"Don't Be Afraid of Timo"

Commotion Over a Runaway Tarantula in Public Housing

The tarantula “Timo” escaped from her terrarium and caused quite a stir with a missing-pet poster in a Vienna public housing complex.(Bild: Krone-Collage/zVg)

An unusual notice caused quite a stir on Monday in a public housing complex in Vienna’s Mariahilf district—and, of course, became a hot topic of conversation. “Timo”—a tarantula—had escaped and vanished into the stairwell! In an interview with the “Krone,” its owner explains how this “major mishap” came to be...

“Tarantula Missing!” —These words made quite a few residents in the stairwell of the public housing complex flinch briefly on Monday. The owner then offered a reassuring message: “Don’t worry—‘Timo’ is NOT poisonous” (see missing pet notice). 

Can jump up to one meter
The missing spider is said to be on the loose in the stairwell and can be found “somewhere around here.” At the same time, however, the owner also warned of a little surprise: “Timo” can “surprisingly jump up to one meter.” Neighbors should therefore please not kill or touch it, but simply let him know. “I’ll come pick it up,” the owner wrote on the note.

(Bild: zVg, Krone KREATIV)

But how did this even happen?

“Timo” normally lives quite comfortably in his little three-spider shared apartment: Together with two other spiders, he inhabits his owner’s terrarium. There’s also a dog living in the apartment—and it was precisely this dog that played a decisive role in the spider’s involuntary escape.

Heat, an open door, and an unfortunate chain of events
Because of the summer heat, the owner wanted to thoroughly air out his apartment. Since he only has windows on one side, the apartment door remained open for about 20 minutes. Then one thing led to another: Suddenly, the dog ran into the stairwell and had to be quickly caught again. Meanwhile, the owner was actually in the middle of cleaning “Timo’s” home.

The little climbing expert likely took advantage of this opportunity and quietly and secretly set off on an adventure.

At first, I didn’t even notice. It wasn’t until I continued cleaning that I realized “Timo” was gone. He often hides behind a rock.

„Timos“ Besitzer im „Krone“-Gespräch

Once it became clear he was missing, alarm bells went off for him. Because even though Timo isn’t a dangerous animal, he wanted to inform his neighbors right away. “I wanted to reassure people. I think the posters had already caused quite a stir, of course.”

And so the big question remained: Where is the runaway hiding? Behind a door? Under a stair step? Or somewhere no one would expect him to be?

A photo of “Timo.” You can tell from the hands just how big the eight-legged creature actually is.(Bild: zVg)

A Happy Ending for the Hairy Eight-Legged Creature
The answer wasn’t long in coming: “Timo” was discovered early Tuesday morning. An observant neighbor found the eight-legged escapee, immediately notified the owner, and the owner brought him safely back home.

The unusual house guest is now back where he belongs—in his terrarium—and the whole neighborhood can breathe a sigh of relief!