I dropped my sling

samsonblue

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Aug 23, 2016
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I'm so guilty as i'm writing this, i was transferring my a. versicolor sling to a delicup for feeding when they jumped suddenly and fell probably 3 or 4 feet. no apparent injuries, but they held still for a long time after the fall, which im hoping was just from the surprise of it. i'm worried for a few reasons, obviously bc thats a pretty high fall, and i know that avics are less hardy than a lot of types... and bc they are missing legs from a bad molt (which im surprised they even survived in the first place) i already worry about them a lot. i know all i can do is keep an eye on them but i'm wondering if there's anything i should look for or expect. they're 3/4 an inch, and acting normally so far.
as a side note i do not handle my sling unless it's transferring to a delicup, which i have to feed them in bc the aforementioned lack of legs makes it hard for them to hunt without help.
i feel so terrible that this happened and i definitely will always transfer them much much closer to the ground from now on.
 

Venom1080

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dont transfer to delis for feeding, just use prekilled criks if the legs are missing. even if it has 4 legs it could prob hunt live. when you say they and them, do you mean you are keeping more than one in a single cage? not a good idea in general, and Avics are not known for any kind of communal behavior. avic slings are prob the best at surviving falls, they are lightweight in general and are very fuzzy. im sure it was stressed from falling so staying still isnt unusual. ive had avic slings fall that far and theyre fine.
 

WeightedAbyss75

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Feb 22, 2014
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Sounds like you learned your lesson ;) But really, I can feel for you. Hopefully they can do well, as long as they are acting normally they should be good to go. The best part about your scenario is that they are small and light. They may not have taken too much damage, since they are used to jumping. Good luck, seems like he is a daredevil with legs missing and some skydiving experience :D
 

samsonblue

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Aug 23, 2016
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dont transfer to delis for feeding, just use prekilled criks if the legs are missing. even if it has 4 legs it could prob hunt live. when you say they and them, do you mean you are keeping more than one in a single cage? not a good idea in general, and Avics are not known for any kind of communal behavior. avic slings are prob the best at surviving falls, they are lightweight in general and are very fuzzy. im sure it was stressed from falling so staying still isnt unusual. ive had avic slings fall that far and theyre fine.
oh no its not multiple. i used they and them because they are unsexed and i would feel bad calling them "it". sorry, a little confusing!! thank you for the advice
 

samsonblue

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Aug 23, 2016
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oh no i just noticed white dots on the abdomen? im not sure if they were there before the fall. is this something a fall would cause? it doesn't look like oozing liquid or anything.
 

Venom1080

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oh no its not multiple. i used they and them because they are unsexed and i would feel bad calling them "it". sorry, a little confusing!! thank you for the advice
im sure "it" wont be offended if you call it it. ;) just makes it less confusing. good luck.
a pic could clear things up about the dots.
 

samsonblue

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Aug 23, 2016
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i've tried to feed it simply by putting the crickets in their enclosure, and even with legs removed from the cricket they've never been able to successfully hunt. it seems as though they will not eat if i dont literally put the cricket against their mouth, and i have easier access to do that in a delicup. i suppose next time i'll try to dangle the prey in front of them with tweezers. i shouldn't have ever handled a sling that small. thank you all for the advice !
 

Misty Day

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How long do you leave prey in the enclosure? They may not be getting a chance to hunt. Whenever I would leave live prey in my A.Versicolor enclosures, it was always gone by the morning. And they were 3/4 inch in a 16oz deli cup.

They wouldn't of survived millions of years if they weren't successful predators. Taking them out of their enclosures to eat is only gonna stress them out. They're not reptiles.

Also Avics aren't "A lot less hardy than other types", it's just a lot of people don't know how to care for them properly & kill them from husbandry errors. Glad to hear the sling is doing okay, don't feel too bad. They're arboreals, they jump around a lot.
 

cold blood

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@ 3/4" any t is a capable hunter.

Post pics of the set up.

Either your floor space is way too cluttered, which gives crickets a place to hide (versicolor enclosure should have no floor clutter, it should be elevated), or you're just feeding crickets that are too large. I can guarantee you don't need to move them to get them to eat. Versicolor, even smaller slings than yours, are excellent hunters.
 

viper69

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Dec 8, 2006
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i was transferring my a. versicolor sling to a delicup for feeding
I read your other post as to why you transfer Ts for feeding. These animals are hunters. There's no reason to transfer them short of your own human fear/concern. I have owned A. versi, they are one of the more assertive hunters of the Avics.

You need more patience, and you certainly need to learn more about Ts.

Hopefully your setup is ventilated well too.

As for dropping, well I hope it survives. It may not, hard to know for sure.

I would pay STRICT attention to the size of its abdomen if you see it decrease in size quickly there's a significant blood loss going on. Make sure you have a water dish!! This will help compensate for that, but by no means definitively save it should that become an issue.
 

Andrea82

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Loss of legs does not mean your Avic can't hunt. I had a A.versicolor losing four legs because of a bad molt. Had no trouble at all hunting. ;)
 

viper69

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Loss of legs does not mean your Avic can't hunt. I had a A.versicolor losing four legs because of a bad molt. Had no trouble at all hunting. ;)
Same w/my irninia. At most the OP might have to reduce the size of prey item if necessary. I had to do that w/my irminia.
 

samsonblue

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Aug 23, 2016
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Loss of legs does not mean your Avic can't hunt. I had a A.versicolor losing four legs because of a bad molt. Had no trouble at all hunting. ;)
ah i'm in the exact situation as you were. my sling lost four legs and one of their pedipalps is deformed and unusable. you didn't have to make any accomidations for them to hunt? maybe my enclosure is too large or something...
 

samsonblue

Arachnopeon
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Aug 23, 2016
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Same w/my irninia. At most the OP might have to reduce the size of prey item if necessary. I had to do that w/my irminia.
i'm getting 2 week crickets for them, and i feed them the smallest of those in the bag. i don't think my pet store carries anything smaller than that.
 
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