Lethargic Sling

[iggypete05]

Hi there! I am very new to keeping tarantulas and just obtained a C. versicolor sling, and a grammastola pulchra yearling. They arrived in the mail about 2 days ago, and the grammastola ate 2 crickets, has been fairly active, and hasn't given me any reason for concern.

However, the C. Versicolor hasn't eaten yet. I have offered a varriety of sizes of crickets, live (under supervison) and prekilled, and he/she would get spooked or ignore them. I wasn't too concerned at first, because he/she was beginning to spread silk around the enclosure a bit and was still fairly active. Today he/she has become lethargic, and moved down to the bottom of the glass. I'm wondering if it is just pre-molt? Just curious and wanted to ask people with much more experience!

 

[fcat]

There is no ventilation… it is suffocating

It may also be premolt or got too cold during shipping. How was it packed and where did it ship through?

 

[iggypete05]

There is ventilation, but only at the top of the enclosure. The enclosure was provided by the breeder, but I'm not in love with the set up, I understand it is crucial that this species has cross ventilation, so I intend to update the set up soon.

It was overnight shipping from via FedEx, they were packaged pretty nicely, with heat packs and all, the box was still warm when I opened it up.

Here is a photo of the top of the enclosure

 

[fcat]

Can you get a picture of the dorsal view, clear one? Trying to tell if it’s shiny/premolt since you wouldn’t want to disturb a premolt t

 

[iggypete05]

Here is the clearest I can get, sorry my camera sucks

With the naked eye, her/his abdomen is very fuzzy so its hard to tell, but it doesn't have that distinct dark spot on it, though it is very hard to see, so I could be missing it

 

[fcat]

If it were me I could carefully encourage the sling into a smaller container that is ventilated. Then you need to make holes in that enclosure. Ventilation is crucial, all we know for sure is that it’s fat.

Top only ventilation creates a vacuum. This little buddy has endured enough barometric pressure changes over the last few days.

Does it have a water dish, and has it used it? Sometimes you need to leave a little drop on the webbing by the tarantula…however you adding water to this current environment will only make it more dangerous.

 

[TLSizzle]

I think it's abdomen is not an alarming size. I wouldn't worry at all that its not eating.

I agree the enclosure seems too big. I've seen folks successfully keep versi slings in larger deli cups to easily monitor them. Makes poking vent holes a lot easier.

Best i can say is decrease enclosure size, increase ventilation and let the thing settle for a few days before offering food.

 

[iggypete05]

On it! I can definitely switch to a deli cup.

There is a small water dish, though I haven't seen it be used.

 

[magouilles]

yup...that is a death trap for C. versi
no air flow whatsoever, it is plastic so drill holes asap for cross ventilation and add alot of it
in my honest opinion all ts should have a good air flow for air quality but this specie is especially fragile to stagnant air as it typically lives high on trees with maximum air flow
keep the lower half of the substrate moist and top half dry, with an overflowed water dish
enclosure also seems huge for its size, consider downsizing
from the very blurry picture, the abdomen seems dark and balding which could be a sign of premolt so maybe that is why it is refusing food but I would still rehouse it into an appropriate enclosure because from what I'm seeing, it will kill it soon enough
I never had issues with C. versi but a friend and fellow hobbyist/breeder once told me that she has seen slings die within a month of improper care so I would personally still rehouse it asap

 

[iggypete05]

Jeez that's not good, so glad I checked with you guys! I can get a deli cup set up tonight, I am on it ASAP

 

[A guy]

Smaller enclosure and tons of ventilation. Like everywhere

 

[cold blood]

Smaller enclosure and tons of ventilation. Like everywhere

Tons of ventilation everywhere isnt ideal either....you want venting near the top, and at the bottom near the sub....this placement is how airflow is created....as warm air flows out of the top, fresh air is drawn in at the bottom....its not just random ventilation these ts need, its air flow/movement.

 

[viper69]

Size of container is NOT a problem by itself!! They live in the wild just fine!! I’ve raised these numerous times.

Ventilation is an issue- see above. You don’t need tons of holes, it won’t hurt of course.

Read my link in sig file

It looks plump

Not great when they go down generally

 

[Wolfram1]

i would put a row of small drilled holes, about 5-6, on one side about half a centimeter above the substrate, that should do it for airflow.

careful the container doesn't break in the process, they are brittle, best go slow


it is plump enough so no worries if it doesnt feed anytime soon

and don't ever put in too much moisture, a tiny moist spot in one corner should be enough, maybe a few droplets on the plastic sides once in a while so it can drink, i'd even remove the moss, or at least never get it wet if possible

if you put a massive amount of holes all around the sides, then yea it may tolerate/need more moisture, but if you just create airflow it should be fine with a tiny bit

leave it be for a week or two after all that comotion so it can settle down again

that means a dark quiet place, and try not to move it about unless you spot something concerning.

 

[Alveus]

Hello.

From my experience in raising multiple versicolor slings:
If the sling starts hanging on the soil and even try to dig, like your's doing, they're highly dehydrated. Versicolor slings dehydrate really fast and can die in houres after a molt, whene there is no water.
And my slings always refused to drink from a water dish. Can't say that is always the case, but mine did.
They prefere so drink drops from plants, web and glas and suck the moisture out of the soil.

The problem is, in a smal container you can't keep the soil that moist without loosing a propper ventilation, wich is important. So you have to constantly maintain the versicolor sling and provide it with water drops 1-2 times a day.

What i tried was to raise the silng in a big enclosure. Good ventilation but the soil stayed moist for a long time.


I convinced the sling to build it's web in a hollow branche:


So in this setup, i had no more problems keeping the sling alive like keeping a adult Acanthoscurria geniculata alive.
BUT this is not a recommendation, especially for a beginner. This was just an experiment.

But it shows, that its extrem important to give your versicolor sling an optimal environment: enough ventilation and always a moist erea where it can drink.

And i would never recommend a versicolor sling as first Tarantula.
I made the same failures as beginner an lost 3 slings in a row until i tried it many years later again with this experiment.
Btw she is now a beautifull adult female.

 

[Dorifto]

The enclosure size it's not an issue per se, but the amount of moisture on it or the lack of it could become an issue.

Personally I'd add a few rows of tiny holes just above the substrate level and keep a corner slightly moist. This way the entire enclosure will remain humid enough to prevent issues while at the same time it will increase the air exchange, vital for this species.

 

[iggypete05]

Update: I added some ventilation as you guys suggested, and put some water droplets on the leaves of the fake plant and have left him/her alone until this morning. Today they are back up on the top of the enclosure and at the moment is spinning a bit of silk, and has their legs out more and is moving around the enclosure much more lively. Definitely seems like a positive difference. I'm glad you guys don't seem too concerned about him/her starving as well.