# How long does it take, on average, a sling to grow?



## BRussell (Apr 17, 2013)

I have a couple slings, B.smithi, Euathlus sp.red,& Gram.pulchripes I'm so excited to watch them grow,but I'm by nature, not patient. I've been feeding fff & small crickets to them 3 x week. I don't want to over feed. One of the B.smithi looks like shes (I hope a she) is going to pop.Its funny all though they do nothing,, I could watch them all day....Is that weird? thanks


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## n0rmal (Apr 17, 2013)

Lol your in for a long wait..... patience is a virtue

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## Curious jay (Apr 17, 2013)

I'm afraid to say... No averages can be given due to the amount of factors that play a part in growth.

But you said you're by nature non patient, you will be learning patience with the species you currently own .

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## Rhodin (Apr 17, 2013)

Curious jay said:


> I'm afraid to say... No averages can be given due to the amount of factors that play a part in growth.
> 
> But you said you're by nature non patient, you will be learning patience with the species you currently own .


From everything I've read grammostola and brachypelma are both very slow growers and dwarf species don't necessarily grow slowly as long as youre considering what size they get to but they don't mature extremely quickly.

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## rob0t (Apr 17, 2013)

You got yourself some slow growers there.  It's going to be quite a while.


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## Jones0911 (Apr 17, 2013)

I myself, am very impatient lol, thats why before I  brought my Ts I did a lot of research on the fast and slow growers and I tend to stay away from the slow ones lol...But as long as you like the Ts that you picked  (even though your addiction will grow and youll get more and more)  Theyll grow in due time. and If you end up with some or all of them being females the wait will be worth it.!

 gain the patients because the FORCE is with you  definitely lol.

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## Ben Oliver (Apr 17, 2013)

your Gram. species grow slow i mean real so. From what i have read and seen it can take about 5 to 7 years to become mature. now if your little smithi has a real large abdomen if it happens to fall, from climbing the sides of its enclosure it can burst and die. now you other species i have not had as of yet so maybe another person can give you information on them.


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## BRussell (Apr 17, 2013)

Thanks Everyone, it is what I suspected. Its funny, I had read that the Gram.s were slow growers, but everything else I read out weighted that fact. I guess I just need more slings and maybe another juvie, ( I have one G.rosa Juvie) I can be patient when I know its worth the wait. Love these Ts.

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## Meezerkoko (Apr 17, 2013)

ALL the species you picked, while sweet (most likely, they do all have their own temperaments) are suuuuper slow growers!  Even the dwarf.  And Grammos and Brachys can take 5-9 years to mature based on weather they're male or female.  If they're small enough to be eating FFF then I would imagine the risk of it falling and bursting is very low, however you CAN overfeed it and that might be dangerous.  Anyways, most likely it is premolt so hold off on feeding it til it molts or the abdomen is normal size again.  By the way, 3x a week is considered power feeding and while it can make them grow faster, we're still not sure if it has long term health risks like it does for reptiles so that's something to take into consideration.  

While I personally don't want to power feed any of my babies, if you choose to do so and want them to grow possibly even faster, use a small space heater to keep the temps around 75-80 (a little higher or lower is fine, as is room temperature) as the increase in heat and large amount of food will make them have a higher metabolism and molt more often (typically).  

Hope I was able to help.  

In the mean time why don't you pick up an Avicularia species?  That way you'll have one that will actually grow quickly while you admire your slings.  I know waiting can be tough but it will be okay because your collection will grow anyways. :biggrin:

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## Poec54 (Apr 17, 2013)

There's some faster growing new world species you should look into.  

I know what you mean about being impatient.  I like the tropical ones where males mature in 12-18 months, and females in two or three years.   Lots going on with them all the time.  

I don't think there's anything wrong with 'power-feeding' slings, as in the wild their number one mission is to eat all they possibly can to get up to size quickly, to be able to defend themselves better and to reproduce.  This is normal behavior, it's what their lives are all about.  Once they're adults you can back off on the food.

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## Meezerkoko (Apr 17, 2013)

I both agree and disagree with your idea on powerfeeding.  The reason for this is that while in the wild they would try to eat as much as possible, they likely wouldn't live as long as in captivity since so few make it to adulthood and they have predators.  We're typically trying to maximize the amount of time we have with them.  I suppose it's not a huge deal for brachys and the like that can live 20-30 years but if you are trying to get the most amount of time with them that you can then it might not be so wise.  But your point does still make sense.  Like I said, to each their own.


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## Poec54 (Apr 17, 2013)

Meezerkoko said:


> We're typically trying to maximize the amount of time we have with them.  I suppose it's not a huge deal for brachys and the like that can live 20-30 years but if you are trying to get the most amount of time with them that you can then it might not be so wise.  But your point does still make sense.  Like I said, to each their own.


I don't know that 'power feeding' slings (which is actually 'normal feeding' in the wild) noticeably shortens their lifespan.  There's got to be a stress factor too in feeding slings once every week or two, as their instinct is telling them that's not enough food.  That may shorten their lives as much or more than feeding them often.  Of pictures I've seen of adult T's in the wild, they have medium-sized abdomens, and that's where I think power feeding can be overdone: with captive adults.  We've probably all seen obese alligators at zoos, which is not what they look like in the wild.  I don't think adult T's spend their lives waddling around with bloated abdomens.  They'd be easy targets.  The difference with youngsters is that they're molting often and stored fat goes into growth, and every time they grow, they're able to overcome sucessively larger predators.  Nature is constantly telling them: 'If you want to live, eat and grow, eat and grow.'  That's not the case with adult females.   They need a certain amount of food near egg laying time, but prior to that being too fat can be a liability.

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## BRussell (Apr 17, 2013)

I think I'll take more attention to my slings abdomen, the ones that have an robust one may have to skip a meal. It is interesting to me that one sling will eat every time I feed while another will hold off, half burying the cricket.(both being B.smithi) just shows that they all are different.side note the one B.smithi that is not feeding as much as the other is webbing more and spent 2-3 weeks lost in the house. All VERY interesting to me.Again, Thank you ALL. Your comments have been wonderful and informative.


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## CEC (Apr 17, 2013)

FOR EXAMPLE: I got a .5" Brachypelma annitha in October 2012 and it has only eaten 3 crickets(I have offered more) and hasn't molted yet. I am not worried, as I know they are extremely slow growers and it still looks and acts healthy.

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## cmcghee358 (Apr 17, 2013)

BRussell said:


> I have a couple slings, B.smithi, Euathlus sp.red,& Gram.pulchripes I'm so excited to watch them grow,but I'm by nature, not patient. I've been feeding fff & small crickets to them 3 x week. I don't want to over feed. One of the B.smithi looks like shes (I hope a she) is going to pop.Its funny all though they do nothing,, I could watch them all day....Is that weird? thanks


I have 3 purpureas. 2 are siblings. They grow significantly slower than the one I got before. In fact one of the 2 recent ones is the exact same size I got it as a sling over 6 months ago. I never experienced the difference in growth until these 2.

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## ZergFront (Jul 7, 2013)

With Brachypelma, Grammostola and other terrestrial slings(not all of them), patience is a major virtue. My young B.aurtatum took at least six months before he had his next molt. As someone already stated, other factors come into play; feeding regiment, environmental conditions, etc. Lots of arboreal species and GBB grow quite rapidly.


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## Ziolizard (Jul 7, 2013)

Watching them all day isn't "weird." It's perfectly normal. =) Congratulations and good luck on all of your T's.


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## ZergFront (Jul 7, 2013)

The best time I think to have a look at the spider collection is after 10PM when it's gotten very dark. Even some of the reclusive ones seem to come out or least get their feet close to the entrance to feel for any vibrations. Sometimes I see them approach the water dish, clean their bodies, toss webbed-up balls of soil or food remains; they're pretty fascinating to watch. My B.boehmei sling covers the water dish in soil almost every night.

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## Naga (Jul 9, 2013)

It's definitely one of those weird little tarantula things to throw stuff into their water bowl. And then you clean it, and it's like they have to do it again. Maybe their water bowl is supposed to be the equivalent of a dog who thinks he's supposed to drink from a toilet bowl...? I've got a few (scorps and Ts) that can't seem to just leave their drinks alone


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