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Caring for our new B. albopilosum sling

octanejunkie

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We received our first sling 3 days ago, a Brachypelma albopilosum (Curly Hair) 1/2-3/4" spiderling from jamiestarantulas.com alonig with their sling enclosure and a starter colony of B. lateralis (rusty red) roaches.

We setup the enclosure per instructions, didn't use the cork hunk as it seemed too big, and introduced our sling without issue. Within the first night, the T created a burrow and has been seen outside of it several times, but mostly seems to remain inside the burrow. The enclosure is in a low-traffic area of our apartment and has no direct light shining on it. The substrate still seems moist but haven't yet added any additional water to the enclosure.

Finding our T at the mouth of the burrow this morning we decided to try to feed. A dying pinhead red was placed at the mouth of the burrow and seemed to disappear after about 30 mins. Rather than offering dead food we poked the nymph with tweezers, incapacitating it, and left it immobilized and expiring as to gain the attention of the T - seemed to work.

Our questions at this point are:
-how often should we offer food?
-how often should we moisten the enclosure: how much moisture and what method (dropper, sprayer, etc)?
-which water should we use: conditioned tap water, mineralized RO, 100% RO?

FWIW, we have been "gut-loading" the roaches with mango peels and Soilent Green protein gel by Repashy

NB: Jamie from jamiestarantulas.com was great to work with; very patient and extremely accommodating. I can highly recommend her as a vendor and captive breeder A+++
 

Ghost

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Congrats on getting your first sling great species of T.

As for feeding slings I feed mine twice a week one or two roaches at a time,I use a dropper to moisten the substrate how often will depend on how quick it starts to dry out I do mine about once a week to keep them slightly moist not wet,at the size of your sling I would also add a small water dish you can use a bottle cap for this don't worrie your sling won't drown I give all my slings form 1/2" a small water dish,as for water I just use tap water for my T's but you can use bottled water if you prefer.....
 

octanejunkie

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Thanks for the reply, Ghost

I would also add a small water dish you can use a bottle cap for this don't worrie your sling won't drown I give all my slings form 1/2" a small water dish,as for water I just use tap water for my T's but you can use bottled water if you prefer.....

The enclosure is pretty small, about 2.5"x2.5"x5" tall - not much room for a bottle cap of any sort in there... I was considering a weekly light misting or dropping water with an eye dropper in one corner, weekly.
 

Therasoid

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I checked that enclosure on the website, IMO that's for an arboreal sling. If its the one referred as a "reverse kit" with a mesh vent on the top.
Terrestrial species use more width and length than height. All my slings, after receiving them, are immediately rehoused into larger containers, pics below, even 1/4" size. A hide is provided along with a water dish, substrate lightly moist, most burrow. I have a 1" P. irminia burrowed to the bottom, comes to the surface late each evening, and this is an arboreal. [emoji6]
Until mine are secure in the enclosure, I feed pre killed twice a week, placing prey near the hide/burrow, removed next day if not eaten. Once settled in I offer live prey roughly 1/2 their "body" length.
 

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octanejunkie

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Thanks for the pic, and the reply, Therasoid

You are correct about the enclosure, it is the same for an arboreal and a terrestrial, though the vent is placed on the side for an arboreal and the top for a terrestrial; otherwise the containers are exactly the same. For the size T we have, it seems small to me, or if properly sized - not for long.

The smallest critter keeper measures 4x7 - which I was advised was "too big" for our sized sling, ATM. I know I want something totally clear so that we can observe it in it's habitat, and I'd prefer not to have to jostle the enclosure to get in and out of it for feeding and maintenance.

I'm trying to make it as easy for me, and stress-free for the T as possible, which still having maximum viewing opportunities.

ps. thinking about an arboreal too... I feel T fever setting in.
 

Ambrosia

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I also got a curly hair from Jamie. :) Check out her youtube, she has some videos explaining how she does things. How to set up her enclosures, how often she mists ect. My T also burrowed the first night and spends a lot of time down there. Personally I feed mine every 3 days (twice a week) and I also mist every 3 days. Jamie suggests misting the top 4 sides of the enclosure and not the actual substrate and making sure the substrate is dry after 24 hours or you're using too much water. From what I've heard curly hairs are pretty hardy so it's more forgiving of amateur mistakes so just have fun and enjoy the experience. :)
Can I see what yours looks like just to compare for fun? I wonder if they are related? :)
 

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octanejunkie

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Hi Ambrosia, I guess we're cousins now thanks to Jamie :)

I posted 2 pics on my Acclimating thread, link to that post here. I'll check out her YouTube page soon.

How long ago did you get your sling from Jamie? We received ours this past Wednesday...
 

Ambrosia

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I got mine last Thursday. It was supposed to be Wednesday but my package got delayed for some reason. I was a little worried but the T arrived just fine and healthy. :)
 

octanejunkie

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I got mine last Thursday. It was supposed to be Wednesday but my package got delayed for some reason. I was a little worried but the T arrived just fine and healthy. :)
Wow, probably from the same brood for sure.
Is it your first? You sound fairly knowledgeable and confident :)
 

Ambrosia

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I had one like 2 years ago, it was a pink toe male I got from a petshop. Unfortunately it only lived a few months. I don't know if they took poor care of it at the shop, if it was there a long time and was old (wasn't a sling) or what. But in the short time I had him he was the best pet I ever had. So I've been doing a lot of reading on T care since then to make sure I can do better this time.
 

octanejunkie

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I had one like 2 years ago, it was a pink toe male I got from a petshop. Unfortunately it only lived a few months. I don't know if they took poor care of it at the shop, if it was there a long time and was old (wasn't a sling) or what. But in the short time I had him he was the best pet I ever had. So I've been doing a lot of reading on T care since then to make sure I can do better this time.

That's exactly why we went with a spiderling from a known-good local breeder.

Where are you located, Amber? (I'm taking liberties assigning you a nickname already!)
 

Ambrosia

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Yeah, that's definitely for the best. I wasn't even planning on getting a T that day. I just like to visit the pet shop sometimes because I feel bad for the animals there. I saw the spiders and felt bad for them because I never really saw anyone looking at them so I took one home.
I live in Texas. I actually had my T packed with a cold pack but it's so hot here all the time that when it got here it was just water. lol Hope it helped a bit.
 

octanejunkie

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Glad your little T arrived safe and sound, Amber :)

I'm thinking about rehoming our little T out of the enclosure (2.25" x 2.25" x 4.25") we purchased for it. The T is a bit larger than a nickel.

Our T has burrowed extensively and the burrows are starting to collapse in on themselves - not to mention the surface is covered in piles of dirt from the extensive digging it has been doing.

I'm thinking about a 4.5" round, clear deli cup. I will perforate small holes around the rim and lid, and pack about 1.5" of moist substrate into it along with some moss, fake plantlets, cork bark and leaf litter. I'll also put in a bottle-cap water dish and flat feed dish - we're feeding killed/dying pinhead reds.

Does that sound like "too big" of a home for a little burrower, and, is it too soon to move it? We received it exactly a week ago yesterday.
 

Fleas

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I went to a really small enclosure about 2 x 2 inches wide an 1 inch tall to a 4 x 4 inches wide an 6 inch tall and I tell you he's loving it so far dug all the way to the bottom within 2 days and he was being lazy lol. As long if
IMG_20150716_125851688.jpg
he ate and looking good I don't see why not to rehouse him. a picture is added what is was in and in now he even dug were I wanted him to:D
 

Ambrosia

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A lot of people like deli cups or 6 dram bottles for slings. I don't really dislike the size of my enclosure (I also have the cage Jamie makes) it's just so hard to see my sling through the bark (I used mine) and moss. Also hard for me to tell if he's eating (I went with the fruit flies). Whatever you pick make sure it's wider rather than taller. And the height should only be about the measurement it's leg span. A fall from any higher could be dangerous. Also good ventilation never hurts. :p
 

octanejunkie

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I picked up a bag of Eco Earth today so I'll set up the new enclosure in advance of rehoming. I also picked up a small critter keeper cause its got mad ventillation. Regardless of which container I use, capturing and moving the sling should be interesting.

It's ironic that Jamie's enclosure for terrestrials is tall, like her arboreal unit, rather than wide. Personally, I doubt it will fall if left undisturbed, so I'm not worried about that aspect, yet.

We are feeding B. lateralis, (rusty red roaches) currently 2 pinheads every 3 days. It's easy to see them gone from the food-drop spot cause I'm pre-killing (or mortally wounding) them so they don't scurry about and stress out our T.
 
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Ambrosia

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I have both the arboreal and terrestrial version and they're exactly the same except where the vent is placed. But I'm not worried about my sling falling because it spends all of it's time under ground. Hasn't even tried.
Good luck capturing your sling. I would just wait until it's out of it's borrow then tap it on it's but to make it go forward into the new enclosure. That's how I got mine homed.
 

octanejunkie

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I have both the arboreal and terrestrial version and they're exactly the same except where the vent is placed. But I'm not worried about my sling falling because it spends all of it's time under ground. Hasn't even tried.
Good luck capturing your sling. I would just wait until it's out of it's borrow then tap it on it's but to make it go forward into the new enclosure. That's how I got mine homed.

You have two enclosures, did you get an arboreal too? I want an Avic now, A. versicolor to be exact. Damn MTS fever!

Although our curly-T spends a lot of time in the open, it's not gonna be as easy as you suggest to collect it... as soon as I touch the enclosure it darts for it's burrow. I might just have to leave the old enclosure open inside a larger vessel to see it it will venture out.
 

Ambrosia

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I was actually planning on getting a versicolor but when I went to go buy one they were all sold out. I had bought the arboreal sling and juvenile cages the week before then ended up getting a terrestrial instead. lol Oh well I'll keep them around.

Really? Mine isn't very skiddish and it usually moves fairly slow. Perhaps it's just lazy.
 

octanejunkie

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UPDATE
Our B. albopilosum, Fang, has been doing nicely. (S)he recently moulted (last month) and has more than doubled in size since we got it.

This past weekend it totally re-dug it's enclosure and made a huge open cavern at the bottom of the enclosure with 2 entrances, one small and one large.

I'll post a pic but I'm wondering if I should be thinking about rehousing it soon since it's done so much landscaping in the time we've had it - and it's almost 1/2 the size of the enclosure, leg to leg, but not quite yet.

Will take and post pics later :D
 
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