C.marshalli rehouse, Been putting it off...

Hey guys

I have a C.marshalli sling who is almost 3/4 of an inch and still in the vial he came in :wall:

I can't say I'm looking forward to rehousing him but I know its time, he needs to spread his legs, Hopefully he doesn't spread his fangs at the same time... I've seen A lot of threads that talk about rehousing an aggressive or defensive arboreal but practically none for a speed demon terrestrial, Any tips? He is prone to "panic attacks" where he endures a short burst of speed to scoot around his vial and often flip on his back while flailing into the nearest web tunnel...

I have a week to prepare myself before I confront Marshall

I always laugh when I read these posts due to hobbyists being terrified to transfer their old world tarantulas. You're truly overreacting to a simple and easy procedure. This might seem scary, but transferring ow's aren't that hard. One day when you become a champ, you will even laugh yourself.

Best advice I can give you is take your time and transfer your tarantulas in your bathtub. Wish you luck.

If you psych yourself out about it I think you're going to make it worse than it needs to be. He's a little guy too. Wait until it's a biggun! I do not have that species so I can't speak specifically towards it.

I can't say much towards rehousing slings either. Other than 1. I rehoused my H. mac! I thought about it being a hassle for a bit. But then I just calmed down. Prepared for any case scenario. Went to the bathroom. And performed an easy peasy transfer. Not saying it will always go that way. But if you're prepared it shouldn't be too bad I'd wager. Try making it so he can just go right from his Val into his new enclosure. Unless you have to dig him out.


Edit*

He's still in the vial he came in? As in you've what never even had to house him once? GET TO IT MAN! lol

Here I can definitely say get your feet wet! I've rehoused an adult OBT, unpacked and housed an adult OBT, unpacked and housed 2 of each H. Mac slings, P. regalis slings, and OBT slings. And I'm relatively new still into the hobby.

Now I'm not bragging. Just saying you're hyping this up more than out needs to be. Packing up a little 2 inch docile NW Euthlus for shipping was the most frustrating thing I've done so far hobby wise. That's where things got "hairy" if you catch my drift!

Good luck with your little guy! Keep calm!

Speed is what you should worry about, at that size they are more likely to flee than bite, even then, their fangs are still tiny and they are producing a lot less venom. Just relax, stay calm and be smart, it will almost assuredly, be a lot easier than you think.

Just place the whole vial in the new container with the lid loosely in place. Once the vial is in the container remove the lid. Eventually the sling comes out of the vial, and you carefully remove the vial using tweezers/forcep/chop sticks/thongs.

You can do it its easy.

Goodluck!

sr20det510 said:

Just place the whole vial in the new container with the lid loosely in place. Once the vial is in the container remove the lid. Eventually the sling comes out of the vial, and you carefully remove the vial using tweezers/forcep/chop sticks/thongs.

You can do it its easy.

Goodluck!

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This is the best idea

All of the above. You want this to be easier than harder. One other thing, watch your breath/breathing when you got a critter's lid off especially if you're hunched over a bathtub.

Thanks everyone, I got to say I feel quite a bit better. I'm more nervous about the speed in general, Iv'e seen him pop out of all 4 of his tunnels in less than a 2 seconds :-/

I'm going to do it in the bathroom tub and see how it goes, Catch cups, paint brushes and confidence. Anything else?

telepatella I don't even know why but when ever I rehouse any T I always hold my breath, I breathed once doing a transfer... E.murinus got to the other side of the room!

Be sure to block all escape routes...especially the drain.

cold blood said:

Be sure to block all escape routes...especially the drain.

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Yes, let us not forget the tragedy of the itsy bitsy spider...

I'm going to put a cover on the drain and way it down I have nice shower with a glass door for an almost escape proof area, on the other hand I am trapping myself in glass box with a speed demon.

I have a week to think about it

This is not a species to worry about transferring. P murinus, yes. I personally do not look forward to transferring some of the faster Asian terrestrials and arboreals, and of course Stromatopelma. But preplanning and proper equipment go a long ways. I do my cage transfers on a tall bar stool in the middle of my spider room. That way, if they make a dash, they're usually on a stool leg and easily caught. ALWAYS keep a catch cup in arm's reach.

Most of the time I use a 32 oz deli cup as the transfer vehicle, and 8" lollipop sticks as prods. It's imperative not to excite or panic the spider. Move slow, deliberate, and gently. You want the spider calm, and you want to stay in control. If it gets worked up, start again another time. Some of the worst transfer experiences here have been people trying to work with a panicked spider in fear of it's life.

The best time to transfer is on a cool morning when the spider is winding down. If need be, you can also transfer when they're pre or post molt and slower.

Yeah this is one of the easier baboons to work with. If you were rehousing an OBT I could understand a little more.

telepatella said:

Yes, let us not forget the tragedy of the itsy bitsy spider...

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there was no tragedy!!? he was washed out but when the sun came out he went crawling back up again.
...

GLad to hear its an easy species to transfer I had a hard time finding information on rehousing, good to know that the consensus of horned baboons are easy to work with.

ratluvr76 said:

there was no tragedy!!? he was washed out but when the sun came out he went crawling back up again.
...

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True, but I was referring strictly to the Greek form.

So yeah... as said rehousing should be a piece of cake compared to most other OW species.

ratluvr76 said:

there was no tragedy!!? he was washed out but when the sun came out he went crawling back up again.
...

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well heck iv been hearing the wrong song. my arachnophobic dad always said "then came the fun and we poured the cement in, now the itsy bitsy spider will never be again" XD

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but as for rehousing your def overthinking it. i kinda did this for my P.cambridgei due to everyone saying they are super fast, a few herp forums always say they are AS fast as pokies [ofcourse they dont keep as many T as alot of us] and when i got it as a freebie i was scared crudless. but he walked out to the tip of the vial when i opened it. and just casually walked onto the lid.. afterwords zoomed down the cup and acrost the bottom almost to the top of it i put the lid on, as i wasnt expecting him to come out thought id sit his shipping vial in the cage so the lid wasnt open. once his first container was opened i touched his back leg with a brush and he casually walked in.... then when i rehoused him from a 16oz to a 32. it was just as simple. i lifted his hide with funnel, we walked out as i was lifting i. i thought hed run so i just sat the plant super close to another one in new cup. and he walked gently again... now this may not be an ow, but i was expecting a bit of a chase based off of my fastest runners where both brachys [others where pet rocks] and everyone said they was little T's of greased lightning XD i psyched myself out so hard i had a 20 gal [tall] tub inside a 99liter tub incase he ran.. lol well it was all a waist XD such a cake walk and i was sweating bullets on unboxing him lmao i look back and laugh so hard XD

As mentioned, just putting the vial in the container and letting the sling come out by itself is a good way to start out. You will quickly note how anticlimactic it is as the T does NOT, as feared, come flying out of the vial with fangs bared and little arachnid machine guns blazing. Now, if/when you are feeling a bit more impatient and want to encourage the little guy to come out...it's still easy. Just move methodically and don't be forceful with it and things generally go smoothly that way.

Just do it tomorrow. Prepare the new enclosure. Have a catch.cup ready. Go to an open space. Move the vial to the new enclosure and gently prod it out. If it runs, let it go and don't freak out. Go catch it and put it in the new enclosure. There isn't a spider on earth this won't work for.

---------- Post added 09-21-2014 at 11:55 PM ----------

cold blood said:

Speed is what you should worry about.

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Never understood this. Open space, no place to escape through - they wanna run? Adios. I do my thing, go catch cup the sucker and boom done.

---------- Post added 09-22-2014 at 12:06 AM ----------

Poec54 said:

Most of the time I use a 32 oz deli cup as the transfer vehicle, and 8" lollipop sticks as prods. It's imperative not to excite or panic the spider. Move slow, deliberate, and gently. You want the spider calm, and you want to stay in control. If it gets worked up, start again another time. Some of the worst transfer experiences here have been people trying to work with a panicked spider in fear of it's life.

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This response is directed at Poec and other long time experienced keepers - this is *not*, repeat *not* for first timers or "hey I moved my juvie P regalis with no issue so I got this down!".

I *don't* want the defensive spiders calm when I move them. I want them pissed. I want them on edge. I want them to hit that point where they have decided to stand their ground and fight. At that point, they *are* caught. With a calm, deliberate and unhesitant move, the spider is restrained before it realizes a bite is the wrong move. With this strategy, you *must* know your spiders and how they generally react to stimuli, because I will be the first to admit an error in judgement can be painful.