feeding slings

K-TRAIN

Arachnobaron
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Dec 7, 2006
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i heard awhile ago about breeders using fruit flies to feed slings. is that true? also, im planning on buying some slings today at a expo. can anyone give me tips on feeding slings?
 

phil jones

Arachnoprince
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just ask around about them over here ( U - K ) they die fast or escape :wall: :wall: :( :( try very small or tiny crickets :clap: :clap: :worship: :worship: -- phil
 

ErikH

Arachnoangel
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Mar 8, 2006
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They are not all wingless. You have to be careful, because if a winged fruitfly from another source (something you brought home from the grocery store, for instance) gets into your colony, soon you will have lots of winged ones flying around. They work o.k. for really small slings, but using cricket parts is just as easy.
 

Mina

Arachnoking
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They are hard to keep alive and you can't keep them from escaping and then it takes forever to get rid of the darn things!!!!
Either use pinhead crickets or larger crickets and crush their heads before you put them in with the slings. You can also pull off the hind legs of the crickets and give tiny slings cricket legs.
 

Talkenlate04

ArachnoGod
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They are hard to keep alive and you can't keep them from escaping and then it takes forever to get rid of the darn things!!!!


Lol how can they be hard to keep alive and hard to get rid of?

A great alternative that I have been using more and more is an aphid culture. Aphids reproduce like mad and stay on the plant you want them to, in this case I have a miny rose bush that I keep inside in the window and it is the food for the aphid and the aphids are food for the slings. It works out nicely and is an endless supply of food. 1 can become 50 in a week.
 

PINK1081

Arachnosquire
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Apr 3, 2005
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One option I have used is meal worms. I have cut them up or get a culture going and harvest them when they are very small. Also if by chance you have a box of cherrio's in the back of a cupboard for the last year and it has become infested with grain moth larva, they work well too.

K-TRAIN, was it the Hamburg show you were going to???
 

K-TRAIN

Arachnobaron
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Dec 7, 2006
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One option I have used is meal worms. I have cut them up or get a culture going and harvest them when they are very small. Also if by chance you have a box of cherrio's in the back of a cupboard for the last year and it has become infested with grain moth larva, they work well too.

K-TRAIN, was it the Hamburg show you were going to???
yes, it was. i didnt see many interesting t's, except for colbalt blues. so i ended up buying all reptiles. i wasnt up to spending over $20 for slings.
 

Jonathan Rice

Arachnosquire
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Apr 4, 2006
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Aphids?

...I have been using an aphid culture. Aphids reproduce like mad and stay on the plant you want them to, in this case I have a miny rose bush that I keep inside in the window and it is the food for the aphid and the aphids are food for the slings. It works out nicely and is an endless supply of food. 1 can become 50 in a week.
Amazing! Can't wait to try 'em! How long have been using them?
 

PINK1081

Arachnosquire
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yes, it was. i didnt see many interesting t's, except for colbalt blues. so i ended up buying all reptiles. i wasnt up to spending over $20 for slings.
I was there late afternoon. Traded some of my many B. albopilosum slings for a B. auratum, bought a second one and picked up a mounted tarantula hawk wasp in a frame for my wall.

Jim
 

Sunar

Arachnoknight
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Mar 28, 2006
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I feed my smallest slings crickets. If the cricket looks too big I used to kill them by whacking their heads off with a ruler. I read recently that someone froze theirs though...so I did that the other day. I put a cricket in a plastic bag, tied it and put it in the freezer for awhile. I then stuffed it in my little T's cage and about an hour later she was all over that thing. From now on i'll be feeding my slings frozen dinners if I don't have crickets small enough for them. :D

~Fred
 

K-TRAIN

Arachnobaron
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Dec 7, 2006
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I was there late afternoon. Traded some of my many B. albopilosum slings for a B. auratum, bought a second one and picked up a mounted tarantula hawk wasp in a frame for my wall.

Jim
i ended up buying 2 red eared sliders, a ball python, and another leopard gecko.
i was looking at a b. smithi sling, but i couldnt get it for less then $20

good luck with the B. auratum.
 

Sunar

Arachnoknight
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Honestly, there probably aren't a ton of slings you'll find for less then $20....if you want a Brachy sling under $20 your two choices are probably B. vagans or B. albopilosum. *at least that I can think of off the top of my head...*

~Fred
 

K-TRAIN

Arachnobaron
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Dec 7, 2006
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Honestly, there probably aren't a ton of slings you'll find for less then $20....if you want a Brachy sling under $20 your two choices are probably B. vagans or B. albopilosum. *at least that I can think of off the top of my head...*

~Fred
i know. but its not the price. im just getting into t's. i have 1 rose hair at the moment. i've raised reptiles since i was four (started with turtles). im just trying to get a sling a little cheaper because i dont know wether or not i can raise one.
everyone tells me there hard to keep alive.
 
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