Is my sling too fat?

[USS Arachnid]

So I've had a b.vagans sling for a couple weeks now and it seems to be pretty healthy and a ok. But I'm noticing that the abdomen is larger than the carapace. I feed Monday and Thursday each day a small cricket. I'm worried about overfeeding. I fed tonight and tried live and it went right into the burrow, and the cricket lost that wrestling match lol. Anyway I'm kinda scared about overfeeding. Any advice??

 

[miss moxie]

Slings can be fattened up more than sub-adults and adults can. You can post a picture if you'd like a better opinion but I'm sure it's fine. If it's a small meal twice a week thats generally fine for slings.

 

[Flexzone]

For slings and juvies caring a large abdomen isn't as risky as one from a sub-adult or adult specimen since they molt freq and put the bulk of that stored mass into growth. I personally feed slings as much as they can eat.

 

[cold blood]

The natural progression of growth is small abdomen, eating, leading to an eventual fat abdomen, then they molt, and start the process over.

A fatter sling will come through molts carrying more weight, giving them a headstart in the next cycle*. Being fat is part of the growth stragedy of slings.

You simply cannot over-feed a sling....most actually get their fill quickly at very small sizes.

*Important to note, that this is with regards to slings....obese adults also come through molts much much fatter (theyre putting less energy toward growth), but with adults, it leads to a cycle of obesity thats difficult to reverse.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

But I'm noticing that the abdomen is larger than the carapace.

Not a problem, slings can get as fat as they want but I try to keep abdomen sizes of juvies/subadults/adults to 1.5 x the size of the carapace (so they have a bit of junk in the trunk but aren't so fat that they can't lift their abdomen off the floor).

I see very few keepers who stop feeding their tarantulas when the abdomen gets bigger than the carapace until it isn't, that's tantamount to cruelty in my book.

Anyway I'm kinda scared about overfeeding. Any advice??

As already mentioned, you can't overfeed a sling, they will just stop eating once they've had enough to see them through to their next moult, their only purpose at this stage is to get fat and moult until they are large enough to defend themselves from predators.

 

[USS Arachnid]

I'll try to get a picture, but it's been in the burrow for the last few days exclusively, with the entrance still open but smaller. The entrance is almost a vertical drop, so I'm kinda scared it can't get out.

 

[Trenor]

I'll try to get a picture, but it's been in the burrow for the last few days exclusively, with the entrance still open but smaller. The entrance is almost a vertical drop, so I'm kinda scared it can't get out.

It can get out if it wants too. If it's holed up it's likely hiding where it's safe till it's molting time again. They will often do this once they have fattened up enough to make it through the next molt.

 

[USS Arachnid]

so should i skip the Thursday feeding then, and heres a picture of it's size tho

 

[USS Arachnid]

in the photo there are bubble like things that weren't there before, i think he put them their, what are they?

 

[Ztesch]

My Versi has been eating like a champ since I got him.

 

[Ungoliant]

in the photo there are bubble like things that weren't there before, i think he put them their, what are they?

It looks like tarantula drool. (They sometimes drool when grooming.)