b.smithi sling
- Thread starter coolkid16
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dannyboypede
Arachnosquire
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Welcome to the boards.
I am in a "search police mood" today, so instead of helping you
, I am going to say this:
In the top right there is a search button. Click it, and down will come the holy search bar. Type in "B. smithi mature" or something similar, and you should get the answer you are looking for, plus a lot more.
--Dan
p.s. Female: 7-9 years to reach full maturity
Male: a little less.
I am in a "search police mood" today, so instead of helping you
, I am going to say this:In the top right there is a search button. Click it, and down will come the holy search bar. Type in "B. smithi mature" or something similar, and you should get the answer you are looking for, plus a lot more.
--Dan
p.s. Female: 7-9 years to reach full maturity
Male: a little less.
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- Mar 30, 2009
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Well, for a female, it depends. If you powerfeed, it could reach maturity in 5 years. But, naturally, probably 8 years.
Hey look for that T! why are you here posting!
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By doing that, your making its life span shorter. Power feeding is frowned upon in society.
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Way to generalize, kiddo.
It's sort of a down-the-middle split. Some people are for it, some aren't.
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Well yeah.. I forgot to mention that. Whatever floats your boat! But, its not my cup of tea.
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I have had my B. smithi sling for almost a year now. I got it at about an inch and it is now nearly 3 inches. I "power-feed" mine, which still has not truly been researched enough to prove whether it shortens the inverts lifespan or not.
OT, smallara, aren't you complaining about your N. Chromatus not showing color?
OT, smallara, aren't you complaining about your N. Chromatus not showing color?
*face desk*
Thanks for coming to my rescue
IMO nothing wrong with power feeding LOTS of users here do it, and I've never heard of it being frowned upon. But I might have just missed those threads (please direct me to them).
Anyhow if said tarantula has a life span between 10 and 20 years I can live with losing a few years to power feeding.
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i know what you're aiming to mean, but i would like you to provide some links to that other than people personally stating they do not choose to do it and something other than the "you're shortening its lifespan!" arguement.
ime, speeding up the process to 2" by keeping them well fed (and thus, well hydrated) hasn't had any ill effects in my collection. this seems to be the consensus of what most people "powerfeeding" do, help it grow out of the fragile stage faster, then lay off. (i know of situations where people on the boards have continued to powerfeed past this point, with perfectly sound [at this point] adults as well.)
i could continue, but this isn't a powerfeeding debate, whoops.
also, OP. common feeders are mainly crickets and roaches nymphs (lats, dubia, etc.). some keepers suppliment with small mealworms and waxworms. depending on the size of the sling, you might have to prekill prey (i normally do this for stuff under 1" that doesn't either take it from the tongs or when it drops to the ground) or even dice it up a bit, in the case of the worms.
fun stuff.
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Why face desk?
---------- Post added at 10:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:06 PM ----------
Yeah, but I can wait and be patient. And people, reason I say it shortens their life-span, is cause each time it molts, it gets bigger. Bigger, basically older and your speeding up time. But hey, thats just me using my brain? Maybe you guys dont agree!
Im alright with that! And lets not argue about stupid things.. I have had plenty of people arguing with me when I was younger, and I dont plan on it anymore
I'm really curious about proper feeding for a sling and younger T's for that matter. I was already given the info on how to choose the right cricket size for a sling but I'm still not sure of how to know how many crickets is healthy to feed my sling each week. I'm still feeding my 1.5" sling 2 small crickets a week. I was told this might not be enough for her. I'm also feeding my 4" chaco (sorry this is off topic) 5 larger crickets each week. I'm guessing this is enough for them. They eat everything right away. So what is the rule of thumb for knowing how much to feed a young T? I don't intend to power feed my youngsters.
Two crickets a week is more than enough. If you choose to, you can feed two a day if the Tarantula will take them. The important thing is to make sure to remove un-eaten food in about 24 hours after putting it in the tank.
This will allow you to provide some measure of protection for your T (to stop it from becoming a cricket snack)
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Power feeding Frowned upon!?!
Its not frowned upon as "smalls" states. I have had great results with powerfeeding and none of the problems people have theorized about bursting abdomens ect. Yes they may be more prone to falling and getting injured but that should never happen in a good setup reguardless of obesity!
My males are not maturing at a smaller size as some have stated.. If anything they mature bigger! My P. ornata is penultimate at 6" with a grape size abdomen. He will be 7"+ anyday now! I bought him at second instar. Hes been at 85 deg for a LONG time. Let me add records for those who doubt it.
(second instar)
5/27/10 3rd instar
6/22/10 so on..
7/16/10
8/7/10
9/4/10
10/14/10
12/10/10
WOW he has only gone more than 30 days without molting 3 times! Frown on that!
The rule of thumb (at least for me) If its not an adult feed it until it stops eating then wait for a molt. I do this so they reach maturity faster and i can breed them. Some people manipulate the amount they feed males to hold them back or mature them faster depending on the females size.
Its not frowned upon as "smalls" states. I have had great results with powerfeeding and none of the problems people have theorized about bursting abdomens ect. Yes they may be more prone to falling and getting injured but that should never happen in a good setup reguardless of obesity!
My males are not maturing at a smaller size as some have stated.. If anything they mature bigger! My P. ornata is penultimate at 6" with a grape size abdomen. He will be 7"+ anyday now!
I bought him at second instar. Hes been at 85 deg for a LONG time. Let me add records for those who doubt it. (second instar)
5/27/10 3rd instar
6/22/10 so on..
7/16/10
8/7/10
9/4/10
10/14/10
12/10/10
WOW he has only gone more than 30 days without molting 3 times! Frown on that!
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+1
I feel theres nothing wrong with the method. Now directly related to the OP's question. I'll just show a molt record of a B. smithi I had (Just sold)
Brachypelma smilthi. .25"
Bought February 9, 2010
Molted 3-8-10
Molted 4-13-10
Molted 5-17-10
Molted 6-20-10
Molted 7-21-10
Molted 8-21-10 Sexed Female
Molted 10-1-10
Molted 1-2-11 4.5" legspan
now after found her to be female I slowed down the feedings but basically in my example you can get a .25" sling grow to a 4.5" specimen in one year. So I also can assume reach maturity in the second year.
I feel theres nothing wrong with the method. Now directly related to the OP's question. I'll just show a molt record of a B. smithi I had (Just sold)
Brachypelma smilthi. .25"
Bought February 9, 2010
Molted 3-8-10
Molted 4-13-10
Molted 5-17-10
Molted 6-20-10
Molted 7-21-10
Molted 8-21-10 Sexed Female
Molted 10-1-10
Molted 1-2-11 4.5" legspan
now after found her to be female I slowed down the feedings but basically in my example you can get a .25" sling grow to a 4.5" specimen in one year. So I also can assume reach maturity in the second year.
wow, I had no idea a b smithi could grow so fast! I got a smithi in order to have a small T for a long long time. I guess she'll be big pretty quick then. I was hoping she'd be small for more than a year. This is a great thread and thx for all the info and for posting this!
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Thats not your typical growth rate with less frequent feeding at room temperature.