# Chaco Golden Knee Tarantula Sling Care



## timok68 (Jun 20, 2013)

Hey everyone, I'm new to the tarantula world and picked up a chaco golden knee sling about a week ago. Shes quite small, maybe only a half inch. Shes in a very small deli dish with holes in the top and sides. I have a few questions regarding her care. First, how many times per week should I feed her? Can I feed her a dead pinhead cricket? Can I use pinhead crickets and mealworms, or can I use other prey? Also, should I moisten the substrate? It's pretty dry right now and I've heard mixed answers on whether or not I should moisten it. Also, how often should I change her substrate? Thanks for the feedback guys.


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## tonypace2009 (Jun 20, 2013)

Spray one side of the deli cup with water that way it gets moisture but also has a dry side.The spider will also drink from the
Droplets of water on the side of dish. Crickets or mealworms will work just pinch their heads so they can't bite. I feed. Mine 
About every 5 days  and moisten substrate twice a week but conditions very. The substrate should be damp not water loged.
I just keep leftover food cleaned out as long as there is no mold the substrate should be fine. Hope this helps

Reactions: Like 2 | Informative 1


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## timok68 (Jun 21, 2013)

thanks for the advice man


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## Storm76 (Jun 22, 2013)

Word of advice: Get some books about them, start reading about them on the net, looks up scientific papers and the like...which, frankly, you should've done before you acquired the little guy. Good luck with your T.

Reactions: Like 2


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## timok68 (Apr 8, 2014)

Hey guys, I don't know if y'all are still around but I still had my spiderling till yesterday, she had clearly grown since I got her back in June. I moved her 2 days ago to a new, larger enclosure with larger air holes. This was a bad mistake, as I went to check on her yesterday and she was gone. I made the holes too big and realized this too late. I have no idea where she is, provided she's still alive. I am still sad and disappointed about it. Just letting you guys know.


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## cold blood (Apr 8, 2014)

Bummer, you really had no reason to give it a bigger enclosure, that deli cup was perfect and is generally the preferred enclosure for most slings.  Too much room can be a detriment for smaller t's.  You want them to be comfortable and have as easy of a time locating prey as possible.  Good luck finding it, its gonna be tough with it being so small and delicate.

If you find it, dead pinhead crickets are a perfect meal.  The amount you feed is up to you.   There is no set feeding schedule, but I will say the more you feed it and the warmer its kept, the quicker it will grow, and since Grammostola's grow and molt so dang slowly, I would advise keeping it in a warm place and feeding more regularly, like up to 3 times a week.

For the sub, it won't need to be changed, as long as you clean up the sub shouldn't need to be changed with any regularity.

Also for water, I would recommend keeping as much of the sub dry as you can and just moisten a small area of the side with a dropper (not a spray bottle as its generally not appreciated by t's to be sprayed).  The idea should be to keep it as dry as possible while at the same time providing some moisture for the sling to drink from.

No offense, but these are all questions that should have been answered before you bought the t.

Good luck re-locating the little guy, chances are it will still remain alive, possibly for months.

Reactions: Like 1


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## tonypace2009 (Apr 8, 2014)

How big did you make the air holes? Are you sure it dyidnt bury itself in the substrate? H ow big is the sling? I had one of m
y slings bury itself for two months. If it did get lose it proably didnt go far hope it turns up.


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## StephM (Nov 26, 2015)

I had a p Metallica sling disappear through its air holes before, luckily I found her 30 hrs later. She was kept on a bathroom counter( warmest room ) and when I found her she had crawled under the bathroom door and was out in the open about a foot up the trim of my coat closet door. Never stop looking cuz she could survive for months. Randomly turn on lights at night and watch for movement .good luck! Let us know if you find it


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## BobBarley (Nov 26, 2015)

StephM said:


> I had a p Metallica sling disappear through its air holes before, luckily I found her 30 hrs later. She was kept on a bathroom counter( warmest room ) and when I found her she had crawled under the bathroom door and was out in the open about a foot up the trim of my coat closet door. Never stop looking cuz she could survive for months. Randomly turn on lights at night and watch for movement .good luck! Let us know if you find it


Umm wasn't this thread made a year ago?


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