Regarding T's escaping...

Storm76

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To those of you that still don't think a T can't squeeze through cracks that are -looking- WAY too small, here's a vid that'll teach you otherwise... (I've heard that "Don't worry, the space is way too small for it to squeeze through" once too often by now...)

[YOUTUBE]7pzm9pZgVOI[/YOUTUBE]

Honestly, I will never understand why people take the risk of putting tiny slings in critter keepers. The problem with those is, that no matter the size of the CK, the plastic lids are the SAME. They have the SAME size of space between those ribs...think twice before you risk losing a sling in your app!

Just some advice...general rule of thumb: If they can get the carapace through, chances are their abdomen will fit through, too!
 
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Theist 17

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Sticky, please!

I use KKs for my slings, but I hot glue every hole shut and tape down the lids. I drill holes, but these holes are 1/32", too small for my spiders' carapaces to fit.

If you're gonna spend money on a spider, make sure you'll be able to actually keep it.
 

grayzone

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Sticky, please!

I use KKs for my slings, but I hot glue every hole shut and tape down the lids. I drill holes, but these holes are 1/32", too small for my spiders' carapaces to fit.

If you're gonna spend money on a spider, make sure you'll be able to actually keep it.
if youre gonna go through all that trouble to modify a KK (or any plastic style enclosure), you may as well spend your money elsewhere lol:sarcasm:.. Dollar store containers work GREAT
 

Storm76

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if youre gonna go through all that trouble to modify a KK (or any plastic style enclosure), you may as well spend your money elsewhere lol:sarcasm:.. Dollar store containers work GREAT
Yeah, KK's are for sizes 3" and up in my personal opinion...before that, other containers work way better.
 

grayzone

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That is the first vid ive ever seen of an escape caught IN THE ACT..
Very informative, and a good reminder to keepers both new AND old.
One question though, WHO THE HELL designed those tanks lol.. That gap is like 1/2" at least and OBVIOUSLY enables curious animals to escape. Screw the tarantula escaping lol, id be more worried about roaches and crickets lol.. Id have to LET my ts roam my house to eat (whole new meaning to dining out)

Anyways, Awesome vid Jan. I like how the Brachy immediately started shooting webbing to trace its way home.


New idea, Why not start letting ts escape in a controlled room, to study the nature of roughly how far they stray from enclosures.. Study their instincts of hiding choices/patterns etc..

Vids like that would surely end a lot of threads based on "how to find my tarantula"
 

rockhopper

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That hole is pretty huge in the video. How could someone not think the T could get through that?!
 

Storm76

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That is the first vid ive ever seen of an escape caught IN THE ACT..
Very informative, and a good reminder to keepers both new AND old.
One question though, WHO THE HELL designed those tanks lol.. That gap is like 1/2" at least and OBVIOUSLY enables curious animals to escape. Screw the tarantula escaping lol, id be more worried about roaches and crickets lol.. Id have to LET my ts roam my house to eat (whole new meaning to dining out)

Anyways, Awesome vid Jan. I like how the Brachy immediately started shooting webbing to trace its way home.


New idea, Why not start letting ts escape in a controlled room, to study the nature of roughly how far they stray from enclosures.. Study their instincts of hiding choices/patterns etc..

Vids like that would surely end a lot of threads based on "how to find my tarantula"
The vid was SET UP to show how they can escape. The glassdoor usually goes all the way down, but a thin book was put between it and the body of the enclosure to show how T's can squeeze through there.
 

James501

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New idea, Why not start letting ts escape in a controlled room, to study the nature of roughly how far they stray from enclosures.. Study their instincts of hiding choices/patterns etc..

Vids like that would surely end a lot of threads based on "how to find my tarantula"
This would be very interesting to witness and see how different species react to having the opportunity to escape. :eek:
 

meghanbe

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I recently got a third instar E. cyanognathus sling and didn't realize exactly how tiny she would be until she arrived. I'd drilled holes into the small acrylic cube I'd set up for it, and I honestly wasn't sure whether they would be adequate to allow the sling to escape. My solution has been to set an upside-down KK bottom over the acrylic cube, to create a double barrier for the T. I make sure to lift the outer container a couple times a day to help circulate the air, but until the sling molts, that's how it'll stay on my shelf. So far the sling is very predictable as far as hanging out in a hole in the cork bark, but before I lift the outer container, I always check to make sure it hasn't escaped first.

When in doubt, this is a perfect system. If for some reason the sling does escape its cube, it won't escape the solid plastic container that's sitting over its enclosure. Dealing with that situation might be tricky with such a tiny and fast sling, but at least it won't be totally lost!
 

grayzone

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The vid was SET UP to show how they can escape. The glassdoor usually goes all the way down, but a thin book was put between it and the body of the enclosure to show how T's can squeeze through there.
AAH.. now i see it:wall: i confused the book for some funky handle lol.. My bad

This would be very interesting to witness and see how different species react to having the opportunity to escape. :eek:
I agree completely.. Anybody have enough ts to do this experiment with??? lol

---------- Post added 08-17-2012 at 12:19 PM ----------

I recently got a third instar E. cyanognathus sling and didn't realize exactly how tiny she would be until she arrived. I'd drilled holes into the small acrylic cube I'd set up for it, and I honestly wasn't sure whether they would be adequate to allow the sling to escape. My solution has been to set an upside-down KK bottom over the acrylic cube, to create a double barrier for the T. I make sure to lift the outer container a couple times a day to help circulate the air, but until the sling molts, that's how it'll stay on my shelf. So far the sling is very predictable as far as hanging out in a hole in the cork bark, but before I lift the outer container, I always check to make sure it hasn't escaped first.

When in doubt, this is a perfect system. If for some reason the sling does escape its cube, it won't escape the solid plastic container that's sitting over its enclosure. Dealing with that situation might be tricky with such a tiny and fast sling, but at least it won't be totally lost!
Works GREAT.. Believe it or not, i was JUST doing this last night. I was attempting to get some premolt pics of this thing http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?232637-Need-some-help-please but it is VERY FAST, and quick to duck back down into burrows.
I will be attempting AGAIN tonight.
 

Storm76

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I agree completely.. Anybody have enough ts to do this experiment with??? lol
It'd probably require a true scientific study to prove anything in the long run, really. You'll have to have different specimens of the same species, different setups, rooms with different stuff and so on...it would, however, be an interesting subject. But it would take quite some time to document it, as we all know most T's won't "take a run for it" as soon as there's a chance. Just if you start annoying them too much and in that regard, you "set it up", which would make the study worthless again...
 

Theist 17

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if youre gonna go through all that trouble to modify a KK (or any plastic style enclosure), you may as well spend your money elsewhere lol:sarcasm:.. Dollar store containers work GREAT
Heh, you do what you have to with what you've got lying around. They're all leftovers from prior pets.
 

grayzone

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^gotcha.. well in that case, youre getting your moneys worth i suppose
Do you have any pics of the tanks?
 

Shell

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If they can get the carapace through, chances are their abdomen will fit through, too!
Or they will get stuck and wind up injured or dead, it has happened before. Most well fed hobby spiders have abdomens larger than their carapace, and depending on the size of the ventilation the carapace may fit through, but not the rest of them.
 

Storm76

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Or they will get stuck and wind up injured or dead, it has happened before. Most well fed hobby spiders have abdomens larger than their carapace, and depending on the size of the ventilation the carapace may fit through, but not the rest of them.
Yeah, that, too! Though it happens seldomly in comparison with a successfull escape :D
 

grayzone

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Or they will get stuck and wind up injured or dead, it has happened before. Most well fed hobby spiders have abdomens larger than their carapace, and depending on the size of the ventilation the carapace may fit through, but not the rest of them.
was it YOU that provided me a link before with a sling STUCK in a vial cap? THAT was the only proof i needed:biggrin:
 

Theist 17

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^gotcha.. well in that case, youre getting your moneys worth i suppose
Do you have any pics of the tanks?
Not any good ones, and it's gonna be a little while before I get a real chance. Moved into my dorm, so I'm buttering up the cute student housing girl and convincing her that two things should happen; dinner with me, and terrarium pets in the dorms.
 

Shell

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was it YOU that provided me a link before with a sling STUCK in a vial cap? THAT was the only proof i needed:biggrin:
Yep, it was me.
 

catfishrod69

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Something to keep in mind. If the enclosure is at all questionable, dont use it or toss it. I have made this mistake a couple times. Used a kritter keeper with a chunk missing out of one of the top corners to house a S. polymorpha pede, well it dissapeared. Then decided to use the same enclosure for a small C. darlingi, thought ahh itll only be in there a couple days, well guess where that tarantula is, seriously, cause i havent a clue. Another was a deli cup used for snakes at conventions, housed a small tarantula in it, lid was kind of iffy because it didnt fit on very tight, still havent seen that one either.

Something else to keep in mind, and im still horrible about this. When rehousing new arrivals or long time friends, either do it in a secure room, bathtub, or a aquarium sitting on the floor on its side. I have had alot of slings coming sloooowly out of the vial, and then bam they are 10 ft across the room, and im digging through stuff to get to them. Recieved a package not long ago, and one of the tarantulas was a awesome Orphnaecus sp. "blue", about 2". It decided since its new owner was a idiot by rehousing at the kitchen table, it would play a little game. Well that game ended in me tearing the baseboards out around a old chimney, turns out the tarantula made it under the floor. Next day the ole lady's kids seen it walking across the yard, i ran out and we searched and searched, never found it. Then about a week later we had a massive storm come through that had 70 mph winds, and horrible rain. I'd imagine that tarantula done got blown back to the phillipines.

Moral; Be sure your paying extra attention, and extra precautions when having these fast unpredictable critters outside of their enclosures. Also be sure to make sure you can keep them on the inside of their enclosures.
 

SamuraiSid

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New idea, Why not start letting ts escape in a controlled room, to study the nature of roughly how far they stray from enclosures.. Study their instincts of hiding choices/patterns etc..

Vids like that would surely end a lot of threads based on "how to find my tarantula"
No it wouldnt :biggrin:
 
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