Feeding a sling/advice

Lelielu

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jul 22, 2021
Messages
12
Hello!
I was wondering how often I should feed my sling?(T. albopilosus) It's still very small (about 1cm) and it ate a red runner nymph yesterday, when should I try to offer it some food again? I've read that people feed theirs once every 6 days or so, should I try to keep this feeding regime as well? Or is it OK to offer it some food sooner and see it it wants to take it? I've read posts and watched vidoes about tarantula keeping, but since this is my first tarantula I'm scared to do something wrong, so any advice would be appreciated.
Thank you!
 

EvilTrailMix

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 17, 2006
Messages
96
No need to feed on a schedule. Feed based on abdomen size. I like to get my tiny slings nice and plump and keep them that way. You can achieve this by feeding small prey items frequently, or large prey items less often.
 

USNGunner

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jul 30, 2020
Messages
148
I feed my tiny slings a couple of times a week to try and speed the growth process and get them to a more robust size quicker. As they grow I drop back to "weeklyish(?)" It won't hurt to feed it, if it doesn't take in a 24 hour period pull the feeder and try again later.
 

Lelielu

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jul 22, 2021
Messages
12
So you can't overfeed them? They will only eat if they want/need to?
 

AphonopelmaTX

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I would say feed it about once a month. The #1 aspect of tarantula care that people can't seem to wrap their heads around is how little they need to eat.
 

Stardust1986

Arachnoknight
Active Member
Joined
May 7, 2021
Messages
173
Hello!
I was wondering how often I should feed my sling?(T. albopilosus) It's still very small (about 1cm) and it ate a red runner nymph yesterday, when should I try to offer it some food again? I've read that people feed theirs once every 6 days or so, should I try to keep this feeding regime as well? Or is it OK to offer it some food sooner and see it it wants to take it? I've read posts and watched vidoes about tarantula keeping, but since this is my first tarantula I'm scared to do something wrong, so any advice would be appreciated.
Thank you!
I have found they accept food when their hungry, and if their not they refuse food. If the feeder is still uneaten in 24 hours remove it. Keeping a sling is always scary, moisture is more important to them than food
 

DomGom TheFather

Arachnoprince
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Apr 26, 2020
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1,975
I feed all slings roughly once a week regardless of size. Prey items are usually around half the size of the spider. This works great for me and keeps them growing steady without ballooning but more would be fine as well as less could be. If your spider gets fat, cut back. Slim, increase.
Schedules are for us.
 

joossa

Arachnobaron
Joined
Nov 21, 2020
Messages
333
Even if its only about 1cm large?
Once a month would be better for a large juvinle or adult. For a tiny sling like yours, aim for once or twice a week and judge based on abdomen size. Keep it warm too!
 

Lelielu

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jul 22, 2021
Messages
12
I have found they accept food when their hungry, and if their not they refuse food. If the feeder is still uneaten in 24 hours remove it. Keeping a sling is always scary, moisture is more important to them than food
Whats the best way to see if the moisture is right? You have to put water only on one side of the enclosure right?
 

Tarantuland

Arachnoprince
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Mar 19, 2020
Messages
1,354
Once a week

 

Stardust1986

Arachnoknight
Active Member
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May 7, 2021
Messages
173
If their very small, too small for a dish, then putting moisture down one side is recommended. A water dish isnt an absolute need at this size, just provide damp substrate and the sling should be just fine
 

Lelielu

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jul 22, 2021
Messages
12
If their very small, too small for a dish, then putting moisture down one side is recommended. A water dish isnt an absolute need at this size, just provide damp substrate and the sling should be just fine
Alright, thank you!
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
17,851
Hello!
I was wondering how often I should feed my sling?(T. albopilosus) It's still very small (about 1cm) and it ate a red runner nymph yesterday, when should I try to offer it some food again? I've read that people feed theirs once every 6 days or so, should I try to keep this feeding regime as well? Or is it OK to offer it some food sooner and see it it wants to take it? I've read posts and watched vidoes about tarantula keeping, but since this is my first tarantula I'm scared to do something wrong, so any advice would be appreciated.
Thank you!
I never feed on a schedule

Feed when hungry
 

The Grym Reaper

Arachnoreaper
Joined
Jul 19, 2016
Messages
4,835
It's a slower growing species so once every 7-10 days is plenty.

As for the "feeding slings once a month" thing, it's not something I'd do but they'd survive, even 1cm slings can go months without food.

You can't overfeed slings, they weigh practically nothing, they have short moult cycles, and they put everything into growth so they don't suffer from any of the complications that can occur from overfeeding juveniles/adults.
 

Smotzer

ArachnoGod
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I never feed more than once a week regardless of small sling size. I probably feed once every 10-14days for juveniles depending on size and up through also 14-21days and sometimes longer a month or more for sub/adults.

I side on the theory of @AphonopelmaTX people have this idea they need to be fed and fed and fed and gorged like fat Acari- ticks, this is not how they live outside in situ.

I have short premolt cycles the way I feed and no one is ever looking like they are going to pop. Molt cycles are not any longer. Feeding more and more routinely is not going to make any T molt any faster and get bigger when it does, just plump faster and fast for longer.
 

AphonopelmaTX

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Even if its only about 1cm large?
Yes. I agree with the general idea stated in other responses in this post that feeding tarantulas of any size is more about quantity than frequency. If you give a 1 cm long spiderling a large meal, large meal defined as a prey item larger than the carapace, then you don't need to feed it but once a month. If you feed it one tiny prey item, tiny defined as smaller than the carapace, then you can feed once a week or more frequently. The point is that tarantulas of any size don't need as much food as you might think they do.
 

James Spiders

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 28, 2021
Messages
5
Hi a wish someone had told me this when I was starting out as there's not much info out there I'd stick too every 3 to 4 days and keep the feeders small as there's such a thing called Anal inpaction that can kills all spiders as they don't eat like us or do the toilet the same in there body all the exoskeleton from feeders gets balled up and if you keep feeding before they poop it can block them up and they die it happened to me not long ago I'm not saying it's defo going to happen always but it can and does happen to slings and bigger spiders.
 

Stardust1986

Arachnoknight
Active Member
Joined
May 7, 2021
Messages
173
Hi a wish someone had told me this when I was starting out as there's not much info out there I'd stick too every 3 to 4 days and keep the feeders small as there's such a thing called Anal inpaction that can kills all spiders as they don't eat like us or do the toilet the same in there body all the exoskeleton from feeders gets balled up and if you keep feeding before they poop it can block them up and they die it happened to me not long ago I'm not saying it's defo going to happen always but it can and does happen to slings and bigger spiders.
It's best not to over feed, I heard the tarantula knows best when to eat and when to refuse. Others say they cant be sure because their opportunistic, and just eat whenever food comes. I've heard of their poop compacting, and if it happens, try spraying the area with a puppet of water to loosen the stool. Tarantulas dont need to eat as often as we think, base feeding on abdomen size and not routine, that was the advise given to me
 
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