little sling, big cricket... trouble?

[binky]

I think I may have underestimated how big this cricket was. I am worried that he's too big for my sling - do you think I should get him out of there? i haven't fed the sling a live cricket before.

the sling is at the top and the cricket's in the moss - please keep in mind that the sling is on the far side of the vial so he looks smaller than he is

I did try already and sling tried to bolt, but I caught him in time. If I should take the cricket out, any advice on how to catch the sling first? lol

 

[samatwwe]

if you want to take it out, first let the sling walk out onto your hand and then proceed getting out the cricket. slings that small wont usually bite or anything, they are just skittish. To get it back in, just gently put the vial over the sling or gently guide him back in.

 

[WelshTan]

what sling is that? have u not got any smaller crickets? I was faced with the same dilemma ... I didnt catch the sling... just fished the cricket out with a pair of eyebrow tweezers lol .... then found the smallest crix (which was only slighly smaller) ... crushed its face a bit with the tweezers to disable it being able to bite my sling, pinched its jumping legs off with the tweezers and cut a slit in its abdomen with scissors so that it was alive,oozing, wriggling, wasnt able to jump but was thrashing to attract my slings attention .... dropped it into deli cup and then .....WHAM!!!! my sling pounced on it and ate a hearty meal without any threat of being harmed....

how big is the sling itself btw? the pic is quite fuzzy but is it an aboreal specie?

 

[binky]

Hi guys

he's an A. versi - while I'm not opposed to letting him walk on my hand, he's very fast and jumpy, so I'm only scared of losing him, freaking out and hurting him somehow or losing him!

I don't have smaller crickets we haven't been able to get very small crickets for a little bit, so we've been feeding these guys (who I thought were a bit smaller!) but usually pre-killed, which my boyfriend helps me with... this time I guess I got too ahead of myself and my sling!

 

[Salamanderhead]

Same thing happened to me when I put a cricket in with my B.smithi. What I did was get a pair of pliars and slowly put them in and crush the cricket so that it was dead. Then I left it there for the B.smithi to eat.

 

[WelshTan]

pre killed is ok .... but do u get the same prob as I do? within 24hrs the pre-killed crix smell like.... well.... urine mixed with rotten fish? be sure to remove ALL traces of the remainder of the meal within 24 hrs or as soon as they have finished gorging .... I have found personally that my slings DO prefer live prey that is smaller than them or disabled larger live prey that still twitches to catch their attention than pre-killed tbh ....my C. darlingi sling in particular refused ALL prekilled to the point its abdomen was alarmingly small in comparison to carapace... I chanced a live tiny crix and wham!!! that was it..... fed well and abdo nice size lol

 

[Redneck]

It really aint no big deal if you just pre-kill it.. If you dont want to feed you sling that big of a cricket you can offer that little sling a large cricket's jumping leg.. Just drop it in the vile and leave it the sling will find it.. That is how I feed my 1/2'' B. smithi and my 1/2'' H. villosella.. They both find the cricket drumbstick with no problem.. That has been working for me for a while now..

 

[binky]

still shaking - but did manage to get cricket out when sling and cricket were both trying to bolt at once EEEEEEE! scooped baby - who was just over the rim - back into the vial, let cricket slide out. OH MAN

I learned my lesson here - pre kill pre kill pre kill!


Re: pre-killing I should explain that I am just too wimpy to kill crickets... I had to get my boyfriend to drop the live crickets in Potato's tank for a while because it made me too sad that the crickets were dying, but I got over that part cus Potato was the one actually killing them. Haha, I often joke about how hypocritical I am being a vegetarian and owning tarantulas.

 

[Abby]

LOL binky, I'm glad it all went well

 

[binky]

ME TOO! I told my boyfriend I gained some tarantula XP today lol. One step closer to holding them!

 

[scottyk]

I learned my lesson here - pre kill pre kill pre kill!.

Lesson 2 is get a pair of 10" or 12" steel tweezers. Makes plucking dead or living things out of vials much easier....

 

[jayefbe]

Re: pre-killing I should explain that I am just too wimpy to kill crickets... I had to get my boyfriend to drop the live crickets in Potato's tank for a while because it made me too sad that the crickets were dying, but I got over that part cus Potato was the one actually killing them. Haha, I often joke about how hypocritical I am being a vegetarian and owning tarantulas.

I'm a vegetarian with a bunch of ball pythons that refuse to eat anything but live rats.

 

[WelshTan]

I'm a vegetarian with a bunch of ball pythons that refuse to eat anything but live rats.

that must suck lol...... tis the joys of the hobby lol

 

[Ictinike]

Lesson 2 is get a pair of 10" or 12" steel tweezers. Makes plucking dead or living things out of vials much easier....

Amen to this! I'm not sure what I would do without my 12" tongs!

 

[Stopdroproll]

I had a smithi take a cricket about the same size as it. It was pretty cool because I didn't think she could do it.