Need some starter help with Curly Haired slings

[Toma]

So I got 4 Curly haired slings 11 days ago after finding someone selling his near me.
I haven't measured them but three are around 3.5cm and another one is 1.5cm or so.
I looked a lot online at their care and tarantula care in general.
But I still want to hear first hand how to raise them, and some other things I want to ask.

First of all I want to know if its fine to turn on air conditioning and what is the best temperatures for them. Currently its pretty hot where I live(israel) even at night, so I usually turn air conditioning to 27c at daytime, but its goes up to 32c if I don't. The humidity is around 60% currently so I think that's fine for them.

The next thing I want to know is about water and food, right now I have a few meal worms but I want to get Dubia roaches because they seem better for feeding. The person who sold the slings to me said he fed them around 2-3 days ago so I fed them the day after and they all ate. I fed them again 3 days ago but only two of the bigger slings ate and the other two don't seem to want to eat.
I put bottle caps with some water for the slings but after mold started to appear I moved them to different enclosures without water, not sure if that is correct or not but thats why I am asking here.

last thing I am unsure about is that if its fine for the T's to dig a hole and cover the entrance because that's what two of them seem to have done and I am worried if they are going to be fine in there. I am also not sure how to feed them in this state.

I tried taking some pictures but my camera wouldn't focus and the lightning was bad so I will just post this picture of the biggest sling that I took when I got him

 

[chanda]

First - the ones that dug a hole and covered the entrance may be preparing to molt. Do not disturb them! Just leave them alone - and keep the humidity up in the enclosure. (You don't want to make the enclosure wet or swampy or so humid that you have condensation collecting on the glass or anything like that - just have a small dish in the enclosure with a little water in it and they'll be fine.) Also, do not feed them! A live cricket or roach might decide to nibble on a tarantula while it is soft and vulnerable during or immediately after a molt - which can seriously injure or even kill the spider. It is perfectly normal for a pre-molt tarantula to stop eating and barricade itself in its hide or in a burrow until after it molts - which may be months later. I've had tarantulas that stay out in the open and eat right up until they molt - and others that disappear and fast for months at a time. It's just what they do. Let them do their thing and try not to stress about it. At least with four spiders, there's a pretty good chance that at least one of them will be out and about at any given time, even if you do have a couple hiding away.

Running the air conditioning is fine as long as you don't crank it up and make it really cold in your home. As a general rule of thumb, if you are comfortable without requiring a sweater or jacket, the spider is also comfortable. B. albopilosum do fine at room temperature.

Dubia roaches are good feeders - but you need to crush the heads first. Otherwise, the dang things will burrow into your substrate - and stay there for months. I've found live dubia nymphs during rehouses or cage cleaning months after I'd attempted to feed them to the bug or spider in question. Even with a crushed head, the roach will still kick, wiggle, even walk around a bit, and behave in a generally live-prey-like fashion that will attract your spiders, but will not be capable of any purposeful actions like burrowing or biting. The smaller slings may also scavenge and accept pre-killed prey. If the spiders do not eat the roach after a day, pull it out and discard it, then try again in a few days.

I'm surprised that you're getting mold in your water dishes. Do you have anything else (like a sponge or cotton ball) in the dish? If so, get rid of it - they're just breeding grounds for bacteria and fungi. The water dish should not contain anything other than water. The slings should always have access to fresh water. The surrounding substrate can be fairly dry - particularly as they get older/larger - which may help mitigate any problems you might be having with mold or mites, but fresh water is a must.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

First of all I want to know if its fine to turn on air conditioning and what is the best temperatures for them. Currently its pretty hot where I live(israel) even at night, so I usually turn air conditioning to 27c at daytime, but its goes up to 32c if I don't. The humidity is around 60% currently so I think that's fine for them.

27C is fine, don't worry about humidity percentages, chasing "magic numbers" kills Tarantulas, just keep the substrate slightly moist and provide a small water dish if you can fit it.

The next thing I want to know is about water and food, right now I have a few meal worms but I want to get Dubia roaches because they seem better for feeding.

I put bottle caps with some water for the slings but after mold started to appear I moved them to different enclosures without water, not sure if that is correct or not but thats why I am asking here.

Mealworms are fine, you can use dubia roaches if you want, I personally feed my slings baby mealworms and red runner nymphs, B. albopilosum have a good appetite and usually only refuse food when in premoult.

There's no need to do a full rehouse unless you have mould growing all over the enclosure, you can just pick out small bits as and when you find them.

Mould is usually the result of excess moisture and poor ventilation, if you increase the ventilation (make sure to keep the holes smaller than the spider's carapace or they can squeeze through) and let things dry out a little then any mould present should die off.
As already mentioned, the water dish should only contain water (no sponges, they're a breeding ground for mould/bacteria), slings can't drown as they don't break the surface tension of the water.

An example of some of my sling setups, they've worked well for me so far.

last thing I am unsure about is that if its fine for the T's to dig a hole and cover the entrance because that's what two of them seem to have done and I am worried if they are going to be fine in there. I am also not sure how to feed them in this state.

That's normal behaviour, it's their way of saying "Do not disturb", they'll be fine and will come out when they want to.

 

[Toma]

First - the ones that dug a hole and covered the entrance may be preparing to molt. Do not disturb them! Just leave them alone - and keep the humidity up in the enclosure. (You don't want to make the enclosure wet or swampy or so humid that you have condensation collecting on the glass or anything like that - just have a small dish in the enclosure with a little water in it and they'll be fine.) Also, do not feed them! A live cricket or roach might decide to nibble on a tarantula while it is soft and vulnerable during or immediately after a molt - which can seriously injure or even kill the spider. It is perfectly normal for a pre-molt tarantula to stop eating and barricade itself in its hide or in a burrow until after it molts - which may be months later. I've had tarantulas that stay out in the open and eat right up until they molt - and others that disappear and fast for months at a time. It's just what they do. Let them do their thing and try not to stress about it. At least with four spiders, there's a pretty good chance that at least one of them will be out and about at any given time, even if you do have a couple hiding away.

Running the air conditioning is fine as long as you don't crank it up and make it really cold in your home. As a general rule of thumb, if you are comfortable without requiring a sweater or jacket, the spider is also comfortable. B. albopilosum do fine at room temperature.

Dubia roaches are good feeders - but you need to crush the heads first. Otherwise, the dang things will burrow into your substrate - and stay there for months. I've found live dubia nymphs during rehouses or cage cleaning months after I'd attempted to feed them to the bug or spider in question. Even with a crushed head, the roach will still kick, wiggle, even walk around a bit, and behave in a generally live-prey-like fashion that will attract your spiders, but will not be capable of any purposeful actions like burrowing or biting. The smaller slings may also scavenge and accept pre-killed prey. If the spiders do not eat the roach after a day, pull it out and discard it, then try again in a few days.

I'm surprised that you're getting mold in your water dishes. Do you have anything else (like a sponge or cotton ball) in the dish? If so, get rid of it - they're just breeding grounds for bacteria and fungi. The water dish should not contain anything other than water. The slings should always have access to fresh water. The surrounding substrate can be fairly dry - particularly as they get older/larger - which may help mitigate any problems you might be having with mold or mites, but fresh water is a must.

Thanks for answering and the help.
I will put a water dish for each of them and will try smashing the meal worm's head to see if that keeps them from digging because I have had that problem with them.
And I believe I was getting mold because of poor ventilation and thats why I moved them from their old enclosures, also I thought they would like more dirt to dig into, which leads me to another thing I am not sure about, one of my slings(the biggest of the four) doesn't have a lot of substrate to dig into and while he did try to make himself a little hole its too small for him and I want to put more for him to dig into but I am not sure if its fine to disturb him?

 

[Toma]

27C is fine, don't worry about humidity percentages, chasing "magic numbers" kills Tarantulas, just keep the substrate slightly moist and provide a small water dish if you can fit it.



Mealworms are fine, you can use dubia roaches if you want, I personally feed my slings baby mealworms and red runner nymphs, B. albopilosum have a good appetite and usually only refuse food when in premoult.

There's no need to do a full rehouse unless you have mould growing all over the enclosure, you can just pick out small bits as and when you find them.

Mould is usually the result of excess moisture and poor ventilation, if you increase the ventilation (make sure to keep the holes smaller than the spider's carapace or they can squeeze through) and let things dry out a little then any mould present should die off.
As already mentioned, the water dish should only contain water (no sponges, they're a breeding ground for mould/bacteria), slings can't drown as they don't break the surface tension of the water.

An example of some of my sling setups, they've worked well for me so far.

View attachment 252433



That's normal behaviour, it's their way of saying "Do not disturb", they'll be fine and will come out when they want to.

Thanks for the help, I will keep it in mind while looking after my slings.

 

[cold blood]

First of all I want to know if its fine to turn on air conditioning and what is the best temperatures for them

Night temps can drop into the upper 60's...when they're adults, it can drop to low 60's...day temps should be over 70f.....and as long as they're under like 95f, you are fine...temps are of much less concern than many care sheets and pet stores would lead you to believe.

The humidity is around 60% currently so I think that's fine for them.

Humidity numbers are completely irrelevant...just like temps, there is nothing but misleading info with regards to humidity...with sheets and places telling you specific numbers for specific species...its ALL total BS.....Some ts and most slings, require moisture in the sub, but not humidity...your ambient humidity will merely dictate how much and how often you would need to add water to the sub when it dries.

I have a few meal worms but I want to get Dubia roaches because they seem better for feeding

They're not...in fact, no feeder is more frequently refused than are dubia...yes, they still make good feeders, but to say they are better or the best is just a lie....meal worms are excellent feeders, especially for slings.

I fed them again 3 days ago but only two of the bigger slings ate and the other two don't seem to want to eat.

If they are plump and don't eat, just wait for the next molt...if it doesn't molt in 2 weeks, offer pre-killed prey. You do not need to feed nearly as often as you have been led to believe. Once a week is just fine, these aren't teeny slings you have.

I put bottle caps with some water for the slings but after mold started to appear I moved them to different enclosures without water

Mold is inconsequential...just pick it out...its harmless.

last thing I am unsure about is that if its fine for the T's to dig a hole and cover the entrance because that's what two of them seem to have done and I am worried if they are going to be fine in there. I am also not sure how to feed them in this state

Normal, especially for small ts in larger enclosures or ts in pre-molt.

Wait till they emerge to feed.

And I believe I was getting mold because of poor ventilation

Poor venting is just one cause...too much moisture is another, as is a dirty enclosure (although that obviously isn't the case here).


House them like this, in 16 oz deli cups with a hide and dish...its a great place to raise slings to about 3".

Deli Cup Setup for Terrestrial Slings 1-3"

• cold blood
• Mar 13, 2017
• 6
• enclosure

Deli cup set up for terrestrial slings 1-3"

 

[chanda]

I thought they would like more dirt to dig into, which leads me to another thing I am not sure about, one of my slings(the biggest of the four) doesn't have a lot of substrate to dig into and while he did try to make himself a little hole its too small for him and I want to put more for him to dig into but I am not sure if its fine to disturb him?

If this is one of the slings that has barricaded itself into its burrow, now matter how shallow the burrow is, then leave it alone for now. Wait until you see it out and about before carefully adding more substrate. If it is not one of the slings that has gone into hiding, go ahead and give it a little more dirt. Slings do like to make burrows for themselves to hide in, even when they are not premolt/molting.

 

[aphono]

Air conditioning is fine. We have many 43c summer days so it is essential and on every day from May til middle of September.. usually around 22-24c inside. They eat, web, molt, everything they are supposed to do just fine.

 

[viper69]

AC is fine. I've owned Ts with AC running 24/7. Temps usually at 72-75F in such cases.

 

[Mini8leggedfreak]

Hi. Not wanting to hack this but I just would like to know something about b. Albo slings. I have two that stay hidden most of the time. Just wondering if it’s normal for slings to stay hidden until they reach a certain size? Or will some always hide there while life?? My two spiders are around .75 - 1”

 

[Venom1080]

Tarantulas hide sometimes, yes. Will they hide like that their entire lives? Maybe, maybe not.

 

[Andrea82]

Hi. Not wanting to hack this but I just would like to know something about b. Albo slings. I have two that stay hidden most of the time. Just wondering if it’s normal for slings to stay hidden until they reach a certain size? Or will some always hide there while life?? My two spiders are around .75 - 1”

Most burrow until bigger, i think 4 or 5 cm DLS. Perfectly normal. Some specimens continue to burrow but that can change day to day. They have just as much different behavior patterns as us. One day you like to stay in the whole day, the next you want to go exploring. It's the same for them. Except they don't think, of course. They don't have the capacity for that

 

[Mini8leggedfreak]

Alright I thought it might grow out if it when it gets bigger. I was starting to think I was doing something wrong but I guess everything is ok. Thanks

 

[Mirandarachnid]

View attachment 252433

Nifty little water dishes, they look like lego blocks?

 

[dangerforceidle]

Nifty little water dishes, they look like lego blocks?

Or hotels/houses from a Monopoly game set?

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Nifty little water dishes, they look like lego blocks?

Or hotels/houses from a Monopoly game set?

@dangerforceidle got it, I found a bunch of them while cleaning out the house and I'd read that others had used them so I thought I'd give them a bash, I prefer the hotels as the water doesn't evaporate as quickly as it does with the houses but I still have to top them up or clean them (slings like dumping moss/substrate in them ) every couple of days.