How to care for baby Ts?

Tunedbeat

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I just got my two babies today. They are about 1/4, very small. I am keepin them in this plastic terrarium, which seem too big for them. I don't know much about keepin such small spiders and need some advice.:?
 

Mushroom Spore

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A terrarrium? Good lord, no. They should each be in a little plastic vial with TINY holes for ventilation, and some dirt in the bottom.

...they aren't in the SAME terrarrium, are they? Because then you're going to end up with one spider killing the other before it escapes out the ventilation slits and is never seen again.
 

fartkowski

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i agree for slings that size a small plastic vial is best
also if they are kept together, separate them asap
 

Talkenlate04

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You better get them into something more managable and soon. I am willing to bet they have a way of getting out of that thing if they are slings. So you can use a baby food jar or some kind of small plastic container.... or a to go cup... you know those ones for your salsa and sour cream... you need to keep the container small because in a big tank like that the sling is not going to find its food to easily if ever....... plus you run the risk of escapes.
 

Tunedbeat

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I'm transferin them into something that is alot smaller. What about food? i read somewhere, that they dont eat live food? My mature G. Rosea doesnt touch anything dead. And no, i am not keepin them in the same container.
 

Talkenlate04

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Slings will take pre killed prey. Take a small cricket and crush its head so that its not to energetic then drop it in. I use roach babies and I crush the head so the body is still twitching so the sling knows its food. This works great for me. With tiny slings you can pull off a leg of an adult cricket also and drop in in with the sling.
 

cheetah13mo

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You'll have to keep those slings in the deli cup or vial or what ever you chose of that size, for a while. Make sure you give them a few drops of water, once a week for moisture to keep them hydrated. Once they are around 2 inches, move them to a 5" round deli container until they are about 3 1/2 inches. Then they can go into the plastic tarrarium. This has to go in stages so the tarantula will not feel overwelmed by a huge home. It's just too much for them to take care of. They will be easier to manage and feed this way.
 

Mina

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Slings will take pre killed prey. Take a small cricket and crush its head so that its not to energetic then drop it in. I use roach babies and I crush the head so the body is still twitching so the sling knows its food. This works great for me. With tiny slings you can pull off a leg of an adult cricket also and drop in in with the sling.
Exactly. You can also feed pinhead crickets. I've never done the cricket leg but I have heard of it. Crushing the head of a larger cricket slightly so it still moves a bit works well. The movement attracts the sling, but the cricket still can't hurt it.
 

prey

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If you don't have wee pinhead crickets (hatchlings), tiny larvae, or wingless fruitflies, I'd select the smallest (most tender) crickets I can find and clip then into sections with very sharp scissors. Put in a bit with some "insides" to it (but not so gooey all over the outside that it does nothing but soak into bedding) not quite as large as the spiderling. Mine get around to eating it if it's time. I've noticed several slings prefer some movement, so I give them a cricket section with moving parts (a head w/moving antennae + slightly more juicy stuff included behind the head still attached, or a middle section with a twitching minor leg) and then I give the rest to the ones who've proven less finicky. Usually undisturbed, overnight, they go for it (I feed in evening).
I've never ordered wingless fruitflies, but my all-too-expired millipede fruit food once "taught me" :) how to culture some fruitfly maggots without much smell, which are also good for eensie weensie spiderlings (several make a meal). But, no matter how old you are, I can attest that both parents and spouses frown, alike, upon flies being in the house, lol.
Also, I live on a property untouched by pesticides, so I can crush rotten logs open and take out helpless, white little carpenter ant larvae and pupae which are loved by my slings.

Yeah -- also, man, spiders can get out of holes that look like they can't.

In my neck of the woods, I found the one pet store who had the smallest crix in stock. Of all things, it was Pet S'mart. On the phone, they don't claim to have pinheads. Upon arrival, they kinda do, and I can request the smallest and often feed them directly to my slings. As far as a rear leg of a large cricket being fed to my slings, it seems better than nothing, but their abdomens don't show they've gotten good meals that way as much as the butchered cricket pieces or tiny whole prey, and the leg isn't always enticing enough. Two good meals a week and my slings look like they're going to pop like a zit and molt frequently.
Hope this helps!

P.S. -- My adult G. rosea happens to eat pre-killed prey if it's damaged/leaking juices, as long as she's been waiting for a while.
 
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starmaiden

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If I can intrude on Tunedbeat's thread for a moment...

I'm raising my first slings myself and they are quite small as well. I have B. albo, N. Chromatus, N. collorvillosus slings that are all 1/4 inchers. I feed them 1 or 2 pinhead crix twice a week and temperature wise, they are at about 75F-80F.

My question is: How often do they molt? :?
 

cheetah13mo

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T's that small molt pretty often but it all depends on amount and frequency of food and temperature.
 

LeilaNami

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Should anything be misted or do they receive enough hydration from their food? I'm always afraid the babies will drown in the water droplets. If so, what size should I start misting?
 

Mushroom Spore

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Should anything be misted or do they receive enough hydration from their food? I'm always afraid the babies will drown in the water droplets. If so, what size should I start misting?
Just put a drop or two directly onto the substrate. It'll soak into the dirt so they can't drown, but they can drink from it. If they're thirsty you'll see them sitting on the wet spot with their faces in it. :)
 

syndicate

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I just got my two babies today. They are about 1/4, very small. I am keepin them in this plastic terrarium, which seem too big for them. I don't know much about keepin such small spiders and need some advice.:?
not to be rude here but wouldnt it make sence to do a little homework before u got them?like others said id go with small vials.usually when u buy slings there shipped in vials anyways so that would be your best bet till they grow up
 

Ando55

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not to be rude here but wouldnt it make sence to do a little homework before u got them?like others said id go with small vials.usually when u buy slings there shipped in vials anyways so that would be your best bet till they grow up
You said it, I got my freebie .75 or so rosea still in it's shipping vial, won't be out of there until its 1.5+ inches, as for the OP; hope all goes well and im sure all of us hope to hear that the current housing of your slings is either in a deli cup, vial or a very very small jar.
 
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