How to care for a G.Rosea Sling

[0siris]

I'm getting pretty worried about the spider not eating anything. I've had it for about 9 days now and its simply not interested in crickets. I made a little video of it, please let me know if you think she's doing well or not.

http://www.filefront.com/17565115/My-Movie.wmv/

and one more thing. Is it normal that she is not burrowing or webbing at all? I thought that terrestrial species burrow a lot, especially when they are spiderlings. Do you guys think I should try a different substrate?

 

[catfishrod69]

from the video, the abdomen doesnt look too bad...my togo starburst slings are about that size, and they will turn down food left and right compared to some of my other slings....but then after they get good and hungry they finally eat...try getting a small deli cup.. dont have to be much bigger than the sling..poke some holes in it....maybe even the vial it came in, just lay it on its side.., and then leaving the sling and a live cricket in it overnight, and then see if it ate in the morning....i had to transfer some of my slings into tiny deli cups because the bigger ones they were in, they werent ever eating....so im gonna keep em in small ones till their get big enough...give it a try it wouldnt hurt...if the sling runs from the cricket, just leave em alone and check em in the mornin...good luck, let us know

 

[curiousme]

I'm getting pretty worried about the spider not eating anything. I've had it for about 9 days now and its simply not interested in crickets. I made a little video of it, please let me know if you think she's doing well or not.

9 days without food isn't anything to a tarantula. However, if you are taking it out of the enclosure often, you aren't letting it settle into its new home. If it doesn't feel settled, it might cause it to : not eat, not web, and not burrow. So, make sure half the enclosure is moist(not swampy) and then leave it alone for a few days. Give it time to settle in and then try feeding it again in a few days/ week. It is also very small, so giving it drumsticks(big legs off crickets) instead of live prey may get it to eat easier.

 

[BCscorp]

http://people.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/roses.html

 

[0siris]

I can't thank you guys enough. I do admit I have been admiring the little one a bit too much since I got it, I never realized that I may not have given it a chance to settle in to its new home. I set the enclosure aside and made a promise to myself not to touch it again until I get back on tuesday (3 days from now) I dampened the substrate and left behind a drumstick which; if uneaten, I will remove tomorrow morning. Other than that I'll refrain from touching the enclosure. It's gonna be hard not to check up on the little one, but I'm sure I'll manage.

I'll update in a few days,

Thanks agian everyone

 

[Vespula]

Don't worry about staring at it too much. When I got my little tarantula, I stared at her for nearly 2 hours, and made too many pictures of her. Congrats on your little buddy!

 

[0siris]

I popped in another cricket this morning just in case. It immediately entered the spiders hide and as usual the spider came running out as if it was scared of it. Curiosity got the best of me so I had a peek to see what the spider was doing throughout the day. It went into the hide earlier today and just recently came out sporting an impressively large belly!

I waited until it moved out of the way and I went in to gather any remains of the cricket but I was surprised to find absolutely nothing. I sifted through the substrate with a flashlight and there wasn't even a drumstick left Is it normal for T's to consume their prey in it's entirety like that? I was expecting to find a shriveled cricket husk or something.

I can rest easy now

 

[KnightinGale]

Oh good! Glad you can relax. Congrats on your healthy, hungry little buddy.
The left-over cricket bits are called a "bolus" and at that size there would be very little. They don't leave a cricket-shaped dried out husk because when they eat, they are constantly rolling it around to get it all. What is left will be a small, round-ish unidentify-able lump of light crunchy bits. I find they are usually slightly paler than the substrate. Hee, and when they get big enough to eat more than one cricket at a time, they mash them all together and you get the same small, roundish unidentify-abe lump of crunchy bits.

 

[0siris]

A lot has changed since I last posted, so I figured it's time for an update. I changed the enclosure about 10 days ago. I went with a plastic deli cup and the sling seems much happier now. She seems to enjoy the privacy. I cut a large opening in the top of the lid and glue-gunned a piece of plexi-glass over it so she could tell the time of day.

A few things that concern me:

It's been getting really cold here for the past few days and the ambient room temperature sometimes dips to around 68*F. I don't think the spider seems to mind, but with the heater kicking on all day the humidity in the house is now a bone dry 8%. I find myself misting every day. The next day I look in the enclosure and the substrate is dry.The sling looks healthy if you ask me, but I'm afraid that if I miss 1 day misting it will dehydrate. What do you think?

Another thing I have noticed. She has a very thin, completely invisible layer of web on most of the substrate floor. When I touch the substrate on one side it all seems to be webbed together. Is that just her webbing in order to find her way around or is it a sign that she is not too fond of the substrate?

She had dinner last night, consisting of a carrot and lettuce gut-loaded cricket. (mmm) I still can't find any remnants

Taken with my shiny new Droid Evo. Resized for your viewing pleasure.












Thanks!

 

[syndicate]

Everything seems fine to me!I would prob just mist once or twice a week as this species doesn't mind being kept dry to much and also temps sound ok!
-Chris