On uneaten prey

Mushroom Spore

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For the first time since I started keeping Ts (back in January), I've found myself with living leftovers roaming an enclosure. The culprit is my big dumb rosehair, who ate one cricket and then left the other to roam free for the last several days. I was surprised--generally it eats like it's starving--but then, hey, rosies.

My problem is that I absolutely cannot catch the blasted thing. I've tried catching, even outright killing it with tongs, but no luck. All I've managed to do is stress out the poor spider...at least I think it's stressed. I can pretty much nudge it almost in the face with the tongs and it will let me move it back so I can get to food boluses or whatever. Very laid-back T. :)

How long does it take a cricket to starve to death? Should I just fill the water bowl a little more than usual and hope it drowns? I'm at my wit's end!
 

Windchaser

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I wouldn't leave it in there. If they get hungry, they will try to eat anything. I had an escapee cricket start nibbling my foot about two weeks ago.

One method you can try is to get some sticky substance (tape, gum, whatever) and put it on the end of a straw or something similar. Then, you can grab the cricket by essentially sticking it to the substance. If that fails, get a tube of some type that you can place over it and then remove it that way.
 

SpiderZone2

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I usually try to find a way to get the prey out. But if you really can't do this then filling the water dish up will not hurt anything either. Just remember to check back and take out the dead cricket. Maybe it will also make it easier for you to take out the live cricket if you know it hangs out more by the water dish. The T might just kill it on it's own if the cricket seems to be bugging it. Usually depends on how big the T is and the persistance of the cricket. I really don't know how long those crickets last but sometimes I have seen then a least a week. Depends also on how fat and healthy the cricket is.
Maybe it might be easier to remove the T if the problem seems to really bug you or the other cricket. Or you can just isolate the T and then go after the cricket. I use a cut off plastic bottle. I keep the cap on and gently put it over the T. Then do your maintenance. Sorry but this is all I can come up with.........
 

SpiderZone2

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Good idea windchaser. I had not thought about a straw. Crickets love tube like structures!
 

Mushroom Spore

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SpiderZone2 said:
Usually depends on how big the T is and the persistance of the cricket.
The T is pretty big, I think 4-5 inches though he/she/it hasn't been measured. Mostly I see the cricket just...walking around, usually around the edge of the water bowl.

I'm going to keep the water bowl full, maybe go look for some tape. I already have a box of straws, so that's not a problem.
 

SpiderZone2

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Sounds like a good plan to me........ You never know you could get lucky with the straw and tape. I had a E. uatuman once and if it didn't like the extra prey running around bothering it, it would kick them hard across the 10 gallon I had him in and kill them that way. You could hear them hit the glass. I would have never believed it myself if I had not seen him doing it. My husband was amazed that any T would do this.


Good luck!!
 
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Mushroom Spore

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Well, that was a disaster. :( The cricket wouldn't stick to the tape, despite me getting several good presses with the straw. I tried putting my rosie in this plastic deli cup so I could at least chase the cricket without scaring him more, but all that did was further stress my baby out. I think there was even a halfhearted threat pose--that or he was just surprised by my gentle attempts to nudge him into the cup with the lid.

New plan: how long does it take a cricket to die of thirst? I figure a hardcore desert specimen like my big rosehair can go a LOT longer than this stupid thing. :mad:
 

8ball

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I take my cricket's hopper leg's off before I even put them in
 

Arlius

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Crickets have never gotten the best of me. In the end I win, one way or another.... If you have a chopstick, you can tape a paperclip, unbend it, tape it to the chopstick. Now you have a skewer with 'bumps' so it wont slide off. Now, aim.... and ram it through the cricket. If it still manages to get away, at least it will die in 1-3 days now (they will die with a hole in them, just slowly)

If you aim for their butts, its much easier, as the paperclip wont just glance off as easy.

It can be rather theraputic if the cricket has been particulary a piss off.
 

Cerbera

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Rescuing crickets the easy way...

Create an area in the tank where the cricket wants to be. You will need one black film cannister, top off, and then to place a small quantity of porridge oats, bran, or whatever else your crickets like to eat within. Then simply place in one corner of T-tank, and wait for cricket to go to the darkest, safest place there with food on offer, which will be the film pot. This has worked for me everytime I have tried it.
 

Amanda

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Have you considered that it's really not a big deal to let it run around and die of natural causes? All the capture attempts are most certainly stressing your T out FAR more than a live cricket ever could. The cricket is no danger to your T unless s/he just molted. Just ignore the thing and pick up the carcass in a week or so.
 

Mushroom Spore

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Amanda said:
Have you considered that it's really not a big deal to let it run around and die of natural causes? All the capture attempts are most certainly stressing your T out FAR more than a live cricket ever could. The cricket is no danger to your T unless s/he just molted. Just ignore the thing and pick up the carcass in a week or so.
I have considered it, and mentioned it multiple times in the thread thus far. Believe me, I KNOW THE T IS STRESSED. It's made *me* stressed, and now it and I both are just frustrated and snappy and need to relax for a few days. {D

Now, is this "dead in a week" estimate with or without a water supply? Because I just rinsed the dirt particles out of the bowl while I was in there anyway, and the dish hasn't been refilled yet. I'm very, very sure that a big well-fed fat rosie will have no problem being without water that long, at least. :)
 

GailC

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I'm having problems getting a cricket out of my P. regalis cage. I shall try the skewer method:)

I have a cricket living under the fridge, been there for 3 weeks singing every night. I don't think the damn things die up hunger:(
 

Donovan

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I once bought 7 crickets and put them in a kricket keeper and at that time I didnt know they needed water or food and after the first day alone 2 had died. I put 2 into the cage (1 every other day and he ate both) and by the time I had fed him twice, the remainin 5 crix had died. It took less than 4 days for them to die. Since this guy has water and no food I am guessin its the water that is keeping him alive. But either way it should die pretty soon.
 

Joanie

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Dude, just gently remove the t from the cage using whatever method you're comfortable with, and then use your fingers to catch the cricket. Replace the tarantula. Stress over.
 

Mushroom Spore

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waldo said:
I have a cricket living under the fridge, been there for 3 weeks singing every night. I don't think the damn things die up hunger:(
There's probably crumbs under there or something. It might live forever! {D

Donovan said:
Since this guy has water and no food I am guessin its the water that is keeping him alive. But either way it should die pretty soon.
Well, it doesn't have water as of earlier this afternoon. I still haven't refilled the dish, and I'm thinking I may just wait a few days and see how that goes.

Joanie said:
Dude, just gently remove the t from the cage using whatever method you're comfortable with, and then use your fingers to catch the cricket. Replace the tarantula. Stress over.
Dude, if you read the thread, you would see that I tried both. Well, I didn't try catching the cricket with my fingers, because that's ridiculous. Crickets are faster than me, I'm clumsier than they are, and I do not fancy a cricket loose in my room for the rest of the summer.

Not that I'm actually "comfortable" with ANY method of removing a T from an enclosure, but I did try.
 

Joanie

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I'm sorry, I must've missed that in the other posts. I thought all these alternative methods were being explored and the basic "catch it with your hand method" had been ignored. I must read more slowly. :rolleyes:

You could also try gently removing the t from the cage and then taking the cage outside and scooping the cricket from the cage into the great outdoors. Although this is a bad idea if, like me, you are technically not allowed to keep spiders in your apartment and have been trying to hide your hobby.
 

Donovan

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Seriiously without water they do die pretty fast although usually I dont have to much problems removing crickets. The hard part for me is finding it in the 10 gal tank since its color kinda goes with my substrate. I am thinking it should be dead farely quickly without water and if it doesnt die i think ur T will kill it as soon as its barely hungry enough. Dont stress over it. Before I knew it was bad to have uneaten pray and the pet store guy told me to put all the crix in at once I put 10 crix in and let them stay in there til the T ate them. It took a week and a half but they all disappeared and the T was fine. I wont ever do that again but just saying that 1 cricket just this time shouldnt do too much damage.
 

Code Monkey

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Amanda said:
Have you considered that it's really not a big deal to let it run around and die of natural causes? All the capture attempts are most certainly stressing your T out FAR more than a live cricket ever could. The cricket is no danger to your T unless s/he just molted. Just ignore the thing and pick up the carcass in a week or so.
Exactly. I know that moulting Ts have been killed by prey items. I know it's even remotely possible that particularly bold crickets may have even wounded or killed a healthy non-moulting T. I also know that people have probably choked to death on oatmeal.

I only ever removed crickets when it was convenient to do so or if the spider was actually in full out, final stages premoult. Now that I only feed roaches, I never remove uneaten prey unless its dead. It's not "textbook", but I'll be damned if I can see any advantage to going to the trouble of trying to get a cockroach out that's buried itself 2cm down in the coir or wedged itself between my T's hide and the container wall that's not bothering the T in any way.
 

lpw

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Code Monkey has a point, also backed by the Schultzes (http://www.atshq.org/articles/stanpotpor.pdf). Your T is only likely to be hurt by a cricket when it's on its back during an actual molt. Judging by the fact that your rosie has just eaten, it is nowhere near that stage. It should be perfectly capable of fending off an annoying cricket.

Consider these large friendly letters:

D O N ' T
P A N I C

:)
 
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