# best food for feeding small slings?



## bjm54 (Dec 15, 2011)

hey guys, i just got in 2 A.Versicolor Slings, my smallest ever. They are right at .5", i thought they would be big enough to eat the small crickets from my pet store, but they seem too small. what would be a good alternative?


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## Slevin (Dec 15, 2011)

You can pre-kill a cricket and toss it in or throw in a cricket leg. All of my very small slings have preferred pre-killed items, they'd just stumble upon them while exploring. I now have a B. dubia roach colony and just feed the tiny slings a pre-killed roach nymph if they run from live ones.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Toogledoo (Dec 15, 2011)

You can buy feeders online. You can buy smaller crickets, fruit flies, roach nymphs, etc. I use baby Dubia and Lateralis roaches.


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## Ludedor24 (Dec 15, 2011)

Flightless fruit flies 1-2 at a time.


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## le-thomas (Dec 15, 2011)

Flightless fruit flies or dead cricket parts. I personally just do the dead cricket thing. Slings are naturally scavengers anyways.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Zman181 (Dec 16, 2011)

Just feed them cricket parts.  Squish the head of a 1/2 in cricket and cut the entire body in half.  Then place a halve in with each one.


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## Kungfujoe (Dec 16, 2011)

I've had .5" slings take down pin heads. I just take off their hind legs and they are able to chase them down. My small P. Metallica slings would actually bite them let them go and let their venom kill the cricket and eat it after it died.


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## ElevenBravo (Dec 16, 2011)

Ludedor24 said:


> Flightless fruit flies 1-2 at a time.


I have never had a problem with a small sling eating (unless in premolt) as long as I offered prekilled. I get small mealworms and cut them off a small piece they suck out the juice and leave the exo behind. Do you have any idea how hard it is for a 36yr old that needs glasses to cut up crickets and mealworms with short fat stubby fingers the FFF were a godsend for a versi with a fast metabolism. 

Any of these food items will work if presented correctly (small bits) I would use the one that is the easiest for you A. versis are awesome with a strong will to live 6mo later they will be 1.5" at least mine is   In less then three months from .5" my versi was eating small live crickets.


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## 12y1 (May 6, 2016)

Depending on whether they are true or T's, I know that true's generally take to w/c aphids, ants and flies, but check first if the local spiders are eating them first, to see if they are pesticide free.


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## BobBarley (May 6, 2016)

12y1 said:


> Depending on whether they are true or T's, I know that true's generally take to w/c aphids, ants and flies, but check first if the local spiders are eating them first, to see if they are pesticide free.


Last post was December 16, 2011...

Reactions: Funny 5


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## cold blood (May 6, 2016)

12y1 said:


> Depending on whether they are true or T's, I know that true's generally take to w/c aphids, ants and flies, but check first if the local spiders are eating them first, to see if they are pesticide free.


Check with the local spiders????  You speak spider?

*Never* feed wild caught prey, its just a really bad idea.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 3 | Funny 2


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## sschind (May 6, 2016)

Kungfujoe said:


> I've had .5" slings take down pin heads. I just take off their hind legs and they are able to chase them down. My small P. Metallica slings would actually bite them let them go and let their venom kill the cricket and eat it after it died.


If you can take off the hind legs off pinheads you are either far more dexterous than I am and have much better eyesight or you are not dealing with pin heads.  People would come into my store to buy crickets and ask for pinheads and when I gave them pinheads they said "what the heck are those, the pin heads I get from the other store are 1/4" long"  I'd say "then you are not getting pinheads you are getting 1/4" crickets.  These are pinheads"  

I second the dead thing.  I was so happy when I found out slings would scavenge.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## mistertim (May 6, 2016)

lol Another zombie thread


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## Toxoderidae (May 6, 2016)

Stop. _Stop. _*STOP *with the necro threads.

Reactions: Dislike 1 | Funny 1


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## Pociemon (May 6, 2016)

....................

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 2


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## sschind (May 8, 2016)

Toxoderidae said:


> Stop. _Stop. _*STOP *with the necro threads.


If it is truly such a big deal to dig up old threads why not make it so they automatically lock after they get so old.  I search new posts so when I clicked "new posts" and this thread popped up I responded.  I had no idea it was that old.  I rarely check the dates because I assume if a thread is in the new post search it must have a current response.    Sure the OP may have had the question answered but the information given may be relevant to others so what is the big deal?  We tell newcomers to use the search function so if someone searches for best food to feed a small sling is it so bad if they get current ideas and suggestions or should they be content with information that is 5 years old?

the only time it even remotely bothers me is when people dig up old adds but I put that on the seller as much as the potential buyer.  If your items are sold mark them as sold or lock the thread (if possible) 

We had a local weekly classifieds newspaper that had an option where you only paid if your item sold (it was a higher percentage so some people chose the up front small payment)  and if it didn't sell it stayed listed.  I called on an item and was told it had sold.  It was still listed the next week so I called again.  I was told again it was sold.  It was still listed the next week so I called about 30 times.  It wasn't listed the next week

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 2


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## Toxoderidae (May 8, 2016)

It's because he posted to up his post count and responded to the OP who likely doesn't care anymore.


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## cold blood (May 8, 2016)

There are certainly times where re-viving of an old thread is the best option...it consolidates information, making future searches more effective.   I take issue (by which I mean I chuckle a little) when someone tries to help a 10 year old  problem or asks people no longer active various questions.....in this particular instance, there are constantly new keepers coming here that wonder this exact same question, so its contents will always be relevant, so why keep making the same thread over and over and forcing people to recount info already offered....Just the way I see it anyway.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Poec54 (May 8, 2016)

sschind said:


> If you can take off the hind legs off pinheads you are either far more dexterous than I am and have much better eyesight or you are not dealing with pin heads.  People would come into my store to buy crickets and ask for pinheads and when I gave them pinheads they said "what the heck are those, the pin heads I get from the other store are 1/4" long"  I'd say "then you are not getting pinheads you are getting 1/4" crickets.  These are pinheads"
> 
> I second the dead thing.  I was so happy when I found out slings would scavenge.



My eyesight's nothing to brag about, but maybe I am more dexterous, or resourceful than you are.  There's no need to take legs off pinheads for any tarantula (1/8" slings will take pinheads), but it may be needed with crickets that are a little larger.  It's easy to do with them when you put the cricket in a vial and use forceps.

Not all slings will eat dead prey; this is not a universal miracle solution.

It's easy to raise you own pinheads/baby crickets by putting a shallow tray with moist peat in a plastic box and allowing some adult females to lay eggs in it.  Keep it moist until they hatch.


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## grimmjowls (May 8, 2016)

This thread may be five years old and revived for little reason, but I'm thankful for it anyway! I needed the ideas for feeding my future tiny slings, so the answers aren't going to waste.

Reactions: Like 3 | Agree 2


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## sschind (May 9, 2016)

grimmjowls said:


> This thread may be five years old and revived for little reason, but I'm thankful for it anyway! I needed the ideas for feeding my future tiny slings, so the answers aren't going to waste.


Apparently you should have started another thread and asked what to feed your future tiny slings

Reactions: Like 1


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## Bravehawk (May 10, 2016)

Great knowledge never expires, and much better to respond to an old thread than make a new one to only add to the infinite numbers of posts to shift thru.

Reactions: Agree 3


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## Poec54 (May 10, 2016)

Bravehawk said:


> Great knowledge never expires, and much better to respond to an old thread than make a new one to only add to the infinite numbers of posts to shift thru.


 
+1.  There's a lot of great info in older posts; there used to be a lot of big collectors and breeders here, along with a few taxonomists.  This was a cutting edge forum in the past, and it's in no one's best interests to bypass the info shared by those people.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## Envoirment (May 10, 2016)

I've had great success with mealworms. Recently bought "mini" ones and they're perfect for slings. I usually crush their head and drop them in - even with a crushed head they'll squirm about to invoke a response from the tarantula. If your tarantula is shy, they'll eventually stop squirming and then will be readily taken. If your mealworms are too big, crush the head and slice them up into smaller pieces and drop them in. I usually don't leave a mealworm in for more than a day. 

For those slings that are very shy and don't appear to be taking mealworms - cricket legs work well. Just take the legs off a medium-larged sized cricket. It's a little tricky at first but somewhat satisfying once you get the hang of it. 

Small crickets work very well too. In fact if you can; find a cricket about the size of the sling, crush its head and drop it in. If the sling responds, that meal should get them very plump and you won't need to feed them as regularly (once a week/10 days). Particularly when they're small, they may only need one large sized meal to trigger a molt. Some slings don't respond to large prey though, even when dead.

For me, I make do with what I've got. I have plenty of mealworms so I'm using them at the moment. But sometimes I've only large crickets which are way too big for slings - so I take their legs off for the slings and feed the legless crickets to my larger tarantulas. The above are the things I've done and have had success with, but there are other alternatives such as flightless fruit flies and bean weevils.

Reactions: Like 1


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