What do I do now??

[Nightwind]

Hiya! I'm brand new to these boards, but I've been keeping a tarantula or two all my life, always a good old B. smithi. My interest was recently resparked by buying a juvenile B. smithi. I adore him/her, and it's molted twice since I've had it with no problems. It's now got about a 2" legspan, so it's pretty much doubled it size in the four months that I've had it.

I love that little one so much that I recently purchased a juvenile C. crawshayi because I've always liked that feisty species (It's got about a 1" legspan) and a teensy baby A. versicolor. They arrived on Monday. Those guys are both doing fine, both happily eating. The baboon's already constructed 2.5 burrows and the versicolor is busy webbing up its vial. I've done a lot of research about these two species, and I think they're going to do fine.

However, along with them came a free P. murinus. Another teensy baby. Yow. I know little about these guys other than their reputation for biting and moving like lightning. The latter was readily displayed as I attempted to move it into its permanent-for-now vial from it's tiny deli cup. We had a merry chase around the kitchen, during which the poor li'l guy lost a leg. I feel absolutely horrible. But it was HARD catching it! It does appear to be perfectly OK, though, despite the damage. Anyway, I've been doing some reading about the species, and what I've read says that they burrow.

Well, this one apparently has decided it's arboreal. It's built a web...right at the top of its vial. I just know that when I open the vial to try and feed it (which I haven't yet attempted to do), it's going to take off again and who knows if I'll be able to catch it. And then a cat will eat it. Or the 13' python will squish it.

So...any suggestions as to how I might go about feeding this li'l guy, given where it's sitting? Should I try to move it to another container, God knows how? Does it maybe not like the substrate? (It's organic top soil with a little peat mixed in. It's not wet at all anymore. The King Baboon seems to enjoy excavating in it quite well.) Is it possible it's misidentified, or is it actually normal for little guys of this species to decide to be arboreal for a while? I'm really happy I have this l'il guy, for I think they're very pretty, and I definitely want to keep it...but I think I'm a little unprepared for dealing with one. So, any advice from you experts would be greatly appreciated...

 

[pink'n'curly]

Hi nightwind
i would suggest when you do try and feed your P. murinus, you do it in the bath...plug in and taps off of course!....i have an avic avic sling that moves like roadrunner! so doing it in the bath gives you a little more reaction time while it trys to climb up the sides of your bath. i'm new to T's so this kinda thing really helps me...goodluck!
:}

 

[cacoseraph]

i've gotten good at sort of jamming a cricket or roach through a space too small for the spiderling to get out of

also, if you do it right you are basically plugging the space with a cricket body

p.s. prekill the cricket or whatever before you try this... it is WAY easier that way. heh

 

[Nightwind]

Ah, thanks for the advice. Having poked around the boards a bit more, I see the bathtub recommendation. Why didn't I think of that? DUH! Will also try to open the vial as little as possible. I'm going to attempt to feed it this evening, once I get home from work...

Geez, I own a rattlesnake (Legally, before you ask); you'd think this wouldn't be that intimidating, but I already feel badly for causing this little one to lose a leg, so I'm actually more nervous about this than dealing with a rattler for the first time...