My awesome L Parahybana, and some questions.

REvan342

Arachnopeon
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Jun 17, 2015
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41
Ok so I opened up the package about noonish, and man.... It's very quick. It ran up my arm, and around to the other side of my shirt within seconds of my opening the pill bottle it was in... I safely got it into its home, and added a small soaked cotton ball for it to drink out of.. I plan on feeding it tomorrow, once it has had a chance to settle in.... I might post pics later as well.

Anyways on to the questions:

will the cotton ball be ok, or will I have to get it a shallow dish?

How often, and how much should I feed it?.... Everywhere on the internet tells me differant things, and I'm getting confused XD.
 

Storm76

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What's the size of the T?

Remove the cotton ball - asap! It's a breeding ground for all kinds of nasty bacteria and chances are your T won't try to drink from it either...slings do fine with a waterbottle cap as waterdish.

Personally I prefer to feed slings weekly 1-2 appropriately sized prey items, juvies and adult every other week or a couple times a month depending on size and hunger. There's no real "you have to do it this way" in that regard...just guidelines that you can either chose to go along with or ignore.
 

ratluvr76

Arachnodemon
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Jul 12, 2014
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+1 to ditching the cotton ball. Feeding once a week is good. But personally I find my L. parahybana slings do better being fed two or even three times a week. They are a ravenous species. Mine only refuse food when they are in pure molt.
 

gobey

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Jun 20, 2014
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+1 to all the advice given.

You're going to love your LP.

I had 2. My biggest was 5 inches and was my FAVORITE T! He would eat 4-6 crickets at once!!! 2x a week! Sadly he died after molting. Keep your little one well hydrated. They can live dry. But don't need to. They're from humid areas in South America.

Lucky for me I have his little sister. Who has been in a stubborn pre molt for an unusually long time for an LP. But she's a great T too.

They're feisty too man. They'll throw up threat postures and kick at you. They're timid until they get some bull. Then they get a bit of attitude. Mostly though they're just skittish and in my opinion it makes the behavior that they have when you interact with them very amusing.

They're great bulldozers too, always doing something with their environment.

I only have 9 different species of tarantula but I'm glad that one of them is an LP.
 

GG80

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Nov 26, 2013
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+1 to all the above. I give all my slings a waterdish relevent to the size of the spider plus a damp patch for a little more humidity. It's good practice to leave the damp patch dry out and dampen different areas to help avoid mold.

I love my Lp too. He's just over 3" now and has given me a few threat postures, never flicked hair at me yet though :). He has become very skittish since his last molt but it's manageable.
 

cold blood

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Jan 19, 2014
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It should have a huge appetite at that size. How often you feed is variable depending on how fast you want it to grow, and what and size of prey offered.

I prefer to maintain good growth rates and therefore would feed it an appropriately sized (med cricket) every 3 days....but I also vary the diet with waxworms, mealworms or moths from waxworms (when I can get them to successfully pupate). You could feed more often if your prey items are small, or you could feed multiple....or you could feed a large prey item, like a smaller superworm, every 7-10 days....its a horse a piece.

Best not to get hung up on feedings, as long as you aren't waiting too long between feedings when its still smaller.
 

REvan342

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 17, 2015
Messages
41
I fed it 2 pin head crickets today...... He got the first one immediately, and then several hours later I checked on him, and the other cricket was in his fangs..... Also I noticed ealier this morning he was kinda hunkered down, partially buried in the coco fiber. Is this normal?
 

ratluvr76

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I fed it 2 pin head crickets today...... He got the first one immediately, and then several hours later I checked on him, and the other cricket was in his fangs..... Also I noticed ealier this morning he was kinda hunkered down, partially buried in the coco fiber. Is this normal?
Yeah its normal. He may have been digging. :)
 

hutch924

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Mar 30, 2015
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My LP is a freaking hog. Ravenous is an understatement.
+1 to ditching the cotton ball. Feeding once a week is good. But personally I find my L. parahybana slings do better being fed two or even three times a week. They are a ravenous species. Mine only refuse food when they are in pure molt.
 

ophidia

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May 28, 2015
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My LP was 2" in May and is 4.5" now. The amount they grow when they molt is INSANE. She's in premolt again now... seems like she just molted. I know she's in premolt when the food lasts more than 5 seconds after I throw it in.

I haven't tried to handle her (probably won't; that's what I have my Chilean rose and curlyhair for) but she's really jumpy and quick to flick hairs at this point. I'm pretty sure there's no benefit for either of us as far as handling goes. When I've needed to transfer her I've used a paintbrush and a cup as well as nitrile rubber gloves.

Love my LP!
 

REvan342

Arachnopeon
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Jun 17, 2015
Messages
41
My LP was 2" in May and is 4.5" now. The amount they grow when they molt is INSANE. She's in premolt again now... seems like she just molted. I know she's in premolt when the food lasts more than 5 seconds after I throw it in.

I haven't tried to handle her (probably won't; that's what I have my Chilean rose and curlyhair for) but she's really jumpy and quick to flick hairs at this point. I'm pretty sure there's no benefit for either of us as far as handling goes. When I've needed to transfer her I've used a paintbrush and a cup as well as nitrile rubber gloves.

Love my LP!
Lol yeah, when they are little they tend to be quick..... The one time I opened up his container to drop a cricket in, he bolted up my arm and flicked hairs.... Very itchy XD... But he was very easy to get back in... Just a little coaxing. Can't wait until he's a big ol spider
 

gobey

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Jun 20, 2014
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290
Lol yeah, when they are little they tend to be quick..... The one time I opened up his container to drop a cricket in, he bolted up my arm and flicked hairs.... Very itchy XD... But he was very easy to get back in... Just a little coaxing. Can't wait until he's a big ol spider
They're SURPRISINGLY fast
 

REvan342

Arachnopeon
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Jun 17, 2015
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They're SURPRISINGLY fast
hes making a wall like structure at one end of his container.. And its like the substrate around this structure is all stuck together.... does this species web?
 

MrDave

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Aug 31, 2014
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hes making a wall like structure at one end of his container.. And its like the substrate around this structure is all stuck together.... does this species web?
Mine lay down a matt on which they'll molt. If you suspect its in premolt and it starts webbing up a bed, it will probably molt by morning. Thats my experience anyway.
 

spiderbesideher

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Jul 17, 2015
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Wow well this is all good information... From what I had read they were pretty easy going. I'm getting a 1 inch sling this week and I'm glad I won't be opening it up expecting a rock :p
 

REvan342

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 17, 2015
Messages
41
Wow well this is all good information... From what I had read they were pretty easy going. I'm getting a 1 inch sling this week and I'm glad I won't be opening it up expecting a rock :p
Yeah, they are a bit friendly..... Just be careful as they kick hairs, and they tend to be itchy.....
 
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