My first A. geniculata 0.0.1. sling

[Goljat]

Hi,

Nice to see forum like this full of information. I am about to own my first T and I have a couple of questions. They might be stupid but I will take a risk and ask them/it.

Spider which I will own: Acanthoscurria geniculata. Sling. sex unknow.

Well, owning a sling I think I m more stressed cause I am scared to kill it. I think when they are small, young, you need to be more careful and concider more about living conditions and food. Some said that A.geniculata is good choise to be first T and it will forgive more than some other species. My terrarium is ready and I think I totally got what kind of space it needs but I am thinking how many times you guys are feeding Slings and how much they eat at one time? I started to grow meal worms (not sure who you called these) and I know I can already give small ones, maybe need to crush their heads, to T but is there any number how many and how often it will eat? I heard like two days between foodtime. So every 3rd? Of course it depends on size and so on but is there any common advice to give? Also do you keep some place in terrarium quite wet, like one corner etc.? I asked this cause some people are spraying with water, some say never do that aso. I know it need higer humidity than we have normally inside a house. So is it cool to keep one corner wet, some space dry and T will find the palce he likes to be at that moment.

Yeah, about eating habbits is only thing is making me cray cause, and I am writing from Finland, in every page or forums they have a little bit different guides how to do it.

Okeyh, thanks!

And really, nice forum guys! :worship:

 

[Obelisk]

A. genic is a great choice. For a sling, just keep the whole enclosure moist, and deep enough to burrow of course. They need the moisture more when they're at the sling stage (but try not to have it moist enough that a lot of water drips down if you were to take some of the substrate and pinch it).

Their metabolism varies depending on the temperature, so there really is no set schedule for feeding them. It's best to pay attention to the size of their abdomen, and use that as a guide. You can start off by feeding it once or twice a week. I would give it more than what it looks like it can eat (half or a quarter of a mealworm, depending on the size of the sling), then remove the uneaten portion the next day.

 

[Goljat]

Thanks! :worship:

Now I think I don´t have questions left. But just waite after owning it a while I will have thousands more questions to ask. So main thing is keep substrate, not too much but still, moisture and give food like once/twice in a week.

Well, eating habbit is something I will learn after a while and as you said, no-one cannot say like specific schedule. Every T is like a person, so I totally had view that they might eat this much, other this much. So I will do my best and if something will pop up in my head, I know the place asking help!

Thanks man!

And of course this topic is free to give a like common tips living with A.geniculata so please feel free to comment.

 

[rockrox1]

Welcome to the hobby... my first Ts are genics and smithis. Geniculata is a great beginner specie and it is fun to watch when eating since it is an aggressive eater. I just fed mine one small worm every other day. The only time it would not eat is when it is in premolt. it is a T with a good growth rate. I bought my 0.5cm sling last november and now it is about over 3 inches big. Just get ready because of it gets a little aggressive when it grow. That doesn't bother me since I don't handle my Ts... Goodluck!!! Get ready to buy more Ts...soon...

 

[Obelisk]

Thanks! :worship:

Now I think I don´t have questions left. But just waite after owning it a while I will have thousands more questions to ask. So main thing is keep substrate, not too much but still, moisture and give food like once/twice in a week.

Well, eating habbit is something I will learn after a while and as you said, no-one cannot say like specific schedule. Every T is like a person, so I totally had view that they might eat this much, other this much. So I will do my best and if something will pop up in my head, I know the place asking help!

Thanks man!

And of course this topic is free to give a like common tips living with A.geniculata so please feel free to comment.

No problem!

 

[Goljat]

Well, someone told me he is giving food to every 2nd day but as I mentioned I think I will find my day chedule fast But thanks for answer! I don´t mind, and I knew, that A.geniculata (like every spiders) is/are not like pet you can be with. You know. I have two dogs and a turttle so they are giving me enough attention and I can play with them as much as I want But something in Ts life made me interested. That is why I, after a while, decided to take one.

Like molting and eating and not eating, managing without food for a long time and so on are so different than with my other pets. And also Ts are so beautiful, in my opinion. I know many of my friends will stop coming to my place. I am sure! But that´s fine for me. But I really hope I can get trough this baby time cause I have been reading many "horror" stories how they died fast. And not because bad caretaker, but like molting went wrong etc. But that is life and I think it is one thing more which makes these animals more interesting. They are not like aquarium fishes. Just give a food and sometimes chance water. (Well, I don´t say that fishes are any duller or easier than other animal but..)

Well, I will get back to you when baby is safety home and living in own palace. And of course I`ll get back when I am scared everything. Why it is climbing up? Why it is not eating? Why? why? haha.. Just kidding..

But yeah, Need to get ready and about to heading back to home from work. Have a great weekend!

 

[gambite]

I bought a .5" A. genic sling a while back, and ended up killing it because I was caring for it the same way I cared for all my other adult T's; food every couple weeks, light misting as needed for water. So IME, give it a lot more attention than you would give an adult. I would feed it as often as it will take food, because you will be less likely to kill it the bigger it gets.

 

[Goljat]

@Gambite: I know. I am so scared ending up killing it.. Because this is my first T and even if someone said A.genic. will not need so much caretaking than other species and won´t die if owner makes small mistakes but still.

I let you know when I will have it. I hope it is still alive when arriving to me. Coming this week by post so traveling by post is not the best way I think. I have seen how they are handling some packages.. :?
But yeah, because it is my first T I know I will give a lot attention. Hope not too much..

 

[jb62]

Welcome to the hobby where one is never enough!.

My genic is 4" and I sexed her as female .. not too hard with the right light.
She moulted two weeks ago and now eats very well and her temperament is very calm and her personality is laid back and easy going.

She has a 50/50 mix of pearl lite and peat and kept dry.
I loaned a adult female from a friend before I got mine to see what they are like and his one attack my brush and left fang marks in the metal.

I've only ever lost really small slings and that's three.
Spray water every two days for it to drink and feed once to twice aweek ,
That's all I do now and I've not lost any now.
When they are in pre moult they won't eat and after a moult leave a week till you feed again.

As for tarantula forums just put in them words you find loads.
And some reptile forums too and they have invert sections.

Good luck.

 

[Goljat]

Welcome to the hobby where one is never enough!.

My genic is 4" and I sexed her as female .. not too hard with the right light.
She moulted two weeks ago and now eats very well and her temperament is very calm and her personality is laid back and easy going.

She has a 50/50 mix of pearl lite and peat and kept dry.
I loaned a adult female from a friend before I got mine to see what they are like and his one attack my brush and left fang marks in the metal.

I've only ever lost really small slings and that's three.
Spray water every two days for it to drink and feed once to twice aweek ,
That's all I do now and I've not lost any now.
When they are in pre moult they won't eat and after a moult leave a week till you feed again.

As for tarantula forums just put in them words you find loads.
And some reptile forums too and they have invert sections.

Good luck.

Thank you!!!!

I am already so excited. I hope he/she will arrive soon

About premolt. Is there any signs you might know it is coming. Except not eating. Cause only I am wondering how can you say if she/he is sick or just premolt? And if you own a sling do you spray only one of the corners or the whole terrarium. While molting do you spary directly or also like one corner? As I understood while molting you should keep a little bit higher humidity? (okeyh this terrarium for sling is freaking small now, but you know what I mean..)

And I know, <edit>, you are so right. About one is not enough And you know how many "iiiiiiiks" I have heard already when telling about my new pet!?

Well, some of my questions are like I know the answer but need to be sure. I just want to give a best living conditions for my big hairy friend! And maybe I am just nervous and asking stupid things

 

[jb62]

Hair comes away from rump ( the T does this ) the rump can be pink then turns black. pre - moult.
Spray does not hurt it, but I spray a day after.
It goes off food before a moult,
After a moult it needs time for fangs to go hard normally a week,
Genic's are tough so it should not get sick and if it does you can't save it.. it is
too small.. Feed it micro crickets and get it through first moult.
Then it will be bigger ;-)
Give it some thing to hide in .. I use egg box cube with hole cut out ..
Then once big enough use bottle lid for water bowl.. then you can stop spraying.
If crickets too big crush the heads ( pre-killed ) then the cricket can't attack it.

 

[tarantulagirl10]

I have an A genic sling that is less than 1". I keep her sub moist and feed twice a week. Some people feed more, some feed less, it's up to you. She has little tunnels dug all over the enclosure. It's so cute! Slings are a little harder than adults because you need to keep them more moist but that's about it. I haven't lost a sling yet, and I have 43 Ts, mostly all slings of various species. As far as increasing humidity when they are going to molt, I haven't done because the humidity stays up anyway because of the moist sub. Good luck, you are going to really enjoy her/him. Post pictures

 

[Goljat]

@jb62: Thanks! Now I am a little bit viser.. I think I will get this trough. I so hope it But as I know life is something you can try to do only your best, hope and if it is not enough, it´s not But my T do not need to worry about nobody is taking care off it.. That is for sure..

@tarantulagirl10: Oh my God was first thing in my head, 43 Ts :worship: I don´t care if slings or not. That is freaking cool. Well just waite. After a while I will have more than one too. I believe it!

I think I have main things how I need to help it trough baby life. So I am so ready. Humidity and food. Terrarium with needed things, place to hide and good food to eat, not too big. Enough space to live but not too much. Well I already started to grow my own mealworm farm so food is just waiting for him. And it is also so awesome to watch even if these mealworms are just eating. I hope I can get this farm producing enough worms to my one T.

I will post pics when I get it, hope today, and tell you guys more.

Thanks!!