New G.Pluchra Sling Owner questions

[Mall Might]

This is my first T, I got a sling and I don’t want to stress the spider out, how long should I wait to feed it, and I have seen online that once a week drip water in one corner to wet the substrate but I can’t find how much water? Should I just put a small water bottle cap of water instead? Thanks in advance

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

This is my first T, I got a sling and I don’t want to stress the spider out, how long should I wait to feed it, and I have seen online that once a week drip water in one corner to wet the substrate but I can’t find how much water? Should I just put a small water bottle cap of water instead? Thanks in advance View attachment 496125

I would wait a week read this. Maybe get a closer up picture of the spider to tell if it’s abdomen is darkened. I Give them small caps to drink from once they hit 3/4” or 1”.

Admin Announcement - Tarantula Information for Beginners (and More)

Below are some helpful resources. (Rather than having half a dozen or more pinned threads, which clutter the top of the board, we are pinning this index.) While the focus is on beginners, there are other threads on health and more advanced species that may be useful to more experienced keepers...

arachnoboards.com

 

[Mustafa67]

This is my first T, I got a sling and I don’t want to stress the spider out, how long should I wait to feed it, and I have seen online that once a week drip water in one corner to wet the substrate but I can’t find how much water? Should I just put a small water bottle cap of water instead? Thanks in advance View attachment 496125

That T is FAT. It might not need feeding for a while, keep water dish full and read beginners guide linked above

Use milk top as a water dish

 

[ladyratri]

You probably want a significantly smaller enclosure for a while, e.g. see:

1/4" A. geniculata sling hasn't molted in over 1 year

So, I looked back on my records because I have been concerned about this sling, I got it exactly a year ago. I understand that they are slow growing, but it has been exactly over a year at about 1/4" with no molt. I am starting to get concerned about impaction, although at taking a closer look...

arachnoboards.com

Hit the Lava Life link in my sig if you want to see how I kept my pulchra when she was wee small. (Spoilers: she was like 3/4" and it was a 5 oz condiment cup.)

 

[Mall Might]

You probably want a significantly smaller enclosure for a while, e.g. see:

1/4" A. geniculata sling hasn't molted in over 1 year

So, I looked back on my records because I have been concerned about this sling, I got it exactly a year ago. I understand that they are slow growing, but it has been exactly over a year at about 1/4" with no molt. I am starting to get concerned about impaction, although at taking a closer look...

arachnoboards.com

Hit the Lava Life link in my sig if you want to see how I kept my pulchra when she was wee small. (Spoilers: she was like 3/4" and it was a 5 oz condiment cup.)

I woke up and went to get a better picture for everyone and it burrowed somewhere in there. You mentioned I should put it in something smaller, should I wait now? Or find it and move it again?

 

[Arachnophobphile]

This is my first T, I got a sling and I don’t want to stress the spider out, how long should I wait to feed it, and I have seen online that once a week drip water in one corner to wet the substrate but I can’t find how much water? Should I just put a small water bottle cap of water instead? Thanks in advance View attachment 496125

Slings require more moisture. You did not provide the size of your sling. The photo doesn't have anything for size reference. The most I got out of it is the keyboard in the background. Based on that I'm hard guessing it's around .5 to 5/8 of an inch. So that is a rather large enclosure but not the worse I've seen.

Do not go on a schedule when to add water to the substrate. Visually monitor it and do not let it completely dry out.

Take your tongs and make a little tunnel going down in one of the corners. Add water to that corner to get moisture to the lower levels. Do not create a swamp.

Deli cups are preferred and actually less substrate so it's easier to monitor and feed. Your level of substrate is actually not bad

While a G. pulchra is a great beginner tarantula it's one that will burrow to the bottom and rarely come out hence the less depth of substrate and less frustrating for a new keeper.

 

[ladyratri]

I woke up and went to get a better picture for everyone and it burrowed somewhere in there. You mentioned I should put it in something smaller, should I wait now? Or find it and move it again?

I had a very small sling die at one point, when I had it housed improperly in too large a bin with too much substrate, and it burrowed away. I'll never know for certain if that was an inevitable loss, or if it would have been fine housed like @cold blood 's photo so I could monitor it.

If it were my spider, I'd be planning to rehouse it in the next few days. I'm sure you'll get a variety of opinions on that though.

 

[Mall Might]

Slings require more moisture. You did not provide the size of your sling. The photo doesn't have anything for size reference. The most I got out of it is the keyboard in the background. Based on that I'm hard guessing it's around .5 to 5/8 of an inch. So that is a rather large enclosure but not the worse I've seen.

Do not go on a schedule when to add water to the substrate. Visually monitor it and do not let it completely dry out.

Take your tongs and make a little tunnel going down in one of the corners. Add water to that corner to get moisture to the lower levels. Do not create a swamp.

Deli cups are preferred and actually less substrate so it's easier to monitor and feed. Your level of substrate is actually not bad

While a G. pulchra is a great beginner tarantula it's one that will burrow to the bottom and rarely come out hence the less depth of substrate and less frustrating for a new keeper.

I have a small tarantula crib cube(the smallest they had, had some recommendations for this enclosure) on the way, will be here in a couple more days, they sent me the wrong item initially so I have it in this enclosure for the time being. Just to clarify with the moisture, just go by dryness and add only to one corner still?

I had a very small sling die at one point, when I had it housed improperly in too large a bin with too much substrate, and it burrowed away. I'll never know for certain if that was an inevitable loss, or if it would have been fine housed like @cold blood 's photo so I could monitor it.

If it were my spider, I'd be planning to rehouse it in the next few days. I'm sure you'll get a variety of opinions on that though.

I planned on putting it in the small tarantulacrib cube, they had just shipped me the wrong one, I will move it once the correct one arrives.

 

[Arachnophobphile]

I have a small tarantula crib cube(the smallest they had, had some recommendations for this enclosure) on the way, will be here in a couple more days, they sent me the wrong item initially so I have it in this enclosure for the time being. Just to clarify with the moisture, just go by dryness and add only to one corner still?

It's all dependant on enclosure size.

I do not only add water to one corner of my adult A. geniculata enclosure for example as it's a big enclosure.

With a small enclosure or deli cup I will add a little water to one corner or one small area of a deli cup. All I'm looking for is a little water saturation to the lower levels not drenched.

 

[Mall Might]

It's all dependant on enclosure size.

I do not only add water to one corner of my adult A. geniculata enclosure for example as it's a big enclosure.

With a small enclosure or deli cup I will add a little water to one corner or one small area of a deli cup. All I'm looking for is a little water saturation to the lower levels not drenched.

Okay, thank you for the advice

 

[Arachnophobphile]

Okay, thank you for the advice

Everyone helped but @ladyratri has offered her time and work in providing a detailed log with photos of her G. pulchra history from sling to current age and size. It's a great wealth of information she provided the community and arachnoculture. I highly recommend and advise read through from beginning to end her log via the link she provided. She also has a great sense of humor which goes a long way in my book.

 

[ladyratri]

I planned on putting it in the small tarantulacrib cube, they had just shipped me the wrong one, I will move it once the correct one arrives.

My V. chromatus sling that died was about a half-inch DLS and housed in a 5 oz condiment cup.

My pulchra when I got her was closer to 3/4", and did well in the 5 oz condiment cup for the first 6 months or so that I had her. After that, I moved her to a 2" x 3" x 4" bin for another year...only when she was closer to 2" DLS did I actually give her a larger enclosure with enough substrate to burrow. (And burrow she did...but at least she left me a window!)

So if you're talking about the 3" cube, that'll still be big for a good while.

 

[Mall Might]

My V. chromatus sling that died was about a half-inch DLS and housed in a 5 oz condiment cup.

My pulchra when I got her was closer to 3/4", and did well in the 5 oz condiment cup for the first 6 months or so that I had her. After that, I moved her to a 2" x 3" x 4" bin for another year...only when she was closer to 2" DLS did I actually give her a larger enclosure with enough substrate to burrow. (And burrow she did...but at least she left me a window!)

So if you're talking about the 3" cube, that'll still be big for a good while.

Oh okay, thank you for all the input and advice

 

[kingshockey]

use a bottle cap your cage has the space for it

 

[Gevo]

When moistening substrate, I don't measure. As others have said, poke a hole in a corner so the water has a travel path. You'll see it start to spread along the bottom, so when it's all or mostly along a side at the bottom, I stop. You'll be able to see the dark soil that's wet contrasted against the dry soil that's lighter. It's not an exact science, and this is a forgiving species. Just don't overdo it--give your tarantula a dry surface and let them burrow down to the moistened substrate if they want to.

You say yours is burrowed away. Are you lucky enough to see them through a window so you can monitor them? It looks fat, so it may be getting ready to molt, but even at this size, that could still take a while to actually happen.

 

[Mall Might]

When moistening substrate, I don't measure. As others have said, poke a hole in a corner so the water has a travel path. You'll see it start to spread along the bottom, so when it's all or mostly along a side at the bottom, I stop. You'll be able to see the dark soil that's wet contrasted against the dry soil that's lighter. It's not an exact science, and this is a forgiving species. Just don't overdo it--give your tarantula a dry surface and let them burrow down to the moistened substrate if they want to.

You say yours is burrowed away. Are you lucky enough to see them through a window so you can monitor them? It looks fat, so it may be getting ready to molt, but even at this size, that could still take a while to actually happen.

Yes it has burrowed in the corner so I can see it from two sides.

 

[Gevo]

Yes it has burrowed in the corner so I can see it from two sides.

That's great! I wouldn't rush to rehouse it now then in case it's getting ready to molt, but opinions may differ on that. The main risk to them being in a too-large enclosure at this size is that you can lose track of them and not be able to see if they're developing properly, and they can find it hard to find their food if there's too much space. If yours is fat and has burrowed away, it doesn't want to eat right now, and if you can keep an eye on it, you can make sure it's alright.

 

[Mall Might]

That's great! I wouldn't rush to rehouse it now then in case it's getting ready to molt, but opinions may differ on that. The main risk to them being in a too-large enclosure at this size is that you can lose track of them and not be able to see if they're developing properly, and they can find it hard to find their food if there's too much space. If yours is fat and has burrowed away, it doesn't want to eat right now, and if you can keep an eye on it, you can make sure it's alright.

I am very nervous for the first molt, once it begins how long does it take on average? and pulchras typical go on their back?

 

[ladyratri]

Yes, they usually molt on their backs, but not always. Sometimes they flip over and then flip back and then actually molt like a week later. Once they're definitely actually molting, a T that small will be done in under an hour.

 

[Gevo]

I am very nervous for the first molt, once it begins how long does it take on average? and pulchras typical go on their back?

The larger the tarantula, the longer it takes, so yours shouldn't take too long at all (I agree with everything @ladyratri says above).

What I will add is that it can still take them a while to get going. When I first got mine, he was a bit bigger than yours looks to be, but he burrowed away for months before he actually molted. That freaks a lot of new keepers out, so if yours stays burrowed for longer than you think it should, it's probably staying burrowed for exactly as long as it should, and you should not worry or intervene, especially since you can see yours through the side and confirm that it's doing alright. That said, if you see that yours has molted and still won't resurface after a week or two, come back and check in with us. This species can be known to do that when they are young and have a lot of burrowing space.