Evacuating Tarantulas

So having set myself up in my new apartment...well you know how the story goes of course I just couldn't stay away from the hobby.
I ended up selling my entire collection and had told myself I wouldn't keep another arachnid for a very long time in the best case scenario.
Very recently I got my toes wet in the delightful world of T's all over again and now have a singular sexed female Brachypelma verdezi

Which brings up my next point---I try and make sure that any critter living in the apartment has a ready-to-go carrier in case I need to evacuate the building (be it because of a fire etc). Seeing as I've eight floors to get down it's important to have a lightweight, slim, easy to carry carrier that preferably can be carried hands-free.

I was thinking some sort of insulated lunch box type deal.

Thoughts?

Ive never heard of anyone using an insulated container, and do not know if any problems would arise from it. Why not use a plastic, stackable shoebox so you could carry four or five quite easily? Congrats on the new place and lets hope you dont have to ever evacuate!

Personally, I'd simply use a deli cup(or any small plastic container) to scoop her up and carry that. As long as it has a couple of holes for breathing(none would also work short time, they have a very low oxygen requirement), pretty much anything will do.

I like it, always being prepared is great.

For my slings I have an easy stack box. For the adults I just have deli cups to scoop. I have other pets I need to worry about so it needs to be speedy.

If I (or any "northerner") had a fire in winter, the t's would probably live longer in the fire....they'd be dead in seconds outside the burning house.

Chris11---
The insulated lunch box was to carry the containers with the T's in them. I've got some mobility issues so I've really gotta leave my hands free to a) make sure I don't get knocked over while going down the stairs and b) carry the parrot.


Sam_Peanuts---
Hmm I think that might work. Her current enclosure is still small and easy to grab with one hand, but since I'm not quite sure about how long I'll be staying there/how big she'll grow in the time I'm there so having a plan for an adult-sized spider is something to consider.


dementedlullaby---
I try my best and everybody counts. The parrot and I have a practiced 'fire-drill' routine down in case I need to grab her but of course the T's won't be quite so agreeable and like you, I've got others to worry about so I need to be as speedy as possible with the T's.

cold blood---
True that. It is a consideration and a 'nightmare scenario' for me that something would happen in the middle of January in Montreal because as you said the cold would kill quickly. That's why I'd be hoping for some sort of insulated container to put the deli-cups etc in to help shield them---once I make it out of the building there are a number of 24hr restaurants or convenience stores that are literally across the street where I could go bring everyone to stay warm.

I have deli cups for all the Ts in larger cages, which have holes punched and are ready to use. In the case of an evacuation, I would cup them all and load them in the designated duffel bag along with small cages and slings.

I also have a more complicated plan for if/when we lose power in winter (which would result in instantly losing all heat). I had my mom snag insulated styrofoam coolers from work, and will cup the Ts and pack them in those along with shipping heat packs. That should give me plenty of time to have the power restored or give up and go to a motel with heat.

The scenario of a fire/evacuation is extremely unlikely here, but it's only a matter of time before there's another power outage in winter. Hopefully it will wait until I'm able to buy the house with a fireplace that I want, but in case it doesn't, I'm prepared.

cold blood said:

If I (or any "northerner") had a fire in winter, the t's would probably live longer in the fire....they'd be dead in seconds outside the burning house.

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I'm pretty sure mine would survive in a duffel bag for the 30 seconds it would take me to run them to my car and turn the heat on, even in January.

FireSpider said:

I'm pretty sure mine would survive in a duffel bag for the 30 seconds it would take me to run them to my car and turn the heat on, even in January.

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That ONLY works if you keep the car running, cause they will be dead by the time a car heats up...WAAAAAAAYYYY more than 30 seconds for that.

Unless of course you happen to have the only car on the planet that will blow hot air right away when its cold.

Even if instant heat were possible with the car, it would still take 5-10 minutes just to start to get an ice cold car barely warm enough.

cold blood said:

If I (or any "northerner") had a fire in winter, the t's would probably live longer in the fire....they'd be dead in seconds outside the burning house.

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Yes. Same here. Better not think to those scenarios and hope everything continue to be fine.