A. Hentzi

[Titandan]

Hi guys and gals,

I am at a loss. I don't know why but two of my A. Hentzi slings passed away within a couple months from each other. I have read that Hentzi's grow at a slow rate so I haven't forced these slings to eat. I've been trying to be as patient as I could with them. I left the smallest crickets I could find in their for them to eat and they either ate or most of the time, either ran away from the cricket or ignored it and stayed in their burrow.

All of my other T's are thriving and growing pretty quickly. But two of my Hentzi's died and as soon as they die, there are these mites that ate the carcass. I am not understanding why this is happening with only my A. Hentzi's. Is there a special way to care for these T's? Now I'm down to my last one.

Any advice will be appreciated.

 

[PanzoN88]

I don't have this species yet (until next week), so i could be wrong, but deep, dry substrate, and a water dish if enough room for one, if not a few drops of water to the substrate will suffice.

Pictures would be quite helpful (enclosure, remaining sling).

I feed my slings prekilled prey.

 

[Spidermolt]

This species is very easy to take care of just keep them like Grammostolas. Plenty of dry substrate, water bowl, several hides and you should be good to go.

Do you have any pictures of their cages?

BTW 5 years later and mines still only 2.5"

 

[Teal]

I'm sorry for your losses
Photos of the remaining sling and its enclosure (if the set ups were the same) will let us see if anything was incorrect with your husbandry, but also some slings are just genetically weaker and not destined to live.

As for the mites, they are beneficial clean up crew that only consume dead matter... they did not contribute to the demise of your slings.

 

[Titandan]

Thanks for all your replies... I will try to get a picture up tonight. Hope my phone cam can capture the tiny sling and the enclosure.

 

[antinous]

How large were they? Some small slings aren’t just meant to survive sometimes.

 

[Titandan]

Pretty small. I bought it at 1/4" but it's probably 1/8" Probably about the size of the Tarantula eggs. lol

 

[Titandan]

Here are some images. Not sure it's clear because I took it with my phone in bad lighting.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Hi guys and gals,

I am at a loss. I don't know why but two of my A. Hentzi slings passed away within a couple months from each other. I have read that Hentzi's grow at a slow rate so I haven't forced these slings to eat. I've been trying to be as patient as I could with them. I left the smallest crickets I could find in their for them to eat and they either ate or most of the time, either ran away from the cricket or ignored it and stayed in their burrow.

All of my other T's are thriving and growing pretty quickly. But two of my Hentzi's died and as soon as they die, there are these mites that ate the carcass. I am not understanding why this is happening with only my A. Hentzi's. Is there a special way to care for these T's? Now I'm down to my last one.

Any advice will be appreciated.

Sorry it Happens to even the best.
I lost a g puchripes & c Marshali for mystery reasons to . Maybe some are just weak and need taken more strict care of. I’m still sad tho over just these losses , t gigas I had issues too also with years ago.
You could add some moss to hide in , a bottle cap ? Or something to climb on like a fake leaf looks fine otherwise.
Not sure how small sling You can give waterdish I given all over 1” one.

 

[Titandan]

Thanks for the response, Ultum4Spiderz!

I would like to give him a water dish but a bottle cap is literally like a swimming pool for him/her... lol Can they drown in their?

I think have given them pre-killed food multiple times but each time, they don't eat it and the food just feeds and helps multiply the mites in the enclosures. I don't want to get fruit flies because petco is the only place I know that carries and it's so expensive for the small amount of fruit flies that come with it. I will try to keep a closer eye on this one...

 

[antinous]

Pretty small. I bought it at 1/4" but it's probably 1/8" Probably about the size of the Tarantula eggs. lol

At that size they’re very susceptible to drying out. I would make sure the substrate doesn’t get fully dry and have at least one side moistened, and as always, sure there is a water dish as wel.

 

[Greasylake]

I would like to give him a water dish but a bottle cap is literally like a swimming pool for him/her... lol Can they drown in their?

Tarantulas won't drown in a water dish, they can swim surprisingly well and they form a little air bubble around their bodies when they float around.

 

[Titandan]

Thanks! I'll look to put in a bottle cap for my enclosures.

 

[Teal]

Did any of them burrow at all? I *never* see my A. hentzi sling. I leave a prekilled prey item outside one of the burrow entrances and it will disappear overnight. I also keep mine on rather damp sub than I would a larger Aphonopelma specimen.

Good luck with your remaining one!

 

[Titandan]

I just got some rather small P. Sazimai's (Brazilian Blue) as well! I definitely don't want those to dry out. I'll try to get a bottle cap for all my little T's now. Thanks for the input, fellas!

 

[Spidermolt]

Just a random tought. With a 1/8" sling they weren't 1st in stars right?

 

[Vanessa]

If they were 2i, as I am sure they were because that is when they start to eat on their own and nobody is selling them prior to that, then they would have been about 1/4" minimum. They would not have been as small as 1/8". That is the size that 2i for much smaller species are, but not this one.
I would keep them in much smaller enclosures at that size - I still use vials until they are, at least, 1/2". It is far easier to regulate keeping them a bit damper at that size. I would move your remaining spiderling to a smaller enclosure until they are about an inch. Then, they will do better in that one.

 

[Titandan]

If they were 2i, as I am sure they were because that is when they start to eat on their own and nobody is selling them prior to that, then they would have been about 1/4" minimum. They would not have been as small as 1/8". That is the size that 2i for much smaller species are, but not this one.
I would keep them in much smaller enclosures at that size - I still use vials until they are, at least, 1/2". It is far easier to regulate keeping them a bit damper at that size. I would move your remaining spiderling to a smaller enclosure until they are about an inch. Then, they will do better in that one.

Thanks Vanessa! I will look for a vial to put it in!