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Really small slings.

m0lsx

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I took delivery of two really small slings earlier in the week. They are Cyriocosmus elegans & certainly much smaller than any 0.5cm sling I have ever kept. They are so small that they are almost invisible to the naked eye on substrate unless they move & even with a magnifying glass, they can be difficult to spot, if they are still.

Last night I removed part of a mealworm & almost lost one of the slings as it was on the mealworm, but not visible until it moved, after I had placed the mealworm on some kitchen roll.

Is there a better & safer way of keeping such small slings, than on substrate?
 

ilovebrachys

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What sort of enclosure are you using for the slings? Although they are tiny we've found it better to use a tiny deli cup for them rather than a vial.. There's just enough room to put a small piece of bark and a tiny leaf and a tattoo ink pot for a water dish
They soon set up home and make a burrow under the leaf or bark and its easier to deal with them in this kind of set up - that's just our experience with it :)
We also feed tiny slings like that a crushed bean weevil as they find it easier to feed on instead of a mealworm piece or cricket drumstick :)
 

Arachnoclown

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I use tiny vials with tiny terrestrial spider...never had a problem. Always able to find them pretty easily and feed.
20180121_102359.jpg
20180121_102433.jpg
 

m0lsx

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I use tiny vials with tiny terrestrial spider...never had a problem. Always able to find them pretty easily and feed.


This is what I am using & they are so small, that they just do not show up on the substrate, unless they are moving.
 

m0lsx

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What sort of enclosure are you using for the slings? Although they are tiny we've found it better to use a tiny deli cup for them rather than a vial.. There's just enough room to put a small piece of bark and a tiny leaf and a tattoo ink pot for a water dish
They soon set up home and make a burrow under the leaf or bark and its easier to deal with them in this kind of set up - that's just our experience with it :)
We also feed tiny slings like that a crushed bean weevil as they find it easier to feed on instead of a mealworm piece or cricket drumstick :)

The crushed bean weevil is a great idea & I have loads of them. Body wise the slings are smaller than a bean weevil. What size delicups do you use, as I do not think I have seen any the same floor size or smaller than a vial & a vial is a huge floor area for these.
 

Konstantin

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Hi
have a look at 1oz deli pot.
I find it ok for terrestrial slings of any size.1 cm of substrate inside and they still can fluff it up and burrow .
I kept my newly hatched T albos on damp paper but needs replacing as gets mould after a bit.
T albo comunal.lol
20200529_093222.jpg


Pseudhapalopus sp colombia
20200714_144741.jpg



Cyriocosmus elegance the largest of the bunch
20200804_180432.jpg



Neischnocolus panamanus (Ami sp Panama)
20201007_180614.jpg

Everyone gets pre killed cricket hatchlings every 4 days.

Regards Konstantin
 

Enn49

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@m0lsx I can sympathise. I almost had an escapee last night as one of my tiny slings made a bid for freedom. It is in a 1" vial and has usually been hiding under the cork bark but last night it was sitting on top, perfectly camouflaged and still, I just opened the lid a fraction to check on it and the little one erupted into action and I was only just quick enough to close the lid before it escaped.
 

Jeremy-psychonaut

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What sort of enclosure are you using for the slings? Although they are tiny we've found it better to use a tiny deli cup for them rather than a vial.. There's just enough room to put a small piece of bark and a tiny leaf and a tattoo ink pot for a water dish
They soon set up home and make a burrow under the leaf or bark and its easier to deal with them in this kind of set up - that's just our experience with it :)
We also feed tiny slings like that a crushed bean weevil as they find it easier to feed on instead of a mealworm piece or cricket drumstick :)
I just got a bunch of the Tattoo ink pots they work great
 

ilovebrachys

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The crushed bean weevil is a great idea & I have loads of them. Body wise the slings are smaller than a bean weevil. What size delicups do you use, as I do not think I have seen any the same floor size or smaller than a vial & a vial is a huge floor area for these.
We use 1oz deli cups for the tiny ones like @Konstantin has mentioned.. Ours have different lids from the ones shown above - I take no credit for any of our enclosures as @Rs50matt makes some fantastic enclosures for our Ts and it was his idea to use these deli cups instead of vials.
Here's a couple of pictures to show size in comparison to a vial and a picture of the little set up he has created for them (H.sp columbia sling is the occupant) :)
IMG_20201018_154534.jpg
IMG_20201018_154807.jpg
 

Turtlynne

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I was just thinking...I have a few spiders in my bathroom about the size you describe...they STAY PUT in the corners and I feed them fruit or drain flies...no escapees here.... LOL
 

Konstantin

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And they can still dissappear in it.I havent seen one of mine for 2 + months but it kicks moults out now and then and pray seems to get eaten so all good.lol
It makes me proper mad when they burrow in the middle of the thing and I dont have peep hole ;)
 
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