Feeding SpiderlingS

aLDoDarK

Arachnoknight
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Messages
162
IMG-20121011-03761.jpg

Hi Guys,
I've just got my first 1st instar spiderling.
Just wondering if you guys have any tips to share on how to feed em? some easier way I guess, I just can't imagine feeding the sling one by one. and is there any alternative other then pin head cricket and fruit fly? that's pretty hard to get here in my place.
Thanks guys! ;)
 

macbaffo

Arachnolord
Joined
Sep 27, 2012
Messages
652
You can try with springtails or white isopods...that's the first thing that comes in my mind...
 

Hobo

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Staff member
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Those look like second instars.
You don't feed first instars. Anyway, you don't have to use pinheads, I used regular sized crickets and cut them up. I fed them one by one, and it does take a while.
 

pokemepokey

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 4, 2012
Messages
3
I usually remove the head of small crickets and let the little ones scavenge. All my very tiny 1/3-1/2 slings eat that way. I guess I should also clarify these ones are all new world terrestrial Ts I feed this way, my old world Ts all are very gluttonous and eat anything they can overpower.
 

aLDoDarK

Arachnoknight
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Messages
162
Thanks guys for all your input, I guess that I got the idea, I'll try cut a mealworm and feed em with it. Hopefully it could work well.
and another question, when should I separated them one by one to a little vial? is it possible if I keep em till they're a little bigger?
 

Hobo

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
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Well, you can separate them now if you want. At second instar (or third, depending in who you ask. It's the instar when they are become active predators/hunters), their predatory instincts will kick in and they will soon begin to eat each other. Some keep them together for a while to thin out numbers, weed out the weak, or keep them communally (species dependent) but if that isn't your goal, then you'll want to separate them now before anyone gets eaten.
 

ImDeadly

Arachnosquire
Joined
Oct 9, 2011
Messages
104
Not to hijack but is there a good source on doing this. Such as a checklist of all items needed to breed for sale and how to keep them healthy fresh out of the sac? When to do what and all?

Sent from my LG-C729
 

Stan Schultz

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
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Jul 16, 2004
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... I've just got my first 1st instar spiderling. ...
Those are second or maybe even third instar babies, not spiderlings (a.k.a., slings) yet.

... Just wondering if you guys have any tips to share on how to feed em? some easier way I guess, I just can't imagine feeding the sling one by one. and is there any alternative other then pin head cricket and fruit fly? that's pretty hard to get here in my place.
Thanks guys! ;)
You can feed them just about any insect that's the same size or smaller than their abdomens. In Bandung, you live in a virtual cornucopia of tarantula food. Just step out your back door!

You should have two major concerns:

1) Be careful not to feed them any insect that's capable of defending itself with lethal weapons. Think ants, bees, wasps, carnivorous beetles, etc.

2) Be careful not to feed it any insect that is inherently toxic. Watch what the bug is feeding on. If the food plant is poisonous, the insect probably is too.

3) Be careful not to feed it any insects that might have come into contact with pesticides. This may be a tough one. Assume that any insect within a half kilometer of cultivated land or homes is contaminated.

You may have to get creative and learn how to culture some of your native insects away from poisoned land. Knowing how many insects there are in Indonesia, your biggest problem may well be choosing one or two out of a menu of thousands.

You're going to need 3 to 6 little insects per baby tarantula per week. I hope your family and the neighbors won't mind!

For a few weeks you can keep them all together and feed them en masse. You'll lose a few to cannibalism, but those will probably be the runts or defective ones anyway, so it's no big loss.

In the meantime you can start collecting small pill vials or bottles in the local bazaars. Be sure to get the covers for them! You'll need one per spider. Put about 2.5 to 3 cm of damp substrate in the bottom of each vial. Hold an opened paper clip with a pair of pliers in a flame. Then melt about 8 to 12 little holes in the plastic covers. If you're using jars with metal lids you can use very small nails to punch the holes. WARNING: The babies can get through a 1 mm diameter hole. The holes you make must be significantly smaller than that. Arrange the vials or bottles in convenient cardboard trays for easy handling.

What kind of tarantulas?

Hope this helps. Best of luck.


Enjoy your little 8-legged babies by the hundreds!
 

Storm76

Arachnoemperor
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Jan 30, 2012
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You can try with springtails or white isopods...that's the first thing that comes in my mind...
Those little Euathlus sp. "red" that I have fed on springtails for quite a while after they emerged according to the breeder. They do take prekilled micro sized crickets now though - the couple bigger ones actually hunts actively even already.
 

aLDoDarK

Arachnoknight
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Messages
162
@HOBO : Thanks pal! I'll try to keep em together for a while to reduce the amount of it, just thinking that it's just too much of work to do, and then it's an Indonesian local tarantula that we can find everywhere here tho >.<

@Pikaia : Wow man! That's really good of you, thank you so much for your input, that helps a lot ;)
They are Selenocosmia Javanensis, a local tarantula from Java Indonesia. Do you have this kind of species back there?
 

kelvintheiah

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jan 8, 2012
Messages
62
can i have a christmas present from you? lol

@HOBO : Thanks pal! I'll try to keep em together for a while to reduce the amount of it, just thinking that it's just too much of work to do, and then it's an Indonesian local tarantula that we can find everywhere here tho >.<

@Pikaia : Wow man! That's really good of you, thank you so much for your input, that helps a lot ;)
They are Selenocosmia Javanensis, a local tarantula from Java Indonesia. Do you have this kind of species back there?
 

Stan Schultz

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 16, 2004
Messages
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@HOBO : Thanks pal! I'll try to keep em together for a while to reduce the amount of it, just thinking that it's just too much of work to do, and then it's an Indonesian local tarantula that we can find everywhere here tho >.<

@Pikaia : Wow man! That's really good of you, thank you so much for your input, that helps a lot ;)
They are Selenocosmia Javanensis, a local tarantula from Java Indonesia. Do you have this kind of species back there?
Yes, they show up on the dealer's lists from time to time. But, they actually cost us money! You lucky soul! You just go out into the country and dig them up!

Well, it's a double edged sword, I guess, because I can just step out of my motorhome (depending on where I am) and dig up various species of Aphonopelma. See this thread to find out what I mean.


Cheers, from one aficionado to another!
 

aLDoDarK

Arachnoknight
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Messages
162
can i have a christmas present from you? lol
for sure! if you or your friend have a trip to indonesia, I'ld definitely like to do a little trade my S.Javanensis wih your local species :)

Yes, they show up on the dealer's lists from time to time. But, they actually cost us money! You lucky soul! You just go out into the country and dig them up!

Well, it's a double edged sword, I guess, because I can just step out of my motorhome (depending on where I am) and dig up various species of Aphonopelma. See this thread to find out what I mean.


Cheers, from one aficionado to another!
Wow that's really really interesting man, and Aphlonema moderatum cost a lot in my country! maaaan it'll be great if we could do a little tarantula trade. so when will you visiting indonesia :D
 

Stan Schultz

Arachnoprince
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... so when will you visiting indonesia :D
I spent a summer in Indonesia in 1977 or '78. And, like almost everybody else, I loved Kuta Beach on Bali, and I flew one afternoon to the island of Sumba. And even though it seemed as though there were volcanoes everywhere, and most of the cities appeared to be expansive slums, I was very impressed with the place. The people were warm and friendly, even in the days when gila Amerika were not terribly popular in the country.

I've wanted to go back there ever since.
 

aLDoDarK

Arachnoknight
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Messages
162
I went for a 10 days holiday. and when I went back and check out my sling. most of them are dead. they are drowned inside the oil that I put in the table feet. I guess that the vent is too big (0.2-0.3 cm) and the slings just ran away. not sure why, but I guess that they are hungry :( poor babies...

here's a photo one of my table foot.
Man. such a big lost. there're only 14 spiderlings survived, and I already rehouse em.

IMG-20121026-03827.jpg
 
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