5 Dead Slings :(

[CyberSkully]

I am new to the hobby, just got my first 5 slings this week, and they all died 2 days after I got them. I just moved into my apartment and suspect that the living room cabinet I kept them in was full of pesticide. I did not even consider that. My coworkers think I'm nuts because I bought tarantulas, then killed them inadvertently, then cried about it. My coworkers are calling me the black widow.
Now I am scared to death of getting any more.
I had:
Brachypelma boehmei – 1/4" - 1/2” - Mexican Fire Leg
Brachypelma albopilosum - 1/2" - 3/4" - Curly Hair
Brachypelma emilia - 1/4" - 1/2" - Mexican Painted Red Leg
Caribena versicolor (formally Avicularia) - 1/2" - 3/4” - Antilles/Martinique Pinktoe
Grammostola pulchripes - 1/4"-1/2" - Chaco Golden Knee

 

[Mpmackenna]

That sucks. Don't let it stop you from enjoying the hobby. I don't know much about pesticides but maybe there is a way to test for it so you can avoid a repeat occurrence.

 

[Theneil]

That sucks. Don't let it stop you from enjoying the hobby. I don't know much about pesticides but maybe there is a way to test for it so you can avoid a repeat occurrence.

Keep some feeders in there for a week or two befor putting pets in.

I am new to the hobby, just got my first 5 slings this week, and they all died 2 days after I got them. I just moved into my apartment and suspect that the living room cabinet I kept them in was full of pesticide. I did not even consider that. My coworkers think I'm nuts because I bought tarantulas, then killed them inadvertently, then cried about it. My coworkers are calling me the black widow.
Now I am scared to death of getting any more.
I had:
Brachypelma boehmei – 1/4" - 1/2” - Mexican Fire Leg
Brachypelma albopilosum - 1/2" - 3/4" - Curly Hair
Brachypelma emilia - 1/4" - 1/2" - Mexican Painted Red Leg
Caribena versicolor (formally Avicularia) - 1/2" - 3/4” - Antilles/Martinique Pinktoe
Grammostola pulchripes - 1/4"-1/2" - Chaco Golden Knee

Sorry to hear. That is absolutely tragic.

My suggestion to you is to do a VERY thorough cleaning of the cabinet using ONLY soap and water or diluted vinegar solution. Then get some medium crickets (10-20) from the local pet shop and keep them in the cabinet for a couple weeks. To see if they all die or not. If the majority of them survive, then get yourself one or two new slings (Albos or LPs because tragic as any death may be, no reason to hurt your wallet too and those can usually be gotten fairly cheap...) If after a few months and molts the new slings are doing fine, start back up on your wishlist species.

Also, on a side note, If you can post pictures of everything, we may be able to identify any other potential causes of death. If you need advice for keeping the crickets (or some other feeder test subject) just ask and myself and/or somebody else will help out.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

IS It ceder? Got a pic of it very unfortunate, I’ve had pests from outdoor come inside with pesticides like ants before. Maybe use a plastic or metal stand instead?? Dono were you get a pesticide monitoring system or anything good luck!!
Sorry for your loss
I’ve lost a few to suspected pesticides or even Parisites from fruit or phorid flys I think . Tho dks and Ts gettin stuck in molts caused the most .
Don’t give up maybe get your feeders and keep em there a few weeks see .

Even veteran owners have random deaths, which I’ve never lost that many in a week. Struggled with T gigas tho , phorid fly invasion was around that time.
That or it was a sick or parisite infected fruit flys. Really annoying pests!!! And fruit flys are coming back too

That sucks. Don't let it stop you from enjoying the hobby. I don't know much about pesticides but maybe there is a way to test for it so you can avoid a repeat occurrence.

Yeah I had dks spells a few times possibly from outdoor invaders or my mom spraying downstairs for flees.
I didn’t quit and still have decent amounts of spiders left.

 

[Sinned]

Sorry for your loss. That is brutal if you are just starting out. It might of been out of your control though... so I hope you don't give up. Pesticides and slings probably don't go well together. Might of been another issue during shipping/packaging and the temperature maybe?

Most of the T's you ordered are pretty hardy, even as slings (Brachypelma and Grammostola are at least - I'm not that familiar with Avics). Did you notice anything when rehousing them into their enclosures? Your T choices are great for a new keeper, looks like you did some research. If you want to rule it out, you can always post some pics of the enclosures/setup you had. But, 2 days is so short&quick for them to pass because of husbandry errors. I surely made some mistakes, to dry ... to wet and all that, before I somewhat got the hang of it.

There are a lot of experienced keepers on these boards that can help you with most questions and issues you run into. So I hope you give it another go and don't give up yet.

Also, as others pointed out, ignore your co-workers. Easier said then done, I know, but it's easy to make fun of another persons misfortune. Pretty childish of them.

 

[Arachnophoric]

That's rough, but don't let it discourage you. An honest mistake, and now you know for next time. Very sorry for your loss though, losing all five is a really harsh blow.

Next time you get more Ts (and I sincerely hope you do, as you seem to be a very passionate individual) perhaps look into getting a juvenile, as they're significantly hardier than slings the size of the ones listed. That's a very sensitive stage for slings.

Perhaps it could have been pesticides since all of the slings died in such a short period of time, but maybe it'd be a good idea to post images of the enclosures you had the slings in? Just to help rule out other potential causes and give you the best chances on having better results the next go-around.

 

[MintyWood826]

I'm so sorry for your loss!

It could've also been that the slings were doomed when you got them due to the seller.

 

[Greasylake]

Then get some medium crickets (10-20) from the local pet shop and keep them in the cabinet for a couple weeks.

They're crickets, the things will be dead in like 3 days anyway. If OP can keep them alive for more than a week he deserves a medal.

 

[Arachnophoric]

They're crickets, the things will be dead in like 3 days anyway. If OP can keep them alive for more than a week he deserves a medal.

I've kept my small crickets alive for the last five days - do I get a cookie?

 

[PidderPeets]

They're crickets, the things will be dead in like 3 days anyway. If OP can keep them alive for more than a week he deserves a medal.

That was my first thought too. I'd actually opt for putting roaches in there to see how they last. If they die off, you know it's the cabinet.

@CyberSkully, at the rate those T's died off, it could very easily have had nothing to do with you. I'm sorry for your loss either way. Don't give up just yet. It would be a shame to lose you in the hobby when you haven't even really started yet

 

[Theneil]

They're crickets, the things will be dead in like 3 days anyway. If OP can keep them alive for more than a week he deserves a medal.

If kept dry with access to dry food (like dog kibble) and some carrot or water crystal for hydration, Crickets aren't usually to hard to keep.

That was my first thought too. I'd actually opt for putting roaches in there to see how they last. If they die off, you know it's the cabinet.

@CyberSkully, at the rate those T's died off, it could very easily have had nothing to do with you. I'm sorry for your loss either way. Don't give up just yet. It would be a shame to lose you in the hobby when you haven't even really started yet

I suggested crickets because they are cheap and accessible to almost everyone. if they have easy affordable access to roaches, they could be used. Also, since crickets are a bit more fragile i assume (based on absolutely no actual scientific evidence) that they would be more likely to be effected by a lower level of pesticides in a shorter amount of time than roaches. Since the Ts would probably be in the cabinet for several times the feeder insects life, i would worry that constant exposure to a low level could cause an accumulation within the slider causing issues like DKS in the future. Again all assumption and no actual science...

 

[Hardus nameous]

Not sure how you could know what a previous tennant did; but if the apartment complex used any pesticides the landlord should be able to find out what it was. Might not hurt to ask the neighbors if they've been spraying anything lately too.

 

[tewebag]

I feel bad for you, I lost a 1" Ephebopus murinus about a week ago to a bad molt and I still feel bad it died and I've been keeping T's for years.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

If OP can keep them alive for more than a week he deserves a medal.

Do I get medals for buying pinheads and then ending up with a surplus of adults because they've outgrown my slings? Because, aside from the chirping, that was the only problem I had with them. I don't think I ever suffered more than 20% losses from a pack.

 

[Paul1126]

Do I get medals for buying pinheads and then ending up with a surplus of adults because they've outgrown my slings? Because, aside from the chirping, that was the only problem I had with them. I don't think I ever suffered more than 20% losses from a pack.

I'm in the same boat I bought a tub of crickets that's lasted months.
A lot matured out, I did however see a curious death of two crickets.
A headless corpse and mounted on the back of it was a corpse of another cricket....

 

[Thekla]

Well, the first pinheads I bought didn't mature, because the last one was eaten before then, but at least they grew up to nice medium sized crickets.

@OP I'm really sorry for your loss. I hope you can figure out what went wrong and then start anew.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Well, the first pinheads I bought didn't mature, because the last one was eaten before then, but at least they grew up to nice medium sized crickets.

@OP I'm really sorry for your loss. I hope you can figure out what went wrong and then start anew.

Like all my pinheads died in shipping like 13 years ago or so. . Never buy em without lagg. Lost like $30, my fruit fly’s we’re not appetizing to my slings they were all dying too fast total blunder.
Never ordering crickets again

 

[CyberSkully]

Ok, so this is exactly what happened...Got my babies at 11AM, noticed that the package was warm and the ice pack was melted. The babies came in vials. Popped the lids of the vials and the slings just slid out into enclosures, only my Avic moved it's tiny legs. I just assumed they were scared and traumatized from shipment. My daughter videoed the whole thing. I got my enclosures substrate, etc from a top notch online seller here in the US. Very highly recommended. Got the spiderling enclosures which included coconut substrate, moss, silk leaves and cork bark. The actual enclosures measure 3 inch tall/wide by 1 inch tall/wide depending on terrestrial vs arboreal setup. I bought dubia and red runner roaches, grub and meal worms for feeders (which are all doing very well). I wanted to make sure I had a variety in case they preferred one feeder over another. The online seller only has a 3 hour live guarantee and refuses to work with me which has me VERY upset because we had been in constant contact and they knew I was new to the hobby (obsession, LOL).

 

[Ungoliant]

The online seller only has a 3 hour live guarantee and refuses to work with me which has me VERY upset because we had been in constant contact and they knew I was new to the hobby (obsession, LOL).

That's a bummer to lose all five. Likely the packaging just failed to keep them cool enough during the entire transit.

How long after the delivery did you contact the seller?

What kind of shipping did you pay for? (Many sellers only offer a LAG for one-day shipping; some offer for two-day.) Do you know how long they were in transit and how long they sat in your mailbox? (A black metal mailbox in the sun gets hot really fast.)

 

[CyberSkully]