My 1/6" L. Parahybana sling may be dead.

[TriMac33]

My 1/6" L. Parahybana sling, which I got as a freebie from TarCan may be dead. I fed him a cricket leg 2 days ago and he ate well, always has. I've always provided fresh pipette water droplets on moss as a drinking source and kept the sub dampened. I've had it about a month and a half, and hadn't got a molt out of it yet. I opened its tiny enclosure just now and found it on its front, not in a typical death curl, but completely unresponsive. My eldest son is devastated as this sling was his and mine to care for, but his first introduction to T care. Im noticing some tiny mold spores on the moss. Maybe that was it. Maybe not enough venting in this tiny container...I know some slings this small sometimes don't make it, but did I do anything wrong? I'm so sad. My first sling death with one this small as I usually don't take on slings less than 1/2".

 

[Feral]

I don't have much to give you other than I would guess the cause wasn't dehydration or dry conditions, as he didn't curl and his abdomen looks healthy. I don't keep LPs, but to me your husbandry sounds fine, for what it's worth from non-LP keeper. I don't fret about a couple of spores, but I do personally like more ventalation on pretty much everything, myself, as much ventilation as I can get, but I know plenty of people keep them just fine with that same amount of ventilation as you have. So I don't know.
But really, don't listen to all that, I mostly just wanted to say that I'm very sorry, and that I feel for ya. I'm sorry. Hugs!

 

[TriMac33]

I don't have much to give you other than I would guess the cause wasn't dehydration or dry conditions, as he didn't curl and his abdomen looks healthy. I don't keep LPs, but to me your husbandry sounds fine, for what it's worth from non-LP keeper. I don't fret about a couple of spores, but I do personally like more ventalation on pretty much everything, myself, as much ventilation as I can get, but I know plenty of people keep them just fine with that same amount of ventilation as you have. So I don't know.
But really, don't listen to all that, I mostly just wanted to say that I'm very sorry, and that I feel for ya. I'm sorry. Hugs!

Thank you so much. It makes me feel better to have that secondary input. To me his abdomen looked plump too. I felt I kept him well hydrated. The mold was just starting on the moss. I wasn't sure if a small amount could hurt a sling so tiny. Thankyou for the kind words.

 

[Vanessa]

When I am using vials like that, I always have ventilation holes down the side and never just on the top. The risk of having only top ventilation is that the top of the substrate is constantly drying out and the bottom never does, increasing both your chances of dehydration and mould occurring.
I even put holes below the substrate line, because spiderlings like to burrow and that cuts down dramatically on mould becoming an issue if prey items end up deep in burrows.

 

[TriMac33]

When I am using vials like that, I always have ventilation holes down the side and never just on the top. The risk of having only top ventilation is that the top of the substrate is constantly drying out and the bottom never does, increasing both your chances of dehydration and mould occurring.
I even put holes below the substrate line, because spiderlings like to burrow and that cuts down dramatically on mould becoming an issue if prey items end up deep in burrows.

I figured I maybe should have done that. I guess I assumed with a container so tiny, it wouldn't be necessary. The sub underneath the top layer was dry in this case, however. The mold was just on the moss. I'll put ventilation down the sides of the container from now on, like I do for my fossorials. I usually don't practise that for my terrestrial slings, but I will now.

 

[Feral]

Thank you so much. It makes me feel better to have that secondary input. To me his abdomen looked plump too. I felt I kept him well hydrated. The mold was just starting on the moss. I wasn't sure if a small amount could hurt a sling so tiny. Thankyou for the kind words.

I'm glad. If I can help you feel better in any little way, I'm happy.
I understand the concern about the fungus, especially in this instance where you're looking for a cause. But nah, I can't imagine it would cause any health problems, statistically. I think any fungus types a normal hobbyist would realistically run into in a enclosure in their home wouldn't be parasitic or infectious or otherwise have any direct effect on the animal itself. It's more that a fungal overgrowth is a signal that the thing that allowed the overgrowth to happen could also be the thing to have detrimental effects on the invert in the habitat. Like how poor ventilation can cause both fungus splosion and tarantula health problems. But sometimes people mix up correlation and causation so they worry about 'infectious' fungus unnecessarily.
I'm an all around fan of as much airflow as I can manage. And I also keep the topmost layer of substrate dry.
I think of mold/fungi is more of an indicator of the status and health of the habitat. It seems you had just a little touch of it. I think at least a little happens in about every enclosure, whether we see it or not. Probably often in the form of yeasts and other microscopic bits and bobs. It's when it gets out of hand that it should be a warning to us that something is out of balance, that there's a something that is causing the imbalance and we might need to intervene to correct the underlying cause, by any number of methods, and/or correct the overpopulation of fungi (or any organism). That's how I understand it and apply it, anyway. If it helps you feel better, I'm glad. Take care of yourself and, again, I'm sorry.

 

[TriMac33]

I'm glad. If I can help you feel better in any little way, I'm happy.
I understand the concern about the fungus, especially in this instance where you're looking for a cause. But nah, I can't imagine it would cause any health problems, statistically. I think any fungus types a normal hobbyist would realistically run into in a enclosure in their home wouldn't be parasitic or infectious or otherwise have any direct effect on the animal itself. It's more that a fungal overgrowth is a signal that the thing that allowed the overgrowth to happen could also be the thing to have detrimental effects on the invert in the habitat. Like how poor ventilation can cause both fungus splosion and tarantula health problems. But sometimes people mix up correlation and causation so they worry about 'infectious' fungus unnecessarily.
I'm an all around fan of as much airflow as I can manage. And I also keep the topmost layer of substrate dry.
I think of mold/fungi is more of an indicator of the status and health of the habitat. It seems you had just a little touch of it. I think at least a little happens in about every enclosure, whether we see it or not. Probably often in the form of yeasts and other microscopic bits and bobs. It's when it gets out of hand that it should be a warning to us that something is out of balance, that there's a something that is causing the imbalance and we might need to intervene to correct the underlying cause, by any number of methods, and/or correct the overpopulation of fungi (or any organism). That's how I understand it and apply it, anyway. If it helps you feel better, I'm glad.

Very much agreed. I don't typically struggle with mold in any of my enclosures. It's almost always the darn moss. Maybe I should rethink the moss I'm using. I do feel I should have perhaps upped the ventilation in this particular case, with such a small sling. Part of it was I was just trying to prevent things from drying up so quickly. In this case though, the top layer was damp and the bottom was dry. Who knows. I appreciate your explanation. Correlation and causation are easily confused and it makes sense that mold is merely an indicator of the overall health of how an enclosure is kept. Always a learning curve, this hobby is.