GBB Sling hanging upside down on lid

[ohgodspiders]

I got my first T, a GBB sling a couple of days ago. He just started exploring his enclosure today, climbing on the walls for a couple of hours. I wasn't concerned at first, but he started gravitating towards the top, and for the past 2 hours he's been upside down on the very top of the lid.

I know people say that GBBs are "semi-arboreal", but I'm still concerned. The fall is pretty high from the substrate, and even the cork bark. The sub and bark were higher up, but he was started to web the lid up and I didn't want to keep disturbing his webbing whenever I opened up the enclosure.

He's been in this position for about 2 hours.

Thanks!

 

[Stimpack]

Beautiful spider! I'm jelous I'll expand my T archive very soon (next month or 2 I want to get 2 more). But to my real question, where did you get that container? I could use about 5-10 of those for my small arachnids.

 

[Bender]

I wish I could help the OP, but stimpack I'm almost positive that is a Jamiestarantulas.com terrestrial enclosure.

OP I would think he should be okay, he's new, let him settle down for a while, and probably dont open the top for a little while, just to let him settle in and not bother his web. I wouldnt think he would just fall though. If he gets "stuck" on the mesh screen...this could be a problem, and I would take the top off and flip it over and push him out and back into the bottom of the enclosure. Otherwise just leave him be : )
I hope this helps and I hope I'm not giving bad info, hopefully someone with experience will chime in soon.

 

[EulersK]

I second what Bender said. I just rehoused my 5cm dls GBB sling, and it spent the better part of a week just doing laps around the enclosure. As of two days ago, it finally started webbing up the entrance to its new hide. Yours, I'm sure, will do the same. I've found that my GBB is much more adventurous than my other T's - the rest will make a home out of the first hole they find. Cufflink, as I call the GBB, traces out every inch of the enclosure before settling in. As other have said, just leave it be for awhile, don't disturb it.

Is this your first T? If so, great choice, and welcome to the hobby! You'll learn to stop worrying as time goes on

As a side note, you should plump it up a little! The abdomen isn't small by any means, but a plump sling is a happy sling.

 

[LordWaffle]

At this size, unless they are extremely fat and in premolt, a fall from that distance will be harmless. The real danger for falls is when your T gets heavy enough that it falls without much resistance. As it is, there's enough surface area to mass that falling isn't quite so dangerous. Let the little bugger climb and acclimate to its new environment.

 

[ohgodspiders]

Thanks for the responses. After I made the thread, I noticed some similar threads about upside down T's and read them, and they pointed out that the spiders in question might have too damp substrate. The cocofiber the enclosures came with was moist, so I took the sling out and replaced the substrate with some dry substrate. Hopefully that helps it. I hate moving my sling around though, and changing the contents of the enclosure. It makes me nervous that I'm stressing it too much and I don't want to kill it from being too stressed.

This is my first T and ever since I got it I haven't been able to sleep well, afraid I'll wake up to a dead spider from a stupid mistake. I even had a bad dream last night where I found it dried up under my bed. I immediately woke up and checked on him.

I fed it a small rust red roach nymph yesterday. I don't want to over feed it.

 

[LordWaffle]

My GBB eats and eats and eats. It's okay to feed them a lot. Especially as slings.

 

[ohgodspiders]

My GBB eats and eats and eats. It's okay to feed them a lot. Especially as slings.

I'll probably feed him again tomorrow, I think I'm going to let him get used to his enclosure again tonight. Can a sling eat too much? I know they'll stop if they aren't hungry, but can they keep eating to a dangerous level?

Also, when I fed him yesterday, there was no visible bolus. Is that a reasonable thing to expect with small prey?

 

[LordWaffle]

The smaller the prey, the smaller the bolus. Even with larger prey though, spotting a bolus is kind of a learned skill. It took me awhile to start spotting them regularly. As far as eating I dangerous levels, no they won't eat to the point that they burst or anything. Everyone here has different feeding schedules, but I try to feed babies 3-4 times a week as long as they take food. Some species are more voracious than others of course so it doesn't always work out that way, but that's my target for the tiny ones.

 

[viper69]

I'll probably feed him again tomorrow, I think I'm going to let him get used to his enclosure again tonight. Can a sling eat too much? I know they'll stop if they aren't hungry, but can they keep eating to a dangerous level?

Also, when I fed him yesterday, there was no visible bolus. Is that a reasonable thing to expect with small prey?

First..WELCOME TO THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF TARANTULAS and the AB forum....Get this book http://people.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/g0.html it will answer almost all, if not all, of your beginner questions.

2. This is a VERY hardy species, tough as nails, so it's going to be hard to kill it unless you don't do any research

3. DO RESEARCH..READ READ READ

4. This is a skittish and FAST species, be mindful of that when you interact w/your T (ie feeding, spot cleaning, etc)

5. Learn what the Bag Method is (search this forum) you may need to use it once it gets larger

6. DO RESEARCH..READ READ READ, again trust me

Your questions answered in order of you asking them

a. NO

b. NO

c. YES, though I wouldn't be surprised if there is bolus, but you couldn't find it, tiny prey> tiny bolus

Lastly, this species is a ravenous and ferocious eater and RARELY turns down food. Do not, I repeat, do not, put your young, growing T on some food rationing program (eg feed once a week etc), this is the time a T needs to grow, is meant to grow! Feed them as often as they will eat.

 

[Biollantefan54]

For GBB slings, its ok if the substrate is a little damp. They wonder a lot on the sides. My Gbb sling is always walking around exploring lol

 

[ohgodspiders]

First..WELCOME TO THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF TARANTULAS and the AB forum....Get this book http://people.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/g0.html it will answer almost all, if not all, of your beginner questions.

2. This is a VERY hardy species, tough as nails, so it's going to be hard to kill it unless you don't do any research

3. DO RESEARCH..READ READ READ

4. This is a skittish and FAST species, be mindful of that when you interact w/your T (ie feeding, spot cleaning, etc)

5. Learn what the Bag Method is (search this forum) you may need to use it once it gets larger

6. DO RESEARCH..READ READ READ, again trust me

Your questions answered in order of you asking them

a. NO

b. NO

c. YES, though I wouldn't be surprised if there is bolus, but you couldn't find it, tiny prey> tiny bolus

Lastly, this species is a ravenous and ferocious eater and RARELY turns down food. Do not, I repeat, do not, put your young, growing T on some food rationing program (eg feed once a week etc), this is the time a T needs to grow, is meant to grow! Feed them as often as they will eat.

Thanks for the info. The hard to kill factor is making me feel better. I've read that they're fast and skittish before, and I know that spiders can have different personalities that don't always fit with what they should be like, but so far mine hasn't been very fast or skittish at all. It's actually been sort of difficult to get him to move when I was re-doing the enclosure. I got him onto the cork bark and then placed a cup over it while working on the enclosure and he didn't move at all. He hasn't moved since I put him in the enclosure again.

I'm planning on feeding him tomorrow, hopefully after he gets acclimated to his enclosure again, and I'll try feeding him a couple roaches.

 

[Hobo]

Now, reading your questions it seems you worry overmuch about your GBB sling (from enclosure type to it wandering around, to the dampness of the sub, etc.), and I would like to clarify something, just in case you cannot provide food for it for a day or whatever length of time, and to prevent this thing from becoming another one of those myths.

It is not absolutely necessary to feed your GBB or any tarantula every day, even if it's a sling.

They are not like other more conventional pets that will be malnourished, sick or stunted if they don't get enough to eat (or at least, what you think is enough to eat). They will simply develop at a slower rate and can resume a normal development rate if and when you increase their food intake. They are good eaters yes, but like all tarantulas, they have an extremely low metabolism and are wonderfully adapted for times of famine. A week or two without food won't do an otherwise healthy tarantula any harm. In fact, I can see more harm from constantly keeping a tarantula extremely "obese" all the time with increasing risks from fall injuries, or other mysterious ruptures.

Anyway, to answer your questions here (and on some on other forums as well...):

That enclosure is perfectly fine for your GBB. Do realize that it will use all of the space provided to build a huge mess of web. Don't worry about messing it up when you open it, the spider won't really care. GBBs almost literally crap webs all the time, it can make more.

The reason for it's climbing may be from damp substrate (which is not a huge deal, just let it dry out on it's own), but I'm more inclined to assume that it's just because you got it recently. All tarantulas will wander around for a while before settling in. This period of time can take up to a few months for some, and will include huddled poses along with vertical and upside down climbing. GBBs, being somewhat semi arboreal in behavior, will climb around even after they've settled, laying down silk to create elaborate web structures. The best thing to do is just let it do it's thing and house it accordingly. At that size, a fall won't really be an issue.

While there has never been anything conclusive regarding tarantulas eating until they've ruptured, there are a few instances of very obese tarantulas dying mysteriously (here's a couple to start) and most certainly instances of injuries from falls. In my opinion, if a tarantula can get injured or die from having an overly large abdomen, then should we not try to keep them reasonably fed with a reasonably sized abdomen instead of fed to the point of refusal with an overly large one?
It's really up to you, though.

Feeding it often and/or keeping it warm = faster development, faster maturation and most likely a shorter lifespan

Feeding it less and/or keeping it cooler = slower development, slower maturation and most likely a longer lifespan

Hobbiests do these two things all the time to try and sync their tarantulas so they end up with a mature male and female at the same time.

To those who may question whether or not feeding affects lifespan, I'll leave you with this:



This little male pictured above is currently just about 2" DLS, and is one from a sac I hatched about 2.5 years ago. He's still in his sling clothes. I feed them sparingly and do not provide additional heating.

His brother, which I sold to a fellow hobbiest shortly after they were 2nd instar, matured July of last year. I assume he was fed regularly. He's just about half a year into maturity, but certainly won't live as long as the little guy I have here. And I've heard of people getting their males to maturity in less than a year!

For a female, the time "lost" when feeding them a lot will be a drop in the bucket. For the male, it could represent a huge chunk of time, which could matter for a first time keeper who isn't necessarily interested in getting the mature male ASAP.

To summarize, relax, everything is going to be fine. GBBs in particular are extremely hardy, resilient, and pretty much "bullet proof".