Enclosures for my slings

[BrittanyDelafuente]

Hello I'm new to caring for slings (I have a mature Lasiodora parahybana that came with my husband) we just got another Lasiodora parahybana and a Brachypelma albopilosum both of which are about dime sized. I made up these enclosures today and wanted to get some feedback on them if they needed anything else added. I made little tunnel hides for them and placed a piece of bark with a leaf attached to hide under as well.
Thank you for any help!

 

[Whitelightning777]

Bravo!!

They look great, nice and crystal clear and decorated tastefully. Tarantulas are pretty adaptable and usually get settled in to be fed.

Unless a tarantula looks severely under fed, wait a few days to a week before feeding & always use a water dish.

 

[BrittanyDelafuente]

Thank you so much for the help! My husband just got them and will be bringing them home soon. I'm so excited!

Bravo!!

They look great, nice and crystal clear and decorated tastefully. Tarantulas are pretty adaptable and usually get settled in to be fed.

Unless a tarantula looks severely under fed, wait a few days to a week before feeding & always use a water dish.

 

[Whitelightning777]

Gotta have pics!!

 

[cold blood]

Gotta disagree.

The #1 biggest mistake with regards to sling housing is using an enclosure thats too large and/or too well appointed.

This set up is both....which will lead to excessive hiding and burrowing...which leads to a poor(er) feeding response and a sling thats nearly impossible to monitor. Growth rates IME are 4-5 times slower in such enclosures.

I always suggest keeping things simple for NW terrestrial slings...a simple condiment cup works great...just keep part of the sub damp, and when it dries add moisture.

IMG_0472

• cold blood
• Feb 7, 2017

Keep your small terrestrial slings like this.

 

[BrittanyDelafuente]

Gotta disagree.

The #1 biggest mistake with regards to sling housing is using an enclosure thats too large and/or too well appointed.

This set up is both....which will lead to excessive hiding and burrowing...which leads to a poor(er) feeding response and a sling thats nearly impossible to monitor. Growth rates IME are 4-5 times slower in such enclosures.

I always suggest keeping things simple for NW terrestrial slings...a simple condiment cup works great...just keep part of the sub damp, and when it dries add moisture.

IMG_0472

• cold blood
• Feb 7, 2017

Keep your small terrestrial slings like this.

At what size do you suggest before putting them in something like mine?

 

[BrittanyDelafuente]

Gotta have pics!!

View attachment 277358

View attachment 277359

This is one of my new ones. I don't have a picture of the other one he is post molt and is hiding my husband has them and will be coming home with them in a couple of weeks.

 

[cold blood]

At what size do you suggest before putting them in something like mine?

1.5" ish

 

[Whitelightning777]

With slings the bottom line is can they find the feeders and water dish within 24 hours. If yes, the cage size is fine. If no size it down. There's no magic number like dls x whatever variable is in fashion etc for a sling cage.

If a sling has a high prey drive, you can use something bigger. A geniculata or Lasiodora sling of 2" will function just fine in a 5 gallon. They'll hit it clear across from one side to the other.

Others might not. This is one case where you just have to know your individual and species on a case by case basis.

If you have arboreals and they have a web tube, size almost doesn't matter if you drop in feeders with the tongs.

Rehousing is a high stress high risk thing and it's best to minimize it if possible. This is even more true with the very fast or aggressive or defensive species.

 

[BrittanyDelafuente]

Hey guys I also got a G. Pulchra sling at a local reptile show and set him up in one of the enclosures. I ended up having a mold issue with the bark/wood pieces so I took them out and added these little plastic containers for a "tunnel" I think it works great and he is really liking his space.

 

[Whitelightning777]

Tubes can work as burrows but they should be open at both ends or cut in half so that they can burrow into the substrate. If they can't go back and then burrow, they might get stressed out.

 

[BrittanyDelafuente]

Tubes can work as burrows but they should be open at both ends or cut in half so that they can burrow into the substrate. If they can't go back and then burrow, they might get stressed out.

I took your advise and cut off the back of the tunnels. All of my babies are doing amazing, eating wonderfully and molting great.

Thank you for all the help

 

[Sicarius1]

Gotta disagree.

The #1 biggest mistake with regards to sling housing is using an enclosure thats too large and/or too well appointed.

This set up is both....which will lead to excessive hiding and burrowing...which leads to a poor(er) feeding response and a sling thats nearly impossible to monitor. Growth rates IME are 4-5 times slower in such enclosures.

I always suggest keeping things simple for NW terrestrial slings...a simple condiment cup works great...just keep part of the sub damp, and when it dries add moisture.

IMG_0472

• cold blood
• Feb 7, 2017

Keep your small terrestrial slings like this.

I'm going to have to slightly disagree with the growth rate @cold blood .Though I do agree with the monitoring /feeding factor he mentioned. But then again you did say the slings were still small. Those enclosures would, in my opinion work better for a 1-2" sling. Either way when they do reach the appropriate size for those enclosures they will be living in luxury.

 

[BrittanyDelafuente]

I'm going to have to slightly disagree with the growth rate @cold blood .Though I do agree with the monitoring /feeding factor he mentioned. But then again you did say the slings were still small. Those enclosures would, in my opinion work better for a 1-2" sling. Either way when they do reach the appropriate size for those enclosures they will be living in luxury.

I put them in these enclosures as soon as they came home and they are doing great. They find their food really quickly and love their hides. They molted before my hunny brought them home and all are currently molting so they are over an inch now.
Thank you for the nice suggestions and comments I know a lot of people dont "decorate" their enclosures but my babies love their leaves more then anything. I currently have four slings and all but one has decided to molt under their leaf and make it their burrow.

 

[cold blood]

I'm going to have to slightly disagree with the growth rate @cold blood .Though I do agree with the monitoring /feeding factor he mentioned. But then again you did say the slings were still small. Those enclosures would, in my opinion work better for a 1-2" sling. Either way when they do reach the appropriate size for those enclosures they will be living in luxury.

My reference was to small slings. By the size you mention is becomes a non issue.