Food item too big?

[antinous]

Are there any downsides to having a food item too big for a sling? I'm feeding some of my Phormictopus slings mealworms that around the same size of their body (as I don't have any small crickets right now), would this be negative in any way?

Here's a photo:

 

[Flexzone]

The size of the meal-worm doesn't look like a huge problem, general rule of thumb for feeding Ts is to have the prey item be no larger then the size of their carapace. The issue that arises feeding T's larger live prey then themselves is that the prey item in question can overpower them and bite back, potentially injuring them. Personally I find the aggressive eating South American sp. of slings can handle a larger prey item then themselves. Giving them pre-killed larger prey items wouldn't be a problem IMO though.

 

[Sarkhan42]

Are there any downsides to having a food item too big for a sling? I'm feeding some of my Phormictopus slings mealworms that around the same size of their body (as I don't have any small crickets right now), would this be negative in any way?

Here's a photo:

These little guys are pretty voracious so I wouldn't be concerned about the size, but to be safe you may want to crush the heads of the mealworms, you'd be surprised the damage they can inflict.

 

[antinous]

The size of the meal-worm doesn't look like a huge problem, general rule of thumb for feeding Ts is to have the prey item be no larger then the size of their carapace. The issue that arises feeding T's larger live prey then themselves is that the prey item in question can overpower them and bite back, potentially injuring them. Personally I find the aggressive eating South American sp. of slings can handle a larger prey item then themselves. Giving them pre-killed larger prey items wouldn't be a problem IMO though.

These little guys are pretty voracious so I wouldn't be concerned about the size, but to be safe you may want to crush the heads of the mealworms, you'd be surprised the damage they can inflict.

Forgot to mention, I did crush the head of the mealworm, I tend to do that with all my slings just because I'm a bit paranoid.

 

[Flexzone]

Forgot to mention, I did crush the head of the mealworm, I tend to do that with all my slings just because I'm a bit paranoid.

Then there shouldn't be an issue.

 

[louise f]

Forgot to mention, I did crush the head of the mealworm, I tend to do that with all my slings just because I'm a bit paranoid

That is no being paranoid, it is just common sense. Keep doing that.

 

[viper69]

Are there any downsides to having a food item too big for a sling?

Just remember to remove the uneaten portion or you will develop all sorts of uninvited guests in your Ts home.

 

[antinous]

Just remember to remove the uneaten portion or you will develop all sorts of uninvited guests in your Ts home.

I always do, sometimes I think that I'm overthinking it too much, but oh well. I'm also getting some springtails and putting them in all of my 'tropical' species enclosures.

 

[Chapat]

I bought some springtails to put in my A. Versicolor, haven't put any in yet. How many do you put in? They can't hurt anything right?

 

[Chouinard]

Just remember to remove the uneaten portion or you will develop all sorts of uninvited guests in your Ts home.

Newbie tarantula owner here... Last night my B. Albo sling took its first prey insect into the hide in his enclosure (awesome btw). During the night he pushed dirt in front of the hide and made a new entrance for himself at the other end. I have been reading you should take old food out of the enclosures to prevent mold issues but at this point I definitely can't do that without messing up my T's burrow. Do I just leave well enough alone and not worry about it?

 

[EulersK]

Newbie tarantula owner here... Last night my B. Albo sling took its first prey insect into the hide in his enclosure (awesome btw). During the night he pushed dirt in front of the hide and made a new entrance for himself at the other end. I have been reading you should take old food out of the enclosures to prevent mold issues but at this point I definitely can't do that without messing up my T's burrow. Do I just leave well enough alone and not worry about it?

It just ate, so it's clearly not in premolt. If it were, then I'd say leave it alone. However, in this scenario, you may need to remove it. How large was the prey relative to the spider? If it was smaller like we've been talking about, there's likely not much left to mold. In that case, I wouldn't worry. If you like me and feed massive meals to slings, then you'll want to get it out of there.

In the end, though, don't feel bad about ruining webbing or burrowing. Spiders have a lot of free time on their hands, they can remake it.

 

[Chouinard]

It just ate, so it's clearly not in premolt. If it were, then I'd say leave it alone. However, in this scenario, you may need to remove it. How large was the prey relative to the spider? If it was smaller like we've been talking about, there's likely not much left to mold. In that case, I wouldn't worry. If you like me and feed massive meals to slings, then you'll want to get it out of there.

In the end, though, don't feel bad about ruining webbing or burrowing. Spiders have a lot of free time on their hands, they can remake it.

Thanks! I will definitely check in to removing leftovers from the enclosure, even if it means giving "Fluffy" a little extra work later on rearranging his digs. They not only have time on their hands but they have a lot of hands to have time on! (bad joke, I know).

 

[EulersK]

Thanks! I will definitely check in to removing leftovers from the enclosure, even if it means giving "Fluffy" a little extra work later on rearranging his digs. They not only have time on their hands but they have a lot of hands to have time on! (bad joke, I know).

Sorry man, beat you to it.


http://arachnoboards.com/threads/how.284121/

They've got nothing but time on their hands. And they've got a lot of hands, so they can carry a lot of time.

That analogy got out of hand quickly.

OH GOD NOT AGAIN.