Got my first T. A. Versicolor

[cold blood]

I thought all spiders were motion triggered, kinda like my Scorpions are

Most ts will scavenge prey...I have yet to see any sling that wont...although I will say that small avics (and their close relatives) do key in mon movement very well and hunt well, I never had to pre-kill anything for them...just drop a small cricket in there and it will get it.

Every scorpling I have ever had has eaten pre-killed prey.

I'm aware that the humidity numbers for these aren't accurate. I plan on very lightly misting once per day and keeping substrate moist

no no no no...
I don't think you got what was being said....its not the accuracy of the hygrometer AT ALL, its the fact that it simply does not need to be paid attent to. If you do as "planned", I give it 3 weeks before you are back asking what's wrong with it....or worse, why is it dead?

Your plans equate to a death trap.

 

[cold blood]

Dry sub, high vent, water dish.

Op...do this^^^

 

[Whitelightning777]

There is no humidity gauge in that cage, just too small. I put in many additional vent holes and enlarged others.

If circulation matters, would it be a good idea to put a small usb mini fan about 1 or 2 feet



away from the cage pointed at the air holes at the side?

Air exchange would have to occur, but slowly. I haven't seen this done elsewhere.

 

[Whitelightning777]

I can get some Velcro and a small minibracket to hang a water dish off of the wall, which means that misting daily isn't as important.

 

[Ungoliant]

I can get some Velcro and a small minibracket to hang a water dish off of the wall, which means that misting daily isn't as important.

If you can fit a water dish in there, I would. (Slings can drink from water dishes without drowning.)

 

[Whitelightning777]

Well, I tried setting up the USB fan. The T broke into a happy dance and threw up some webbing. I'll run it a few hours each day, misting when I turn it off.

The 2 crickets I put in were a bit too large. They got haired but not eaten. Since they can't walk up the wall, it's not an emergency to get them out.

I'll have to try fruitflies. Some ants wandered in through the larger air holes. Since there is something in the web, I'm 50% sure she got them.

I'm nervous until I get her eating, big time.

 

[JoshDM020]

Stop talking about misting. Dont mist. How many times has it been said? Its bad enough the pet store ripped you off and made you pay $60 for the sling, you may as well take PROPER care for it so you can actually get your moneys worth. At this rate itll be dead in a week.
No misting.
Dry. Substrate.
DRY.
DRRRRYYYYY.

 

[mconnachan]

Of course, the other advantage is that you can actually see the sling when they open the lid and talk to the people who feed it first.

Their letting anyone interested, randomly throw in prey items for the "mystery T" - I've heard it all now.
Which LPS was this, oh let me guess Petco, PetSmart, one of these it has to be, they're knowledge of tarantulas surpasses that of an infant - avoid these stores like the great plague of London.

 

[mconnachan]

Stop talking about misting. Dont mist. How many times has it been said? Its bad enough the pet store ripped you off and made you pay $60 for the sling, you may as well take PROPER care for it so you can actually get your moneys worth. At this rate itll be dead in a week.
No misting.
Dry. Substrate.
DRY.
DRRRRYYYYY.

follow these simple instructions and you will have a healthy spider on your hands, keep going the way you're doing it, and the T will be dead within a couple of weeks, that test tube thing, looks like a breeding ground for bacteria, dump it - use a water dish, with dry, yes dry substrate. The water dish can be some thing as small as a soda bottle lid. Follow these simple instructions and your T will not only survive it will thrive!

 

[Whitelightning777]

Their letting anyone interested, randomly throw in prey items for the "mystery T" - I've heard it all now.
Which LPS was this, oh let me guess Petco, PetSmart, one of these it has to be, they're knowledge of tarantulas surpasses that of an infant - avoid these stores like the great plague of London.

Rick's fish and pet supply. A person donated their T collection, which means that its not what they get from the wholesale that they used. The sling was obviously from a personal collection, flat delifruit dish, hand written magic marker, other adults in shoebox or sweater box enclosures etc. Normally Rick's only sells adult Ts, usually old world ones due to an employee's asthma problems.

I will redo the cage, first I want to get some fruitflies and see if it'll eat those.

As long as their is a water dish that's all I need is what people are saying. I already basically do that with my scorpions, full dish overflow every 2-3 days and be happy.

Does having a fan moving air help? The T really seems to like it.

I'm going to try to get a feeding response. Then I'll redo the cage. I made a water dish with a bolt liquid nailed underneath to fit into that humidity tube. It should be dry by now, 24 hours have passed.

Originally, the enclosure was an Asian mantis cage.

 

[mconnachan]

Does having a fan moving air help? The T really seems to like it.

It really doesn't make any difference as long as there is air exchange then there's no need to add a fan, the opening and closing of doors and windows, you and family members walking past the enclosures or across the room will give plenty air exchange. There's no need to over think small details like these, but if in doubt it's always best to ask, that's why we're all her to give and take advice.

 

[mconnachan]

Rick's fish and pet supply. A person donated their T collection, which means that its not what they get from the wholesale that they used. The sling was obviously from a personal collection, flat delifruit dish, hand written magic marker, other adults in shoebox or sweater box enclosures etc. Normally Rick's only sells adult Ts, usually old world ones due to an employee's asthma problems.

I will redo the cage, first I want to get some fruitflies and see if it'll eat those.

As long as their is a water dish that's all I need is what people are saying. I already basically do that with my scorpions, full dish overflow every 2-3 days and be happy.

Does having a fan moving air help? The T really seems to like it.

I'm going to try to get a feeding response. Then I'll redo the cage. I made a water dish with a bolt liquid nailed underneath to fit into that humidity tube. It should be dry by now, 24 hours have passed.

Originally, the enclosure was an Asian mantis cage.

This pet shop makes me feel sick, seriously, I feel like I need to go and puke, that's just disgusting. I really hope you're listening to the excellent advice you've been given, we're all here to help not hinder, and please stop spraying there's just no need, as said a water dish and dry substrate is all that is "essential" - good luck, I'm sure you've taken everything on board, and are now fully aware of the simple care you need to give your C. versicolour.

 

[Whitelightning777]

Here is the new enclosure, originally made so I could redo the old one. The sling took one fruitfly immediately during transfer and seemed quite happy there. My first attempt has holes so large the "flightless" fruit flies escaped easily. They flew away of course.

The second attempt was done with just a needle, no soldering iron.

The sling has since taken at least 2 more and has a nice fat belly now!!

I did all transfers in the bathtub. Heck, he or she is so friendly that paint brushes aren't needed.

Yes, I put in a big water dish too.

I taped the new cage to the roof of the old one to prevent accidents. I put a small Rock on it to keep the flimsy lid on tight.

 

[Whitelightning777]

Of course, now my roommate--the ex girlfriend--has to get involved.

I fixed up the larger cage for the juvenile Versicolor when it gets larger. I repurposed the humidity tube for an elevated water dish, cleaned up everything, put in cage decor gluing it in place, taped over the airholes and put in pinholes to keep fruitflies inside etc.

The result is that the ex is adamant that I put the spider, which she named Charlotte, back into the nice pretty big enclosure.

Now, of course, the fruitflies go everywhere in midair even though PetSmart says they're flightless!! I have no doubt that Charlotte can catch food in the larger cage.

Due to nonstop snivelling from the peanut gallery, I gave up and put the sling back in.

There was some initial humidity which dissipated quickly. She walked around one and went back to the exact place she was before almost.

 

[Venom1080]

This is a very frustrating thread. People keep giving you good advice but you seem adament on going through with what you think is best.

Get rid of the fruit flies. Just prekill small crickets. Low vent is fatal for avics. That cage is gigantic , tell your ex to go buy her own frigging spider. Feeding will be a pain in the ass for prekilled in that cage. There doesn't look to many places to attach webbing to either in that cage. And for Pete's sake, let the sub dry out a little. A little moisture doesn't hurt but you need to have high vent along with it.

 

[carterxwr]

Of course, now my roommate--the ex girlfriend--has to get involved.

I fixed up the larger cage for the juvenile Versicolor when it gets larger. I repurposed the humidity tube for an elevated water dish, cleaned up everything, put in cage decor gluing it in place, taped over the airholes and put in pinholes to keep fruitflies inside etc.

The result is that the ex is adamant that I put the spider, which she named Charlotte, back into the nice pretty big enclosure.

Now, of course, the fruitflies go everywhere in midair even though PetSmart says they're flightless!! I have no doubt that Charlotte can catch food in the larger cage.

Due to nonstop snivelling from the peanut gallery, I gave up and put the sling back in.

There was some initial humidity which dissipated quickly. She walked around one and went back to the exact place she was before almost.

That's really quite large for a sling. The cup you had it in before would have been much more adequate for it at that size. Also, please STOP misting the enclosure. It's already been said multiple times before but so many beginners to the hobby end up killing their T's in this way.

 

[Whitelightning777]

I didn't mist it. I think the wood may not have been totally dry after I gave it a final washing out. It was totally clear when I went to work.

Typically, I have to refill the water dish once a day because it's totally dry or 95% dry. If there was no circulation, the water wouldn't evaporate like that.

As long as the sling is eating, everything should be fine. Judging how those flies dispersed in my bathroom, they'll be all over the cage and run right into her, especially if she builds a web. That's a slam dunk.

There is a wood piece and a plastic plant and a water dish to serve as anchor points, again for something larger.

On that wood piece by the side is an area where I could put prekilled stuff high up if necessary. That's one of the things I built into it. It's basically a notch.

In any event, I don't want to go back and forth because that would be even worse. I did have a fly land on the outside of the cage just before leaving for work and she teleported right there.

If she can eat and drink, it's good. Yes, the flies are an annoyance but there are no pinhead crickets in my area.

 

[JoshDM020]

Yes, the flies are an annoyance but there are no pinhead crickets in my area.

You arent understanding. Its not that theyre annoying. Dont use fruitflies because they have NO NUTRIENTS. NONE. Feeding it fruit flies is similar to giving a baby nothing but saltine crackers. It wont work. You dont need pinhead crickets. Just the smallest you can find, with crushed heads. Thats it. Get RID of the fruitflies. PREKILLED small crickets, or even mealworms. No fruit flies, remove the tape from the air holes, and let that substrate dry WAAAYYYY out. DRY. PREKILLED.

 

[Venom1080]

I didn't mist it. I think the wood may not have been totally dry after I gave it a final washing out. It was totally clear when I went to work.

Typically, I have to refill the water dish once a day because it's totally dry or 95% dry. If there was no circulation, the water wouldn't evaporate like that.

As long as the sling is eating, everything should be fine. Judging how those flies dispersed in my bathroom, they'll be all over the cage and run right into her, especially if she builds a web. That's a slam dunk.

There is a wood piece and a plastic plant and a water dish to serve as anchor points, again for something larger.

On that wood piece by the side is an area where I could put prekilled stuff high up if necessary. That's one of the things I built into it. It's basically a notch.

In any event, I don't want to go back and forth because that would be even worse. I did have a fly land on the outside of the cage just before leaving for work and she teleported right there.

If she can eat and drink, it's good. Yes, the flies are an annoyance but there are no pinhead crickets in my area.

You need to have dozens of tiny prey items running around at one time... You don't think your husbandry is off a little bit???
I have never used ***pinhead*** crickets in my life, I've raised 1/6" slings. You do the math.
No it would not be worse. This giant cage with low vent and high humidity is worse.

 

[JoshDM020]

I have never used prekilled crickets in my life

I do for my new 1/4" B. boehmei, but thats because its hard to cut em to appropriate size and keep em alive. And im working on an experiment with growing pinheads so i dont have to worry about it. Much prefer live, but this guy doesnt seem to be able to handle live prey