C. Versicolor sling randomly dead

[Chris Bastien]

Hey guys, I recently got a couple tarantulas a couple months ago, and one of those was a caribena versicolor. It always was an active sling and great eater. Recently it molted and became noticeably more skittish. On top of that, it was only eating dead prey items as well. After a week or two since the molt, I found it to randomly be in a death curl. I know there are several threads on this topic but I understand each situation is different and it is killing me to wonder what I may have done wrong.
I did keep the enclosure well ventilated after reading that these avicularia type species are sensitive to it.
Thanks for any help!

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

SAds strikes again, my a versicolor fell from tubeweb and had a bad molt. Was there any signs of bleeding?

I had dicersipes die for no apparent reason , kept it dry with water dish .

Current pinktoe has been fine for 3-4 years , keep it in a pretzel jar .

Slings sometime die for no reason got a pic of enclosure?

 

[CyclingSam]

A picture of the enclosure would be helpful for us to see.

 

[Chris Bastien]

Yeah this was my first enclosure so it is a little tough . I added the extra substrate to make sure it wasn't too roomie for a small sling.

 

[Greasylake]

I don't know if it's the material, the lighting or something else, but that substrate looks pretty moist. If you've kept the sling overly damp that might have been what killed it.

 

[Chris Bastien]

Yeah it may be a little on the moist side. I just figured the ventilation would take care of it... but I do live in florida which could have added to the high humidity.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Yeah it may be a little on the moist side. I just figured the ventilation would take care of it... but I do live in florida which could have added to the high humidity.

You See any mold? I lost a p irmina once cuz mold and people were skeptical but humid was too high.
Some slings are weak and die for no reason , it happens.

 

[Chris Bastien]

You See any mold? I lost a p irmina once cuz mold and people were skeptical but humid was too high.
Some slings are weak and die for no reason , it happens.

No mold, and I did add springtails to help prevent any. But yeah it's just a bummer because before its molt it was my favorite t lol

 

[KezyGLA]

Stagnant air kills spiders

 

[The Grym Reaper]

SAds strikes again

"SADS" is a myth and the term needs to die, it was coined because people originally thought that Avics and their cousins needed 70-80% humidity in order to survive and trying to create those conditions (by constantly spraying and restricting ventilation) was actually causing them to die in droves in captivity.

Of course, most humans are unwilling to admit that they got something wrong and so "SADS" was born, the mystery syndrome that strikes down Avics that has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that they were being kept in soaking wet stagnant death-traps.

 

[SuzukiSwift]

The amount of ventilation you have isn’t going to compensate for the level of substrate dampness, you also don’t need that much substrate for a versi, even as slings they like to make tunnel webs in high places. They may tunnel into the substrate sometimes but not to that depth

If you try with another one then use about a third that amount of substrate and have a water bowl at the bottom, when you fill it up let it over flow to dampen the substrate. Make sure the substrate is just damp and not actually fully wet. Add a couple of sticks or cork bark for webbing from and you’re golden =)

You can always add more ventilation, can never have too much. But keep the holes the size you have, versi slings can be quite the escape artists

Sorry for your loss =(

 

[Chris Bastien]

Thanks for the responses guys, if I end up getting another I'm just going to cut back on the moisture and see how that works.

 

[cold blood]

That set up is 100% ALL wrong...literally, nothing correct about it at all. Id have been surprised if it would have survived any length of time.

Next time do everything the opposite of this set up.

Minimal substrate to give maximum vertical space...more ventilation...dry sub (this is especially critical both in Fl and with damp sub)...there also should be a vertically placed piece if wood, with the top half of that wood surrounded by plants..

Your set up would have been good for a moisture loving fosorrial, like H. gigas.

 

[Theneil]

Even as a sling they do just fine with completely dry sub and a water dish.

As mentioned above, reduce the sub down to about 30% or less ror the next one. Arboreals tend to do fine with the extra space. In addition to the removal of substrate, i would add some more Leafy stuff/cork bark/sticks so it will have more climbing area/webbing anchor points.

 

[Chris Bastien]

That set up is 100% ALL wrong...literally, nothing correct about it at all. Id have been surprised if it would have survived any length of time.

Next time do everything the opposite of this set up.

Minimal substrate to give maximum vertical space...more ventilation...dry sub (this is especially critical both in Fl and with damp sub)...there also should be a vertically placed piece if wood, with the top half of that wood surrounded by plants..

Your set up would have been good for a moisture loving fosorrial, like H. gigas.

Yeah I only had that much substrate because without it, I would never have been able to find the tiny sling in the large enclosure. But I never realized it was so moist until after it died.
Also I took this picture after I took sticks out of the enclosure which the sling used to web.
And thanks, I'm gonna try different enclosures on the next one!

 

[cold blood]

a 16oz deli cup makes a perfect enclosure

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• cold blood
• Mar 1, 2017

Johnny 2 legs finally got an actual enclosure to enjoy...the recovery process and growth of this...

 

[SuzukiSwift]

Thanks for the responses guys, if I end up getting another I'm just going to cut back on the moisture and see how that works.

That’s great, wish you success in your next attempt. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, it’s much better to be too cautious than not cautious enough

Just a short list to help:

- enclosure with 3-4X sling leg span climbing height and 2-3X width (these are general measurements, can vary slightly)
- dry substrate
- water bowl, can over flow
- lots of cross ventilation
- webbing items such as leaves, sticks, cork bark etc.

When you make a new set up I’d recommend posting a pic on this thread to get feedback.

And remember, everyone makes mistakes sometimes so don’t beat yourself up about what happened. However now that you know what to do, make sure there are no more mistakes =) Then you will have a happy T

 

[viper69]

SAds strikes again

That's a myth, like the biggest T myth ever. Please don't spread that crap around. You might as well tell people Ts need heat mats on the bottom of their tanks.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

That's a myth, like the biggest T myth ever. Please don't spread that crap around. You might as well tell people Ts need heat mats on the bottom of their tanks.

I know I was joking, nice someone caught it.

 

[viper69]

I know I was joking, nice someone caught it.

Couldn’t tell without an emoticon, etc.