Mexican Red Rump Sling Help

Pokezilla1231

Arachnosquire
Joined
Dec 26, 2013
Messages
115
Hey guys, its been a while since I posted but about two weeks ago I got a Mexican Red Rump Sling from Petco. I have been keeping it the tarantula hut that it came in. I put cork bark in so it can climb. It has been hanging in one corner and only catches fruit flies when it walks around. But it hasn't eaten since Friday or Saturday; I put in some flies today and it hasn't eating. It's also a very dark color. Is it in premolt or does it just not want to eat? Thank you
 

EulersK

Arachnonomicon
Staff member
Joined
Feb 22, 2013
Messages
3,292
So... huh. Okay.

Get it in a proper enclosure. This is not an arboreal species, meaning that encouraging climbing is a great way to end up with a dead spider. A proper enclosure will be 2x dls wide, 3x dls long, and no taller than 2x dls from the substrate to the lid. The definition of dls is below. A great enclosure would be a deli cup. Go to any grocery store that has a deli, order the smallest amount of macaroni salad you can, wash out the cup heavily, poke holes with a pin for ventilation (you can't have too many), and house it in that. This species grows very quickly.

Fruit flies are a terrible source of nutrition for spiders. Feed it small crickets, that species is more than capable of taking down live prey.

dls = diagonal leg span. Measure the distance from the front left foot to the back right foot.
 

Yulian

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 27, 2017
Messages
39
I would try to change its enclosure to something more suitable than those huts, theyre terrible for Ts. Like it has been said look for something appropriate for a small terrestrial sling like a deli cup, add substrate to avoid any nasty falls and try feeding small crickets,roaches or meal/super worms(keep an eye on feeders they can hurt ur T if they are not eaten). Most slings will eat pre killed prey so you can also try that. Alot of Ts sometimes wont eat for a few days and that is completely normal even tho fasting is a sign of premolt. Just re-house and follow the advice of forum members, pet stores are usually terrible when it comes to Ts.
 

Pokezilla1231

Arachnosquire
Joined
Dec 26, 2013
Messages
115
So... huh. Okay.

Get it in a proper enclosure. This is not an arboreal species, meaning that encouraging climbing is a great way to end up with a dead spider. A proper enclosure will be 2x dls wide, 3x dls long, and no taller than 2x dls from the substrate to the lid. The definition of dls is below. A great enclosure would be a deli cup. Go to any grocery store that has a deli, order the smallest amount of macaroni salad you can, wash out the cup heavily, poke holes with a pin for ventilation (you can't have too many), and house it in that. This species grows very quickly.

Fruit flies are a terrible source of nutrition for spiders. Feed it small crickets, that species is more than capable of taking down live prey.

dls = diagonal leg span. Measure the distance from the front left foot to the back right foot.
Ok thanks, one last thing I tried to give it small crickets and it ran away, my local pet store doesn't have tiny crickets, anything I can do about this?
 

EulersK

Arachnonomicon
Staff member
Joined
Feb 22, 2013
Messages
3,292
Ok thanks, one last thing I tried to give it small crickets and it ran away, my local pet store doesn't have tiny crickets, anything I can do about this?
Buy larges and tear the legs off - feed the legs to your spider. Slings do scavenge. This species is a great eater, so once it's just a tad bigger than the crickets you can get, just offer live prey.

I'm serious about that enclosure, by the way. That's a death trap, in more ways than one.
 

Pokezilla1231

Arachnosquire
Joined
Dec 26, 2013
Messages
115
Buy larges and tear the legs off - feed the legs to your spider. Slings do scavenge. This species is a great eater, so once it's just a tad bigger than the crickets you can get, just offer live prey.

I'm serious about that enclosure, by the way. That's a death trap, in more ways than one.
Ok thanks for the help, going to transfer it tomorrow. Once again thank you for the help. Much appreciated
 

Yulian

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 27, 2017
Messages
39
Yes it will know to eat it. If it doesnt after a day remove it and try again in a few days.
 
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