Sling bit toothpick after a molt. Should I worry?

[Beedrill]

Hey guys,

I bought two new slings at a Reptile Show (Repticon) in my area on Saturday. One is a little less than an inch long B. albopilosum, and the other is a half inch long G. pulchripes.

I was rehousing the two little guys when the B. albo. bit down hard on the toothpick I was trying to coax it out of the burrow with. I couldn't believe the little thing had such powerful jaws already, I felt the toothpick crack! I'm fairly certain that this was a mistaken prey response, not a defense bite.

Anyway, I had notices that the B albo. had shed while still in the original container. In fact it had shed twice in the original container, once at about 1/4 inch long, and once at about a half an inch long, but I don't have any clue when the last time was.

With all that info in mind, should I be worried that the sling may have injured it's fangs? Is there anything I can do to check?

PS - I realize now that since I wasn't sure when the last molt was, I should have waited a few days just to be sure before rehousing the little thing.

Thanks in advance!

 

[NukaMedia Exotics]

I wouldn't be worried since it sounds like it could've molted a few days ago and you just didn't see it. Just try to get a look at the T's fangs when you get a chance to make sure its all good.

 

[Demonclaws]

If the bite is a feeding response, then the fangs should be hardened. You can put the sling in a transparent container and observe the fangs from bottom.

 

[Sana]

I would think the chances of fang damage are pretty minimal given the solid bite. If it takes food all is well. If it doesn’t eat for an extended period there are a bunch of good threads on here for information on damaged fangs and possible options for care.

 

[Beedrill]

Yay, I'm glad that everyone seems to think I'm in the clear. I'll try to get it to eat tonight, and if it doesn't I'll move it to an empty transfer container and have a look.
Thanks for the input!

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Small slings can harden within hours of a moult, I like to give them a few days before feeding just to make sure but I've had an E. cyanognathus sling eat with 24hrs of completing a moult (put a pre-killed feeder outside the burrow, checked back a day later to find the sling sat next to its moult eating the mealworm I'd put there the previous morning).

Chances are that if it was a feeding response then they have sufficiently hardened, even my genic won't bite before she's ready and she's usually the "bite first, sulk when you realise it's not food" type.

 

[Beedrill]

Ok so I'm now certain that I'm in the clear. I fed the little one last night, and it scared the living crap out of me.
I had bought crickets, and one was mostly dead after the drive home. I figured this would be a good chance to try and feed it without any chance of further harm. So I took my feeding tongs, grabbed the cricket by the back leg, and gently placed it an inch or so away from the T. The leg kind of stuck to the tong for a second and drug the cricket along with it. In like 1/160th of a second, the tarantula was latched onto the bottom of the tongs, having missed the cricket, and then proceeded to climb the tongs. I mean it actually LEAPT to try and grab that cricket. Now, I really don't have a problem with spiders, but when they move THAT fast my heart skips a beat. After that, it seemed to realize what it had done, and calmed down significantly. I ended up placing a slightly larger, living cricket in the enclosure and closing the lid so I could watch events unfold without the risk of heart attack. It took it with no problems and happily chowed down.

So all's well that ends well I guess. Thanks guys!