slings

[nikki]

hi guys me and my other half are fairly new to keeping tarantulas we have already got a 3" Mexican golden red rump tarantula (Brachypelma albiceps) we are getting 3 new slings on monday we would like ur hints and tips for keeping feeding ect i have allready read up on them but would like info off people that have got/had these Ts
Acanthoscurria geniculata
Giant White Knee witch will be (1-2cm)
Brachypelma vagans
Mexican Red Rump witch will be (1cm)
Lasiodora parahybana
Salmon Pink witch will be (1cm)

we are taying to get as much info as we can be for they turn up
will post pics when the babies get here

[Formerphobe]

I have all three of those, and envy you the B. albiceps.

You will get lots of varying opinions on sling husbandry. There are as many opinions as there are spiders...

When my slings are that size I feed a varied menu once every 5 to 7 days, alternating between pinhead crickets, mini mealworms and roach nymphs. I don't like fat tarantulas, so I don't power feed. If I don't have little feeders, I will cut up a larger one. Most slings will eat pre-killed. They will develop individual likes and dislikes. i.e. - one of my vagans turns its nose up at mealworms, the other thinks they are candy. The A. genic refuses roach nymphs.

Expect the L. parahybana to very quickly outgrow the others.

My LPs and vagans liked to burrow at that size. One of my LPs still burrows at ~3 inches. Both 1+" vagans have tunnel networks, but are spending more time outside their burrows now. (For almost two months I only caught glimpses of them at feeding time when legs and fangs would emerge from holes to grab prey.) Allow enough substrate for burrowing if they so choose.

I use a substrate blend of coconut coir, sphagnum peat and vermiculite. (Get products with NO fertilizers or insecticides!) Keep the substrate damp but not moist, until they are bigger.

When mine reach ~1 inch, I increase their floor space, add a bottle cap for a water bowl and back off on the dampness of the substrate.

There is no single right way to keep them, there are many variations on a theme. These species tend to be very forgiving. Just avoid extremes.

[grayzone]

you CANNOT go wrong with the parahybana, as they are ALMOST indestructable. not sure about their behavior as slings but i can imagine the eat molt and dig like the rest. i got mine at about 4" and in the 2 molts he had with me he grew to an easy 7" to 7.5" . he never turned down food, and during the 1st molt, actually ate a couple days before. i kept him at about 80 degrees and at about 70% humidity in a 10 gal tank with a red heat light on the same side as his water dish, opposite side of his hide ( which he bare ever used) hands down a great t. youll love it. and HE/SHE WILL DEFINITELY OUT EAT AND OUT GROW the other ts in no time