Going away for 10 days - better prep advice needed!

shelpen · Apr 30, 2015

I'll be taking a much needed vacation/anniversary trip for 10 day in May...

Most of my Ts are big enough (about +/-2"), but there are 0.75" P.muticus and B.pulchra - I worry about them.

Any advice is greatly appreciated! :love:

Sam_Peanuts · Apr 30, 2015

Add an extra water dish to make sure they have water and feed them before you leave and they'll be fine.

lalberts9310 · Apr 30, 2015

I agree with Sam, make sure their fed (I usually overfeed my slings when I know I'll be away for a while, I just make sure they ar fat) and provide enough water

scott99 · Apr 30, 2015

I wouldn't worry. Just go on your anniversary, enjoy yourself and when you get back your Ts will be there waiting for you.

Austin S. · Apr 30, 2015

Just ship them to me! Haha..

No no worries. My wife and I had a two week honeymoon last June. I added an extra water dish and soaked the substrate the day we left, all was good.

Poec54 · Apr 30, 2015

People that go away for a week or two have come home to some dead spiders. Fill the water bowls and put their cages inside large clear plastic bags to prevent evaporation.

Blueandbluer · Apr 30, 2015

Poec54 said:
People that go away for a week or two have come home to some dead spiders. Fill the water bowls and put their cages inside large clear plastic bags to prevent evaporation.

Poec, wouldn't you worry about oxygen levels and ventilation?

shelpen · May 1, 2015

Thanks a LOT, guys!!! :love:
I feel much better!
:laugh:

Angel Minkov · May 1, 2015

Blueandbluer said:
Poec, wouldn't you worry about oxygen levels and ventilation?

Inverts need a ridiculously low amount of oxygen. He will just cover them to keep humidity in, that's it.

Poec54 · May 2, 2015

Blueandbluer said:
Poec, wouldn't you worry about oxygen levels and ventilation?

No. I've had spiders shipped in straws and vials with no airholes. There should be enough air in any appropriate-sized cage to last weeks, and by putting a bunch of cages together in a large plastic bag, you have even more air.

awiec · May 2, 2015

Blueandbluer said:
Poec, wouldn't you worry about oxygen levels and ventilation?

Inverts are excellent at energy conservation and if no one is bothering them the will probably just move an inch or two a day, you don't need much oxygen for that.

Blueandbluer · May 2, 2015

Ok. I don't disbelieve -- I'm sure that's true -- but I'm trying to reconcile this with the advice we always give about the dangers of stuffy cages and having plenty ventilation. What's the key I'm missing why wrapping an enclosure in plastic would not be a concern but that ensuring proper ventilation is?

koldaar · May 2, 2015

You may come home to mold everywhere if you seal them in plastic. Just feed them a little extra and give them an additional water dish if possible.

viper69 · May 2, 2015

Blueandbluer said:
Ok. I don't disbelieve -- I'm sure that's true -- but I'm trying to reconcile this with the advice we always give about the dangers of stuffy cages and having plenty ventilation. What's the key I'm missing why wrapping an enclosure in plastic would not be a concern but that ensuring proper ventilation is?

There's not enough volume of water in small T containers to create a moist stuffy environment in this case. Recall moist cages result in the enclosure itself not having enough air holes as opposed to proper air flow and then tied up in a large bag

Poec54 · May 2, 2015

Blueandbluer said:
What's the key I'm missing why wrapping an enclosure in plastic would not be a concern but that ensuring proper ventilation is?

This is a short term situation while the person is away, not something to do year round. Better than your tarantulas dying of thirst. What can happen is that some will dump their water bowls or fill them with substrate just after you leave, and not have access to water. That's dangerous for young spiders.

There was a post last year about a guy going on vacation for a 10 or 15 days, and coming back to dead spiders. He had watered them well before leaving. Had he put them in a plastic bag they would have lived.

LythSalicaria · May 2, 2015

Poec54 said:
This is a short term situation while the person is away, not something to do year round. Better than your tarantulas dying of thirst. What can happen is that some will dump their water bowls or fill them with substrate just after you leave, and not have access to water. That's dangerous for young spiders.

There was a post last year about a guy going on vacation for a 10 or 15 days, and coming back to dead spiders. He had watered them well before leaving. Had he put them in a plastic bag they would have lived.

+1 x 1000.

This happened to me last as well last November. Had to go away to look after a sick family member for just over a week, came home to 6 dead Ts. Don't underestimate the value of the bag idea.

Tim Benzedrine · May 2, 2015

This thread is rather timely for me. And given recent events i am a little uneasy about the well-being of my spiders. i will be gone for 16 days. What I am considering doing is this:

I have a five gallon tank. (And a couple ten gallons for that matter) So I've considered the possibility of placing something, perhaps bricks, on the bottom of a tank and then adding a inch of water. the enclosures would go on the bricks. I would of course feed prior to departure and could also dampen the substrate of all enclosures. And, as a final precaution, I have a sheet of plexiglass that I could partially, or completely cover the tank with.

Would this be overkill? Especially in regard ti the plexiglass cover. It seems to me that would be no different than sealing in a bag, though, but a little easier to manage. I'm as terrified of coming home to dead, mouldy spiders as I am to coming dessicated ones. there could always be a bolus or a piece of one that could launch a mould infestation. I think I once saw somebody mention a similar procedure here before...

Poec54 · May 2, 2015

I think water in the bottom of a tank is overkill, that could make it too stagnant and stuffy, promote mold and mildew. You don't need to add water to keep humidity, just reduce evaporation.

Tim Benzedrine · May 2, 2015

Okay, I will deep-6 the water idea. I sort of had an inkling that may have been going a bit overboard. So I'll go with the tank, dampened substrate, water sources that I can only hope won't get filled - and for a couple of them that may be a vain hope - and the plexiglass cover. Think I should leave a small vent opening on one end, or close the tank off entirely as a bag would be?

You folks that are lucky enough to have somebody dependable to look after your spiders in cases such as this should count your blessings!

shelpen · May 2, 2015

Now I'm thinking taping the spider coset with a plastic sheet (the kind the painters use to cover floor).
Or wrapping all KK with a plastic wrap.
The bag idea also deserves a try for the smaller enclosures.

Should I water them (meaning the substrate) before bagging them?

Going away for 10 days - better prep advice needed!

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