# How do I care for a B. vagans sling/juvey?



## DannyH (Aug 7, 2011)

Its going to come 1.5 inches. Should I keep the stustrate moist or should it be dry? This would be my first young tarantula.

Also, I just found out about mold and isopods. For tarantulas living in humidity, how many Isopods should I keep to prevent mold? Sorry for the bonus question, just don't wanna spam the boards.


----------



## Collin Clary (Aug 7, 2011)

All spiderlings need at least slightly moist substrate. B. vagans seem to like moister substrate than other brachypema. You should keep the substrate moist until it has a legspan of around 3 inches, then you can start to keep it dry. For adults I overflow the water dish every week but other than that I keep it mostly dry. I also mist the tank every 3 weeks. Also when they are young, they like to burrow so give them plenty of substrate. 

You can only put isopods in moist enclosures so don't bother putting any in with your B. vagans. (They grow fast, so you will be keeping it dry soon) There is not really a specific amount of isopods you should put in your tanks. Just don't over do it with them.

Reactions: Like 1 | Informative 1


----------



## Formerphobe (Aug 7, 2011)

B. vagans need _slightly_ more humidity than some of the other Brachypelma species, but not much more.  At 1.5" you can keep it mostly dry.  My B. vagans are about that size.  When I overflow their water bowls, they avoid the damp substrate until it dries, unless they run over to grab a quick drink of water.  If you keep the substrate damp enough to support isopods, it will be too damp for the vagans.

Congrats on your new T!

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Collin Clary (Aug 7, 2011)

Formerphobe said:


> B. vagans need _slightly_ more humidity than some of the other Brachypelma species, but not much more.  At 1.5" you can keep it mostly dry.  My B. vagans are about that size.  When I overflow their water bowls, they avoid the damp substrate until it dries, unless they run over to grab a quick drink of water.  If you keep the substrate damp enough to support isopods, it will be too damp for the vagans.
> 
> Congrats on your new T!


I guess it varies between individuals. My B. vagans has always liked it moist. He usually stays on the moist side of the tank. I even tested to see what he prefered. I put him in a 20 gal tank, one side was dry and one side was relatively moist, he prefered the moist side. But yes the substrate should not be damp enough to support isopods. If you have a tarantula that needs high humidity, then yes you can put isopods in the tank. But don't put any in with your B. vagans. Also, one more thing. Some B. vagans are very defensive, like mine (He remained in a threat postion for almost 20 mins once, and all I did was open the tank) Good luck with your B. vagans. They are lots of fun and they are great eaters.


----------



## Formerphobe (Aug 8, 2011)

> They are lots of fun and they are great eaters.


+1  Mine have conveniently modified their hides so they have a back 'window' for me to check on them.  But, looking in the front of their enclosures, all one usually sees is an opening between leaf and corkbark.  Drop a prey item in and I can 'feel' them come on alert.  First a couple little toes appear in the opening, then more toes and legs, then the hunt is on!


----------



## Anonymity82 (Jan 30, 2012)

Formerphobe said:


> +1  Mine have conveniently modified their hides so they have a back 'window' for me to check on them.  But, looking in the front of their enclosures, all one usually sees is an opening between leaf and corkbark.  Drop a prey item in and I can 'feel' them come on alert.  First a couple little toes appear in the opening, then more toes and legs, then the hunt is on!


I have a .5" one coming home soon. For moisture can I just use a small amount of moss and mist once a week until it gets larger? Should I keep the substrate damp constantly?

---------- Post added 01-30-2012 at 08:06 PM ----------

If anyone has a link for a complete care guide for B. vagans slings I would appreciate it .


----------



## Shell (Jan 30, 2012)

njnolan1 said:


> I have a .5" one coming home soon. For moisture can I just use a small amount of moss and mist once a week until it gets larger? Should I keep the substrate damp constantly?
> 
> ---------- Post added 01-30-2012 at 08:06 PM ----------
> 
> If anyone has a link for a complete care guide for B. vagans slings I would appreciate it .


I never kept any of my B. vagans on totally damp substrate as slings. I only kept a small portion damp and it worked well for them. 

Easy species to care for, dry with a small part damp as slings, then dry with a water dish once big enough. They will burrow, both of mine have hides, but have contructed their own burrows instead.


----------



## Anonymity82 (Jan 30, 2012)

Shell said:


> I never kept any of my B. vagans on totally damp substrate as slings. I only kept a small portion damp and it worked well for them.
> 
> Easy species to care for, dry with a small part damp as slings, then dry with a water dish once big enough. They will burrow, both of mine have hides, but have contructed their own burrows instead.


Thanks Shell!


----------



## Stan Schultz (Jan 30, 2012)

*Edit:* Sports fans, when I tried posting my responses to DannyH's original query something happened and only about 1/4 of the posting came through. I have no idea what happened. Fortunately, I did have a backup copy and am reposting here.  A related, unanswered question is, "Why did some of you receive the whole message (based on NickC4's response) while others (me included) only got the first few lines? Anyway, sorry for the confusion.



DannyH said:


> Its going to come 1.5 inches. Should I keep the stustrate moist or should it be dry? This would be my first young tarantula. ...


*CANNED MEDIA:*
Note that the following rules of thumb apply to nearly all tarantulas *except* a few obligate swamp dwellers, and to the arboreal species, and they're addressed towards the bottom.

BABY TARANTULAS: Those younger tarantulas with a diagonal leg span (DLS) of about 1.5" (3.8 cm) or less should be kept in a relatively closed container that heavily restricts ventilation. The substrate should be kept slightly damp. All this maintains a constant, elevated (but not excessive) humidity. *Do not mist*; instead, reread the last few sentences carefully. Do not spend a lot of time, energy, effort, or money on fancy containers. Like humanoid babies, these will outgrow their containers soon, thereby wasting all your finest efforts over and over again.

SPIDERLINGS TO ADULTS: Those younger tarantulas with a DLS of about 2" (5 cm) and larger should be kept in cages with *dry* substrate and supplied a water dish with clean water. Keep these as arid species.

TWEENS: Those tarantulas between the aforementioned two sizes should be gradually acclimatized to a dry cage over a period of 2 or 3 molts. Gradually allow the container/cage to dry out, but be very sure to supply a water dish with clean water. You're removing the higher humidity and substituting a water dish as the primary water source. In response, the tarantula develops a thicker, more impervious waxy layer to prevent excessive water loss from its body. All it needs is a little time to adjust.

SWAMP DWELLERS: These are tarantulas like the species of _Theraphosa_, _Ephebopus_, _Hysterocrates_, and a few others. These do not have the impervious, water retentive exoskeletons of the other tarantulas and require a constant, high humidity. Keep these in "baby" style cages for their entire lives, adjusting for increased size of course. Note that enthusiasts are discovering that wild caught "swampers" will gradually develop a somewhat greater resistance to slightly drier conditions if the transition is done slowly and over an extended period of time. And, those swampers that are bred in captivity fare much better and can tolerate drier cages much better than their wild caught brethren.

ARBOREALS: Wild caught arboreals, particularly members of the genus _Avicularia_ fare poorly when first brought into captivity (partly because of "shipping shock" and partly because of the sudden change in environmental conditions) unless they are initially set up and cared for as babies for the first few weeks (initial recovery period), then quickly switched to a "Tweens" care regimen (secondary acclimatization period) for the first one or two molts. Thereafter keep them as adult, arid tarantulas but maintain a slightly elevated humidity by *slightly* restricting ventilation. Always supply them a water dish. (In the middle of the night as they hunt for food they'll pussy foot down to the water dish and take a sip. And being sound asleep, you'll never _EVER_ know it happened!)

Captive bred arboreals usually do not suffer the acclimatization problems that the wild caught ones do, but sometimes suffer shipping shock from bad treatment during transportation. When first received they should be kept as babies for the first few weeks, then they can be quickly changed over to their adult quarters and care regimen.



DannyH said:


> ... Sorry for the bonus question, just don't wanna spam the boards.


I can't answer the question, but I'd like to respond to your comment. Because it's a different subject it would have been okay, if not really preferable, to start a new thread. Box-caring several topics together in a single posting often causes problems:

1> Readers don't recognize that you're changing gears here and miss either one topic or another. 

2> Responders attempt to answer both of your comments at once. Everybody gets confused.

3> You end up with very, *VERY* long response to your queries. We get bored and move to the next thread. (How do you people *EVER* tolerate reading my dissertations? Or, does nobody ever read them?)

And, it's not spamming by any stretch of the imagination.


Enjoy your little 8-legged reprobate!

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Anonymity82 (Jan 30, 2012)

Pikaia said:


> *CANNED MEDIA:*
> Note that the following rules of thumb apply to nearly all tarantulas *except* a few obligate swamp dwellers, and to the arboreal species, and they're addressed towards the bottom.
> 
> BABY TARANTULAS: Those younger tarantulas with a diagonal leg span (DLS) of about 1.5" (3.8 cm) or less should be kept in a relatively closed container that heavily restricts ventilation. The substrate should be kept slightly damp. All this maintains a constant, elevated (but not excessive) humidity. *Do not mist*; instead, reread the last few sentences carefully. Do not spend a lot of time, energy, effort, or money on fancy containers. Like humanoid babies, these will outgrow their containers soon, thereby wasting all your finest efforts over and over again.
> ...



Will a little pinch of damp moss work well keeping the moisture levels where it should be?


----------



## metallica (Jan 31, 2012)

Brachypelma vagans in the wild:

http://www.mantid.nl/tarantula/vagans.html

Enjoy
Eddy

Reactions: Like 1


----------

