My first 5 Slings PICS

Courtesy of Tarantula Canada at the mississauga reptile expo this sunday.

8 freakin years in the waiting.

:biggrin::biggrin:I've been smiling like a fool all week :biggrin::biggrin:

1) G rosea, chubby little one took a cricket almost her size




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2) A avic.




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3) A versicolor




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4) P cambridgei




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last and least
5) B smithi




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The rosea, versi, and cambridgei have all eatten (the versi and camb. twice!!)

but I'm having difficulty getting the A avic and tiny smithi to eat anything, they don't look like they are starving by any means.

I've got a contact to give me some pinhead crix, as i believe that the avics can sometimes be fickle. I think the smithi may be in premolt... but whooo knows...
Any thoughts awesome people?

(SOOO HAPPY)
:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

1. needs either more sub or a container with more bottom width and much less height.

2,3,4. could use a piece of bark or something to climb on as well as a fake leaf or vine to provide anchor points for webbing. The better position they are in to create webbing, the quicker they will settle in and the more predictable and calm they will generally become. My versi slings eat like champs, and the P. cam is an eating molting machine, and also exceptionally fast moving AND growing. It will be 3" in no time, be prepared, they get 7" and can have bad attitudes.

5. is not in pre-molt. Feed it pre-killed prey items....any that won't make its kill should be fed pre-kill. They are very efficient at scavenging at small sizes. My B. smithi wouldn't make its own kills until it was nearly an inch and a half.

Nice haul, enjoy the growth. Slings, while requiring much patience at times, are very interesting and rewarding, welcome to the hobby.

Nice slings. Congrats. Personally I'm not a fan of raising Avic slings in pilljars - no matter how many holes are in the lid. I'd rehouse them into a more suitable container with cross-ventilation or a mesh in the lid. Don't drown in humidity but still provide moisture and ample ventilation. In their natural habitat there's always some form of air-movement up in the trees afterall

Good luck raising them.

Nice pics/T's congrats.

They're beauties, Kruggar. I was at the expo too, and picked up a 1.25" G. pulchra from Tarantula Canada as a gift for a friend. For myself, I bought a 2.5" B. smithi from Tangled in Webs.

Thanks for the input everyone. Ill look into swapping out some of the pill jars this weekend. Ill try feeding a dead cricket to the avic and smithi. I have some fake greenery that will work well to get them webbing (hopefull).

Gotta love the arachnoboards community.

Kruggar said:

Thanks for the input everyone. Ill look into swapping out some of the pill jars this weekend. Ill try feeding a dead cricket to the avic and smithi. I have some fake greenery that will work well to get them webbing (hopefull).

Gotta love the arachnoboards community.

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Yep, it's a great place to show off one's T's, and get some helpful advice from some very knowledgeable people.

Okay so. I've got some pinheads and put two in each the versi and smithi and still no reaction (hunting wise). The smithi was touched my an antenna and bolted. The crix can't be much bigger then it's mandibles! Lol. So if not premolt.. Post molt?
Once I get the new container set ups hopefully they'll be more hungry.. (Oh lord, don't let me kill any)

Kruggar said:

Okay so. I've got some pinheads and put two in each the versi and smithi and still no reaction (hunting wise). The smithi was touched my an antenna and bolted. The crix can't be much bigger then it's mandibles! Lol. So if not premolt.. Post molt?
Once I get the new container set ups hopefully they'll be more hungry.. (Oh lord, don't let me kill any)

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pre-killed...smash a crickets head and leave it...just leave it in there and if its not eaten by morning take it out ant try again in a few days. Some are really picky eaters when small. You can also try different things, like a cut up worm of sorts. It really doesn't look pre-molt, but the pic isn't in good light. Some of the little ones even can go through really long pre-molt periods.

I have a B. albiceps that recently had a 44 day pre-molt fast, and at the start it didn't really appear to be in that phase, but it obviously was. That sling has been taking its sweet time doing everything, it hardly eats, fasts all the time, never gets that really fat abdomen many Brachypelma slings are famous for. As a result it takes twice the time or more between molts that its sac mate does and the molts garner smaller growth with each one...its 1/2", the good eater is a solid 1" and ready to molt again. But its nothing to be really worried about, it will still grow eventually and when it does it may be a favorite.

cold blood said:

pre-killed...smash a crickets head and leave it...just leave it in there and if its not eaten by morning take it out ant try again in a few days. Some are really picky eaters when small. You can also try different things, like a cut up worm of sorts. It really doesn't look pre-molt, but the pic isn't in good light. Some of the little ones even can go through really long pre-molt periods.

I have a B. albiceps that recently had a 44 day pre-molt fast, and at the start it didn't really appear to be in that phase, but it obviously was. That sling has been taking its sweet time doing everything, it hardly eats, fasts all the time, never gets that really fat abdomen many Brachypelma slings are famous for. As a result it takes twice the time or more between molts that its sac mate does and the molts garner smaller growth with each one...its 1/2", the good eater is a solid 1" and ready to molt again. But its nothing to be really worried about, it will still grow eventually and when it does it may be a favorite.

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Agreed, pre killed pin heads. I have two 1/4" B. albopilosum, and squish the heads of pin heads to feed them.

Good luck with them.

I picked up an A. versi sling from Tarantula Canada at that same show. They're probably siblings! We're family now!

My new spider really likes to eat. It eagerly grabs flightless fruit flies. It's currently munching on a cricket of about 3/8 inch who's head I smashed a bit. It ignored it for an hour or so, but eventually grabbed it.

I worry that I've been feeding it too much. When I got it last weekend, there was a pinhead cricket in the jar with the spider. I presume the cricket's been eaten, since there's now no sign of it. I've given it probably 6 FFF and now the cricket it's chewing on.

MrDave said:

I picked up an A. versi sling from Tarantula Canada at that same show. They're probably siblings! We're family now!

My new spider really likes to eat. It eagerly grabs flightless fruit flies. It's currently munching on a cricket of about 3/8 inch who's head I smashed a bit. It ignored it for an hour or so, but eventually grabbed it.

I worry that I've been feeding it too much. When I got it last weekend, there was a pinhead cricket in the jar with the spider. I presume the cricket's been eaten, since there's now no sign of it. I've given it probably 6 FFF and now the cricket it's chewing on.

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It's a baby! It's number one biological imperative right now is to grow! Feed it all it will eat!

Thanks for your input everyone.
I'm still getting over my auto-reflexes with these guys, I find my blood pressure and adrenaline increasing when I have to get the tweezers in the jars to take out cricket remains. Especially the cambridgei and versi (usually sitting just under or on the lid!).

Anyways, Update:

The 1/4" smithi ate 5 pinheads and devoured a prekilled cricket larger then itself. Looking very plump and happy now. So glad it finally ate.

As for the 1/4" A avic, i replaced the lid with nylon mesh to increase airflow. unfortunately I couldn't get it to eat anything, no pinheads, springtails, and it didn't take to a prekilled cricket like the smithi. May be a case of too little, too late. Unfortunately it died and Im bummed about it. presumably starvation, because the humidity, airflow seemed to be perfect. This one didn't behave like the others either, was always huddled up with its legs close, would run from the slightest touch (even the antenna of a pinhead cricket). I guess my research about how some people find them as slings was correct. Learning experience.

The other 3 slings are doing excellent. I moved the rosea into a deep square container, gave her (I can dream they are all females) about 2 inches dampened cocofiber/Eco earth mix, some moss and a slab (size of two fingers) of corkbark. She dug a false burrow the first night and rearranged everything, she's fat and not interested in food the last 2 days, but ill offer some. So cool to see her prowling her new container.

I transferred the P cambridgei to a larger cylindrical vessel also 4" tall 1.75" diameter, lots of air holes in lid, and several above the substrate (gave about 1"), and some moss. As well as apiece of corkbark. (The corkbark had some old ant tunnel in it, and the wee girl set up shop in the hole!). She hasn't eaten for a couple of days either, but is plump and FAST lol.

The versi has taken the most crickets, 4 in 9 days and all her size. It's webbing the top of the large pill jar it's in now. Also FAST lol.

All in all, I think things are going well, sucks that I lost one, but I'm a beginner and won't be too hard on myself.

As of now, no one has eaten in 24 hours, but they are fat and plump.

Kruggar said:

Thanks for your input everyone.
I'm still getting over my auto-reflexes with these guys, I find my blood pressure and adrenaline increasing when I have to get the tweezers in the jars to take out cricket remains. Especially the cambridgei and versi (usually sitting just under or on the lid!).

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Just wait and see how impressive it is when the P. cam is ~7" and does that, lol My girl is really territorial and doesn't like me trespassing into her enclosure at all...

Examples:

P: irminia, "Firali", ~5" AF - telling me to put that syringe somewhere else and that she isn't interested in getting fresh water right now


P. cambridgei, "Moriko", ~7" AF - "happy face" upon seing me..j/k - she wasn't fine with me removing a bolus and told me so actually.



At first, I was impressed, intimidated to the point of "not bothering them" at those times. Now, it's more like "Oh, aren't you glad to see me?" and I go about my business carefully without ticking them off any more than necessary. It's a good thing you got yours as a sling, because above pictures are what Psalms display generally when they get older and more confident

My real concern is it the fast ones run up the tweezers and to my hand, and I involuntarily flick them off. Hurting them or having them escape. I imagine that once the full grown T is in it's permanent container, this won't be as much an issue. :biggrin:

I know that the bathtub may be safer, but I usually put the container inside a large tub of cocofiber I have, so if they do decide to crawl out while its open, they'll be slowed down greatly. The versi had quite the exploration last night, waving its front legs around. Took some encouragement to get it back in its jar. :biggrin: :biggrin:

---------- Post added 09-24-2014 at 09:24 AM ----------

Shoot. I mean to say, that I fear me flicking them off... Not that this is something I do lol.
I use a fine paintbrush to herd them where I need :biggrin:

Kruggar said:

the 1/4" A avic, i replaced the lid with nylon mesh to increase airflow. unfortunately I couldn't get it to eat anything, no pinheads, springtails, and it didn't take to a prekilled cricket like the smithi. May be a case of too little, too late. Unfortunately it died and Im bummed about it. presumably starvation, because the humidity, airflow seemed to be perfect.

Click to expand...

The first thing that went thru my mind with the Avic avic picture was that that container was way too moist and there wasn't enough cross ventilation. They can't take much of that, I think they get respiratory issues in those conditions. They way most people keep them successfully is dry substrate, lots of airholes, cork and plastic plants, and a water bowl. I think vials are a bad idea with Avic slings: small and stuffy. I give mine 16 oz deli cups, even at 1/2". I only mist once every week or so, and then ONLY very lightly on their silk, for drinking, not for humidity. Probably the biggest mistake people make with Avics is overmisting. The moisture builds up, soil gets soggy, and the spider eventually can't handle it.

Poec54 said:

The first thing that went thru my mind with the Avic avic picture was that that container was way too moist and there wasn't enough cross ventilation. They can't take much of that, I think they get respiratory issues in those conditions. They way most people keep them successfully is dry substrate, lots of airholes, cork and plastic plants, and a water bowl. I think vials are a bad idea with Avic slings: small and stuffy. I give mine 16 oz deli cups, even at 1/2". I only mist once every week or so, and then ONLY very lightly on their silk, for drinking, not for humidity. Probably the biggest mistake people make with Avics is overmisting. The moisture builds up, soil gets soggy, and the spider eventually can't handle it.

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Very good to know!! Should I be doing the same thing with the versicolor? It seems very comfortable in its webbed large pill jar?

Kruggar said:

Very good to know!! Should I be doing the same thing with the versicolor? It seems very comfortable in its webbed large pill jar?

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I keep all 10 species of my Avics the same, including versicolor. What can happen in moist cages is that they either gradually go downhill, or they eat fine, and one day just die, even though they look fat and healthy. I'd get yours in a proper set up ASAP. Airflow in a pill jar isn't good enough for Avics. You need cross ventilation. In fact there's a dealer who used to keep his Avic slings in vials, and had high losses. I advised him to put them in 16 oz deli cups with dry substrate and plenty of airholes, and his loss rate dropped way down.

I agree to what Poec said. It may not be logical, it's not the only way to do it, but it certainly works for him, me and lots of others. As for your concern regarding speed, Psalms and Avics are both nimble and fast if they want to, the Psalms even moreso than Avics. In addition, both genera are quite proficient at jumping, too. The more they get scared, the more likely it is for them to not only run, but also use jumping as a means to escape. Bathtub and all that are good choice in terms of "open space", but they won't prevent a Psalm / Avic to start running up the wall for example.

A very good trick to recapture either is: While the T walks around with the front legs still checking its surroudings, slowly (!) lower the catchcup over the T, once those frontlegs touch the inside of the cup, 99% of the time the T will jet up -into- the cup. It's an instinctual thing obviously and works with both genera just fine in my experience.

Poec54 said:

I keep all 10 species of my Avics the same, including versicolor. What can happen in moist cages is that they either gradually go downhill, or they eat fine, and one day just die, even though they look fat and healthy. I'd get yours in a proper set up ASAP. Airflow in a pill jar isn't good enough for Avics. You need cross ventilation. In fact there's a dealer who used to keep his Avic slings in vials, and had high losses. I advised him to put them in 16 oz deli cups with dry substrate and plenty of airholes, and his loss rate dropped way down.

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Sorry I haven't had any chance to reply to this. I've did what you suggested the day after. 16 oz deli cup, with air holes (like 30) every 30 degrees, and lots in the lid. Gave it a small cap full of water, dry substrate and some tree roots to wander around on. She hasn't eaten for a few days, but I've given a pre killed cricket. Seems much more content, like a little jaguar, thinking of naming it "Bagheera Sabor" lolz. I would say that she's not really settled in yet, no new webbing, but I've put all the threading from the pill jar in there to hopefully promote it - no luck.

The P cambridgei has set up set up shop behind the wood i provided. shes got two nice tube webs going atm. there are 4 small air holes at the base of her new chamber, so airflow wont be an issue. Popped out to snag a massive cricket relative to her.

Storm76 said:

I agree to what Poec said. It may not be logical, it's not the only way to do it, but it certainly works for him, me and lots of others. As for your concern regarding speed, Psalms and Avics are both nimble and fast if they want to, the Psalms even moreso than Avics. In addition, both genera are quite proficient at jumping, too. The more they get scared, the more likely it is for them to not only run, but also use jumping as a means to escape. Bathtub and all that are good choice in terms of "open space", but they won't prevent a Psalm / Avic to start running up the wall for example.

A very good trick to recapture either is: While the T walks around with the front legs still checking its surroundings, slowly (!) lower the catch cup over the T, once those front legs touch the inside of the cup, 99% of the time the T will jet up -into- the cup. It's an instinctual thing obviously and works with both genera just fine in my experience.

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I'm not terribly excited to rehouse the Psalm cambridgei once it outgrows its home.. I'm sure I'll manage though. :biggrin: worst case scenario is it runs for it.. and I have to gather it up, nothing I wont be able to cope with.