Fireleg Spiderling problems?

[Fireleg Novice]

Hello there~ I'm Ashley, and I have no idea what I'm doing with this precious little spiderling.. I honestly bought it because my mom had a tarantula a few years back and loved it, and mom found this little one online and told me it was 3-4 inches. It's actually 3/4 of an inch. We weren't prepared for a tiny baby to arrive, and mom hasn't really taken an interest in it.. leaving the tiny infant in the incapable hands of an arachnophobic amateur (aka me). I'm very afraid of spiders, but I've always been an animal person, so I'm giving this my best shot.

Anyway.. after doing some research I set up the baby's home. She's in a plastic cup with many small holes for ventilation, her substrate is echo earth and peat moss mixture from the pet store, she's too tiny for any water dish so I mist her container to keep it a little damp. I placed her cup in a terrarium and have part of that on a heat pad to provide the proper temperature and humidity, and mainly spray the interior of the terrarium instead of the inside of the cup.

When she first arrived, she wasted no time at all in wrestling a regular-sized meal worm (all we had when expecting a large spider) to its death and ate the entire thing in one night. But several days went by and she refused food after that. Then, she started flipping herself upside-down a lot. My mom was convinced she was dying, and me being a novice didn't help but I looked up the behavior and stopped my mom from trying to flip her back over constantly. It sounded like she was trying to molt to me. Strangely, the little spider has never been adventurous, never moved around her cup much, and although I did provide a starter hole for a burrow, she didn't even try to dig. She just turned herself upside-down and then scrunched up her legs.. and didn't move. For /days/. To the point that I thought she was dead.

I didn't have the heart to bury her for a while, clinging to the hope that she was molting, that she'd start moving again.. but after four days I finally gave up and decided it was time to say goodbye.

But when I looked in on her again, she was right-side-up, her legs stretched out flatly. I used a Q tip to stroke her, just to see what would happen, and although she didn't move I noticed she didn't look shriveled as I'd expected, but was in fact rather plump. Do spiders bloat in death? I don't know.. but I could have sworn I saw a little leg twitch. So I left her there, and went to work.

I came home tonight, and checked on her. And she started immediately waving one frontal leg at me. And after a few hours more, she was actually standing up and waving her arms aggressively whenever I come over to check on her through the glass. She's still not moving from the spot, and I'm not even sure if she can walk.. but suddenly she's very animated and alive. Yet, she didn't molt. She /does/ have a light spot on her back, she's plump, she's refusing food.. I'm guessing she's going to molt and it's taking her a while. But then again, this being my first spider, and a spiderling to boot.. I can't be certain?

Do spiderlings curl up like a dead house spider as a defensive strategy? Does anyone have any advice for me? I'm still freaking out a little that the spider I thought was dead is now alive again, enough to curse me out whenever I so much as peek through the tank at her. Wow, what a change.. I'm actually attached to her now, and I want to make sure she lives a long, healthy life. Though I can't say the feeling is mutual with her apparently

 

[Chubbs]

First, stop poking and prodding it. That's only going to make things worse. The sling is not too small for a water dish, it won't drown. All of my slings, even really tiny ones, have water dishes. This is a better option than misting. Brachys like their substrate bone- dry. The best thing to do is yo just leave it alone. Also make sure it has something to hide under.

 

[Fireleg Novice]

Alright, thank you for the information. I had read that a sling could fall into a water dish and drown if the dish was not smaller than the span of its legs, and I was afraid to risk it. I had also read that Firelegs need humidity, and that it helps with their frequent shedding when they are small. The information I had looked up told me that the sling would obtain water from kills, and from the condensation line around her enclosure. And I had read that I should press a hole into the substrate and let her dig her own hole to hide in.. I'll definitely try to find something for her to hide under, that might calm her down. And I promise I am no longer prodding her, I only messed with her when I was unsure of whether she was alive, and that only after several days of her having curled in on herself. I stopped my mom from messing with her as well.

I'm sorry to seem like an idiot, I'm trying my best to learn as quickly as possible for the baby's sake. And I really appreciate your help.

I'd still like to know if anyone has had a sling pretend to be dead for several days before though.. It would be helpful to know what they did in that case. I'd certainly feel more secure knowing someone else handled the same situation.

 

[Chubbs]

Alright, thank you for the information. I had read that a sling could fall into a water dish and drown if the dish was not smaller than the span of its legs, and I was afraid to risk it. I had also read that Firelegs need humidity, and that it helps with their frequent shedding when they are small. The information I had looked up told me that the sling would obtain water from kills, and from the condensation line around her enclosure. And I had read that I should press a hole into the substrate and let her dig her own hole to hide in.. I'll definitely try to find something for her to hide under, that might calm her down. And I promise I am no longer prodding her, I only messed with her when I was unsure of whether she was alive, and that only after several days of her having curled in on herself. I stopped my mom from messing with her as well.

I'm sorry to seem like an idiot, I'm trying my best to learn as quickly as possible for the baby's sake. And I really appreciate your help.

I'd still like to know if anyone has had a sling pretend to be dead for several days before though.. It would be helpful to know what they did in that case. I'd certainly feel more secure knowing someone else handled the same situation.[/QUO them TE]
I'm not sure where you got that information from, but it's way off. These guys usually don't burrow in captivity. They are not obligate burrowers, therefore they need something to hide under. Also while slings do need a bit more moisture than adults, most Brachypelma species come from drier regions and they like dry conditions in captivity.

I'm not sure where you got that information from, but it's way off. These guys usually don't burrow in captivity. They are not obligate burrowers, therefore they need something to hide under. Also while slings do need a bit more moisture than adults, most Brachypelma species come from drier regions and prefer dry conditions.

 

[Entity]

My b. smithi dug coridors like and ant when i got it. until it got to around 2 inches. ...just throwing that out there.

 

[Chubbs]

My b. smithi dug coridors like and ant when i got it. until it got to around 2 inches. ...just throwing that out there.

I've never had a Brachy burrow outside of albopilosum. Not saying it doesn't happen, but I don't believe it is very common for most Brachys.

 

[Enn49]

My 2 B. smithi had never burrowed until a couple of weeks ago when the larger one, about1'', decided to go underground

 

[Entity]

Just sayin chubbs...dont make the poor girl feel like an artard. She is here to learn and get help. not be ridiculed. Ease up a little bit is all im sayin.

 

[Chubbs]

Just sayin chubbs...dont make the poor girl feel like an artard. She is here to learn and get help. not be ridiculed. Ease up a little bit is all im sayin.

How am I ridiculing her? Sorry but I'm not going to sugarcoat things for people. Its not my fault if people don't do their research before purchasing an animal.

 

[Enn49]

When I began buying slings only 14 months ago, everything I read said not to give them water bowls some care sheets even saying to wait until they reach 2''. It was only after joining a forum and taking advice from people who had been rearing slings for years that I learnt that it was ok to give even the tiniest ones a bowl.

 

[Entity]

Yeah, Thats what we r here for to learn and share experiences to be better with our spiders. I dont claim to know everything about everything. Guess i just aint as lucky as some people to have all the answers to everything. So i apologise if i happen to ask any questions in the future. Sorry for my ignorance.

 

[Enn49]

The problem is some people forget those feelings of being new to the hobby, the panic that sets in when something out of the ordinary happens. With most pets help can be close at hand but with something like Ts we can only resort to a forum as searching the net can take a long time to find, if you're lucky, the info you need. I maybe a relative newbie but I'm always happy to share info if I can - and always will be.

 

[Chubbs]

Yeah, Thats what we r here for to learn and share experiences to be better with our spiders. I dont claim to know everything about everything. Guess i just aint as lucky as some people to have all the answers to everything. So i apologise if i happen to ask any questions in the future. Sorry for my ignorance.

Yup, because that's exactly what I said. I have the answers to everything.

Thing is, there is absolutely zero reason to panic regardless. When someone purchases a living creature that they are responsible for, it makes no sense to me not to research its care PRIOR to purchasing it.

 

[Fuzzball79]

My b. smithi dug coridors like and ant when i got it. until it got to around 2 inches. ...just throwing that out there.

Same with my B. Boehmei. For the first couple of months I've had him he lived more or less underground, despite having a perfectly good hide (on the other side of his tub). They do what they like, lol. Now he's out all the time, even molts out in the open.

P.S.: As for water bowls, I agree with Enn, most care sheets tell you not to use them with slings under 1", but to mist.

 

[Entity]

Enn,

Is that culli as ur avatar?! Hes looking really good!

 

[Entity]

Yup, because that's exactly what I said. I have the answers to everything.

Thing is, there is absolutely zero reason to panic regardless. When someone purchases a living creature that they are responsible for, it makes no sense to me not to research its care PRIOR to purchasing it.

Not trying to start a fight dude, I was just saying...I know i read for months as much as i could before i got my first tarantula. but some people when they see them get excited, get them and then think, o crap what did i get myself into. I kinda understand that a little bit. But anyways, truce bud? lol [hand shake]

 

[Enn49]

Enn,

Is that culli as ur avatar?! Hes looking really good!

It is Culli and thank you. I'm thrilled with the way he/she is growing.

 

[Entity]

I just got an avic avic. Named her pembe. turkish for pink. and also a slang term turks use for a girl with a big butt! lol what name would be more fitting? lol

 

[Enn49]

@Entity I love both meanings especially the big butt, I should have called one of mine that lol.

 

[Entity]

@Entity I love both meanings especially the big butt, I should have called one of mine that lol.

lol. u r free to use it for ur next one.