My new tiny spiderling

[Love to Foxtrot]

Hello! Obviously, I am new here, but not too terribly new to invertebrates. I have owned a rose-hair tarantula years ago who passed away recently, and I purchased her as an adult. I just purchased a new rose-hair spiderling last weekend, and when I say tiny, I mean tiny!He is so young that he hasn't had his first molt yet, is pink, and could easily fit on a pencil eraser! I have never seen them this young before, and he is in a tiny plastic cup with a lid with holes in it and some earth in the bottom to maintain humidity. He is very cute, but so helpless! I was told some very good information and care tips when I bought him, and he seems to be doing pretty well. I am not feeding him untill he molts, which should be reasonably soon, and he seems to move around quite a bit during the day, but sometimes he just lays on his side near the wall of his cup, and sometimes tips over onto his back, but I try to help him up., and he then just crawls around. Anyway, has anyone here had very much experience with babies this tiny, if so, do you have any suggestions as to what I should be doing to keep him comfortable? Suggestions are very appreciated. Thank you! Aubrey

 

[pelo]

I would at least feed it...wingless fruit flies..tiny pinhead crickets.It'll stop eating prior to molting along with the darkening of the abdomen as signs of upcoming molt.Keep it warm and occasionally mist the sides of the container to supply water and humidity....peace..

 

[Arachnopuppy]

My only question is how or who the hell did you get a sling that haven't had its first molt from?

 

[Love to Foxtrot]

Thank you for the quick reply, pelo! I guess I'll try to feed him something. I can get pinhead crickets, but not the flies, where do you get those? I was also told that he will eat chopped mealworm pieces, so I'll try that too. As for humidity, have been putting a few small drops of water in the dirt and on the walls 1-2 times a day, but I'll mist like you suggested. My room stays very warm during the day, and at night I put his cup on top of my skink's cage, since even though I turn her heat light off, her tank radiates some heat.
Iam, I purchased him from a man at a reptile show for $5. He had a number of them from the same egg case.
Aubrey

 

[Kali]

um, i've seen them that tiny, and the guy was also at an expo. very cute. try newborn crickets if you can get ahold of some. if he's flipping over on his back, might he be trying to molt?

Kristin

 

[SpiderTwin]

As for the amount of humidity and moisture, keeping the substrate moist is ok. One thing you want to avoid is condensation forming on the inside of the container, this is a sign of too much humidity and is not good for the sling. If it is trying to role onto it's back, do not touch it! It may be ready to molt, and by the sounds of it, this should happen soon. Good luck.

 

[D-Man]

No need to feed

If your baby has not reached its first instar (looks like a ball with legs), it's still attached to egg - this is a postembryo. It is getting all its food from the attached egg. No need to feed until it molts out of the "egg."

Dario

 

[slice9]

"and sometimes tips over onto his back"

This is what Ts do when they molt. If u "help it out" by tipping it back over that can be really dangerous because its a very bad thing for a T to abort a molt once its started. Remember the spider knows what its doing, all you need to do is create an environment for it to work in.

 

[skinheaddave]

I actualy had a bunch of these guys from an incompletely eaten eggsac. If he is truly premoult then just leave him be -- keep things humid and nothing else. Once he has moulted, you still probably dont' want to be providing "real" food. Remember that at this stage his first meal is likely to be a sibling -- relatively helpless and imobile. In its place, you can provide a headless cricket. Just be sure to stay on top of things so that you can remove carcasses before they mould up. I have had mine for about a month@80F now and they still aren't onto real food -- mostly because I can't be bothered with fruit flies. They still seem happy to scavange carcasses. I also understand that Holley (Immortal Sin) uses tiny bits of beef heart. Anyhow, best of luck with your s'lings. This species is pretty hardy, so I wouldn't worry too much.

Cheers,
Dave