average sling q's

solaceofwinter

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 7, 2005
Messages
546
just thought id pop in about some questions ive got on my new slings. the 1" suntiger doesnt seem relaxed, noticed it going round and round in the container sometimes falling, seems pretty restless. i just added a hunk of moss to possibly get it to make a burrow of some time and to get established, just trying to keep it dark warm and humid. any suggestions on helping it get more comfortable in its digs? also, what signs will lead to a molt? it did not eat the cricket but noticed it was munching on a cricket leg...
the 1" giant white knee has quite the appetite and is the easiest to care for. just ate 2 crickets at the same time, has burrowed. i feed it daily try to keep offering food at all times, will this process help it grow faster? any down sides?
the teeniest one is my 1/4" brazillian salmon, it is still in its vial with a 'tunnel' so to speak, its the hardest to feed because once a cricket runs in it gets intimidated and tries to run out. i was also thinking of placing it in another container that was more horizontal like the white knee's. could this help with feeding. dead/injured crickets are not working either. but it has ate once. i think it just gets freaked out. also at that size i would imagine even a pinhead would be a good meal, id like to powerfeed but after one meal when could i expect it to want another? thanks for all the tips!
 

TRowe

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 30, 2004
Messages
224
Ok... where to start? Your Suntiger (Psalmopoeus irminia) is an arboreal species, so it will most likely not make a burrow. Instead, place a sturdy piece of bark or some small silk plants in it's container. You'll find that it will soon create a silken retreat on whatever you put in there. If you found it eating a cricket leg, it's probably just because the cricket got away from it. Signs of an oncoming molt are refusal of prey items, and darkening of the "skin" under the urticating patch (if present) as well as the soft tissue under the leg joints.

Constant feeding will increase growth rate, as will keeping the spiderlings on the warmer side. One downside is that if your spiderlings are males, they will reach maturity rather quickly. In that respect, powerfed spiderlings may have a shorter lifespan than those on a normal diet. I don't think the same applies to females of most species, due to their substantially longer lifespan.

As far as your Brazilian Salmon (Lasiodora parahybana) goes, at that size, it may be quite full from the first cricket. Is the abdomen fairly large in proportion to the rest of the spider? If so, it might just have reached "maximum capacity", and may not eat again until after it's next molt, which will probably be fairly soon.

Good luck with your new acquisitions!

Tim
 

solaceofwinter

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 7, 2005
Messages
546
thanks for the reply, your right the suntiger is aboreal, however ive read suntiger spiderlings much like to make burrows on the ground at times. ive got a limb for climbing but it is ignored. im hoping the moss will give it some structure to work with. i wont be able to tell as far as darkening colors it is still very small, so ill go by food/webbed retreats. just want to get them fattened up asap. the white knee is doing the best id have to say.
i believe all my spiders are female due to their sizes and colors. ill give the salmon another day or so and power feed the rest ive got 250 pinheads comming my way lol hope they are hungry! {D
 

TRowe

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 30, 2004
Messages
224
solaceofwinter said:
your right the suntiger is aboreal, however ive read suntiger spiderlings much like to make burrows on the ground at times. ive got a limb for climbing but it is ignored.
Yeah, I've read that as well. I've had a couple P. irminia and P. cambridgei slings of about that size, and both made arboreal retreats on hickory bark. If it doesn't end up burrowing, you might try taking the limb out, and replacing it with something more flat and broad.

solaceofwinter said:
i believe all my spiders are female due to their sizes and colors. ill give the salmon another day or so and power feed the rest ive got 250 pinheads comming my way lol hope they are hungry! {D
I used to think that way, too, but at that size it's just too early to tell. Wait 'till they get a bit bigger and try sexing them by looking for spermathecae in the abdominal section of their shed skin, which will be found at the end nearest the carapace, in-between the book lungs. If spermathecae are present, then you have a female. You could also sex them by looking for fusillae near the epigastric furrow. It will usually appear as a patch of darker "hair", sometimes in a crescent shape. If it's present, then you have a male.

Have fun with your pinheads! I *hate* dealing with them when they're that small. :)

Tim
 

solaceofwinter

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 7, 2005
Messages
546
me too that is exactly why i want to get these little guys BIG. lots easier. thanks for all the advice. ive been thinking of some kind of tube like a toilet paper roll, i had a pink toe that loved that thing. ill just see waht i get with this moss.
im basically judging gender based on body style, they all seem fat and bulky except for the suntiger which i swore was male because of its spindly demenor but learned that colors can easily tell its gender.
 

xgrafcorex

Thread Killer
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 16, 2005
Messages
1,333
irminia

i have a p irminia that is a little over 2" in legspan. and at first it was hanging out on the side of the KK but now it only comes out if its dark, other than that it stays in its newly made burrow. can hardly see it at all most of the time if at all. but as soon as a cricket is in there, it comes out to get it heh
 
Top