New sling owner (Brazilian Red/white)

[ClegernCode]

I just got a Brazilian Red and White sling and I'm very new to raising spider baby's. My boyfriend got her for me as a gift but the last one we owned about a year and a half ago died because she wouldn't eat and we got her at a much bigger size than this one is. We have 3 adult tarantulas who are all healthy and (mostly) happy and I know how to care for them but this new baby is smaller than any of the care sheets I'm finding are talking about. So if I can get ANY tips and advice I would really appreciate it!

The picture is of her in her current tank and she's next to a fruit fly if that gives you any indication of how little she is.

 

[ClegernCode]

And for reference we have a pink toe(our oldest owned), a rose hair, and a Cobalt Blue. We used to have a Goliath Bird eater as well but she sadly passed a few months ago.

 

[Vezon]

First off, that enclosure is insanely way too massive for that sling. You should try one of those little condiment cups (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61uTYBIhGpL._SX450_.jpg) or a plastic 13 dram vial (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/316vit3oVLL._AC_UL320_SR160,320_.jpg).



Once you have it into something smaller enclosure wise, give it a an inch or two of substrate and just wet part of the substrate occasionally and let it do its own thing. N. chromatus grow like weeds and eat relatively well, so you shouldn't have any issues with it.

 

[Toxoderidae]

Well learn the scientific names please, and ignore caresheets. By the way, why did you get a H. lividum (cobalt)? Do you know how dangerous they are?

Well feed the spider cricket chunks or dead crickets, and give it a small tank with substrate pretty high to prevent injury during a fall, and give it a nice hide.

 

[cold blood]

I just got a Brazilian Red and White sling and I'm very new to raising spider baby's. My boyfriend got her for me as a gift but the last one we owned about a year and a half ago died because she wouldn't eat and we got her at a much bigger size than this one is. We have 3 adult tarantulas who are all healthy and (mostly) happy and I know how to care for them but this new baby is smaller than any of the care sheets I'm finding are talking about. So if I can get ANY tips and advice I would really appreciate it!

The picture is of her in her current tank and she's next to a fruit fly if that gives you any indication of how little she is.

1. like mentioned, ignore care-sheets, they're worthless, actually they are worse than worthless, they can actually be harmful with all the poor info they are full of.

2. we need to know scientific names, common names are all over the place and over-lap species a lot and some names are lent to several species. Your T should be Nhandu chromatus.

3. It needs to be in a smaller enclosure, I suspect you lost the last one because of a similarly large enclosure, a small enclosure will make everything easier for you and the t...as in, a t will be able to locate the food and water in a small enclosure, in a large one, they hide, and its more of a crapshoot as to whether or not they will locate the prey...and this one's smaller.

4. When in doubt, feed per-killed prey, its a no brainer as small ts sometimes have trouble making kills. This also allows you to feed larger prey, so you can feed a little less often and still achieve fast growth rates.

Keep it in a small condiment cup as mentioned...ventilate the sides with just a few pin holes and put one or two holes on the lid just to prevent condensation from forming. Keep part of the substrate damp (not wet), keep it warm and feed it weekly or twice a week....they grow crazy quick....at small sizes I tend to get molts every 24-34 days.

 

[ClegernCode]

Well learn the scientific names please, and ignore caresheets. By the way, why did you get a H. lividum (cobalt)? Do you know how dangerous they are?

Well feed the spider cricket chunks or dead crickets, and give it a small tank with substrate pretty high to prevent injury during a fall, and give it a nice hide.

We were practically given our Cobalt by Petco because she was there for months with no one wanting to get her. She's never given us any problems and for the most part stays in her hide and only comes out when we feed her.

 

[ClegernCode]

1. like mentioned, ignore care-sheets, they're worthless, actually they are worse than worthless, they can actually be harmful with all the poor info they are full of.

2. we need to know scientific names, common names are all over the place and over-lap species a lot and some names are lent to several species. Your T should be Nhandu chromatus.

3. It needs to be in a smaller enclosure, I suspect you lost the last one because of a similarly large enclosure, a small enclosure will make everything easier for you and the t...as in, a t will be able to locate the food and water in a small enclosure, in a large one, they hide, and its more of a crapshoot as to whether or not they will locate the prey...and this one's smaller.

4. When in doubt, feed per-killed prey, its a no brainer as small ts sometimes have trouble making kills. This also allows you to feed larger prey, so you can feed a little less often and still achieve fast growth rates.

Keep it in a small condiment cup as mentioned...ventilate the sides with just a few pin holes and put one or two holes on the lid just to prevent condensation from forming. Keep part of the substrate damp (not wet), keep it warm and feed it weekly or twice a week....they grow crazy quick....at small sizes I tend to get molts every 24-34 days.

Thank yu! This is why I joined the sight I don't want her to die and I really don't trust random sources from the internet. And yes youre right she appears to be a Nhandu.

 

[TownesVanZandt]

We were practically given our Cobalt by Petco because she was there for months with no one wanting to get her. She's never given us any problems and for the most part stays in her hide and only comes out when we feed her.

A H. lividum that doesn´t burrow? How much substrate have you given it?

 

[Toxoderidae]

A H. lividum that doesn´t burrow? How much substrate have you given it?

Some Haplos won't burrow. One of mine has webbed up the entire tank, but refuses to burrow, whilst the other one made a huge burrow.

 

[Flexzone]

Some Haplos won't burrow. One of mine has webbed up the entire tank, but refuses to burrow, whilst the other one made a huge burrow.

I encouraged my stubborn one by making a pre-made hole at the side of the tank to view.

 

[ClegernCode]

A H. lividum that doesn´t burrow? How much substrate have you given it?

Oh no she burrows! But she's made her burrow in/under the hide she has. It's a little tiki hut thing and she's made it in/under that.

 

[louise f]

I encouraged my stubborn one by making a pre-made hole at the side of the tank to view.

I did the same thing with my Ephebopus cyanognathus and my Ephebopus murinus.

 

[EulersK]

There's some great info on this thread, so I'll make my point short and sweet. Please read bite reports on that H. lividum, understand what you're dealing with. It is leaps and bounds above anything else you have.

 

[ClegernCode]

I encouraged my stubborn one by making a pre-made hole at the side of the tank to view.

Ours

First off, that enclosure is insanely way too massive for that sling. You should try one of those little condiment cups (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61uTYBIhGpL._SX450_.jpg) or a plastic 13 dram vial (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/316vit3oVLL._AC_UL320_SR160,320_.jpg).



Once you have it into something smaller enclosure wise, give it a an inch or two of substrate and just wet part of the substrate occasionally and let it do its own thing. N. chromatus grow like weeds and eat relatively well, so you shouldn't have any issues with it.

Mhmm! We're actually getting her a smaller container today. We've only had her a few hours. I knew that had to be done at a bare minimum.

 

[Oreo]

At that size you can feed it (could be a male) pinhead crickets or baby roaches. Mealworms are also sold in many sizes. You have options and can get rid of those pesky FFFs.

 

[BobBarley]

There's some great info on this thread, so I'll make my point short and sweet. Please read bite reports on that H. lividum, understand what you're dealing with. It is leaps and bounds above anything else you have.

H. lividum (Cobalt blue) bites are very very bad...: http://arachnoboards.com/threads/haplopelma-lividum.4342/

"30 mins later, my hands and feet began to go numb. I had that feeling for the rest of the night. The nest morning I had a bruise the size of a baseball on my back, but nothing more until that afternoon when my right calf felt like it was being ripped apart. I was down on the rug for 10 minutes of non-stop agony. These cramps persisted on and off for 12 days, and my right hand would cramp up as well."

 

[Toxoderidae]

Haplopelma have the worst venom out of any tarantula genus, and they are actually aggressive, chasing down attackers and biting them repeatedly, injecting much more than an average dosage of venom.

 

[Flexzone]

H. lividum (Cobalt blue) bites are very very bad...: http://arachnoboards.com/threads/haplopelma-lividum.4342/

"30 mins later, my hands and feet began to go numb. I had that feeling for the rest of the night. The nest morning I had a bruise the size of a baseball on my back, but nothing more until that afternoon when my right calf felt like it was being ripped apart. I was down on the rug for 10 minutes of non-stop agony. These cramps persisted on and off for 12 days, and my right hand would cramp up as well."

Which makes me really worried petco was pretty much giving it away to the OP, not to mention @gypsy cola informing us that there now planning to expand to pokies, kb and other sp. with very potent venom, Glad @viper69 took a stand to represent the hobby against there decision.

 

[ClegernCode]

Which makes me really worried petco was pretty much giving it away to the OP, not to mention @gypsy cola informing us that there now planning to expand to pokies, kb and other sp. with very potent venom, Glad @viper69 took a stand to represent the hobby against there decision.

I understand your worry and thank you for being so polite about it. I was aware that they were aggressive and that's actually why we were given her. She had been there for months and the employees there were very honest with people who wanted her that she was an aggressive breed that couldn't be handled. We shop there often and at the time had a t. Blondi along with the other 2. We were given her for half off original price because they felt we were the only ones that would actually care for her knowing we couldn't hold her and she was a "decorative" tarantula as we lovingly call her. She's never caused us a problem and we've had her for several months. If we need to take anything or of her tank we use the extra long lizard tweezers we got for when we needed to feed our Blondi. She's very reclusive and not aggressive unless we go at her hide. We've never had a problem with her.

 

[Venom1080]

that container looks suspiciously like the petco ones exoskeleton posted in a pic earlier.. give it a 16oz deli cup with a few inches of sub kept generally moist, a small water dish to help humidity, a hide and youre good. feed prekilled (or live) crickets once to four times a week,they grow very quickly.

sounds like youre taking leaps and bounds in the hobby with already having a haplo and a blondi. both are advanced species that can cause severe damage and pain with bites. not the best idea to have them already.. also, might i suggest posting a pic of your supposed blondi? they are a rare species and are commonly confused with closely related species, Theraphosa stirmi.