hides and slings.

golda

Arachnosquire
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I need an opinion whether a sling like let's say around 2cm - 3cm needs a hide on its enclosure (Delicup)? is it really necessary or could i just put him there without a hide and leave him in the open. i was told that when a T has a hide it grows and molts faster. 2 cents please. thanks!
 

P. Novak

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I need an opinion whether a sling like let's say around 2cm - 3cm needs a hide on its enclosure (Delicup)? is it really necessary or could i just put him there without a hide and leave him in the open. i was told that when a T has a hide it grows and molts faster. 2 cents please. thanks!

All my slings have never had hides at that size. They all do fine, molt fine and grow at a regular rate. Once they hit the 2.5-3" mark thats when you could start offering them hides. I even have adults that are in plastic containers that don't have hides and they are doing perfectly fine.
 

Brian S

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I keep mine in a dark place therefore no hide is needed
 

P. Novak

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I keep mine in a dark place therefore no hide is needed
exactly, hides are just there to provide a safe place for the T. If the entire enclosure is a safe place, meaning in the dark, then there really is no purpose for a hide.
 

TMac

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"doees not need a hid?"

I think saying a sling does not need a hide, or is doing fine without one, is like saying a puppy does not not need a house but an adult dog does. T's need a retreat, even if it's just a hole you punch in the substrate (which I do for some species. It can take some tiny slings days before they start digging a hole. I think it's cruel leaving them without a place to hide.). What type of hyde depends on the species and at times, the individual T. I've yet to see a small sling that would not hide in a hole of some type.

While true that T's, even slings, are adaptive. They may get by without out a hide, but if you put a hide in and it starts using it, you tell me whether a hide is best? When I get new 1/2"-1" slings, I put a hide (tiny flower pot or bark, depending on the species) and I punch a hole in the substrate to give it a couple of immediate options. Many of the really small slings seem to go straight to the hole.

I don't know what a T thinks or feels, but providing 1-2 options for a retreat is the least I can do. There is no place in nature that slings live without a safety retreat. Why would anyone think a place to hide is not good in captivity? (Again, even if it's just a hole punched in the substrate?).
 

TMac

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Ps

I wasn't going to say anything but I would be careful about taking advice from anyone who uses a bottle cap water dish that is 1/4" the size of their T. I think that's just cruel. It also looks bone dry, which may just be the shot. It is clear the size differential is not due to shot distortion. Neither is the lack of hide for a large sling. Just my 2 cents.

Tony
 

galeogirl

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I'd take Brian's advice before I'd take advice from a lot of people.

I don't put in hides with my small slings because of the danger of them being crushed by something. Most slings burrow anyway.
 

Vys

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If they burrow, I usually give them some little bit of cork bark or something, which they usually ignore.

If they don't burrow, they tend to gratitate to anything 'hidish'.

That said, most will adapt, and likely web everything in an attempt to treat everything as its hide, if given a small and sparsely decorated container. Do they feel 'safe' in it? Likely. What does the lack of anything else do to them? Don't know, but it doesn't kill them. What does it do to the keeper? That's subjective.

Haven't ever had a sling die from crushing damage, anyway.
 

galeogirl

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I had a P. murinus sling lose some legs when a piece of bark shifted in the vial and pinned them, basically cutting them off mid-leg. It survived and went on to molt out and regrow the legs but it was a 1/2" sling, so those were some tense molts (for me).

Since then I don't use hides for the really little guys. I just keep them in a darker, calmer part of the house and all of my current babies seem to be thriving.
 

P. Novak

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I'd take Brian's advice before I'd take advice from a lot of people.

I don't put in hides with my small slings because of the danger of them being crushed by something. Most slings burrow anyway.
I agree. Brian is very knowledgeable and knows what he's doing. THis isnt the wild, nothing is going to kill the T we own, hides are retreats for Ts so they can be safe, if they are safe in the entire enclosure, whats the point of providing a hide? The containers are like their hides placed in the dark. It works perfectly fine.

In the end, it's really the keepers decision. Go with what you want, just know that having a hide is not necessary. I've used hides before for my slings, and they almost, if ever, used them.
 

Vys

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The containers are like their hides placed in the dark. It works perfectly fine.
Just that you can argue the same thing for adults(which many seem to) and it doesn't seem any more 'natural' then. I realize captivity is a separate matter, but it isn't discreet, meaning automatically 0 out of 1.

We know it works, everyone knows they don't die from it; it just seems an odd way of keeping something to some.
 
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Derek W.

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Just that you can argue the same thing for adults(which many seem to) and it doesn't seem any more 'natural' then. I realize captivity is a separate matter, but it isn't discreet, meaning automatically 0 out of 1.

We know it works, everyone knows they don't die from it; it just seems an odd way of keeping something to some.
I think that most people in the hobby like to simulate the T's natural habitat as much as possible, which is a very good thing for adults, and juvies. However, even though it may bother you to not have a hide for your slings, because it would be less natural, maybe you should take into consideration that slings have an incredibly high mortality rate in the wild. So I think in this case, because slings are so fragile, and because I think we all want to see them reach adulthood, leaving out potential dangers is the best way to go.
 

wicked

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Generaly, once a sling outgrows it's vial I offer it a silk leaf hide that I can secure to the side with hot glue. Depending on where you keep your spiders, they may or may not use the hides. If the container is small, and you keep them in a dimly lit quiet place they will more than likely treat the whole conainter as their hide.


This is a picture I took when I was rehousing my Avicularia purpurea. At one time his old peanut butter jar looked like the new jar. And when I rehoused him from his vial to the peanut butter jar, I just set the vial inside, thinking he would climb out and I would remove the vial. Instead, he webbed the vial into his new home. The new jar simply became and extension of his old home.
(See his feet? That tube leads straight down into his old vial. How he could still squeeze his little fat butt in there, I don't know.)


Almost every terrestrial sling I have had has fashioned themselves a nice burrow in their jar. Our B albopilosum has an extensive tunnel and burrow, I wish I could get a decent picture of it. He was 3/4" when we got him, and his jar is a 4lb peanut butter jar. I could not believe the amount of construction that little stinker could do. He has an underground palace. I wrapped half his jar in dark construction paper so I can peek in from time to time. Lucky for me he made the burrow right up against the covered side. I have found if I leave the paper open too long he webs up the jar so you can't see in. Try as I might, I can't keep a water dish in there to save my life. He has incorporated about three plastic lids into his burrow so far. Everytime I put in a new lid, it vanishes underground.
 

Brian S

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I'm with Tmac, hands down! :clap:

Also, that's a pretty small enclosure, Brian.
I guess you havent raised very many slings in your time?:rolleyes: Especially to go along with someone thats been doing this for a whole 3 months!! I have raised hundreds like that and I know many more that have done the same thing

I think saying a sling does not need a hide, or is doing fine without one, is like saying a puppy does not not need a house but an adult dog does. T's need a retreat, even if it's just a hole you punch in the substrate (which I do for some species. It can take some tiny slings days before they start digging a hole. I think it's cruel leaving them without a place to hide.). What type of hyde depends on the species and at times, the individual T. I've yet to see a small sling that would not hide in a hole of some type.
Sure they need a retreat if the room is bright. When in a delicup and kept dark they use the entire cup as a retreat. I am sure it is pointless arguing with you though as you seem to be set in your ways just as I am

True that T's, even slings, are adaptive. They may get by without out a hide, but if you put a hide in and it starts using it, you tell me whether a hide is best? When I get new 1/2"-1" slings, I put a hide (tiny flower pot or bark, depending on the species) and I punch a hole in the substrate to give it a couple of immediate options. Many of the really small slings seem to go straight to the hole.
How many spiders do you keep? It doesnt sound like all that many if you have enough room to do all this nice stuff for them

I don't know what a T thinks or feels, but providing 1-2 options for a retreat is the least I can do. There is no place in nature that slings live without a safety retreat. Why would anyone think a place to hide is not good in captivity? (Again, even if it's just a hole punched in the substrate?).
Read what I said in the 1st quote:rolleyes:

I wasn't going to say anything but I would be careful about taking advice from anyone who uses a bottle cap water dish that is 1/4" the size of their T. I think that's just cruel. It also looks bone dry, which may just be the shot. It is clear the size differential is not due to shot distortion. Neither is the lack of hide for a large sling. Just my 2 cents.

Tony
And I would be careful of taking advice from someone that automatically joins the bandwagon even though they obviously dont know what they are talking about even after having a whole 3 months in this hobby
I guess you provide a lake and a swimming pool for yours :rolleyes:
That is one of the most ridiculous statements I have heard in a long time
 
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jamesc

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Sometimes you provide a perfectly nice hide and the little bugger burries it, and then decides to burrow underneath it. :wall:
 

David_F

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...T's need a retreat.....
Okay, why do tarantulas need a retreat? They need a retreat, someplace dark, to feel secure, right? So, what's the difference between putting a hide in the enclosure and keeping the spider in a small container in a darkened part of the room? The spider generally will web up the container or burrow to make it's own hide.

And you want to talk trash on small water dishes? I've raised quite a few tarantulas without waterdishes at all. They're not necessary. They can be nice to have sometimes but not necessary at all.
 

P. Novak

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Okay, why do tarantulas need a retreat? They need a retreat, someplace dark, to feel secure, right? So, what's the difference between putting a hide in the enclosure and keeping the spider in a small container in a darkened part of the room? The spider generally will web up the container or burrow to make it's own hide.

And you want to talk trash on small water dishes? I've raised quite a few tarantulas without waterdishes at all. They're not necessary. They can be nice to have sometimes but not necessary at all.
:clap: :clap: Right on the money.
I actually have quite a few tarantulas without waterdishs right now.
 

Brian S

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Shame on you guys for not having a water dish LOL. According to Tmac's many years experience you need to provide a swimming pool hahaha
 

jamesc

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You can't teach a tarantula to swim, they are incapable of learning! What were you thinking installing a pool? Well I'll be back later, I'm teaching a scorpion sign language. :D
 
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