Getting my very first T sling. Good enclosure?

[Diplopodia]

I recently purchased a Honduran Curly Hair (Tliltocatl Albopiloaus) sling.
I haven't received it yet as it's being held until next week for warmer temps but I set up it's enclosure and I made two depending on the size.
It's still feeding on fruit flies so its tiny.
I've read they like to burrow when they are young so I gave it plenty of room to dig but kept open space to minimum to make the flies easier to catch. I'm I on the right track? Maybe start with the small and rehouse to the larger?

The smaller is 3.5" tall and 2.75" diameter. The larger is 4" tall and 3.75" in diameter. 10 oz and 20oz acrylic apothecary jars with vent small holes added.


What should I feed it after it's ready for more than fruit flies?
Thanks

 

[viper69]

Size of T?

 

[ladyratri]

Unless your sling turns out to be 1.5-2 inches legspan, I would go with quite a bit less substrate. Example:

IMG_0472

Keep your small terrestrial slings like this.

arachnoboards.com

If you don't know how big it is, contact the seller now and ask for size and confirm it is diagonal leg span they are giving you.

Smaller slings will adopt a tiny enclosure as their whole burrow, and will be easy to see, monitor, and feed... If they dig an actual burrow in deeper substrate, it becomes hard to keep track of them, they grow slower because they don't eat as well, and it's harder to adjust your husbandry appropriately.

Edit: forgot your feeder question. Fruit flies have little nutrition. Feed pre-killed cut up mealworms, pre-killed crickets, or live pinhead/appropriate size crickets. Most slings once they have molted once or twice can take down a live cricket at least the size of their abdomen with no trouble. And in a small enclosure, you can watch them hunt and be sure.

 

[Diplopodia]

Awesome. Thanks for the info. I'll make adjustments.

 

[ladyratri]

Awesome. Thanks for the info. I'll make adjustments.

Glad you asked here before it arrived! I had a tiny terrestrial sling (N. chromatus) come as a freebie and didn't have the right size enclosure -- it was less than a half inch, and my 5.5 oz deli cup was too big and the sub too deep. No one can say what would've happened if I'd housed it better, but I did lose that sling and I will definitely do things differently next time.

My 1" sling (G. pulchra) in the same setup is thriving, grew a ton with its first molt, and will likely move soon to have a little more floor space but still not too deep sub.

(Don't mind all that dirt in the water dish, it finally settled in enough to start "redecorating" as soon as it heard me say the word "rehouse". Classic.)

 

[Diplopodia]

Glad you asked here before it arrived! I had a tiny terrestrial sling (N. chromatus) come as a freebie and didn't have the right size enclosure -- it was less than a half inch, and my 5.5 oz deli cup was too big and the sub too deep. No one can say what would've happened if I'd housed it better, but I did lose that sling and I will definitely do things differently next time.

My 1" sling (G. pulchra) in the same setup is thriving, grew a ton with its first molt, and will likely move soon to have a little more floor space but still not too deep sub.
View attachment 438110
(Don't mind all that dirt in the water dish, it finally settled in enough to start "redecorating" as soon as it heard me say the word "rehouse". Classic.)

Very helpful. I definitely jumped the gun in terms of trying to rehouse the sling into a something too big and set up for failure on first arrival. I'll keep it in small deli cups until it grows into something larger.
Ill probably have something better ready for it

I don't have it yet but the dealer said they are new slings with no color feeding on fruit flies.

 

[DustyD]

I don't have it yet but the dealer said they are new slings with no color feeding on fruit flies.

Sounds like a small tarantula, but just how small? Did the dealer give you a size like 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch? Maybe it says on the website or any email information you may have gotten. It is important.

If it is feeding on fruit flies then I am thinking along the lines of what ladyratri said, a deli cup (or small vial) would be best. Depending on size of the T, maybe 1,2 or 3 oz cup for starters.
Edit: maybe even smaller.

 

[Smotzer]

Keep in a delicup, or similar diameter, the sizes of your enclosure may be okay depending on the size of the sling but I just wouldn’t give it all that much depth to burrow or else you will have a hard time as a beginner feeding and managing its molt cycle. You just don’t need all that much substrate for a small sling!

 

[cold blood]

I don't have it yet but the dealer said they are new slings with no color feeding on fruit flies.

A sling should not be fed fruit flies as a main part of its diet...fruit flies are nutrient deficient....pre killed prey is a better option...like diced meal worm pieces.

nom nom (Nhandu chromatus)

• cold blood
• Jun 8, 2018
• 1
• brazilian red and white tarantula chromatus feeding nhandu nhandu chromatus sling

 

[DustyD]

A sling should not be fed fruit flies as a main part of its diet...fruit flies are nutrient deficient....pre killed prey is a better option...like diced meal worm pieces.

nom nom (Nhandu chromatus)

• cold blood
• Jun 8, 2018
• 1
• brazilian red and white tarantula chromatus feeding nhandu nhandu chromatus sling

Easier for the little tykes to find and eat too. No chasing it around and just have to slurp up the larvae goodness that is oozing out.

 

[Diplopodia]

Thanks.