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New C Versicolor sling--Only eats junk food!!

Whitelightning777

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I just got a C. Versicolor sling about 5 days ago. After struggling with humidity issues cage issues and so on, she started eating. She's about 3/4".

The pet store said that the donor was feeding pinhead crickets and roaches. Little did I know that literally no store in my area sells either!!

The sling was part of a private collection donated to a pet store near where I work. I just went there seeking roaches for my Scorpions and one thing led to another.

The bad news is that the only thing she will eat are fruitflies.

I tried small PetSmart crickets and she just attacked them with urticating hairs but didn't show any interest in feeding. One died within minutes that was bitten. The other died a few hours later. Both crickets climbed the piece of wood where she hangs, basically committing suicide. She has no problem getting the best ambush position.

Now that she's built a web, flimsy but still a web, will she take a cricket with the hind legs removed if placed within the web? These small crickets are basically the same size that she is.

Yes, I already tried dead cricket and meal worm parts, no reaction whatsoever. The cage is somewhat on the large size, but she had no difficulty getting around or attacking the fruitflies.

I had to put her into a delicup and totally recondition the cage. Now there is room to work and she hasn't gotten out once since. Of course, I still put the cage into the bathtub first with the curtains moved aside!! That cage was formerly used for my ex girlfriend's mantis which died from a bad molt.

The problems with the delicup are that she kept getting out each time I would fill the small water dish. We have a cat, way too tempting even though she never goes into the wire shelf...yet. Also, there would be no escape from prey items that are too much to handle.

Typically, she'll get the first one within 10 minutes followed by one each half hour until gone in the larger cage.

Even though I just fed her yesterday, her abdomen is fairly thin again. I think that they're just passing through with little absorption.

I located a website which has pinhead crickets but they will take a few days to order and I think I need a breeding box or something to keep them in.





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Metalman2004

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The pictures are blurry but she definitely doesn't look skinny to me. I think your spider would do okay without food until pinheads arrive if you decide to order them. In the meantime you can still feed flies if you want. She may also just not be hungry.

That cage is huge! If you don't want to use a deli cup see if you have a container store around you. If so, go get an AMAC box and put some holes in it (but not too big). They cost like $1.50 each and make for great sling enclosures.
 

Whitelightning777

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There is some good news. After carefully inspecting the web, it seemed strong enough to support a small cricket.

I went to PetSmart to get crickets for my other tarantula and scorpion and got one extra for her. I chilled it in the refrigerator, pulled off the back legs and carefully put it into what looked like the strongest part of the web. I got one threat posture but no other response at first.

The cricket was obviously slightly bigger then she was but stunned by the cold.

As the cricket started to wake up and warm up, she approached it, killed it and began to eat it taking all night. Nothing but the shell was left at the bottom of the wood this morning and I have one very fast happy spider. So long as that web stays up, feeding her twice a week will not be a problem.

Here's pics, 2 after she made the web and 2 after she ate the cricket.



Versi web1ed.jpg Versi web2ed.jpg Versi cricket1ed.jpg Versi cricket2ed.jpg
 
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Whitelightning777

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Versicolor update. The second cricket somehow escaped from the web, but I'm luring it back to it. The antenna project over the edge of the wood and will trigger Charlotte to attack. She also has a small moth in the web that nearly drowned in my cat's water dish. It was so water logged that any toxins or pesticides are long gone. As soon as it moves, bye bye.

Since I'm leaving for vacation, there's no reason to not leave some food for Charlotte. She's perfectly safe in the web because she'll hit anything moving in it like a ton of bricks, either forcing it out or inviting it to dinner.....forever!!
Versicolor cricket stalemate 1.jpg
 

Whitelightning777

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Holy crap!!

She's gonna nail the cricket from behind and drive him into the web!! She's actually stalking him, 1/4" inch to go!!

Damn, it sucks that I gotta go to work!! I'll just turn the lights off to give her an edge. Ka-Pow!!
 

Whitelightning777

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The cricket has mysteriously vanished. The moth is frozen in place, literally still like 1/4 inch away watching it.

Her abdomen is certainly darker lately. I wonder how long the fast before molting is?

Either way, nothing in the web or elsewhere can harm her in the web.
 

PinkT

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Very cool C. Versicolor. Glad she's doing well. Been thinking about getting one myself. Where did you get her? Can't find one on line but there's a reptile show in NY next month. Hoping they have one.
 

kormath

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my son's verisicolor wouldn't eat anything that was larger than her abdomen, she'd do the same yours has been, slap it or bite it and leave it to die. Premolt depends on their size, at 3/4", if i remember right, she'd fast for about 3 weeks or so before molting.

I agree with @Metalman2004 your enclosure is much to large for that size. That would fit an adult versi well though. At her size we used one of the tall amac boxes - https://www.containerstore.com/s/clear-amac-boxes/d?productId=10003497&q=amac

The 4" sq x 7.25" tall one. That should fit them until they're about 3 inches dls. Flip it upside down so the lid holds the substrate, drill lots of ventilation holes on opposite sides, make sure a branch or leaf or something extends down to the substrate so the prey can climb up to her.
 

Whitelightning777

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The premolt fast is 3 weeks? I didn't know that.

That explains why she isn't eating anymore. Currently, she has no urticating hairs on one side and has basically turned black.

The current headless cricket was still twitching strongly but she showed no interest despite a distance of only 1/4th of an inch away.

Does that mean it's just premolt?

When I do feed her, I just drop the feeder into the web. I'm trying not to have to rehouse her too often.
 

Whitelightning777

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Update!!

She molted!! She must've done it just after I left for work and got done just before I got back home.

Yippee!!

I'm going to wait a day or so to take photos. She's about 20-30% larger, colors not fully showing up yet. No damage or missing limbs etc. 100 percent success.
 

Whitelightning777

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Very cool C. Versicolor. Glad she's doing well. Been thinking about getting one myself. Where did you get her? Can't find one on line but there's a reptile show in NY next month. Hoping they have one.

A collector donated part of his collection to a local pet store. I was there trying to buy a roach for my scorpion. It turns out that they were out of scorpions, but I couldn't resist a once in a lifetime opportunity to get one of the best looking spiders on earth.

Be advised that I didn't purchase from these guys but they've gotten plenty of good reviews so fast as I know.

https://fearnottarantulas.com/product/avicularia-versicolor-antilles-pinktoe-75-spiderlings/

Shortly thereafter, I purchased L Klugi online, 2nd spider. I got mine from Elias Insen, but after looking into it found that he doesn't have this species for sale.
 

WolfSpider

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Congratulations on your molt. You have a beautiful spider there. Strongly consider the AMIC box idea, but if you don't, the behavior of your T is VERY normal and it will probably do well in its large enclosure. For what it is worth, I have found that hyper-feeding slings--like you have been doing--gets them to pre-molt faster. Pre-molt is a scary time for many keepers because they will turn down food--like Kormath says--for weeks.

FYI, I started this hobby watching Jon3600 videos. He would feed his slings once every 2 weeks and, according to him, they all did fine. Please keep us up to date on your expanding collection.
 

Whitelightning777

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The enclosure I have is so similar to one of those AMAC boxes that it might've even been made from a larger one!!

My versi always tried to and succeed at escaping when housed in a smaller cup. I think of a larger enclosure as a superior set of good decisions, versus going AWOL.

Her comfort zone is about 2"-3". If she can maintain that, she simply goes down to the bottom of the cage or opposite wall. If not, pop goes the weasel!!

Heck, I can change the water dish and she won't even move. If I work very s-l-o-w-l-y, I can even enlarge or create airholes without removing her!! She turns in the web has a look and proceeds to ignore me.

Every critter is different.

I can easily imagine one that gets lost and won't eat and how that could happen. It is just that mine doesn't do that. From what I've heard, this is a common issue.

As designed by myself, she picks the high ground and best attack angle and builds a web/lair right where I wanted her to do so.
 

PinkT

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I didn't think that they had sufficient body fat to go 2 weeks, always heard twice a week.

Our Pink T was in pre-molt for 3 1/2 weeks in her den webbed in before she opened up her den. I would see her legs once in awhile but she wasn't ready. When she reappeared she was so much bigger and her legs much longer.

Congrats on her molt!
 

PinkT

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Got my Versicolor on Sunday. She's really small. Try Racing red roaches. That's what she eats. No pics yet..Hard to get a good shot. Did get a G. Iherringi too. Sexed Female!
 

Whitelightning777

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Got my Versicolor on Sunday. She's really small. Try Racing red roaches. That's what she eats. No pics yet..Hard to get a good shot. Did get a G. Iherringi too. Sexed Female!


That Iharringi is a beautiful spider that hangs out a lot out in the open, just found a YouTube video on it. Keeping that one in some cheap opaque container ought to be a crime. I disagree with that part of it.

With the Versicolor as well, it's worth presenting the spider in a quality enclosure.

 

PinkT

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That Iharringi is a beautiful spider that hangs out a lot out in the open, just found a YouTube video on it. Keeping that one in some cheap opaque container ought to be a crime. I disagree with that part of it.

With the Versicolor as well, it's worth presenting the spider in a quality enclosure.


Rehoused both Wednesday. One of the red racer's in the Versicolor enclosure decided to set up house in a hole of the back of the cork and eat the decay yesterday. It was still in the hole this morning. Threw in another racer. When they were starting turf wars by the hole, she sprang and caught both at the same time..Wow ! So cool!

What beautiful T's they are.

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