Aboreal care

[scar is my t]

So today I had a friend over and i wanted to show him my one aboreal t. And right there i found out it was dead.... I did throw a few crickets in before it died. but it never ate one. never came down. i even prekilled the large ones. so im wondering how would i feed one? Im asking this because next time i buy some t's im probally going to by the same species and a p. regalis.

 

[BassAssassin]

Sorry for your loss man. I doubt it died due to lack of food, how old was it? What were the conditions in the tank?

 

[scar is my t]

Sorry for your loss man. I doubt it died due to lack of food, how old was it? What were the conditions in the tank?

It was a sling i had it for 3 months. the tank had coco fiber as substrate and straws as an area for it to make webbing. it was moist and the container had air holes. it was a large deli container from walmart

 

[jbm150]

Sorry man, that sucks. Slings are known for just up and dying. I would imagine there is some sort of underlying cause but it might just be it was a weak one in the batch. Are you absolutely sure it was dead? Sometimes, a T about to molt appears dead, even for a good amount of time

 

[BassAssassin]

Ditto on the last post, slings can be pretty unpredictable. Don't get yourself down. How did it look when you found it? Death curl? Upside down? Just wondering...

 

[scar is my t]

Sorry man, that sucks. Slings are known for just up and dying. I would imagine there is some sort of underlying cause but it might just be it was a weak one in the batch. Are you absolutely sure it was dead? Sometimes, a T about to molt appears dead, even for a good amount of time

didnt move at all it was limp

 

[scar is my t]

Ditto on the last post, slings can be pretty unpredictable. Don't get yourself down. How did it look when you found it? Death curl? Upside down? Just wondering...

neither it was just limp.

 

[Exo]

neither it was just limp.

Was it on it's back?

 

[Mr. Gone]

I'm not sure what your question was????? or if there was a question??

if you are asking a question about your sling that died, it sure would be helpful for you to at least say what species it is. A size estimation wouldn't hurt either.

if you're asking about feeding, i don't know how to answer without knowing what species, how big your sling is, what you're feeding it, how much/how big/how often.

If you're asking about how suitable her set-up is...well i can't tell you much without the aforementioned details, but straws???? you mean like drinking straws? those are awfully smooth for climbing and web anchoring and such. sounds flimsy and poorly suited for a T setup IMO.
Also, and this is just me, i would never put what amounts to TRASH in my enclosures, and honestly I don't see why anyone would.

 

[Moltar]

Real productive Mr. Gone. Anything else to say that might be helpful?

Scar, I'm sorry to hear about your sling, that's a bummer. If it wasn't in a "death curl" and was actually lying on its back it may have been trying to molt. Next time around tou might want to try a smaller enclosure (when I hear "large deli cup" I think of 1 quart size which is on the big size for a sling) also instead of straws maybe you could pick up some plastic plants from walmart. They're only a few bucks. I don't think the straws contributed to the death though.

 

[Dyon]

Avicularia's are known to die instantly without any clue, so if heard.
Probably due to ventilation issues, it would be helpful to tell us which species it was

 

[scar is my t]

well i had a A. avic and it was about .75 inches. The container was not a huge deli container but it would be the taller one that had the same diameter of small deli container. it would probably hold 2 pints. It was not on its back either and when i touched it was very limp and didn't even move. No death curl no nothing. I'm asking how to feed aboreals in general and how to care for them. I ask because i plan to buy a few aboreals next time i order t's.

 

[Mr. Gone]

well i had a A. avic and it was about .75 inches. The container was not a huge deli container but it would be the taller one that had the same diameter of small deli container. it would probably hold 2 pints. It was not on its back either and when i touched it was very limp and didn't even move. No death curl no nothing. I'm asking how to feed aboreals in general and how to care for them. I ask because i plan to buy a few aboreals next time i order t's.

well to some extent it will depend upon the T. Most arboreals seem to fall into one of 2 categories as far as their arboreal-ness is concerned. avicularia and a few others are quite arboreal, usually making their silken retreats entirely above ground, with the tube web snaking through and around plants, or other decor.
most of the other arboreals fall into the second category. their tube webs often are more vertical and continue down into the substrate at the bottom of the web.

either way you can just put the cricket/roach directly in the web. for something that has a tube web going straight down, you can just drop it to them, simple.
for an avic-like arboreal, the tube web can be horizontal and multi-branching, so it could be a bit more difficult, but if you look, you should be able to find an entrance that you can access, if not make one with a chopstick. live food will often run back out though, so the trick is to get it to run down the tube toward the T.

With a sling that small, you'll probably have better luck giving it pre-maimed, or even pre-killed food. this works especially well for avic slings in my exp, I use tweezers and place a still kicking, head-crushed roach juvie at the main entrance, and my A. versi usually comes to investigate/eat, my A. purpurea though I usually can't lure out, so I just leave hers wounded at the entrance and she finds it.

My recommendation is to get your choice of avic, and a Psalmopoeus cambridgei, or any Psalmo really. and this is why: Avics make great starter arboreals, and Psalmos (which are more closely related to pokies) are similar in many ways to pokies, but are a little safer than a pokie, if you have no pokie exp. However, they are very fast, and a little snarky, (much different than an avic) which will give you some experience that will benefit you later with pokies, at least thats what i'm doing.
disclaimer: i am not attempting to demonize pokies, as i do not feel they are that bad. If you do your research, don't freak when they bolt/teleport, and respect them, you should be fine.

Finally, for clarity's sake: I never meant to imply that straws in the enclosure had ANYTHING to do with your sling dying, and I hope you didn't take it that way, as I know someone else did.

 

[Mr. Gone]

Real productive Mr. Gone. Anything else to say that might be helpful?

Wow!

really?

i mean really?

what set you off?

I don't see that I said anything even remotely unkind...

Did you not think knowing more info about the sling would be helpful?

I even prefaced the part that was just my opinion as such.....

so why the sarcasm??

honestly i'm pretty confused...

 

[scar is my t]

well to some extent it will depend upon the T. Most arboreals seem to fall into one of 2 categories as far as their arboreal-ness is concerned. avicularia and a few others are quite arboreal, usually making their silken retreats entirely above ground, with the tube web snaking through and around plants, or other decor.
most of the other arboreals fall into the second category. their tube webs often are more vertical and continue down into the substrate at the bottom of the web.

either way you can just put the cricket/roach directly in the web. for something that has a tube web going straight down, you can just drop it to them, simple.
for an avic-like arboreal, the tube web can be horizontal and multi-branching, so it could be a bit more difficult, but if you look, you should be able to find an entrance that you can access, if not make one with a chopstick. live food will often run back out though, so the trick is to get it to run down the tube toward the T.

With a sling that small, you'll probably have better luck giving it pre-maimed, or even pre-killed food. this works especially well for avic slings in my exp, I use tweezers and place a still kicking, head-crushed roach juvie at the main entrance, and my A. versi usually comes to investigate/eat, my A. purpurea though I usually can't lure out, so I just leave hers wounded at the entrance and she finds it.

My recommendation is to get your choice of avic, and a Psalmopoeus cambridgei, or any Psalmo really. and this is why: Avics make great starter arboreals, and Psalmos (which are more closely related to pokies) are similar in many ways to pokies, but are a little safer than a pokie, if you have no pokie exp. However, they are very fast, and a little snarky, (much different than an avic) which will give you some experience that will benefit you later with pokies, at least thats what i'm doing.
disclaimer: i am not attempting to demonize pokies, as i do not feel they are that bad. If you do your research, don't freak when they bolt/teleport, and respect them, you should be fine.

Finally, for clarity's sake: I never meant to imply that straws in the enclosure had ANYTHING to do with your sling dying, and I hope you didn't take it that way, as I know someone else did.

It had not web that i could put food in... I'm sorry im not making this clear, i was wondering how to feed arboreals if it doesn't have a large enough web.

 

[evicton]

All my avic slings will come down from there webbing and look for food if there hungry. I have few avic adults I tong feed because I enjoy it. If they don't take it right away I remove the head give the head to a sling and leave the feeder kicking close by. My pokies are a bit easier as I can just drop the prey in the hide.

For some species some techniques work better then others.

 

[JC]

My pokies are a bit easier as I can just drop the prey in the hide.

Same, pokies are the only arboreals which I don't have difficulty feeding.

 

[Mr. Gone]

It had not web that i could put food in... I'm sorry im not making this clear, i was wondering how to feed arboreals if it doesn't have a large enough web.
__________________

At first, I would say to just wait for it to settle in and start webbing before you feed. Being an avic, it should web profusely once it settles in, and if it isn't settled in yet, it may not be interested in food.

But then I see where you said you'd had it for 3months. Has it been in the same enclosure this long? If it has, I would say 3 months with no web from an avic is a sign that something is wrong with it, or with the enclosure. (just a guess, but maybe it couldn't build a web on the straws?)

if it doesn't have a web, then all you can really do is put the food on the substrate, and hope the sling finds it. For that method to work you'd need a much smaller enclosure to ensure the sling found it. I personally haven't had any luck doing that, but I keep my slings in a little bigger than average enclosures.

p.s. earlier e-town said it sounded like you had a quart container, and you responded it was 2pints. 2 pints=1 quart

 

[scar is my t]

At first, I would say to just wait for it to settle in and start webbing before you feed. Being an avic, it should web profusely once it settles in, and if it isn't settled in yet, it may not be interested in food.

But then I see where you said you'd had it for 3months. Has it been in the same enclosure this long? If it has, I would say 3 months with no web from an avic is a sign that something is wrong with it, or with the enclosure. (just a guess, but maybe it couldn't build a web on the straws?)

if it doesn't have a web, then all you can really do is put the food on the substrate, and hope the sling finds it. For that method to work you'd need a much smaller enclosure to ensure the sling found it. I personally haven't had any luck doing that, but I keep my slings in a little bigger than average enclosures.

p.s. earlier e-town said it sounded like you had a quart container, and you responded it was 2pints. 2 pints=1 quart

Ive been out of school for 2 months my brain has turned to mush :razz: :wall:. I was going by that a pint of milk wouldn't be big enough to fill the container... But oh well

 

[Mr. Gone]

Ive been out of school for 2 months my brain has turned to mush :razz: :wall:. I was going by that a pint of milk wouldn't be big enough to fill the container... But oh well

understandable, if we just used metric like the rest of the world, you wouldn't have to remember a bunch of random equivalents like that, LOL!