My First Sling!

[foritxxar]

Hello everyone! I'm brand new to the hobby and thought I'd join a community. Two weeks or so ago I caught a crab spider and became fascinated with it. I released it but not before it led me to hours of research on spiders. One week later I ordered my first T from an online breeder. I just got my tarantula the day before yesterday, a grammostola pulchripes (chaco goldknee) sling about 1-1/2" from Jamie's T's. I've named it Nugget until the gender becomes clear. Right out of the shipping vial Nugz had all kinds of personality and started doing a little wiggly dance (swaying side to side while raising and wriggling it's abdomen). It was so odd that I wanted to ask about it. Has anyone else experienced this?

Since then it's taken up residence under it's hide log and hasn't come out. I can't wait for it to come out and show off those fangs for the lats I'm culturing.

I also wanted to see if anyone had any advice for me. I know slings are best left to those more experienced but I couldn't help wanting to watch it grow from a 1" bitty bug to a 8" monster.

 

[Logan D]

welcome to the forum and the addiction tht wont be your only t give it time and you will have more i will be up to 16 tomorrow and let me say tht t is on my to get list awesome choice just keep the enclosure moist so it can stay hydrated dont provide a sling tht small a waterdish cause it could drown and feed it pin heads 2 twice a week or once i feed mine twice keep the temps between 65 and 78 degrees and 55 to 65% humidity

 

[Logan D]

provide it with a decent amount of substrate so if it wants to borrow it can

 

[Logan D]

here is a care sheet link for you http://www.mikebasictarantula.com/Gram-pulchripes-care-sheet.html

 

[MatthewM1]

When it wags its abdomen back and forth its laying down silk

1 1/2" is plenty big enough for a water dish. I like to use water bottle caps for that size. You don't need to worry about T's drowning.

Slings are very easy to care for, no great deal of experience needed. Alot of people over think them. I highly recommend picking up or ordering a copy of the tarantula keepers guide by Stan Shultz. The 3rd edition is the newest and the 4th is in the works last I knew.

Oh and welcome to your new addiction

 

[foritxxar]

Thanks for all the tips! I have its enclosure nearly filled to the top with substrate so the little bugger should have plenty of room to dig I also put a little cap in there for water with some pebbles inside so it can crawl out if necessary.

I hope I get to see it lay more silk, then, cause that was adorable I'll have to order a solid book. My girlfriend is very curious about it all so it'll give us both a good place to start.

Thanks for the welcome!

 

[Martin Oosthuysen]

Hello everyone! I'm brand new to the hobby and thought I'd join a community. Two weeks or so ago I caught a crab spider and became fascinated with it. I released it but not before it led me to hours of research on spiders. One week later I ordered my first T from an online breeder. I just got my tarantula the day before yesterday, a grammostola pulchripes (chaco goldknee) sling about 1-1/2" from Jamie's T's. I've named it Nugget until the gender becomes clear. Right out of the shipping vial Nugz had all kinds of personality and started doing a little wiggly dance (swaying side to side while raising and wriggling it's abdomen). It was so odd that I wanted to ask about it. Has anyone else experienced this?

Since then it's taken up residence under it's hide log and hasn't come out. I can't wait for it to come out and show off those fangs for the lats I'm culturing.

I also wanted to see if anyone had any advice for me. I know slings are best left to those more experienced but I couldn't help wanting to watch it grow from a 1" bitty bug to a 8" monster.

Hello and welcome,hope you enjoy your time here feel free to ask any questions.

 

[hellknite]

Welcome aboard. Please feel free raise your queries. Nice choice of T to start with. I currently have 3 chaco golden knees. 2 adults and 1 sling. They're the most docile of all T's I have.

 

[Christell Erasmus]

Hi there,
Welcome to the hobby and to the forum. I bet you will see your T lay down silk many more times. All of mine does it right after feeding. I call it their little happy dance. Please post some pics, would love to see your little guy.

 

[foritxxar]

Here's a picture of the little fella. It's my first attempt at handling. It's incredible how docile they can be, it just crawled right onto my hand with minimal nudging. Definitely glad I picked a chaco.

 

[Christell Erasmus]

How cute is he....
Chaco's are great. I love mine. Please just take the right precautionary measurements when handling your tarantula to ensure that cute little guy don't get hurt.

 

[Talmon Glidden]

Wow isn't it so cool that just finding a little crab spider can lead to joining a whole new hobby and community? I've been so fascinated with spiders all my life and just got my first T a couple weeks ago.