Welp it finally happened

IamKrush

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 17, 2016
Messages
41
I had a H.gigas(hobby form) sling dip on me from the shipping vial it was in. 1/3" i thought I lost it. But it ended up showing itself about 15minutes later. Longest 15minutes of my life.
 

darkness975

Latrodectus
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Aug 31, 2012
Messages
5,610
After 6 Tarantulas. 3 Slings and 3 Juveniles.

My 7th and sadly my first Old World Tarantula,instead of standing its ground bolted,right out of its enclosure i set up all nice looking,flew Right out of the tupperware i set up for escape,dodged the catch cup with a speed i couldn't anticipate coming from a Tarantula i kept getting told was defensive and now after sifting in vein through clutter,the desk and the area i cannot find this ting the size of a quarter.

It was a Juvenile Ceratogyrus darlingi

So yeah was GOING to be my first old world,i really really REALLY didn't expect that at all,it was faster than litterally any of my other T's ive housed.

So.......uhhh any advice for having a loose juvenile in my room? I feel ULTRA stupid right now
Also maybe some advice on how to prevent this from happening in the future,i was sure i did everything right. I mean i even had the napkin in the enclosure but dang the moment i tried brushing it to move it,GONE.
http://arachnoboards.com/threads/darlingi-has-colonized-a-drain.274963/
 

Titandan

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jul 17, 2004
Messages
19
If you are in a cooler part of the world, I heard keeping a heat pad or heat lamp in a certain part of the room and looking for the T near the heated area sometimes work. It makes sense but I've never tried it myself.

Hope you find your T.

Blessings!
 

beaker41

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
May 23, 2012
Messages
220
No matter what precautions you take, I think that occasionally this just happens. We can't prepare for everything all the time, mistakes are natural from time to time. Don't beat yourself up. I'd just look wherever spiders go.
I disagree. Most people think the main issue with ow is the potential strength of the bite but in my mind the issue is speed. I always tell people you cannot understand the speed you're dealing with until you've seen it with your own eyes. It may seem ridiculous to use the bag method 90% of the time and total overkill but one thing you can count on is 0 escapes. It's even more of a surprise when you have done cage transfers or cleaning and never had any issues. T's just have a mind of their own and as in most things if you plan for the worst you are covered. There's no one in the world who is going to beat a motivated t in a contest of speed. It's natural to hesitate when you get surprised like this and that's more than enough time for your t to escape. Even if you manage to get your catch cup on them the issue then becomes how do you capture without maiming your little buddy. If you take the right precautions this will never ever happen, it's just a matter of being willing to put in the extra preparation even when you don't think it's necessary.
 

Bread

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 11, 2016
Messages
26
I rehouse in an old fishtank i have lying around (unless its the big guys which are done in the bathtub but are easier to spot)
said fishtank has its walled covered in ptfe i use for my formicariums, not even T's can climb it.
 

JoshDM020

Arachnobaron
Joined
Mar 24, 2017
Messages
356
said fishtank has its walled covered in ptfe i use for my formicariums, not even T's can climb it.
Did you just solve the problem of terrestrials hanging on the lid? I think you mightve.
 

STi

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 31, 2011
Messages
14
I had an irminia sling get loose on me when opening the enclosure to feed. I ended up throwing some laundry on the floor and checking it 2 or 3 times a day. I forget how long it was, shorter than a week, but sure enough I found the little one in one of my shirts. Might work for you and wishing you luck in finding your little fugitive
 

cold blood

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
13,223
After 6 Tarantulas. 3 Slings and 3 Juveniles.

My 7th and sadly my first Old World Tarantula,instead of standing its ground bolted,right out of its enclosure i set up all nice looking,flew Right out of the tupperware i set up for escape,dodged the catch cup with a speed i couldn't anticipate coming from a Tarantula i kept getting told was defensive and now after sifting in vein through clutter,the desk and the area i cannot find this ting the size of a quarter.

It was a Juvenile Ceratogyrus darlingi

So yeah was GOING to be my first old world,i really really REALLY didn't expect that at all,it was faster than litterally any of my other T's ive housed.

So.......uhhh any advice for having a loose juvenile in my room? I feel ULTRA stupid right now
Also maybe some advice on how to prevent this from happening in the future,i was sure i did everything right. I mean i even had the napkin in the enclosure but dang the moment i tried brushing it to move it,GONE.
Oooooh....good luck locating it, it will take a good degree of luck.

In the future just house in a 16oz deli cup....this way you can just peel back a small area needed...this alone will virtually eliminate escapes....thats the major downfall to enclosures with rigid tops that need to be completely removed.
If you are in northern IL, hit me up....i should be breeding darlingi pretty soon and would be happy to offer a replacement if its not found or replaced by then.
i think of this every time i re house in the tub...lol. The other day i housed a mm darlingi in the tub....afterwards i realized i didnt close the drain...dodged a bullet there...
If you are in a cooler part of the world, I heard keeping a heat pad or heat lamp in a certain part of the room and looking for the T near the heated area sometimes work. It makes sense but I've never tried it myself.

Hope you find your T.

Blessings!
Heat with a space heater.....a pad us designed to be used in contact, just leaving a heat pad in the vicinity wont have much effect unless its kept pretty close.

Heat lamps are quite dangerous to use with ts and should be avoided....theyre way too hot and significantly dry out the air in enclosures.
 

mconnachan

Arachnoprince
Joined
Aug 5, 2012
Messages
1,240
Thanks for the info,sadly after a deep amount of searching it appears to be just sort of gone. This is definitely my fault doing this in my room,i was sure everything was set up well enough,I had NO clue it would bolt across 2-3 layers of smooth surface plastic with no slowing down so quickly. @__@
No matter what size of T I'm rehousing I always utilise the bath, the best solution to an easily avoided situation. The best advice I can give has already been given by @Moakmeister use a red flash light when it's dark, they stand out more so than using an ordinary flashlight. Sorry to hear this, I really hope you find the wee fella. Good luck.
 

Moakmeister

Arachnodemon
Joined
Oct 6, 2016
Messages
741
No matter what size of T I'm rehousing I always utilise the bath, the best solution to an easily avoided situation. The best advice I can give has already been given by @Moakmeister use a red flash light when it's dark, they stand out more so than using an ordinary flashlight. Sorry to hear this, I really hope you find the wee fella. Good luck.
That's not the reason, the reason is that they can't see red light so they won't hide when you shine it at then.
 

Trenor

Arachnoprince
Joined
Jan 28, 2016
Messages
1,896
I've never used the tub to rehouse. Chasing some T about behind the toilet never has appealed to me. I tried using a large plastic tote once but it barely slowed the T down and the corners made using the catch cup difficult. I much prefer to rehouse in a large open space. Using the catch cups are a lot easier.
 

Formerphobe

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 27, 2011
Messages
2,336
Being a heavy webbing burrower, look for it to set up housekeeping in random nooks and crannies about your room.
Keep a flashlight handy to check your shoes before putting them on.
 

sasker

Arachnoprince
Joined
Oct 9, 2016
Messages
1,091
It may seem ridiculous to use the bag method 90%
What, prey, is the bag method?

I will receive a C. marshalli - my first OW - this week and I want to avoid a similar incident as the OP described.
 

Stormsky

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 9, 2016
Messages
33
What, prey, is the bag method?

I will receive a C. marshalli - my first OW - this week and I want to avoid a similar incident as the OP described.
The bag method is putting the tarantula's old enclosure in a bag and taping the bag's opening around the opening of the new enclosure, then basically doing the whole transfer through the bag. It puts the whole transfer in a closed environment so you don't have to worry about an escape at any point in the process.
 

Phases

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jun 1, 2017
Messages
205
Wow that stinks! Best of luck to ya. Keep your ear out, you might hear it 'hiss' at ya if you annoy it. Pretty distinct sound.

Edit: I do some transfers that I'm concerned about inside a bigger storage bin with lid and cups handy.. Once you realize it's about to flee, well, you just have to be faster ;) And hopefully no-one, spiders included, get hurt..
 

Phases

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jun 1, 2017
Messages
205
Oh if no one has mentioned it, roll up a towel and shove it under the door, so it doesn't leave the room.
 
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