I need help with my slings :(

[Einlanzer]

Okay, so last night my order came, I got two brachypelma smithis for like very cheap
(roughly $2 each) and I know now why.

When I opened their deli cups, I was taken a back... both two slings were so tiny, like only a speck. The smallest lats I have are twice it's size so am in a bit of a panic coz

1. Am a newb (started last january)
2. The slings of my others SPs was at least 2cm.

any tips? advice? help.

PS
Posted a pic for reference:

 

[EulersK]

Whoa, where did you buy those from? That's a second instar, meaning one step beyond just an egg with legs. Spiders shouldn't really be sold that young, 3i is the standard minimum.

Luckily, they survived the trip. They're easy to keep alive, and they'll eat prekilled prey. Cut the roach in half, and put it in there. The sling will scavenge. Also luckily, they molt pretty quickly at this size. You'll have an easy 3i pretty soon.

 

[Venom1080]

id be wary of future purchases from that seller..

 

[user 666]

Well, at least it came in a suitable enclosure.

I would fill that container at least two-thirds full of substrate and add a hide. You'll be able to keep the B smithi in there for quite a while.

You will need to find fruit flies or tiny crickets to feed it, and you may have to wound the crickets so the t can finish them off.

 

[sdsnybny]

Cant tell from the pic but it appears that they shipped out 1st instar slings?
You can cut the tiniest lats you have in pieces slings will scavenge. Just keep an eye on it and remove it if it starts to mold. Add a small fake leaf or some moss for it to hide in, keep one small area damp for humidity and keep it warm.

 

[Einlanzer]

Whoa, where did you buy those from? That's a second instar, meaning one step beyond just an egg with legs. Spiders shouldn't really be sold that young, 3i is the standard minimum.

Luckily, they survived the trip. They're easy to keep alive, and they'll eat prekilled prey. Cut the roach in half, and put it in there. The sling will scavenge. Also luckily, they molt pretty quickly at this size. You'll have an easy 3i pretty soon.

A breeder I just saw online, the price was cheaper than the usual sellers I see. I should've made the seller send a photo before going for it but I'll just look at this as an experience. Raising a smithi from babyhood.

I'll take your advice, cut in half though how often do I feed them babies?

I only ordered them locally so the trip wasn't too far. I think around 6 hrs from the city in which I live.

id be wary of future purchases from that seller..

Yeah I know that now, next time I buy, I'll ask for a photo and ask the instar of the T.

Well, at least it came in a suitable enclosure.

I would fill that container at least two-thirds full of substrate and add a hide. You'll be able to keep the B smithi in there for quite a while.

You will need to find fruit flies or tiny crickets to feed it, and you may have to wound the crickets so the t can finish them off.

Fruit flies, I might have to contact some reptile/frog/toad keepers for some though am not too sure about crickets, it's like .3 to .5cm, cricket might eat it instead >_<

Cant tell from the pic but it appears that they shipped out 1st instar slings?
You can cut the tiniest lats you have in pieces slings will scavenge. Just keep an eye on it and remove it if it starts to mold. Add a small fake leaf or some moss for it to hide in, keep one small area damp for humidity and keep it warm.

Fake leaf, CHECK! it came in that container and am afraid to transfer it as of now cuz it's friggin small >_<




How long will they stay in this size? and How often must I feed them?

 

[Jeff23]

I would put a hide near the side wall and create a burrow hole below it next to the plastic wall so that if/when it does use the burrow you will be able to more easily monitor it. Of course it is luck of the draw on whether the T will use the burrow you create or do something else on its own. Use the handle of a small tipped paint brush or a plastic straw to create the hole. Being able to monitor them while they burrow helps on the patience and health checks.

I would try to feed it often as it will eat while it is this small. This would be a minimum of a couple times per week and if your lucky maybe up to four times per week (every other day). The more often you feed it, the faster it will become a more stable size. I pre-kill crickets and break them into pieces to feed mine.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

I was in the same boat as you when I got sent a 1cm Nhandu chromatus sling as a freebie, I just fed it small cricket legs every 3 days then moved up to pre-killed crickets after its first moult until it was big enough to kill them itself, I've subsequently had 2 more slings at that size (C. huahini and A. musculosa) that are doing well, I started breeding mealworms recently so I use the smallest ones to feed to tiny slings now.

 

[Einlanzer]

I would put a hide near the side wall and create a burrow hole below it next to the plastic wall so that if/when it does use the burrow you will be able to more easily monitor it. Of course it is luck of the draw on whether the T will use the burrow you create or do something else on its own. Use the handle of a small tipped paint brush or a plastic straw to create the hole. Being able to monitor them while they burrow helps on the patience and health checks.

I would try to feed it often as it will eat while it is this small. This would be a minimum of a couple times per week and if your lucky maybe up to four times per week (every other day). The more often you feed it, the faster it will become a more stable size. I pre-kill crickets and break them into pieces to feed mine.

Am taking all your tips in to account, I'll do those when I get home.
Twice a week up to 4x a week? So slings this small eat a lot but wouldn't they abdomens like, get too large? Is there no complications related to it?

I was in the same boat as you when I got sent a 1cm Nhandu chromatus sling as a freebie, I just fed it small cricket legs every 3 days then moved up to pre-killed crickets after its first moult until it was big enough to kill them itself, I've subsequently had 2 more slings at that size (C. huahini and A. musculosa) that are doing well, I started breeding mealworms recently so I use the smallest ones to feed to tiny slings now.

I have no crickets, all I have available are lats and mealworms.
Thanks for the mealworms idea, Imma start reading on that so I may breed as well.

 

[EulersK]

Fruit flies, I might have to contact some reptile/frog/toad keepers for some though am not too sure about crickets, it's like .3 to .5cm, cricket might eat it instead >_<

Fruit flies, no! No fruit flies. They're very low in nutrition. Just kill a roach and put it in there. I'd have food available 24/7 to get it out of that stage as soon as possible. Replace the food every day as to avoid mold.

 

[Einlanzer]

Fruit flies, no! No fruit flies. They're very low in nutrition. Just kill a roach and put it in there. I'd have food available 24/7 to get it out of that stage as soon as possible. Replace the food every day as to avoid mold.

oh okay okay, no fruitflies, fruitflies no no. Yes, as the others told me, roach cut down to pieces and feed them as often as they would eat.
So it's safe to leave food available at all times? Okay, am taking note of that as well. Thanks!

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Am taking all your tips in to account, I'll do those when I get home.
Twice a week up to 4x a week? So slings this small eat a lot but wouldn't they abdomens like, get too large? Is there no complications related to it?

I have no crickets, all I have available are lats and mealworms.
Thanks for the mealworms idea, Imma start reading on that so I may breed as well.

You can't overfeed slings as they put any extra weight gained into growth, it doesn't cause any complications with moulting that I know of.

No worries, just kill/cut up what you have, mealies are ridiculously easy to breed but there are plenty of tutorials/tips online.

 

[Jeff23]

Am taking all your tips in to account, I'll do those when I get home.
Twice a week up to 4x a week? So slings this small eat a lot but wouldn't they abdomens like, get too large? Is there no complications related to it?



I have no crickets, all I have available are lats and mealworms.
Thanks for the mealworms idea, Imma start reading on that so I may breed as well.

They won't eat a lot in each meal, but will eat often. That is why it would be better if you can locate some small size prey to make it go further. It can vary between specimens so I would first try to feed them really often and then back off as you notice they refuse to eat.

 

[cold blood]

Yeah I know that now, next time I buy, I'll ask for a photo and ask the instar of the T.




How long will they stay in this size? and How often must I feed them?

First, you shouldn't have to ask, ANY seller worth a darn knows better than to sell first instar slings. It should be in an incubator at that stage.

How long they stay this size depends a lot on conditions...in a deli cup with damp soil it can work, but it will take a while....but you don't really know how long they've been 1i...could be days, could be a month. Keep it warm, and damp, but not wet, yours looks a little too damp, but not bad, and with your climate, its going to take a longer time to dry out.

******IMPORTANT NOTE*******


Ignore everything you have read about feeding for now and save that valuable info. It WILL NOT EAT at this stage. At 1i its just a waiting game.....you will one day notice it turning almost black, you might even think its dead or dying as it will also be very sluggish...this just means its going to molt soon and is a sign you are looking for. After it molts, then you can feed after 4-5 days as instructed by the other posters.

Even after it molts, it will be really small for 6 months to a year or more...depending on where you draw the line for "small" and what your individual growth rate is with this specimen.

 

[Einlanzer]

First, you shouldn't have to ask, ANY seller worth a darn knows better than to sell first instar slings. It should be in an incubator at that stage.

How long they stay this size depends a lot on conditions...in a deli cup with damp soil it can work, but it will take a while....but you don't really know how long they've been 1i...could be days, could be a month. Keep it warm, and damp, but not wet, yours looks a little too damp, but not bad, and with your climate, its going to take a longer time to dry out.

******IMPORTANT NOTE*******


Ignore everything you have read about feeding for now and save that valuable info. It WILL NOT EAT at this stage. At 1i its just a waiting game.....you will one day notice it turning almost black, you might even think its dead or dying as it will also be very sluggish...this just means its going to molt soon and is a sign you are looking for. After it molts, then you can feed after 4-5 days as instructed by the other posters.

Even after it molts, it will be really small for 6 months to a year or more...depending on where you draw the line for "small" and what your individual growth rate is with this specimen.

The seller should've known better than to sell me a 1s sling but nothing I could do about it now, the best I can do is learn what I can to make sure they live.

I have taken note of all the feeding tips they told me. So basically, after it molts is the only time I can start feeding... so all I can do now is wait.

The sooner it gets to at least 3/4 of an inch, the better it will be for me.

If anyone still has something to share or teach me, please do, I greatly appreciate it.

 

[Andrea82]

At first I was like, yeah, feed it a lot, hitting agree on posts. Only after that I looked at the pic...
What kind of person ships T's in this stage?? If I remember correctly, down here, it isn't even considered an instar...it is a N2 (Nymph2)!
Only if it molts, it will be a first instar.
I really hope you at least got a B.smithi .

 

[Einlanzer]

At first I was like, yeah, feed it a lot, hitting agree on posts. Only after that I looked at the pic...
What kind of person ships T's in this stage?? If I remember correctly, down here, it isn't even considered an instar...it is a N2 (Nymph2)!
Only if it molts, it will be a first instar.
I really hope you at least got a B.smithi .

okay, so I'm waiting til it molts.

I'll take a photo of both of them again when they do molt so we can check if they really are B.Smithi

#Waiting #Molt #WhatHaveIGottenMyselfInto

 

[Jeff23]

First, you shouldn't have to ask, ANY seller worth a darn knows better than to sell first instar slings. It should be in an incubator at that stage.

How long they stay this size depends a lot on conditions...in a deli cup with damp soil it can work, but it will take a while....but you don't really know how long they've been 1i...could be days, could be a month. Keep it warm, and damp, but not wet, yours looks a little too damp, but not bad, and with your climate, its going to take a longer time to dry out.

******IMPORTANT NOTE*******


Ignore everything you have read about feeding for now and save that valuable info. It WILL NOT EAT at this stage. At 1i its just a waiting game.....you will one day notice it turning almost black, you might even think its dead or dying as it will also be very sluggish...this just means its going to molt soon and is a sign you are looking for. After it molts, then you can feed after 4-5 days as instructed by the other posters.

Even after it molts, it will be really small for 6 months to a year or more...depending on where you draw the line for "small" and what your individual growth rate is with this specimen.

^^^^^ Do this. Do what Dennis says over all of the rest of us who haven't done breeding of T's. He is a tarantula super expert. I have never had a 1i before myself. I just learned something,

 

[cold blood]

At first I was like, yeah, feed it a lot, hitting agree on posts. Only after that I looked at the pic...
What kind of person ships T's in this stage?? If I remember correctly, down here, it isn't even considered an instar...it is a N2 (Nymph2)!
Only if it molts, it will be a first instar.
I really hope you at least got a B.smithi .

This is first instar...second is when they molt and start to resemble a t. You would refer to this as a nymph (as would i) in Europe. I believe because of this designation, you dont refer to 1i until what i consider 2i.

 

[Andrea82]

This is first instar...second is when they molt and start to resemble a t. You would refer to this as a nymph (as would i) in Europe. I believe because of this designation, you dont refer to 1i until what i consider 2i.

From what i've gathered, EWL are called N1, and the fase in which the OP's spiders is in now is called N2.
So the sequence is N1, N2, 1FH, 2FH. (FH is the same as instar, just in German).
But that is not standard in all countries.