Tarantula Stuck in a Coconut Shell!

[Tyrantula138]

I got home from a show tonight and naturally the first thing I do is check my Ts. I noticed one was sticking out of
the 1/3' hole in the back of a coconut shell. Im pretty sure she is stuck because she seems to be struggling quite often.
Theres now way her abdomen will fit through the hole and shes basically halfway in the hole.

Has anyone had any problems like this, or can suggest anything I can do to help her? Please!
I can post pictures if needed.

 

[Hobo]

That's a tough one.
If you can give her a foothold (feethold?) on one end maybe she will be able to make her way backwards? Thats all I can think of right now short of very carefully cutting to the hole, but I don't need to tell you that's very, very risky.
Pictures will be useful of course.

As for people having the same problem, yeah, they have, and I wish I could tell you it ended well.

Good luck, though.

 

[Tyrantula138]

Thanks, Hobo.

I just realized I typed "1/3' " hole. She would have no problem getting her fat butt through a hole that large.

The hole is actually 1/3". Its amazing she even got halfway in.
I think Im gonna have cut her out. Someone give me some ideas!

 

[macbaffo]

How did it get inside in the first place? Did it molt inside to get bigger than the hole?
A pic would be great...

 

[Tyrantula138]

I have no idea how she got in there. She was just chillin this morning, and when I got home from a show she was writhing about.
I took a closer look because I thought she had burrowed underneath the shell and was just chillin, but no, she Houdinied her way
into a seemingly impossible position.
Ill post pictures tomorrow. Ill give her some time to try to wiggle out, but I think Im gonna have to cut her out.

 

[MarkmD]

I guess your cutting her out?, maybe you should use a flower pot or cork-bark for a hide way safer, I use a halth coconut shell with a we door in it for my scorpion, am glad I did now because I was going to use it.for my LP.

Good luck, Let us know how when you get her out.

 

[Hobo]

Some flower pots will have a similar tiny hole at the bottom, so be careful of those. There is even a thread of another sling who got stuck in one, though I can't find it now.

I'm assuming it's stuck in the tiny hole where they attatched the tag, or just a small hole in one of the "eyes" and not the main carved out entrance. Otherwise, coconut hides are perfectly safe.

Other than to try and push her back the other way (she could obviously fit), or to be extremely patient with cutting her out (you don't want to accidentally cut it in half like in the thread I linked), I'm fresh out of ideas. I wouldn't even know what to cut it out with.

 

[Tyrantula138]

Yea, shes stuck in the "eye" of the coconut where I guess it attaches to the tree.
I have these nippers for my Gundam model kits Im gonna try to use.
Theyre basically wire cutters. I just hope theyre strong enough to cut the shell.

 

[RabidWombat]

It's a half coconut right? So it's going to be open on the bottom? It's stuck in the hole, but with substrate underneath? Have you tried lifting the coconut shell up a little bit and seeing if it can free itself? Or even use a q-tip to try to gently dislodge it while holding it up slightly? It's got to be easier to go down then through.


-----

Never mind... just read the last post. Sorry I really don't know what you could do for that

 

[catfishrod69]

Coconut shells are extremely hard to cut. When i was using them as hides, i would buy regular coconuts, then drain the juice. I would use my dremel to cut the coconut in half, and even then it was very hard to do. It is extremely hard textured. I once had a leapord gecko get his head stuck in one of the eyes, luckily i was able to push him back through. All i can say is be extremely careful. Maybe snip at it until you get very close to the sling, then snap that peice of shell off quickly. Maybe get a pic so we can better think out the situation. Good luck.

 

[MarkmD]

Have you managed to get your T free yet? let us know.

 

[Tyrantula138]

She is no sling. Koopa is a full grown (I think) A. hentzi. I used my Gundam nippers to break away pieces of the shell.
It finally cracked in half up to the hole she was stuck in. She seems great, probably just in shock.

Thanks for all your help and concerns everyone.


I still should have taken pictures.

 

[catfishrod69]

Glad she is now ok. Dang how the heck did she even get in that little hole lol.

 

[Bobafett2k6]

Congratulations on a lucky escape! Pleased to hear she's ok.

 

[macbaffo]

Glad it's ok

 

[tarantulagirl10]

I'm glad she made it out of her predicament unharmed. I never thought about the hole in the bottom of terra cotta pots until reading what Hobo said. Wow, I have a couple of those. I need to rethink that, I suppose.

 

[JoeMean]

Why have a hide that's to small?

 

[Hobo]

It's not too small, it got stuck in a small hole on the hide.

 

[Bobafett2k6]

Why have a hide that's to small?

You clearly couldn't be arsed to read the thread before responding...

 

[Josh75]

Great to hear a happy ending! :biggrin: