Skips is at it again!

CitizenNumber9

Arachnobaron
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Nov 25, 2013
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I'm not sure if any of you remember my post a few weeks ago about my P. irminia slings I recently acquired, along with a photo of one that I affectionately named "Skips" once someone pointed out he was missing two legs! It was only a few days afterward that he molted, regaining his lost limbs.

Now the little weirdo is at it again! In his most recent molting experience, I checked on him only to find out that his old exo was stuck to his bottom :eek:

At first, I very carefully attempted to pull it off with tweezers but it felt a little too stuck and I was worried I would injure him further, especially since he was semi-freshly molted. Plan B - I carefully dripped a couple drops of water onto the spot where the old exo was stuck, effectively softening it up, and was able to carefully pull it off with ease.

It stinks I had to freak the poor little guy out so bad but I'm happy that all seems well! There are no injuries that I can see and he is safely back in his home :)

Yay for Skips!
 
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awiec

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Feb 13, 2014
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Slings are so much fun aren't they? I have a neurotic E.murinus of my Bf's I have to deal with doing laps around the container and a bolting H. sp Columbia and I think I have worn out the story of my 5 legged P.muticus. Glad you were rational and calm which helps make the "procedure" much less stressful for you and the T.
 

CitizenNumber9

Arachnobaron
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Nov 25, 2013
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Slings are so much fun aren't they? I have a neurotic E.murinus of my Bf's I have to deal with doing laps around the container and a bolting H. sp Columbia and I think I have worn out the story of my 5 legged P.muticus. Glad you were rational and calm which helps make the "procedure" much less stressful for you and the T.
Haha yes they are :) yours sound pretty entertaining as well! I certainly haven't head the story, so by all means please share!

Thank you for the compliment. I try to be as calm and collected as possible when dealing with any animal (except for maybe a puppy :love: ) and it really comes in handy when working with the T's, especially some of the crazier, hotter ones. :sarcasm:

You're lucky to have a cool boyfriend that keeps T's as well! Mine simply tolerates them at the moment but I can tell he is getting more and more into them ;) he even says he likes them more than my crazy cat!
 

Wildenthusiast

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Feb 3, 2014
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Congratulations on your assistance with helping your T molt. As mentioned, that takes some calm nerves and steady hands. Also seems like you really used your head when helping the little critter out. That's VERY commendable. Lastly, I'm sure its a HUGE relief that you were able to catch the problem in time to help out before any injuries could result. Glad you have a healthy T to how for your efforts!
 

CitizenNumber9

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Nov 25, 2013
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Haha I didn't expect all of the commendations just from helping my ittle skips :) I think it was lucky that it wasn't stuck to his spinneretts or anything. Hopefully his brothers/sisters don't give me the same problems haha
 

catfishrod69

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Glad he is doing ok. What i usually do is wet the bristles on my paintbrush, then get the sling on the palm of my hand. Then i work the paintbrush on the molt, getting it good and soaked. I let the sling pull by itself, and also brush at the molt, and it usually comes off easily. Sometimes they will dig their fangs into my skin while trying to pull. They are using their fangs to create more leverage for pulling lol.
 

CitizenNumber9

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Glad he is doing ok. What i usually do is wet the bristles on my paintbrush, then get the sling on the palm of my hand. Then i work the paintbrush on the molt, getting it good and soaked. I let the sling pull by itself, and also brush at the molt, and it usually comes off easily. Sometimes they will dig their fangs into my skin while trying to pull. They are using their fangs to create more leverage for pulling lol.
That reminds me, can slings around 1" DLS even pierce the skin with their fangs?
 

catfishrod69

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Im sure some probably can. It would depend on the circumstances, the size of fangs, area of bite, etc.
 

BobGrill

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It's great to know that everything turned out okay. Personally, I can see myself having a difficult time with helping a spider that is stuck in its molt, as my hands are too big and clumsy and they tend to shake a lot when I am trying to maneuver something small and/or delicate with them. Also hopefully you end up with mostly females. I was convinced that mine was a male, but I uploaded a photo and two people said it looked female. However it was hard to tell because there's this annoying glare that keeps popping up on every picture I take, so that's not confirmed as of yet. The males are so dull in coloration once they hit maturity, it sort of takes all of the fun out of owning this species IMO, since the main reason I find them appealing is the contrast between the jet black body and the bright orange bands.
 

CitizenNumber9

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It's great to know that everything turned out okay. Personally, I can see myself having a difficult time with helping a spider that is stuck in its molt, as my hands are too big and clumsy and they tend to shake a lot when I am trying to maneuver something small and/or delicate with them. Also hopefully you end up with mostly females. I was convinced that mine was a male, but I uploaded a photo and two people said it looked female. However it was hard to tell because there's this annoying glare that keeps popping up on every picture I take, so that's not confirmed as of yet. The males are so dull in coloration once they hit maturity, it sort of takes all of the fun out of owning this species IMO, since the main reason I find them appealing is the contrast between the jet black body and the bright orange bands.
I agree. I also have 10 more coming along in a couple days so I'm sure to have female SOMEWHERE lol. I also have a MF that I am long term babysitting so I get to see her sometimes :)
 

klawfran3

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Feb 6, 2013
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Just a few days ago I tried feeding my A.Geniculata sling a roach. Well, it missed grabbing the roach, and grabbed a wood piece instead. this caused it to freak out and bolt from his deli cup and on to my hand. I eventually got him back in to his cup and he god the roach, but it goes to show how deeply the little spiders are.
 

CitizenNumber9

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Nov 25, 2013
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Just a few days ago I tried feeding my A.Geniculata sling a roach. Well, it missed grabbing the roach, and grabbed a wood piece instead. this caused it to freak out and bolt from his deli cup and on to my hand. I eventually got him back in to his cup and he god the roach, but it goes to show how deeply the little spiders are.
Lol slings are so entertaining
 

awiec

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Feb 13, 2014
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Haha yes they are :) yours sound pretty entertaining as well! I certainly haven't head the story, so by all means please share!

Thank you for the compliment. I try to be as calm and collected as possible when dealing with any animal (except for maybe a puppy :love: ) and it really comes in handy when working with the T's, especially some of the crazier, hotter ones. :sarcasm:

You're lucky to have a cool boyfriend that keeps T's as well! Mine simply tolerates them at the moment but I can tell he is getting more and more into them ;) he even says he likes them more than my crazy cat!
Well my P.muticus made itself a rather narrow tunnel and then tried to molt, I figured I would leave it to its business. A few hours later I was about to go to bed and low and behold the sling popped out of its hole and had 4 of its legs stuck like a conjoined twin. It then took off back into the tunnel, which I had to dig it out and then levi it onto my hand (made sure the fangs where still white) and then transfered it to an ICU where I used tweezers, a wet paintbrush and the wet rough folds of the paper towel to help get its legs out. I managed to get 3 out successfully, then left it in the ICU for the night. When I checked on it the next day, it was alive and well but had popped off one of the mangled legs leaving it with 5 functioning legs and a gimp leg that has a functioning trochanter and thus is swung like a pirate's peg leg. I provided it with a buried vial for a hide, which it stayed for a few weeks and then dug itself a huge tunnel system after it got a few meals in its belly. That is the tale of "Gimpy" my kinda 1.5 inch P.muticus.

Also my bf just has 3, I still have 4x as many as him and I'm the one who provides most of the care as his grandmother won't let him keep them at her house so they stay at mine. But hes at least supportive of my hobby, hes more into fish while I prefer just to eat them.
 

CitizenNumber9

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Messages
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Well my P.muticus made itself a rather narrow tunnel and then tried to molt, I figured I would leave it to its business. A few hours later I was about to go to bed and low and behold the sling popped out of its hole and had 4 of its legs stuck like a conjoined twin. It then took off back into the tunnel, which I had to dig it out and then levi it onto my hand (made sure the fangs where still white) and then transfered it to an ICU where I used tweezers, a wet paintbrush and the wet rough folds of the paper towel to help get its legs out. I managed to get 3 out successfully, then left it in the ICU for the night. When I checked on it the next day, it was alive and well but had popped off one of the mangled legs leaving it with 5 functioning legs and a gimp leg that has a functioning trochanter and thus is swung like a pirate's peg leg. I provided it with a buried vial for a hide, which it stayed for a few weeks and then dug itself a huge tunnel system after it got a few meals in its belly. That is the tale of "Gimpy" my kinda 1.5 inch P.muticus.

Also my bf just has 3, I still have 4x as many as him and I'm the one who provides most of the care as his grandmother won't let him keep them at her house so they stay at mine. But hes at least supportive of my hobby, hes more into fish while I prefer just to eat them.
"The one time I give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you know what you're doing, you pull this!" Lol slings crack me up.

My Bf isn't allowed to have any pets either, not that he's ever asked. Though he doesn't really like or dislike the T's very much, he is very fond of my pet rat, Flower. She is a sweetheart :)
 

awiec

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Feb 13, 2014
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"The one time I give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you know what you're doing, you pull this!" Lol slings crack me up.

My Bf isn't allowed to have any pets either, not that he's ever asked. Though he doesn't really like or dislike the T's very much, he is very fond of my pet rat, Flower. She is a sweetheart :)
Honestly I had a pang in my gut that I needed to dig it out, but I ignored it but the T is very healthy and fiesty and I have a cool story so no real harm done. I will be keeping an extra eye on it during its next molt as that crooked leg may pose a problem.
 

CitizenNumber9

Arachnobaron
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Messages
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Honestly I had a pang in my gut that I needed to dig it out, but I ignored it but the T is very healthy and fiesty and I have a cool story so no real harm done. I will be keeping an extra eye on it during its next molt as that crooked leg may pose a problem.
-sigh- #MommyProblems lol
 
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