Sling being spooked by dead feeder

TypicalCricket · Mar 3, 2015

Hey all. I've been feeding my slings superworms lately, since last time I went to the petstore their selection of crickets looked a little haggard. Since my slings are still pretty small, I squish the worms head and cut them in half before feeding. However, today I put the front half of a superworm in with my B. smithi sling, and s/he seems to be really freaked because it's still moving (just nerves; like I said I squished its head with my tweezers). Is offering a still-moving feeder something you would recommend against? I don't want to cause a lot of stress, especially since s/he doesn't have a burrow to hide in.

truecreature · Mar 3, 2015

Some slings are just more timid than others. It can pick up the worm later when it stops twitching if it would rather do that

Sana · Mar 3, 2015

How big is the sling? And what is the size of the feeder piece compared to the sling's size? Some of my slings are intimidated my moving prey that is larger than their carapace. That said however, I normally feed live prey of the appropriate size to slings. The only time I really use prekilled is if I can't get appropriate sized prey or I suspect an impending molt.

TypicalCricket · Mar 3, 2015

Sana said:
How big is the sling? And what is the size of the feeder piece compared to the sling's size? Some of my slings are intimidated my moving prey that is larger than their carapace. That said however, I normally feed live prey of the appropriate size to slings. The only time I really use prekilled is if I can't get appropriate sized prey or I suspect an impending molt.

I'd say a little less than 1/2" from mouth to spinarettes. The piece of worm in there with him is a little bigger, but probably doesn't exceed his total legspan. He seems a little bit better now that the worm has stopped moving. He still won't come down from the side of his jar but he's stopped waving his legs at it. My E. camps and LP slings are all tucking in, so maybe he's just nervous. I expect when I wake up tomorrow morning he'll have started to eat.

cold blood · Mar 4, 2015

TypicalCricket said:
I'd say a little less than 1/2" from mouth to spinarettes.

So whats the DLS?? The above quote does nothing but make me scratch my head.

Try wax worms, you probably don't even have to kill them or you can slice em in half. Slings love them, they are nice and soft and offer little resistance to skittish slings...and if the pet store doesn't sell them, the bait store probably does, especially in winter.

TypicalCricket · Mar 4, 2015

Sorry for the confusion. Dls is about 3/4", maybe a little more. I only mention the length of the body without legs because I was told that was about the size prey items should be.
I'll have to look into waxworms as well. How do they compare to superworms?

GG80 · Mar 4, 2015

I have a B. smithi and a B. boehmei both the same size and they will run away from live prey so I just continue to feed them pieces of crickets or sometimes pieces of mealworm and they seem more than happy. In fact I still regularly feed my bigger slings (1.75" A. genic and L.p) pieces of dead prey and they get on fine.

cold blood · Mar 4, 2015

TypicalCricket said:
Dls is about 3/4", maybe a little more.
I'll have to look into waxworms as well. How do they compare to superworms?

In what way would you like them compared? They are a similiarly fatty, large type meal, but unlike superworms, they are soft, very soft. I've also noticed more t's will readily take them than superworms (which I've had issues with for many t's)...they also lack mouthparts to cause any damage (should you feed them alive). Superworms become big black beetles, waxies become small moths

14pokies · Mar 4, 2015

Just make sure the prey can't over power your sling and leave it..tarantulas are natural born killers he will get with the program eventually..

Sling being spooked by dead feeder

TypicalCricket

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truecreature

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Sana

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TypicalCricket

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cold blood

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TypicalCricket

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GG80

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cold blood

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14pokies

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