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My Spiderling Won't Eat!

bunnyfluff

New Member
Messages
5
Location
Hertfordshire
Hi. So I'm new to owning a tarantula. I've had my little curlyhair spiderling for about 6 weeks now. She is about 2cm wide and has only eaten once since I've had her (I don't actually know that she's a female!). The coir soil stuff is moist and she seems to have burrowed to the bottom of the little enclosure. It is about 2 inches deep She looks plump and has def grown since I first got her but despite putting crickets in with her every day (taking them out at night) she still hasn't eaten. How worried should I be? Also, can I actually hold her or should I wait until she's bigger? Thanks for your help :)
 

Tarantulafeets

Well-Known Member
Messages
348
Location
Socal
Welcome to the forum!
If it is plump, you shouldn't have to worry about it having to eat, it could be in premolt so I would just leave it alone and keep a full water dish in there (could be a bottle cap). No need to put in crickets every day, it could just be not hungry.
As for handling, I'm normally against it, as it puts unessecary stress on the animal, and there is always the chance that the spider could fall and rupture its abdomen, or the handler gets haired or even bit. I like to think of them as fish, for you to observe and not take out ;)
 

bunnyfluff

New Member
Messages
5
Location
Hertfordshire
Welcome to the forum!
If it is plump, you shouldn't have to worry about it having to eat, it could be in premolt so I would just leave it alone and keep a full water dish in there (could be a bottle cap). No need to put in crickets every day, it could just be not hungry.
As for handling, I'm normally against it, as it puts unessecary stress on the animal, and there is always the chance that the spider could fall and rupture its abdomen, or the handler gets haired or even bit. I like to think of them as fish, for you to observe and not take out ;)
That's great, thanks for that. It seems to have a little tunnel under the soil with a small entrance! I guess it would eat if it was hungry. Good idea about the water, I'll do that now. And good analogy re handling. I think the bigger it gets the less inclined I'll be to even want to!
 

bunnyfluff

New Member
Messages
5
Location
Hertfordshire
I have a parahybana sling that was doing the same it stayed burrowed I tried crickets and millworms then I looked into Dubia roaches so I tried them it worked so my other slings will eat anything but that one will eat dubia
Thanks for replying. I've got dubias which my bearded dragon eats but I suspect they are a bit too big. Can you get small dubias too?!
 

DustyD

Well-Known Member
1,000+ Post Club
Tarantula Club Member
Messages
1,181
Location
Maine
Wherever you buy your dubias you should be able to get smaller ones. Many pet stores sell various sizes of crickets and or dubias. Pictures of your setup and tarantula could help identify any potential issues, but it sounds like premolt or just full, as has been suggested.
 

Tn tarantula

Active Member
Messages
138
Location
Tennessee
Thanks for replying. I've got dubias which my bearded dragon eats but I suspect they are a bit too big. Can you get small dubias too?!
Yes you can 1/4 inch ones and nymps I have the 1/4 inch I went to Dubia .com and found mine I would look and ask around hopefully this some help to you I myself just got into the hobby but there is a lot of people in this forum that is more than happy to help you out
 

Curly Bear

New Member
Messages
5
Location
Wiltshire UK
Slings are prone to bolt and shift so quick. It'll be up your arm and in your earhole in a heartbeat.
If it's got a shiny big butt, it's probably thinking about it's next molt. It can think about it for quite a while.
I generally put a small pre-killed cricket in for a sling once or twice a week. I do it in the early evening and remove in the morning if not eaten. Slings will scavenge, whereas they can be intimidated by live prey.
 

m0lsx

Moderator
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3 Year Member
Tarantula Club Member
Messages
2,012
Location
Norwich, UK
I feed all of my small slings de-headed mealworms & personally, I have never managed to workout if they have eaten or not.

A small sling I assume has a small appetite & thus assume that a few mouthfuls of mealworm would be undetectable.

Don't worry about slings feeding pop dead prey in for 24 hours twice a week, leave it for 24 hours & remove it. I use whole, but de-headed mealworms as they are large, easy to see & remove, so the enclosure is kept clean. And a tub of mealworms is cheap to buy & easy to keep for several weeks, if you top up the porridge. So why use something smaller? In the wild, they would feed on anything they found.
 

DustyD

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Tarantula Club Member
Messages
1,181
Location
Maine
I feed all of my small slings de-headed mealworms & personally, I have never managed to workout if they have eaten or not.

A small sling I assume has a small appetite & thus assume that a few mouthfuls of mealworm would be undetectable.

Don't worry about slings feeding pop dead prey in for 24 hours twice a week, leave it for 24 hours & remove it. I use whole, but de-headed mealworms as they are large, easy to see & remove, so the enclosure is kept clean. And a tub of mealworms is cheap to buy & easy to keep for several weeks, if you top up the porridge. So why use something smaller? In the wild, they would feed on anything they found.
Great points! This is what I usually do as well, although superworms are easier for me to keep. And with one or both ends open, it is easier for the sling to avoid the crunchy coating and get to the creamy, sweet center.
 
Last edited:

bunnyfluff

New Member
Messages
5
Location
Hertfordshire
I feed all of my small slings de-headed mealworms & personally, I have never managed to workout if they have eaten or not.

A small sling I assume has a small appetite & thus assume that a few mouthfuls of mealworm would be undetectable.

Don't worry about slings feeding pop dead prey in for 24 hours twice a week, leave it for 24 hours & remove it. I use whole, but de-headed mealworms as they are large, easy to see & remove, so the enclosure is kept clean. And a tub of mealworms is cheap to buy & easy to keep for several weeks, if you top up the porridge. So why use something smaller? In the wild, they would feed on anything they found.
Thanks for the advice. I didn't realise I could put anything (freshly) dead in there. The enclosure is about 10cmx10cmx15 and it seems to have a little tunnel going under the substrate where it hides permanently. I've never seen my sling above ground. I'll try the mealworms though, I've got loads of those for my bearded dragon.
 

sunset

Active Member
Messages
110
Location
ct, usa
Welcome!!!
I have 4 T. Albo's, all slings. I LOVE the messy curly hairs. 2 burrow, 1 actually hides inside a whole in the cork bark like in a tree lol. And my last one likes it's hide and is fine out in the open sometimes walking about at night. The burrowers I never technically see them, but they burrow in the sides of the enclosure so I can sneak peeks and am lucky that I am able to make sure theyr alive still. It can be nerve racking when something so tiny comes into our care. We are use to feeding a pet on the daily. But Ts are different. They don't need to eat frequently and most prefer to eat at night. I always go by what the T's abdomen looks like for feeding. If it's huge, then I wait, if it's narrow then I feed. I also cut meal worms in pieces to split w any other sling that is ready to eat. I feed around the night time and I leave it in until the next night. Also I have noticed w the Albos, they get dark dark black and very still, slow right before they molt. So even if it's usually skittish, when I open the lid, the T would still just sit on top and not move. Instead of trying to run and hide. .try not to stress. As long as they have access to water, you try to feed it at least once a week, and the temp is at a safe level for the sling to grow , then your doing fine.best wishes. Let us know how it goes. This is one of them right after it's last molt in Jan. 22❤️ I call it sweetie, cause it's always out and never skittish or defensive. So ... Sweet lol
 

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