Got my G. Pulchripes spiderling, some questions

[VanessaS]

I am already concerned and I don't even have them yet. I'm going to be a mess when they finally get here. I know that I am probably getting worried over nothing - that's my personality overall. I'm sure everything will work out and I am continuing to read everyone's posts here to prepare myself better. Everyone is really fabulous here when it comes to answering questions.

 

[jrh3]

I am already concerned and I don't even have them yet. I'm going to be a mess when they finally get here. I know that I am probably getting worried over nothing - that's my personality overall. I'm sure everything will work out and I am continuing to read everyone's posts here to prepare myself better. Everyone is really fabulous here when it comes to answering questions.

dont worry at all. i got a freebie B. Albopilosum on a order, it was 1/4in, and i have had it for a few weeks now. has not ate for me yet. the whole time i thinking this little fella is gonna die. but today i see why he wouldn't eat..... he molted today. these are the things you learn as time comes. today i realized dont worry about them until you have raised one from sling to adult, that way you know what to expect.

 

[MiaWolf42]

Thank you for the reply

He / she is very protective of the husk, always hanging out on top of it. I'll just take it out tomorrow. Feels great to have my very first molt ever.

Is it possible to check his / her gender with this molt?

Cute sling!

 

[KlausNomi]

I fed my baby boy / girl yesterday. Those lats sure are fast runners. I keep them in an aquarium and they've populated it.
Is it unsafe to feed a lat roach that is a bit larger than my sling?
Here he / she is after dinner. I'll just pretend that he / she is happy and is smiling at me for feeding him / her for the first time after a molt.

 

[KlausNomi]

Cute sling!

Thanks!

 

[jrh3]

I fed my baby boy / girl yesterday. Those lats sure are fast runners. I keep them in an aquarium and they've populated it.
Is it unsafe to feed a lat roach that is a bit larger than my sling?
Here he / she is after dinner. I'll just pretend that he / she is happy and is smiling at me for feeding him / her for the first time after a molt.

do you mean bigger than its body? or bigger than its DLS? either way i dont do it, normally i feed half the body size but sometimes a little bigger is fine.

 

[KlausNomi]

do you mean bigger than its body? or bigger than its DLS? either way i dont do it, normally i feed half the body size but sometimes a little bigger is fine.

What's DLS? A roach that's a bit larger than my sling. Afraid that it might turn the tables and eat my baby instead.

 

[VanessaS]

What's DLS?

Diagonal Leg Span... of the tarantula.

 

[kormath]

I use a flashlight to check the fangs. on the smallest ones a magnifying glass helps. Also helps to see the changes in the abdomen that signal premolt.

Once they're about 1/2" dls you can see them easily without the glass

 

[KlausNomi]

For the first time in forever I finally made contact with my beloved sling. I was trembling as I lay my finger while he / she was approaching to investigate. Guess there's that innate fear of getting bit or something.

 

[Kymura]

Understandable, I treat all of mine as if they had every intention of sinking in their fangs

 

[KlausNomi]

My baby is avoiding her food. The fat juicy roach was actually approaching her and she's the one avoiding. There's also a black patch on her abdomen, so I guess she's premolt again? Her last meal was 6 days ago.

 

[Phil]

My baby is avoiding her food. The fat juicy roach was actually approaching her and she's the one avoiding. There's also a black patch on her abdomen, so I guess she's premolt again? Her last meal was 6 days ago.

That's does sound like premolt. What size now and when was the last molt? I find keeping a record really useful to predict when a molt due. Hope the roach is now out the way ☺

 

[KlausNomi]

I took the roach out of her enclosure after noticing that she's just avoiding it like a plague. Hmm I can't measure her yet, but her previous molt was the second one, and she was 1" back then. That was around first week of March.

 

[Phil]

I took the roach out of her enclosure after noticing that she's just avoiding it like a plague. Hmm I can't measure her yet, but her previous molt was the second one, and she was 1" back then. That was around first week of March.

4 weeks for the next molt sems a short time even for a sling but if well fed then it is possible. Tried smaller prey?

 

[kormath]

4 weeks for the next molt sems a short time even for a sling but if well fed then it is possible. Tried smaller prey?

It's possible depending on feeding and temps. I've had molts in 5 weeks with twice a week feeding and mid 70s temps. 80 temps or more would speed that up a bit I'd think.

 

[KlausNomi]

I tried smaller prey and as usual she ignored it. This morning she was stretching her legs, then hours later I saw this. Hooray.

 

[KlausNomi]

For the first time in forever I managed to have her chill on my hand. I used a tweezer to first gently squeeze her body to me because I was going to rehome her to a new enclosure.

Two questions: They said that touching a tarantula with a tweezer or paintbrush is a way to determine its temperament. My baby here just calmly walked whenever the tweezers touched her. Does that mean she's in a good mood? She was very motionless on my palm and I had to gently push her back to her home cause I needed my hand lol. Although the second time I picked her up with a tweezer she left a trail of webbing.

Second one, is it bad to regularly let her hang out on my palm? I was thinking of doing it a few times so she can get comfortable with that activity.

 

[MassExodus]

Calmly moving forward when touched on a back leg could mean two things : Either she's very calm or she's creating distance so she can leap at your face. J/k. Its the first one.

 

[kormath]

first question - i guess that works, if they're in a bad mood they'll kick hair or go defense/run away.

second - your choice. Lots say never handle lots say it's okay. personally i handle my smaller ones that are more docile. I don't try it with the skittish or larger ones.