't leave the spider in CO2 any longer than necessary (eventually, maybe 10+ minutes, it would be fatal). Also, ensure that the CO2 can drain out of the enclosure through ventilation holes at the bottom (laying the enclosure on its side as needed).
You could also use isoflurane, but you probably don't have any unless you also have dry ice, and there are potential health risks to humans, so I would only use it in a chemical hood.

 

[babiephish]

Do you have access to dry ice? CO2 is an easy and safe way to knock out a spider for a short time. The gas is more dense than air, so it will sink and stay low in a plastic bin with an open top, displacing oxygen. Add dry ice pellets far to one size of the bin for several minutes for enough of the gas to sublime and fill the bin. Then add the spider's enclosure (far away from the pellets, which are dangerously cold), perhaps laying the enclosure on its side so that it can fill with gas. Probe the spider (gently) from minute to minute to assess its responsiveness. It might require something like 30 seconds - 3 minutes depending on the concentration of CO2 that reaches the spider. Then work quickly. The spider will wake up pretty fast when returned to normal atmospheric oxygen. Obviously, don't leave the spider in CO2 any longer than necessary (eventually, maybe 10+ minutes, it would be fatal). Also, ensure that the CO2 can drain out of the enclosure through ventilation holes at the bottom (laying the enclosure on its side as needed).
You could also use isofluorane, but you probably don't have any unless you also have dry ice, and there are potential health risks to humans, so I would only use it in a chemical hood.

I don’t really know where I’d get dry ice I’ll look it up but I doubt I’ll be able to get it

 

[DaveM]

Well, don't give up. Maybe the spider will untangle itself, which would be the easiest and safest outcome.
I think it would be risky trying to grab the strand with tweezers, might pull the knot tighter, though you can see the situation better than we can.
If you catch the spider right when its molting, it would be immobile enough then, and you could possibly assist (with painstaking carefulness, because it will be in a very fragile state; usually unwise to disturb a molting spider).
This being a calm and docile species, we might have thought of a pinch-grip, but that sling is just too small.
I'm sure there are clever and creative people here on AB that can come up with solutions we haven't considered yet.
If you've got no dry ice, we could try making CO2. You could rig some kind of connecting hose between a reaction chamber bin and an anesthesia bin. In the reaction chamber, you would slowly add distilled vinegar to a big pile of baking soda. You would need to ensure that no vinegar (no splashes, droplets, aerosolized, or otherwise) gets anywhere near the spider, because it's noxious and dangerous to them (maybe set up splash guards and a coffee filter on the connector hose to catch droplets). The reaction will be turbulent, not like the slow controlled release from dry ice. I've never tried this before, but I don't see why it couldn't work.
But let's see if others have any better ideas.

 

[babiephish]

Do you have access to dry ice? CO2 is an easy and safe way to knock out a spider for a short time. The gas is more dense than air, so it will sink and stay low in a plastic bin with an open top, displacing oxygen. Add dry ice pellets far to one size of the bin for several minutes for enough of the gas to sublime and fill the bin. Then add the spider's enclosure (far away from the pellets, which are dangerously cold), perhaps laying the enclosure on its side so that it can fill with gas. Probe the spider (gently) from minute to minute to assess its responsiveness. It might require something like 30 seconds - 3 minutes depending on the concentration of CO2 that reaches the spider. Then work quickly. The spider will wake up pretty fast when returned to normal atmospheric oxygen. Obviously, don't leave the spider in CO2 any longer than necessary (eventually, maybe 10+ minutes, it would be fatal). Also, ensure that the CO2 can drain out of the enclosure through ventilation holes at the bottom (laying the enclosure on its side as needed).
You could also use isoflurane, but you probably don't have any unless you also have dry ice, and there are potential health risks to humans, so I would only use it in a chemical hood.

I may be able to get dry ice in a day or 2

 

[DaveM]

Great! I found an old thread on here discussing this topic and another person's experiences:
https://arachnoboards.com/threads/i...or-health-issues-long-and-informative.127527/
Good luck!

 

[viper69]

Long story short. Didn’t see loose strands of dried hot glue in A.Avic enclosure. He somehow got it wrapped around him and was stuck to one of the leaves. I cut him free so he could walk around again but he still has some tied around his midsection between his carapace and abdomen, and I’m almost positive I could cut him free if there was a way to flip him over without him moving. I can see there is room for me to snip it off without hurting him from the under side, but not from the top.
Is there any safe way to sedate a 1 inch sling? I’ve heard the fridge but how will I know when to take him out? I do not think he will be able to molt it off with how he is tied up.

I don’t want to hear criticisms, that can wait. I just want to know how to help him. Once I do this I will make sure no more strands remain in the enclosure. I never want this to happen again and will never hot glue to the inside of the enclosure, only on the outside.

Please help.

I was in the "exact" position as you a few days ago. Except my Avic didn't have glue, but webbing that wrapped around after a molt somehow, months pass, and nothing changed. My mistake after the molt was thinking the T would manage fine. Webbing remained, and as T grew in size I didn't trust nature to give me a nice return with the next molt.

Everything was identical to your scene, space to cut etc.

You could use solid CO2 as mentioned earlier. Some supermarkets carry it, or google up an ice making company, they often have it. Also, look for a company that supplies gases to hospitals and labs.
Or for CO2 gas, go to a Dick's Sporting Goods, and buy a paintball bottle, the hose, and get a fill of CO2 gas.

Lastly, you could first try putting the T in the fridge, the temperature will slow them down. My friend has done this with other tarantulas for different reasons.

I can't tell you the outcome if you DON'T do something, but this is one of the few scenarios where I feel intervention is needed. On my end, the webbing was super strong as expected.

 

[babiephish]

I was in the "exact" position as you a few days ago. Except my Avic didn't have glue, but webbing that wrapped around after a molt somehow, months pass, and nothing changed. My mistake after the molt was thinking the T would manage fine. Webbing remained, and as T grew in size I didn't trust nature to give me a nice return with the next molt.

Everything was identical to your scene, space to cut etc.

You could use solid CO2 as mentioned earlier. Some supermarkets carry it, or google up an ice making company, they often have it. Also, look for a company that supplies gases to hospitals and labs.
Or for CO2 gas, go to a Dick's Sporting Goods, and buy a paintball bottle, the hose, and get a fill of CO2 gas.

Lastly, you could first try putting the T in the fridge, the temperature will slow them down. My friend has done this with other tarantulas for different reasons.

I can't tell you the outcome if you DON'T do something, but this is one of the few scenarios where I feel intervention is needed. On my end, the webbing was super strong as expected.

I’m going to be doing the CO2 method in this YouTube video hopefully tomorrow. Tell me if this seems ill informed or if you’ think it will work

 

[viper69]

I’m going to be doing the CO2 method in this YouTube video hopefully tomorrow. Tell me if this seems ill informed or if you’ think it will work

That method will work too.

Just remember you are putting your T in the balance of life and death as you are preventing them from getting oxygen.

Too much for too long and you kill it.

 

[Jess S]

Good luck, and don't blame yourself about the glue strands. It was unforeseen. I hot glue inside enclosures and even hearing this have no intention of stopping this practice. As long as strands are removed, and you squirt a bit of water on the glue to instantly cool it before putting the t in, all should be fine.

 

[babiephish]

That method will work too.

Just remember you are putting your T in the balance of life and death as you are preventing them from getting oxygen.

Too much for too long and you kill it.

Understood. Although I guess I don’t have much of a choice. I’ll probably be doing this today or tomorrow and I’ll update with the results.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

Well, don't give up. Maybe the spider will untangle itself, which would be the easiest and safest outcome.
I think it would be risky trying to grab the strand with tweezers, might pull the knot tighter, though you can see the situation better than we can.
If you catch the spider right when its molting, it would be immobile enough then, and you could possibly assist (with painstaking carefulness, because it will be in a very fragile state; usually unwise to disturb a molting spider).
This being a calm and docile species, we might have thought of a pinch-grip, but that sling is just too small.
I'm sure there are clever and creative people here on AB that can come up with solutions we haven't considered yet.
If you've got no dry ice, we could try making CO2. You could rig some kind of connecting hose between a reaction chamber bin and an anesthesia bin. In the reaction chamber, you would slowly add distilled vinegar to a big pile of baking soda. You would need to ensure that no vinegar (no splashes, droplets, aerosolized, or otherwise) gets anywhere near the spider, because it's noxious and dangerous to them (maybe set up splash guards and a coffee filter on the connector hose to catch droplets). The reaction will be turbulent, not like the slow controlled release from dry ice. I've never tried this before, but I don't see why it couldn't work.
But let's see if others have any better ideas.

Why do you suppose knocking out a spider by gassing it with CO2 is called anesthesia, but doing so with anything else is called asphyxia? Anyone messing with CO2 better be careful they don’t anesthetize themselves.

 

[Crazyarachnoguy]

Some grocery stores sell dry ice.

 

[babiephish]

Update: here’s our CO2 chamber. I’m poking more holes in the container on the right so the gas can come in through the bottom too. Anybody have anything to say before we attempt it?

 

[Spoodfood]

Update: here’s our CO2 chamber. I’m poking more holes in the container on the right so the gas can come in through the bottom too. Anybody have anything to say before we attempt it?
View attachment 389367

I believe everyone would very much appreciate an update once this is done. I’ve never attempted anything like this but I wish you and your spooder luck.

 

[babiephish]

I believe everyone would very much appreciate an update once this is done. I’ve never attempted anything like this but I wish you and your spooder luck.

Thank you we are using a YouTube video tutorial but using half the ingredients because our setup is smaller. He has not moved since we put him in so far, but hasn’t started curling or walking weirdly so we are unsure of when to take him out.

 

[Spoodfood]

Thank you we are using a YouTube video tutorial but using half the ingredients because our setup is smaller. He has not moved since we put him in so far, but hasn’t started curling or walking weirdly so we are unsure of when to take him out.

Nudge him and see if he’s responsive! If not, take him out and remove it quickly, then put him back in his enclosure! Don’t leave him in there too long.

 

[babiephish]

Nudge him and see if he’s responsive! If not, take him out and remove it quickly, then put him back in his enclosure! Don’t leave him in there too long.

We checked after 30 mins and he was completely fine. Attempting again tomorrow with the correct dosage and if that doesn’t work we will consider putting him in the fridge.

 

[Stardust1986]

Long story short. Didn’t see loose strands of dried hot glue in A.Avic enclosure. He somehow got it wrapped around him and was stuck to one of the leaves. I cut him free so he could walk around again but he still has some tied around his midsection between his carapace and abdomen, and I’m almost positive I could cut him free if there was a way to flip him over without him moving. I can see there is room for me to snip it off without hurting him from the under side, but not from the top.
Is there any safe way to sedate a 1 inch sling? I’ve heard the fridge but how will I know when to take him out? I do not think he will be able to molt it off with how he is tied up.

I don’t want to hear criticisms, that can wait. I just want to know how to help him. Once I do this I will make sure no more strands remain in the enclosure. I never want this to happen again and will never hot glue to the inside of the enclosure, only on the outside.

Please help.

I don’t want to stress him out more by going in and cleaning up the enclosure right now. He’s probably scared. I want to wait until he’s okay. He was already out yesterday.

Slings molt often, maybe it is possible he could molt it off. I wouldn't euthanize him just yet, unless he is refusing food. Try purchasing a solvent, despite the chemical danger to the T. If your sure it's not possible to save it, and it will just suffer, the swiftest death is the best...crushing the head, I'm sorry, I know this is hard for you