B. Hamorii sling not eating

[Cheekerpot]

Hi Spiderfolks!

Newby here. I bought my first Sling the 17th of March and it's a tiny adorable B. Hamorii.
It molted around day 3 of me having her but it hasn't accepted a single food source yet from the time I've had it which as me worried.

When I bought it the guy said to keep it in the tube it came in (standard sling tube)
It's been like a week since it molted and still reacts super skittish around all food sources. I've tried live and pre-killed crickets (around the spiders size and slightly smaller), a meal worm and was considering trying to feed fruitflies but that didnt make much sense in my head as it's terrestrial.

I've moved it to a bigger enclosure (around 9 x 9 x 9 cm) but now I fear it might be too easy for the prey to escape from the spider.

Should I stick to pre-killed? Could I be keeping it too cold? (between 20-30 Celsius) I am starting to get worried so any help is welcome. I got a praying mantis at the same time and that thing is a total devour monster so the contrast in feeding between the two is jarring.

These arent my first inverts. I've had mantids, scorpions and beetles in the past, all without problems.

 

[docwade87]

Them not eating isn’t an issue. They can go a while (weeks) without eating. You said it just molted which is another reason why it’s not eating yet. Pre killed for slings isn’t a bad thing. I would wait a week. Do not mess with it. Then try and put a piece of mealworm or cricket in there overnight. It may seem as if it hasn’t eaten due to them being small. It may have just sucked on it and gotten full. If the food source has been moved by the next morning you will know if it ate a bit. If not don’t fret and just try again in a few days. Remember they have to adjust to their new enclosure and area and that it just molted which also will delay the T from eating again for a little bit. Ts are unlike any other animal other than snakes possibly where they don’t need to eat constantly and can do fine for months without eating as adults. There is no strict feeding regimen for Ts and you just have to figure out what is best for each individual.

Depending on your slings size, that enclosure might be too big. Bigger is not always better.

Temps should be in the 70s.

Do a bit more searching and reading on this forum. Most of this and all basic care issues has been covered numerous times! Cheers!

 

[Vanisher]

The new container seems to big for a tiny sling of this speicies. You should have kept it in the same enclisute it came in for another moult or two!? About feeding. These are no Phormictopus cancerides! B harmori slings are often picky eaters ans slow to get started with food after a moult. They lack the feedingresponse of other tarantulas! Wait some more days!

 

[trilluki]

Firstly, I'd like to ask for clarification- Were you attempting to offer prey right after it molted? You should wait at least a week after a molt to offer any food items to your T. Their fangs and bodies are incredibly fragile for the first week after a molt and they can be attacked and preyed upon by crickets and/or superworms. Also don't worry too hard about this period of the sling refusing food- All tarantulas do it from time to time, especially when stressed from a shipment and not fully settled in yet! It's easy to get worried with your sling and it's eating habits because most animals we typically care for like cats and dogs require daily feedings. Tarantulas aren't quite the same, and though slings eat more than adults do, they still eat relatively little. So don't worry yourself too much about it having a little fast, he'll eat once he's ready

As for your enclosure, it sounds like it is far too large given that you mentioned it is still a sling. Your enclosure should be much shorter to prevent an abdominal injury or potential death from a fall if your tarantula decides to play pretend as an arboreal. Tarantulas, despite having an exoskeleton, are very fragile and cannot deal with falls well at all. A good size enclosure for your little thing would be either the container it shipped in or otherwise- if you've disposed of the vial- a clear 2 oz deli cup. You can grab them from most nearby restaurants. Oh, and it also wouldn't hurt to add a small water bottle cap in as a water dish if you haven't done so already.

Oh, and before I forget, does your little Hamorii have a name?

 

[Cheekerpot]

Thanks for all the responses everyone. I did read that you shouldn't feed after the Molt, so I did not attempt for around 4 days before putting food in.
I will take your suggestions and move it to a smaller cup, the initial tube just seemed so tiny for it.
Since the gender is still unknown I decided to name my sling Parker

---

Firstly, I'd like to ask for clarification- Were you attempting to offer prey right after it molted? You should wait at least a week after a molt to offer any food items to your T. Their fangs and bodies are incredibly fragile for the first week after a molt and they can be attacked and preyed upon by crickets and/or superworms. Also don't worrytoo hard about this period of the sling refusing food- All tarantulas do it from time to time, especially when stressed from a shipment and not fully settled in yet! It's easy to get worried with your sling and it's eating habits because most animals we typically care for like cats and dogs require daily feedings. Tarantulas aren't quite the same, and though slings eat more than adults do, they still eat relatively little. So don't worry yourself too much about it having a little fast, he'll eat once he's ready

As for your enclosure, that tank sounds like it is far too large given that you mentioned it is still a sling. Your enclosure should be much shorter to prevent an abdominal injury or potential death from a fall if your tarantula decides to play pretend as an arboreal. Tarantulas, despite having an exoskeleton, are very fragile and cannot deal with falls well at all. A good size enclosure for your little thing would be a clear 2 oz deli cup. You can grab them from most nearby restaurants. Oh, and it also wouldn't hurt to add a small water bottle cap in as a water dish if you haven't done so already.

Oh, and before I forget, does your little Hamorii have a name?

 

[Vanisher]

A word of advise! It is almost always better to house slings in small container. Better to small than to large. You have better control on both feeding and watering and the sling feel more secure! 9cm×9cm enclosure is more apropriate when the tarantula is around 1 or 2 inch in legspan! If you gonna put a sling in a to large enclosure do it with a Gbb or P murinus, due to their active webbing

 

[trilluki]

Thanks for all the responses everyone. I did read that you shouldn't feed after the Molt, so I did not attempt for around 4 days before putting food in.
I will take your suggestions and move it to a smaller cup, the initial tube just seemed so tiny for it.
Since the gender is still unknown I decided to name my sling Parker

---

Oh my! That's an adorable name!

The vials do look pretty small, don't they? Mr(s) Parker will do really well in those little containers however, just add a hearty amount of substrate for it to play around with. If you want to have a little fun with the little enclosure, pack the fibre around a plastic straw and remove the straw to make a lovely starter burrow for it. Then you can leave a lovely meal in the container for a housewarming gift once it's had a day or two to settle in.

 

[Paul1126]

Well my Hamorii slings have been refusing since December

 

[The Grym Reaper]

You should wait at least a week after a molt to offer any food items to your T. Their fangs and bodies are incredibly fragile for the first week after a molt and they can be attacked and preyed upon by crickets and/or superworms.

Small slings can be ready to resume feeding in as little as 24hrs after completing a moult (I found this out accidentally with my E. cyanognathus when I dropped in a pre-killed mealworm and found him the next morning sat next to a moult chowing down on that mealworm), the majority of slings will happily resume feeding in 3-5 days after a moult IME.

 

[Thekla]

@Cheekerpot If you posted some pictures we'd surely be able to tell if the enclosure is the right size or not.

Everything else had been said before.

 

[Paul1971]

My B hamorii sling (13mm ls) moulted almost 5 weeks ago and only started eating a few days ago, it will eat when it's hungry, the room i keep my T's in varies between 18°c - 27°c depending on time of year (65°f - 80°f), it is also in an enclosure a little on the large side for its size but doesn't have a problem finding food.

 

[cold blood]

@Cheekerpot If you posted some pictures we'd surely be able to tell if the enclosure is the right size or not.

Everything else had been said before.

This


Im baffled that people are telling you the housing is too big when not a single person here has seen the housing itself. Some vials would be too small, other vials would be way way too large. Please post a picture so that we can verify this for sure.

I house terrestrial slings under 1" in condiment cups...
Theyre easier to ventilate and offer more horizontal space....versus the vertical space a vial offers.