New Gbb sling!

ireleana · Nov 25, 2015

Got this little booger today :biggrin: Been wanting a chromatopelma cyaneopubescens for a while and I'm smitten already. Not sure how many molts it has been through. It can fit on a quarter. I tried measuring or guestamating lol, and her body length is a tad over a 1/2 inch. Crappy photo though.

They said it was due for a feeding so I fed a pinhead cricket when I got home. Practically grabbed it in mid air lol! I fed one more after it was done with the first and same thing. I've never raised slings before though. I have been doing some research but wanted some opinions on feeding. I know they eat quite a bit and i would like to get her/him a little bigger sooner than later. How many at a time should I feed it? I'm not talking dumping a bunch in there obviously but maybe offer 2 or 3 per feeding but do it one at a time. Or should I just offer a bit bigger dead cricket? I don't want to power feed per se but I want to be somewhere in the middle until it gets a little bigger, then go on a more stable diet.

The pinheads are tiny and if she left boluses then I can't find them lol.. I also want to try some cut up meal worms.

ireleana · Nov 25, 2015

Not sure why the pics are sideways. Oops.

GG80 · Nov 25, 2015

Got my GBB sling in late July, around the same size as yours. Great little spider. I've just been feeding pre-killed chunks of cricket every 4 days as I do with all my <1.5" slings (hate dealing with very small prey).
He molted twice in my care and has doubled in size and is doing great. They prefer dryer conditions so just lightly damp a small patch of sub every few days and try to get some sort of water dish in there.

Congrats on your new sling

.

cold blood · Nov 25, 2015

At that size and for a while, I would limit each meal to one single prey item, when they are small, even small prey items are big meals for them. Give it a wax worm if you want a big meal for it, waxies are great feeders for small ts, as are mealies. I feed my slings every 3 days for the most part and use a space heater in the room, and I do get faster than average growth rates. Keep it warm and it will eat more and grow faster obviously.

---------- Post added 11-25-2015 at 01:32 PM ----------

GG80 said:
They prefer dryer conditions so just lightly damp a small patch of sub every few days and try to get some sort of water dish in there.

Yeah at that size a damp spot is a good thing, but I agree, I'd personally put it in a 16oz deli cup so I could provide it with better ventilation and more room...being fast, good eaters and heavy webbers, the added room will be a benefit...it will also allow room for a water dish, which I would also be quick to provide.

ireleana · Nov 25, 2015

I'm waiting until I get my new little enclosures from Jamie's tarantulas. So a soda bottle cap would good for water? I was under the impression that they shouldn't get a water dish until being bigger and that if the humidity is good that they get enough moisture from prey when this small. I just don't want to drown the thing lol!

GG80 · Nov 25, 2015

cold blood said:
Yeah at that size a damp spot is a good thing, but I agree, I'd personally put it in a 16oz deli cup so I could provide it with better ventilation and more room...being fast, good eaters and heavy webbers, the added room will be a benefit...it will also allow room for a water dish, which I would also be quick to provide.

+1 this. I actually re-housed mine into a larger enclosure after its last molt as maintanence was becoming too difficult. With all that webbing and a growing, somewhat skittish spider, there was very little room for any housekeeping.
Now I have it in a slightly bigger enclosure than it needs but there is plenty of room for a water dish, and I can provide far better ventilation. Even with all the webbing now, the enclosure doesn't seem cramped for space. Maintanence is a lot easier.

Chris11 · Nov 25, 2015

Bottle caps are my main water bowls next to souflee cupps

GG80 · Nov 25, 2015

ireleana said:
I was under the impression that they shouldn't get a water dish until being bigger and that if the humidity is good that they get enough moisture from prey when this small. I just don't want to drown the thing lol!

Small shallow water dishes are fine, they won't drown in them and they offer a constant water source. Some people choose to just dampen the substrate and are just as successfull in raising their spiders so you will get conflicting opinions, but it seems that the majority here use water dishes. I personally use them with all my slings, even the tiny ones. Look at my post on this thread, http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?279024-Slings-and-waterbowls/page2 (post 22), to see what I use for my smallest slings (1/4" - 3/4").

Chris11 · Nov 25, 2015

(Sorry to whomever posted this idea as i am going to share it without properly being able to identify who it came from) Hot glue around a small spout of any kind and peel it off before it bonds totally and you have yourself any size water dish you desire... from tiny to huge

SpiderDad61 · Nov 25, 2015

I use these for slings now, after someone gave me the idea. They are tattoo ink cups. They come in
9mm, 13mm, and 18mm. They have a lip on em and stay in substrate great. Bought on eBay and got
50 of each size for $8 total View attachment 140346

Chris11 · Nov 25, 2015

Also another great idea ive never heard or thought of before...

ireleana · Nov 26, 2015

Still waiting for the enclosure, should be here Friday or Saturday hopefully. Some good ideas! I have a lot of things laying around that I could use. Will post a pic update when I get the new enclosure. Going to hit up the dollar store to get more containers that I'm sure I could use for housing more spiders I told my husband I wasn't getting... Lol:sarcasm:

SpiderDad61 · Nov 26, 2015

View attachment 140347 Yea bought a few from the $store a couple days ago....always great T enclosures there lol

ireleana · Nov 29, 2015

Got a few those the other day too! I decided to name it Peanut. I got my sling enclosure but decided I liked this jar/container instead. I put Peanut in there yesterday and today she has already made some webbing. I was worried it might have been a little big but I'll keep an eye on it. The water fish I filed down the end so it is soft and not jagged. (Kinda looks like it) I hot glued a bigger water bottle cap on the underside so when she/he molts I can flip it over. Still so small!

mistertim · Nov 29, 2015

Looks like a nice setup but where's the ventilation?

cold blood · Nov 29, 2015

While in theory the water dish seems like a great idea, in practice its a poor idea. You are gonna need to remove it on a regular basis to clean it and clear it of webbing.

ireleana · Nov 29, 2015

mistertim said:
Looks like a nice setup but where's the ventilation?

There are a bunch of holes in the lid.

GG80 · Nov 29, 2015

cold blood said:
While in theory the water dish seems like a great idea, in practice its a poor idea. You are gonna need to remove it on a regular basis to clean it and clear it of webbing.

Yeah when I first had my GBB sling in an 'appropriate' sized enclosure for a small sling the water dish was absolutely pointless. It had to be removed and cleaned every day and within 30 minutes it was covered in webbing and substrate so I just gave up and dropped water on the webbing for moisture.
Since the sling has grown quite significantly, I rehoused it into what would be considdered too large for a sling but keeping a water dish and doing maintanence has been so much easier with the extra room. The sling seems happy enough in its webbed up corner so I will probably keep future GBBs in enclosures larger than they need.

ireleana · Nov 29, 2015

GG80 said:
Yeah when I first had my GBB sling in an 'appropriate' sized enclosure for a small sling the water dish was absolutely pointless. It had to be removed and cleaned every day and within 30 minutes it was covered in webbing and substrate so I just gave up and dropped water on the webbing for moisture.
Since the sling has grown quite significantly, I rehoused it into what would be considdered too large for a sling but keeping a water dish and doing maintanence has been so much easier with the extra room. The sling seems happy enough in its webbed up corner so I will probably keep future GBBs in enclosures larger than they need.

It has webbed up some by the cork bark on the opposite side so hopefully it will stay uncovered for a little while lol. Should I wet an area of the substrate? I did some by the water bowl a little. I know as juvies and adults humidity can be bad but as slings it seems like there is a rift on what people do.. Just curious what others do. If it eats every 3 to 4 days is extra moisture necessary? It is still pretty small. About 1/2 inch body length.

GG80 · Nov 30, 2015

ireleana said:
It has webbed up some by the cork bark on the opposite side so hopefully it will stay uncovered for a little while lol. Should I wet an area of the substrate? I did some by the water bowl a little. I know as juvies and adults humidity can be bad but as slings it seems like there is a rift on what people do.. Just curious what others do. If it eats every 3 to 4 days is extra moisture necessary? It is still pretty small. About 1/2 inch body length.

Personally, I don't take any chances with slings and humidity. I always offer an appropriate sized water dish but I also dampen a patch of substrate every few days just for a little extra humidity. Small slings can succumb to desiccation quite easily.
My GBB is now around 1" DLS and I keep the enclosure dry (no dampening of the substrate at all) but I keep a full 1.5" wide and 0.25" deep water dish at all times with no issues. I would keep a smaller GBB sling on slightly damp substrate though.

New Gbb sling!

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