new t advice please??

[dejey]

i have just been given a giant white knee (acanthoscurria geniculata) as a present its almost a cm in size and cute!!!
any way has any one got any advice on these T's, as i was a little unprepared for it to say the least, i've read a care sheet that i found on the net but advice from anyone that has knowledge of this species would be good.as these caresheets are not always written by keepers and not always the best advice available.
i.e. temps, substrate, humidity, how often and what should i feed, can it be handled when it gets bigger?
any advice would be much appreciated
thanx

 

[mikeymo]

here is the caresheet off this site. it's compiled by people who know what they're talking about and should take care of most of your concerns. however, since it's just a sling (and a very tiny one at that) you'd be better off searching for sling care aswell.

http://www.arachnopets.com/tarantulas/tcaresheets/ageniculatac.htm

 

[mikeymo]

ah, but for food, i will tell you that you probably want to feed it pin-head crickets (the smallest they come). it really doesn't take long for slings to go into pre-molt behavior (not eating) so if it's not eaten within 12 hours (the rule of thumb is 24, but because slings are so sensitive i go with 12) take the cricket out of the vial

 

[Mushroom Spore]

You were right about caresheets not being the best source; just forget about whatever you read on them. Keep it at room temperature, between 65-85F. Generally speaking, if you're comfy, so is the spider. Keep it in an appropriately small enclosure, maybe 3-5x the legspan in floor space, like a plastic deli cup. Do NOT put it in a critter keeper until it is clearly too big to get out through the ventilation slits, yes even the smallest size keeper. We've had lots of board members misplace their babies that way. For substrate, some chemical-free peat moss like Schultz (you can buy a big bag at Wal-mart for like two bucks) is awesome. Give it plenty, because tiny babies usually want to burrow.

Moisten some of the substrate once or twice a week. Not wet enough to make mud, but wet enough that it's clearly damp. The spider will usually go sit on the wet part for a while, and if you get the side of the enclosure wet they'll drink that too. But also be sure there's enough ventilation (that it can't escape through, use a needle to poke holes) so you don't get mold growing.

The easiest way to feed little babies is to just kill a regular-sized cricket and either break off a leg and give it that, or put the body in there and let the T eat all it can, and pick out the leftover. (NEVER put in a live cricket that big, it will eat the spiderling.) Once a week will do. However, since A. geniculata is about on par with my L. parahybana for metabolism, you might be amazed how much it can put away in a single sitting. Do NOT be surprised if it eats something the size of its own legspan and then buries itself for a month. If that happens, just keep misting 1-2x a week, or wetting the substrate. But watch you don't flood its burrow when you do.

Do not try to handle it. If it's still small, it will decide you're a predator. When it's bigger, it will automatically assume that everything in reach is food, including your hand.

 

[dejey]

thanks for your quick responses, feel a little more prepared now, thanks again.

 

[speedreader]

I had trouble finding crickets small enough for my spiderlings. Instead, i killed bigger onces. Btw, don't kill them physically! Even beheading leaves the cricket's body somewhat active and it can potentially harm the spider with its legs. Just freeze the poor bastards in a vial in the fridge. Then unfreeze and feed. Make sure to remove leftovers within a day.