A. Hentzi sling care

Socfroggy

Arachnoknight
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Jan 22, 2017
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So I plan on getting a couple Hentzi slings as my first Ts at some point in the future. I was wondering what a 1 inch and 1/4 inch sling would need in terms of husbandry and enclosure.
 

N1ghtFire

Arachnoknight
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Jun 17, 2016
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They are burrowers, so they mostly just need lots of dirt and a water bowl. I keep my tiny slings in a small deli cup with nothing but a tiny leaf to hide/burrow under, and put a few drops of water in the sub every few days so they can have a drink. They are very east Ts to take care of! If you have a 1/4" sling you'll probably want to get some fruit flies or pinhead crickets to feed it, or cut up bits of bigger crickets (which its kinda gross cutting a cricket into bits, but thats how I feed mine.) They grow super slow compared to my avics and other Ts, and when they do molt they don't seem to have grown hardly at all. :mad: So expect to have a tiny sling for quite awhile. I'd suggest getting them 1" or bigger, so they are at least easier to feed than the tiny little slings.They are very pretty spiders though and I have them native where I live. :D
 

user 666

Arachnobaron
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Jan 27, 2017
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I have 4 A hentzi. All are doing fine.

Two quarter-inch slings are in vials, and the larger two measure .75" and 3". One of the larger two is on wet coco fiber while the other is on a dry desert substrate.

The only consistent detail is that they all have deep substrate.
 

Socfroggy

Arachnoknight
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Jan 22, 2017
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Thanks for the tips! How much would you pay for those? I was told I would be charged 5 USD. Would a juvie need dry substrate while smaller slings need more moisture? I read that they max out ~4", that true? What do their lifespan look like??
 

Socfroggy

Arachnoknight
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Jan 22, 2017
Messages
297
They are burrowers, so they mostly just need lots of dirt and a water bowl. I keep my tiny slings in a small deli cup with nothing but a tiny leaf to hide/burrow under, and put a few drops of water in the sub every few days so they can have a drink. They are very east Ts to take care of! If you have a 1/4" sling you'll probably want to get some fruit flies or pinhead crickets to feed it, or cut up bits of bigger crickets (which its kinda gross cutting a cricket into bits, but thats how I feed mine.) They grow super slow compared to my avics and other Ts, and when they do molt they don't seem to have grown hardly at all. :mad: So expect to have a tiny sling for quite awhile. I'd suggest getting them 1" or bigger, so they are at least easier to feed than the tiny little slings.They are very pretty spiders though and I have them native where I live. :D
I live in North Texas and I've actually seen one having a drink before on one of my walls though a nature preserve. Would you happen to know the best places to look for them??
 

user 666

Arachnobaron
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Jan 27, 2017
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355
Thanks for the tips! How much would you pay for those? I was told I would be charged 5 USD. Would a juvie need dry substrate while smaller slings need more moisture? I read that they max out ~4", that true? What do their lifespan look like??
Slight error - my quarter inch slings are A chalcodes, not A hentzi. (for some reason i had them mixed up in my mind)

I paid $10 for the .75" hentzi, and a little more than that for the larger one.

I can't speak to size or longevity, sorry.
 

user 666

Arachnobaron
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I live in North Texas and I've actually seen one having a drink before on one of my walls though a nature preserve. Would you happen to know the best places to look for them??
When my mother was a girl, she caught A hentzi at a girl scout camp outside St Louis.

She looked around outhouses which might not help you given that they've been replaced by port-a-johns.

Perhaps try campgrounds, only around the trash bins?
 

Socfroggy

Arachnoknight
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Jan 22, 2017
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When my mother was a girl, she caught A hentzi at a girl scout camp outside St Louis.

She looked around outhouses which might not help you given that they've been replaced by port-a-johns.

Perhaps try campgrounds, only around the trash bins?
Unfortunately I don't know of any campgrounds around here.
 

Jeff23

Arachnolord
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Jul 27, 2016
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620
Thanks for the tips! How much would you pay for those? I was told I would be charged 5 USD. Would a juvie need dry substrate while smaller slings need more moisture? I read that they max out ~4", that true? What do their lifespan look like??
I can't give you numbers on lifespan, but what I have been told is that it is fairly long. But many Aphonopelma are WC as adults which means most people don't have any idea on the age of their T when they obtain it.

On the 1/4" sling, I recommend that you create a pre-made burrow under a piece of cork bark next to the plastic for the enclosure so you can occasionally see it in the burrow when you are lucky. I have numerous slings for this genus and they don't hang out on the surface very much as small slings. Make plans to provide pre-kill for them when they burrow since you won't be able to track if they are about to molt. Try to make sure the small cricket or cricket pieces aren't too large or the T may not eat it.

As they get to juvenile and adult they may still use a burrow (especially for molts), but will likely stay up on the surface a lot more.
 

N1ghtFire

Arachnoknight
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Messages
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I live in North Texas and I've actually seen one having a drink before on one of my walls though a nature preserve. Would you happen to know the best places to look for them??
I have only collected one from the wild, and it is a tiny 1/4" sling I've had since last summer that I found under a rock.

Other than that I do see MMs wandering now and then, especially before rainfall, and I saw a beautiful female under my hot tub that disappeared before I could capture it. I've not had much luck finding burrows or finding them out and about.
 

Socfroggy

Arachnoknight
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Jan 22, 2017
Messages
297
I can't give you numbers on lifespan, but what I have been told is that it is fairly long. But many Aphonopelma are WC as adults which means most people don't have any idea on the age of their T when they obtain it.

On the 1/4" sling, I recommend that you create a pre-made burrow under a piece of cork bark next to the plastic for the enclosure so you can occasionally see it in the burrow when you are lucky. I have numerous slings for this genus and they don't hang out on the surface very much as small slings. Make plans to provide pre-kill for them when they burrow since you won't be able to track if they are about to molt. Try to make sure the small cricket or cricket pieces aren't too large or the T may not eat it.

As they get to juvenile and adult they may still use a burrow (especially for molts), but will likely stay up on the surface a lot more.
Thank you!
 

Socfroggy

Arachnoknight
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Jan 22, 2017
Messages
297
I have only collected one from the wild, and it is a tiny 1/4" sling I've had since last summer that I found under a rock.

Other than that I do see MMs wandering now and then, especially before rainfall, and I saw a beautiful female under my hot tub that disappeared before I could capture it. I've not had much luck finding burrows or finding them out and about.
The one I saw was just after rain. It was having a drink from a small stream made on the side of the path. I wish I had discovered my passion for inverts by then lol
 

Jeff23

Arachnolord
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Thank you!
I failed to mention. If you use something like a tooth pick to create the burrow you can make it not too large and more likely the sling will treat it as a burrow. Just insert it next to the plastic and wiggle it a little to give a small amount of width. You will need to also create a path under the cork bark to access this burrow.

EDIT* You need to keep the substrate moist. If you use a vial or a 2.2 oz cup you will probably keep the entire substrate moist. I over-sized mine because I have to travel on occasion for work. In that case I keep most but not all of the substrate moist. I always keep it moist where the T chooses to burrow. If I am out of town for several days I moisten the entire container.
 
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Jeff23

Arachnolord
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For your 1" hentzi I would offer two burrows. One on each side of your enclosure. Put some moisture on the substrate for one burrow only and let the T pick its choice. Somewhere between 1" and 2" they tend to transition to less need for moisture.
 

Socfroggy

Arachnoknight
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Jan 22, 2017
Messages
297
I failed to mention. If you use something like a tooth pick to create the burrow you can make it not too large and more likely the sling will treat it as a burrow. Just insert it next to the plastic and wiggle it a little to give a small amount of width. You will need to also create a path under the cork bark to access this burrow.

EDIT* You need to keep the substrate moist. If you use a vial or a 2.2 oz cup you will probably keep the entire substrate moist. I over-sized mine because I have to travel on occasion for work. In that case I keep most but not all of the substrate moist. I always keep it moist where the T chooses to burrow. If I am out of town for several days I moisten the entire container.
Does this apply to the 1/4" sling or both?
 

Socfroggy

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jan 22, 2017
Messages
297
For your 1" hentzi I would offer two burrows. One on each side of your enclosure. Put some moisture on the substrate for one burrow only and let the T pick its choice. Somewhere between 1" and 2" they tend to transition to less need for moisture.
Thank you!! This is super helpful. I haven't thought to ask about when the transition would occur. The adults prefer bone-dry substrate, right??
 

Jeff23

Arachnolord
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Jul 27, 2016
Messages
620
Does this apply to the 1/4" sling or both?
That reply applies only to 1/4" slings. Almost all really small Aphonopelma like moisture and will burrow except short trips to top of substrate for food/hunting.
 

Jeff23

Arachnolord
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Messages
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Thank you!! This is super helpful. I haven't thought to ask about when the transition would occur. The adults prefer bone-dry substrate, right??
I haven't owned any Hentzi adults yet. I have loads of slings. I believe bone dry is fine for USA Aphonopelma including Hentzi - just a water dish. Many people may slightly moisten a section of the substrate near the water dish or their burrow area when they detect the tarantula is in pre-molt, but there is no known requirement for this.

EDIT* You will kind of know on this as the tarantula moves away from moisture when it grows. There may be some that prefer a little moisture longer etc. I think some Hentzi live in areas that are not bone dry in the wild.
 
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