How long is too long between sling feedings?

[FangsAndFur]

I have an A. Geniculata sling. They were tiny very small when I received them, and I've had them for about 2 months. I'm in a situation where my sling may end up going about 3 weeks without eating. Is this too long?

Let me explain how this happened. Two weeks ago I feed the sling a pre-dispatched cricket that was about the same size as the sling. The sling munched on the cricket and its abdomen blew up crazily. This was a good thing. I wanted to wait for the abdomen to come down in size before feeding again, and this ended up taking about a week. So one week ago I attempted to feed sling another similar sized cricket, and the sling refused to eat. Turns out they were in pre-molt.

I left the sling alone, and this morning (a week later) the sling has molted and looks beautiful. From everything I've read and understand it is best to let the sling's new exoskeleton harden up for about a week before feeding after a molt.

So the problem with this is- its already been two weeks since the sling has last eaten. If I wait a week it will be three. Is this okay??

 

[Lawrence b]

They should be okay seems like you been feeding them ok . Just Keep them Hydrated they should be good .

 

[m0lsx]

Tarantulas are ambush predators, that is in the wild they opportunist eaters, who eat when food presents it's self in front of them. So in the wild they can go long periods between meals. So a couple of weeks between meals, will be well within the norm for a sling.

Personally, I always feed my slings beheaded mealworms twice a week. Beheading a mealworm stops it from burrowing & potentially returning weeks later as a beetle. It also means the soft inner is easily available. And using a whole mealworm makes it easy to find & remove.

 

[FangsAndFur]

Tarantulas are ambush predators, that is in the wild they opportunist eaters, who eat when food presents it's self in front of them. So in the wild they can go long periods between meals. So a couple of weeks between meals, will be well within the norm for a sling.

Personally, I always feed my slings beheaded mealworms twice a week. Beheading a mealworm stops it from burrowing & potentially returning weeks later as a beetle. It also means the soft inner is easily available. And using a whole mealworm makes it easy to find & remove.

Cool, thank you for the info. Out of curiosity, where do you get your mealworms? I wonder if its okay to feed mealworms that are purchased at bait shops?

 

[m0lsx]

I get my mealworms from local pet shops. But I did use my local fishing shop for maggots, when I kept preying mantis & needed maggots. I know with maggots, some were dyed & not all shops fed them the same.

Mealworms in general keep well for several weeks. So don't discount mail order. Buy the cheapest supermarket porridge you can & keep plenty in the bottom for them to move around in & eat. If the bran gets dusty, sieve it & buy some raisins, if you do not have any in the house & offer them some food.

Mealworms like things such as carrots, but that goes mouldy. So after some advice from this board, I started using raisins.