What would be considered the best practice/way of moving T's to a different enclosure or to a holding space while their enclosures are cleaned?

Much appreciated
Andy777

First of all, don't bother/prod/rehouse/move a tarantula unless you absolutely have to.

Once you have decided that it must be done, get the T into the bath tub or a small room that has no open windows, cracks or holes in the ceiling or small crevices that are not accessible by you.
I suggest you very carefully nudge the T out of the old and into the new, however this can prove tricky with the faster more aggressive species. You can also place the old tank (without it's lid) into the new tank and leave the T to wonder out in it's own time and then simply remove the old tank. If the T happens to BOLT keep your eyes on the spider, try not to panic and don't chase the spider frantically. It will only bolt for short spurts and you should be able to "cup" it once it has stopped. ask someone to help. An extra set of hands and eyes will come in good use
The grass trick also works well! Bright sunlight and longish grass confuses the T and they become quite sluggish.

Good luck and post your experiences!


It's just the curl of the Burl

what is the grass trick

lasiodora wrote: what is the grass trick

Cleaning out the Ts tank and getting them onto a nice big open piece of grass

lasiodora wrote: what is the grass trick

As far as i know when a T is placed into a large open space of grass ( in direct sunlight ), they dont bolt anywhere or run very far at all, they usually stay still.

Not sure if thats what it is.

As Tarantulas are relatively clean, the spiders tub shouldnt need to be cleaned out for several years at a time if basic weekly/monthly maintenance is carried out.

Panama wrote: Once you have decided that it must be done, get the T into the bath tub or a small room that has no open windows, cracks or holes in the ceiling or small crevices that are not accessible by you.
I suggest you very carefully nudge the T out of the old and into the new, however this can prove tricky with the faster more aggressive species. You can also place the old tank (without it's lid) into the new tank and leave the T to wonder out in it's own time and then simply remove the old tank.

That sounds like a really complicated way instead of a simple job that shouldnt take more than 1 or 2 minutes at the very most. I moved a MM OBT a few days ago from his container into a shipping delicup in 76 seconds (timed by stopwatch) by the method below.

Get a 1.5L coke bottle or similar (leave the lid on), cut it approx 4-5 inches down from the lid. (try and cut it straight)
You will need a piece of card and something to prod the spider if needed(i use a plastic chop stick)
Put the cut down bottle over the spider, slide the card under the spider and bottle and job done.
The spider can now be lifted and placed into another container until the old one has been cleaned although I usually just put a towel on top of the bottle top to hold it in place while i do what is needed.
The reason why a soft plastic bottle is used is because it can be "squished" into different shapes to get into corners etc and can be used in any position to capture the spider. I've used this to capture and move spiders upto 9 inches with no problems.