Got any sling feeding tips? (pics)

LD67

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Got my brachypelma emilia about a week ago. I tried feeding it before, but it wasn't interested. Today it finally went for it. Trouble is, it's a mealworm. They dig. It disappeared under the dirt before my T was able to subdue it. I tried putting them in a separate container. Now my T isn't interested. Should I cut the mealworm in half maybe and keep them in its regular home?
 

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Trenor

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Got my brachypelma emilia about a week ago. I tried feeding it before, but it wasn't interested. Today it finally went for it. Trouble is, it's a mealworm. They dig. It disappeared under the dirt before my T was able to subdue it. I tried putting them in a separate container. Now my T isn't interested. Should I cut the mealworm in half maybe and keep them in its regular home?
Crush the head of the meal worm before feeding it. That will let it twitch but it won't burrow.

I tried putting them in a separate container. Now my T isn't interested.
It's likely your T is too scared after being moved around to eat. They are less likely to eat if they are in panic or hide mode. There is no need to move a T to a new enclosure for feeding.
 

louise f

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@LD67 Why would you move your T to feed it. Dont do that !! It will cause a lot of stress for the T.
I know some people move their snakes to another enclosure to feed them, i never got why, i never done it with my snakes either.

And for the meal worm dice it up in pieces and crush that head, it can harm the T during a molt, or kill it.

Best of luck.
 

LD67

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Only reason I put him/her into the deli cup was so that the mealworm wouldn't be able to dig its way down to escape. T doesn't seem to mind as I handle it all day long. It's not skittish in the least. It walks all over my hand, arm, bed, table, desk, etc. It's very explorative.

But I did crush the poor mealworm's head and put it in T's regular house. I'll check tomorrow and see what became of it.

Thanks for the info!
 

WeightedAbyss75

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Only reason I put him/her into the deli cup was so that the mealworm wouldn't be able to dig its way down to escape. T doesn't seem to mind as I handle it all day long. It's not skittish in the least. It walks all over my hand, arm, bed, table, desk, etc. It's very explorative.

But I did crush the poor mealworm's head and put it in T's regular house. I'll check tomorrow and see what became of it.

Thanks for the info!
If you can, I would use crix. They don't burrow and are quite an easy meal for them. If not, then just cut it up and it will scavenge ;)
 

Vanessa

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I would have cut that meal worm in half for that sized spiderling. I would wait until they are bigger to offer them food that is almost the same size as they are.
They won't eat if they are moved like that... they're too freaked out from being moved.
 

Venom1080

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Only reason I put him/her into the deli cup was so that the mealworm wouldn't be able to dig its way down to escape. T doesn't seem to mind as I handle it all day long. It's not skittish in the least. It walks all over my hand, arm, bed, table, desk, etc. It's very explorative.

But I did crush the poor mealworm's head and put it in T's regular house. I'll check tomorrow and see what became of it.

Thanks for the info!
handling tarantulas is poor husbandry, handling slings is just silly. they get stressed from handling, its looking for a place to hide when its "exploring". crush the mealies head before feeding it. slings will scavenge. cut it up if its too big.
 

14pokies

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Pet store near me doesn't carry crix that small...
Size doesn't matter :(Just crush the crickets head and toss it in your spider will scavenge off of it.. As some other members have noticed also some Ts don't really care for meal or super worm chunks.. All Ts love crickets though!
 

FASSETT

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Nothing more then 1.5 the size of your sling but try Different method live or dead, lol crush heads and break legs and feed
 

WeightedAbyss75

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No Ts are smart...At that age it knows its fangs are usless against our tough skin.. It's searching for an ice pick :mask:
That's why in the OBT handling videos, the people should never own any gun. They will know where you keep it, and soon you find yourself in a pretty terrible situation... true story, I swear ;)
 

LD67

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Seriously, when I have him/her out and about, there are plenty of hidey holes. It goes in, comes out, climbs back on me, back off, and does it pretty leisurely. I'm pretty sure it would appear somewhat skittish or tense if it WERE skittish or tense. It literally looks like it's just going for a stroll. Maybe I just have a curious T. I do have some bows, but hopefully it's still too small to launch any arrows at me.
 

Venom1080

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Maybe I just have a curious T. e.
theyre not smart enough to be curious and want to look around and experience different things. B emilias are tolerant of handling, thats why its not bolting around, but that doesnt mean it enjoys it and is curious.
 

IamKrush

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Sep 17, 2016
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Got my brachypelma emilia about a week ago. I tried feeding it before, but it wasn't interested. Today it finally went for it. Trouble is, it's a mealworm. They dig. It disappeared under the dirt before my T was able to subdue it. I tried putting them in a separate container. Now my T isn't interested. Should I cut the mealworm in half maybe and keep them in its regular home?
Might be to big of a meal for it. I feed my slings which are much smaller then yours lobster roaches. I would try cutting the worm in half and see what happens. Even leave it be for a 24 hour period.
 

ReeReeReed

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Here's a video of feeding my sling pinhead crickets. There's nothing really to it. It was eating flightless fruit flies before that, which there's a video of that on my account as well. My Brazilian Black is a hungry little bugger. A cricket every other day sometimes everyday.

 

LD67

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The place by me doesn't have a ny pinhead crix. The have the flightless fruit flies but they come in plastic jars. When I opened one up, they were all dead and dry. Not great quality there.
 

5dice

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Sep 10, 2016
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@LD67 Why would you move your T to feed it. Dont do that !! It will cause a lot of stress for the T.
I know some people move their snakes to another enclosure to feed them, i never got why, i never done it with my snakes either.

And for the meal worm dice it up in pieces and crush that head, it can harm the T during a molt, or kill it.

Best of luck.
@louise f the reason you do it with snakes is so that they don't identify "home" as a place to eat. Then they are less likely to identify YOU as food. Personally, I never had an issue with this. I had a snake that would only eat every 3 months. I had to stop mice from chewing on the snake! But that's the core reason.
 

_scorpio_

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@louise f the reason you do it with snakes is so that they don't identify "home" as a place to eat. Then they are less likely to identify YOU as food. Personally, I never had an issue with this. I had a snake that would only eat every 3 months. I had to stop mice from chewing on the snake! But that's the core reason.
Beat me to it. Any snake with a good feeding response i always used to move into a tub to feed. Especially the larger, cleverer species will associate door opening (usually waking them up suddenly) and the appearance of a heat source as food if you feed in tank, and your a heat source same as the food. Also when dealing with the big stuff that takes a couple of people to move, its very useful to coincide removing to feed with cleaning the vivarium.

Way off topic, sorry OP. Order some smaller crickets or roaches online if your local place isnt any use.
 

Crone Returns

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The place by me doesn't have a ny pinhead crix. The have the flightless fruit flies but they come in plastic jars. When I opened one up, they were all dead and dry. Not great quality there.
Hello
I believe the old timers are telling you to just CUT UP THE LARGER CRICS AND LET YOUR SLING SCAVENGE. Make sure you CRUSH THE CRIC'S HEAD.
 
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