Paul H.
New Member
- Messages
- 11
- Location
- Union City, CA
I picked up a poecilotheria metallica sling at a reptile expo this weekend (as well as a few other things). It's about an inch and a half DLS. I've been daydreaming about pokies for quite awhile now, and just old world's in general. I currently have 6 new world's and one is an arboreal (c. versi). I've of course done plenty of research via reading and watching videos. Only thing left to do was actually do it and get real hands on experience. I felt confident in my ability due to previous experience in venomous creatures and the focus they require, and having other hobbies that require me to be calm in extreme situations and think with a clear head if things go wrong. I locked myself in the bathroom with it, sealed all escape routes, had a few different sized catch cups and "moving sticks", and placed a large bin inside the bath tub. The sling was in a shallow deli cup, so I got a small box just the right height to place it on, and that actually set the top edge right up to, and flush with the top rim of its new arboreal enclosure. I opened the deli cup and took a deep breath cause I went into this planning for worst case scenario. I had backup plans for my backup plans though, and even rehearsed a few times on how I'd go from catch cup to new enclosure. I had 2 wooden skewers taped end to end as my main spider coaxing tool. The p. metallica was on the wall just above the substrate. I used my skewers to go just beneath it, and then gave it a light touch. That made it scurry to the top. It was now teetering on the tops of both enclosures. One more light touch on the back of the abdomen sent it shooting to the bottom of the new enclosure. Right after that, I closed the top, and that was that. Flawless! It took some time to setup everything and practice what I was going to do, but it brought so much peace of mind should something go awry. Here is a picture of it in its new home just hanging out on the left side. I was excited and relieved that everything went as planned, and the elevated heartrate from dealing with the unknown went back to normal.