Colombian Pumpkin Patch Sling help

[hannarachnia]

Hi guys,I'm thinking of getting a pumpkin (Hapalopus sp.),but from what I've heard the slings are beyond tiny...and I'm a little worried as they are delicate and so small what can i feed them,will they drown from condensation on the vial,what temp/humidity do they need do i need a gauge to keep it dead accurate?...anyone had these before? any advice/tips would be great
thanks
x

 

[johnny quango]

Hi guys,I'm thinking of getting a pumpkin (Hapalopus sp.),but from what I've heard the slings are beyond tiny...and I'm a little worried as they are delicate and so small what can i feed them,will they drown from condensation on the vial,what temp/humidity do they need do i need a gauge to keep it dead accurate?...anyone had these before? any advice/tips would be great
thanks
x

I don't personally own this species but I do own a Hapalopus triseriatus lowland (lemon patch). Where to start humidity 60-70% should be fine, feed them pinhead crickets, fruitflies, springtails or pre killed small crickets. No it won't drown from the water droplets on the vial just don't soak the substrate they like a little moisture but not wet. Finally a tiny sling won't stay too tiny for long as this genus are good eaters and grow fairly quickly and they can be fiesty. Best thing is to look for a juvenile if you aren't sure about a sling as they are pretty inexpensive in the uk

 

[HungryGhost]

They have a ferocious feeding response even as tiny slings. Fruit flies (hydei) worked well for me when they were tiny, as they grew I switched to extra small crickets. They will readily take prey their own size! I wouldn't worry about them drowning in they are not that delicate. I keep mine between 70f and 80f and keep the substrate lightly moist. One thing to know is they are fast, so be careful while re-housing them. In my opinion these guys are way too fast to think about handling if your so inclined. Enjoy them they are beautiful little eating machines.

 

[Poec54]

I have some Hapalopus Colombia Lg slings, from tiny to juvenile. I have the juveniles in 16 oz deli cups with a piece of plastic plant and a water bowl. They readily take adult crickets. Very easy, only thing to watch is that they are wired and fast.

The tiny slings are in 3 oz soufflé cups with a ring of airholes around the top (made with a safety pin). I have a little top soil in the bottom and some long fiber sphagnum which I lightly mist (and don't let get dry); they use that for drinking and hiding in. I've fed them pinhead crickets. They've molted a time or two and are growing well. Right off the bat they have some color, which is surprising for a tarantula that size.

This winter I'm keeping my spiders at a nighttime low of 70, due to having so many slings, and not wanting to lose any when they're weak during molting. Daytime high's are 75+. They're kept warmer the rest of the year.

 

[archaeosite]

How frequently are your slings molting? I have one of these guys. It's about 1/2", eats every couple days, and has spun an adorable web in it's ~1x1x2" enclosure. I provide water on moss, like Poec54, and keep the temperature around 80F. This is one of my first slings but so far I've found them all very easy to care for - the hardest part is waiting for them to grow!

 

[Poec54]

How frequently are your slings molting? I have one of these guys. It's about 1/2", eats every couple days, and has spun an adorable web in it's ~1x1x2" enclosure. I provide water on moss, like Poec54, and keep the temperature around 80F. This is one of my first slings but so far I've found them all very easy to care for - the hardest part is waiting for them to grow!

They're molting maybe once a month at this stage.

 

[Amimia]

I have two little slings. And by little, I mean 1/8". One molted recently and is closer to 1/4" now though. Anyway, I don't know the exact size of the vial I'm keeping them in, but it's about 2 or 3x their legspan. I have a pipet that I use to give them a drop of water on (it usually absorbs into the substrate so I don't think you'd have to worry about drowning), one of them is feeding on prekilled small meal worms, and the other on fruit flies (he only takes live prey), I keep the temps between 70-80F, humidity is usually around 70, I have them on coco fiber substrate, and that's about it. They both have burrows, and one of them has his enclosure completely webbed up. They're beautiful even as slings and so far have been easy to care for

---------- Post added 11-13-2014 at 01:31 PM ----------

On the gauges you mentioned, I have a temperature gauge in my room that came with a hygrometer. I did a test on the hygrometer and it's a bit off, so it's not exact but it's usually in the ball park. Im not sure how specific you have to keep it for these guys, I only bought the gauges for my p. metallica. But it couldn't hurt to have them

 

[cold blood]

You don't need to be searching for some dead on number specific humidity....and no, you don't need a hygrometer (for any t).

 

[awiec]

You don't need to be searching for some dead on number specific humidity....and no, you don't need a hygrometer (for any t).

Those are useless for spiders and even my geckos, don't rely on them.

As for me I kept mine similar to how I kept my fishing spiders (Dolomedes), I give them some cork to sit on as these have a habit of making a web hammock on the ground and use the cork as a "perch". I of course provide a water bowl and moisten the sub here and there and pretty much keep the whole collection at 72-74 day and 68 at night, but you can certainly keep them warmer. For very small slings I take a strip of sphagnum moss and wet it as it provides the perfect humidity without a mold risk. These will eat both pre-killed and live prey and have no issues taking out larger prey items if needed. My best advice is to watch them very carefully as these act like true spiders in that they are very fast and inquisitive, mine knows exactly where I am at all times while I'm doing maintenance and will not hesitate to try to jump on me for freedom.

 

[ArachnoFreak666]

the hardest part is waiting for them to grow!

I think that's the hardest part for any T. im getting extremely impatient with my A. geniculata right now!!

 

[hannarachnia]

thanks for all the advice I went ahead an got two slings,keeping them in vials with coco fibre, they seem to be doing well borrowing the top of my fellas snake viv for warmth and they seem happy! loving the way they pounce on food

 

[Poec54]

They grow fast and get to a more manageable size soon.

 

[SammyBoy]

This is a great species and having small food around isn't a problem, they'll happily take pinheads. Pinheads are easy and free to obtain, just grab 2 or 3 adult female crickets, put them in a container for a few days with a lightly moistened substrate of sand and coir evenly mixed. Take them out of the container after a few days, and within a few weeks that container will provide you with more than enough pinheads to get your slings through that instar. Then if, as the case often is with this species, they molt and are still too small, simply repeat the process and get more pinheads. Once they are big enough to move into a critter keeper and tackle larger prey items you can give them room to roam. They are out in the open a lot and are entertaining at feeding time.