GBB SLINGS....YAY!!! but i need help..

[arachno31grunt]

ok well today i got my first green bottle blue and i was in for a double whammie when i found out it was a sling. Ive never had either before and i wanna do this right (im soo excited.) right now i have it in the container that it came in which is huge compared to its size. What should i house it in? i also have small mason jars that i could possibly house it in idk. any help at all would be appreciated thanks also with the humidity and temp how should it be for the sling?

 

[DannyH]

Keep the substrate damp for humidity, as slings can dry out easly. Toss in a cricket leg once and awhile and you good.

 

[Formerphobe]

They like it DRY! It may be fine in its shipping vial for now. Without pics it's hard to tell... They grow fairly quickly. Just about any container that they can't escape from will do, as long as you keep it dry. Humidity: low! Temp: They are from a desert region of Venezuela, but, in general, if you are comfortable, it will be comfortable.

 

[synyster]

I second keeping it dry here. Maybe keep some slight humidity in the enclosure since it's a sling but you certainly do not want damp substrate.

 

[Formerphobe]

Maybe keep some slight humidity in the enclosure since it's a sling but you certainly do not want damp substrate.

+1 For my GBB sling (now a juvie) and other dry-lovers, I watered from the bottom up. I had a vent hole below substrate level and would inject about 1 cc of water once a week or so. Once its legspan equaled that of a water bottle cap, I gave it a water 'bowl'. It generally tends to fill the water bowl with substrate and eventually bury it... With my two current GBBs (2.0" and 3.0") I dribble a cc or two of water onto their web every week or so. Both tend to bury their water bowls... They get most of their moisture from their prey.

 

[BrettG]

I am just curious as to why the OP was not aware they were receiving a sling?What did you purchase it as?
And to echo everyone else,keep it DRY!I kept ours dry as a bone but lightly misted one side of its webbing every couple of weeks.Seemed to do the trick till it was ready for a water bowl.

 

[Tu Nyce]

I am just curious as to why the OP was not aware they were receiving a sling?What did you purchase it as?
And to echo everyone else,keep it DRY!I kept ours dry as a bone but lightly misted one side of its webbing every couple of weeks.Seemed to do the trick till it was ready for a water bowl.

This is what I am doing. The substrate is always dry and I only mist the opposite side of the sling.

 

[JayMadison]

I second keeping it dry here. Maybe keep some slight humidity in the enclosure since it's a sling but you certainly do not want damp substrate.

I have a GBB sling that won't even walk on the ground if it's damp, just staying in it's webbing

 

[Saf]

ok well today i got my first green bottle blue and i was in for a double whammie when i found out it was a sling. Ive never had either before and i wanna do this right (im soo excited.) right now i have it in the container that it came in which is huge compared to its size. What should i house it in? i also have small mason jars that i could possibly house it in idk. any help at all would be appreciated thanks also with the humidity and temp how should it be for the sling?

An excellent choice, Chromatopelma cyaneopubecens are an absolutely gorgeous species of Tarantula.

It's not often I can offer advice here, due to my relative lack of experience in the hobby, but I do have some experience with C. cyaneopubecens, and have done a lot of research into their habitat, so hopefully I may be of some assistance to you.

Generally, Greenbottle Blues are concentrated mainly in the Peninsula de Paraguaná and Los Médanos de Coro areas of Falcón State, on the north western coast of Venezuela; where they enjoy a temperature ranging between 21 and 32 degrees celcius, with average temps tending to be around 26-28 degrees C.
Whilst they seem to prefer the higher end of this scale, they will still be relatively comfortable with lower temps down to around 19-20.
Keep in mind that the higher the temperature you keep them at, the faster their metabolism will be. Higher temps mean faster growth than lower ones, and therefore naturally can affect the lifespan of your spider to some degree.

The region of their natural habitat is that of very dry, arid desert scrubland, with large sand dunes that are constantly shifting around, subject to the regular strong coastal winds that blow in from across the Coro Bay and Carribean Seas. The constant movement of their local 'substrate' explains GBBs seemingly inbuilt genetic preference to avoid spending much 'potentially hazardous' time on ground level, and they tend to prefer webbing up low lying desert shrubs away from the shifting sands, in which they like to hang out most of the time. They do also like to make some kind of hide or burrow down in the roots of these desert plants though, in which they can retreat, to avoid the likes of sand storms, high winds and predators.

To enjoy a content GBB, it is a good idea to try to replicate this habitat for her as best that you can. Doesn't have to be anything elaborate, especially for a young sling; just keep in mind that her natural preference will be for something off of ground/substrate level that she can web up, and a lower hide or burrow of some description beneath it for her to retreat to. GBBs will often spend much of their time out on display in their impressive and copious webbing, but they will appreciate the security of knowing they have the option of somewhere to hide, if they choose to make use of it.
And be sure to keep her in the very dry environment she is genetically conditioned for. Too much humidity can actually adversely affect the health of your beautiful new GBB. Any humidity that does briefly arise in their natural habitat, doesn't last long in the presence of the prevailing strong, dry winds.
About 30% humidity is a good replication of her natural environment, and has worked well for me.

As for temperament, many reports indicate this species to be somewhat skittish, and prone to bolt at the first sign of disturbance, though my personal experience differs from the 'norm'. I've raised mine from a tiny sling, up to her recent moult into an L9 stage juvenile so far, and she seems to buck the trends in many ways actually.

She is very docile, and whilst I try to leave her alone to live her life with as little disturbance as possible, when I do need to open up her enclosure for any reason, she generally remains very calm, and is even sometimes quite inquisitive as the the nature of her disturbance. Do be aware however, that if she is spooked in any way, she has the potential to take off with very impressive speed! "Now you see her, now you dont".
She has never made any escape attempts though fortunately. In the rare occasions she does 'take flight', it is always back to the safety of her hide.

Be aware that Chromatopelma cyaneopubecens posess type IV uricating hairs, which can be one of the more unpleasant kinds for humans. Though, having said this, my GBB has never once flicked at me. She does like to kick showers of the stuff down around her moulting area for protection though when that time comes, and it's a good idea to keep your distance during such 'showers', as the results can be itchy!
(As a side-note, mine prefers to moult upside down, hanging from something, into a pre-prepared web 'hammock' beneath her, using the force of gravity to help her from her old exo-skeleton. And I've heard of other GBBs that like to do the same.)

And as for threat displays, the only one I've ever seen from her, was a half-arsed attemp directed toward a cricket stuck in her webbing, that was making a comotion proportionate to that of something twice its size. She soon realized it was prey rather than predator though, and took it down shortly after.

She will sometimes make use of a waterdish, though mostly just treats them as webbing anchors, and webs them up good and proper, along with the rest of every square inch of her enclosure.
Generally, though she will drink (if she needs to) from a few drops of water placed on her webbing once a week. Don't worry if she doesn't though, as they get plenty of moisture from their food. She knows best if she needs to supplement that with water. Just offer her some once a week, and leave it to her to decide. Be careful not to get the substrate too damp though (sub needs to be kept dry for her), and confine any watering to a small area, so as she can avoid it if she wants to.

And as for feeding, I started her off straight away from a small sling, on a diet of a couple of pinhead crickets a week, gradually increasing the size of crickets as she grew, and she's always taken them down with no trouble.


Congratulations on your excellent acquisition, I am sure that you will come to adore her, and take great enjoyment in their personality, and the brilliant colour changes they go though as they grow up.

Hope this was in some way helpful to you.

Kind regards,

Saf.

 

[Kazahmish]

Awww.. I want one of these.. lol.. but I will be satisfied waiting a little while until I can get things going for the ones I should be getting soon..
thanks for the great info on this.. it truly IS a beautiful T... another one I fell in love with was a Blue Fang.. can't recall the sci name.. but after reading the care/fact sheet on it, I decided to hold off.. way too much work at the moment.. my room is almost always a steady 80-85 degrees in the summer... and that is WITH the AC running.. and about 70 in the winter with the space heater on full time. so right now I am unable to control the temps or humidity well enough for it.

 

[arachno31grunt]

i went to the local pet shop and looked at a few of the T's. I walked to the counter with a curly hair and i asked if they were gonna get any green bottle blues in and they had one that I ddnt see because it was locked up like the reptiles. and it was a sling couldnt pass it up never seen one before nor a sling for that matter.. so I was excited to get it and i did.. the pet store had it all humid though but it wasnt the "tarantula" guy that housed it. but taking your suggestions ive rehoused it and lowered the humidity. thanks guys ill keep you posted..

---------- Post added 08-14-2011 at 11:39 PM ----------

well i rehoused it and now its in a 1 pint mason jar with dry substrate and holes drilled into the lid. Should i try to feed it now or wait a few days, and ive also seen others on youtube feed their slings with pinhead crickets that are busted open and prekilled is that the best way to go about it?

 

[synyster]

Should i try to feed it now or wait a few days, and ive also seen others on youtube feed their slings with pinhead crickets that are busted open and prekilled is that the best way to go about it?

Give it a day or two to adapt but you can actually feed this species a live cricket around the same size as itself and it will take it down with no problem. These are one of the most voracious eaters I possess. You can see the size of the cricket underneath the spider in this picture:

Btw, at that time, I had just slightly misted the enclosure so it's not as humid as it seems