Nhandu chromatus

[kupo969]

I've been looking for a new T lately and I stumbled upon this beautiful T. Been looking for some info, but I would like to hear what y'all think about this T? Also, I plan on getting it as a 1/4" sling (never had a sling before). Any advice on caring for it?

-Kupo

 

[Mina]

They are a beautiful T, I have 3. Two small slings and one juvie female. Care for them is easy, provide a hide and a water dish, they don't need to be misted. They are very good eaters, although my female waits for the crickets to come to her. Be careful, they are fast and can have quite an attitude.
Sometimes they burrow, sometimes they don't, for some reason, none of mine do and even my two little ones don't hide much.
They are beautiful, get one, you won't be sorry.
At 1/4 an inch you will either need to feed pinhead crickets, or crickets as small as you can get, just crush their heads so they don't injure your sling.

 

[jenniferinny]

I ended up with one of these by accident. It was sold to me as a L. parahybana which it definitely is not as of this last molt. I bought it as probably about a 3/4" sling. It has grown like a weed. We've only had him a couple months and he's already 2". Though, he was in premolt an awfully long time for being so young. But, I blame that on stressing him. He was all holed up, but, hubby insisted on moving him to a bigger container and then he had to tunnel in all over again. Before he went into premolt, he was always out in the open. I've got a little 'hermie hut' in there for a hide which he uses as the home base for the beginning of his little burrow. He just molted a couple days ago and isn't back out in the open yet, but he was kind enough to tunnel along the side of the Kritter Keeper he's in so I can see him all the time. We didn't do enough research on slings and just kept him in the small size Kritter Keeper he came in from the pet shop. But, he was still pretty good at catching crickets even with that much space. He was downright gross looking before he molted due to his over-eating habit.
We keep his enclosure pretty dry with a mix of peat moss and some potting soil. We misted him a little bit when he was in premolt, but, otherwise he just has a little cap of water in there.
I think though that 1/4" is an awfully tiny sling for your first one. Are you sure you can get small enough crickets? We can't find them and smaller than 1/3" around here unless we order them in. I personally would get a 1" one for your first sling. They're a bit easier to feed and not quite as 'disappointing' looking. I just got in a 1/2" sling about a week ago and it looks like a big booger with legs. I keep that one in a little pill vial.

 

[kupo969]

Yeah, I heard they have a bit of an attitude. As for water, should I keep a dish if it is that small? I dont want it to drown.
Also, would eco earth/forest bed be fine? Dry of course. I like to feed my A. avic once a week, would that be fine for a sling too? Sorry for all of the questions! You can't find this kinda info on a care sheet!

Edit: This isn't my first T! I would never get such a burden for a first T.

 

[skooma_addict]

N. chromatus, beautiful, big, and also deceptively fast. Kinda nervous and will throw up threat postures from time to time.(at least mine does):razz: Mine is a very greedy eater and will kick hairs if I get too close. I keep mine on the warm side with bed-a-beast and a large, wide water dish and spray the substrate when it starts to dry. Mine usually hides during the day and comes out just about every night. He stays out all day if the room temperature drops, which I don't let happen too often.

 

[skooma_addict]

Don't know much about the slings though I would imagine care wouldn't be too far off from the adults.

 

[jenniferinny]

Kupo, I know it's not your first T, but you did state it was your first sling. My N. chromatus is a pretty sturdy creature to survive some of the mistakes we made with it the first couple weeks. I'm just saying that a 1/4" sling is really, really small. May not be that much harder to keep, you just have to make sure you have a resource for small enough crickets. I think my 1/2" A. braun. looks tiny. I can't imagine ordering one half it's size. At least, not till I get accustomed to the tiny guys. Not saying you can't do it, but, you may find yourself a bit disappointed when you unwrap it. My husband was surprised by how small a 1" T is.

As far as a dish goes, with a 1/4" you'll have to just mist. All the advice I've gotten on here has been to put in a dish at about 1". Though, make sure you drill plenty of holes in the pill vial or whatever tiny container you end up using so you've got some ventilation. The N. Chromatus I have is a voracious eater. I feed him a few times a week. He easily takes down 2-3 crickets in a row. But, he's pretty much out of 'sling' status now so I'm switching him down to twice a week.

 

[kupo969]

I understand where you're getting at, thanks for the heads up though. As for crix, my local store sells them fairly small. I'd say just a bit smaller than 1/4".

 

[julesaussies]

I've been looking for a new T lately and I stumbled upon this beautiful T. Been looking for some info, but I would like to hear what y'all think about this T? Also, I plan on getting it as a 1/4" sling (never had a sling before). Any advice on caring for it?

-Kupo

An awesome choice for sure! i have a big female and we have a visiting MM. i am waiting for my girl to finish up her dinner to see if she is more interested in a date with the MM than she was the first time. She can have a bit of attitude but it's not horrible. i use tongs to change her water, maintence, etc after she literally slapped my hands for invading her space! :evil:

i am probably going to add to your confusion here. For a sling that small i would most definately keep it in the vial or small deli it comes in. A 1oz deli cup will be fine for starters. i prefer deli's to vials only because i feel like i can see how they are eating a little better. It's also easier to put air holes in deli's - just a safety pin hole at that size sling. You would be amazed at what they can escape from. Personally, i keep ALL my slings that tiny on moist peat moss mixed with 1/3 to 1/2 vermeculite. i don't ever let them dry out. This was the advice given to me by two very experienced people here that i bought tiny slings from and they have all done great. i also still mist the side of the deli cups or vials 2 - 3 times a week depending on the weather. i have many slings around or just over the 1" size and they still do not have a water dish. i don't give them a water dish until they are ready to move up to a bigger enclosure. i use a bottle cap for their first water dish after they hit about 2".

As far as feeding goes, i usually crush the head on the tiny cricket and the slings still eat them fine. Occasionally i will also cut a meal worm in a couple pieces for sling food. When the get a little bigger and generally grab and eat the live food as i drop it in, that's when i start giving them live food. i just don't have time to go back and check all the tiny baby slings to see if they ate a live cricket and dig it out if they did not. i give them the crushed head cricket or piece of worm then go back to clean out any remains the following day so there is nothing left to mold or go bad. Since you just have the one you can try feeding it live crickets if they're tiny enough - it's amazing what a sling can take down! However, i wouldn't leave a sling that tiny alone with live food.

As soon as the little one gets some size on him, he'll be easier to take care of. They grow fast too. i don't feed mine as much as some here mentioned. i like my slings to be nice and full but not look like engorged ticks! They are a beautiful T. i think you will be very happy with your choice. Sure, it will be very, very tiny at first. It will look like a really tiny house spider when you first get it! However, it is rewarding to watch them grow.

 

[kupo969]

Awesome! Great to hear valuable information. I dont like to over feed my t either.

Thanks for all the info. If I get my hands on a cam I'll post some pics soon

 

[TalonAWD]

I had to have one of these when I saw pictures of an adult. I love the deep coloration contrast. Mine is alittle over 1.75" almost 2" legspan. Its super shy and basically stays invisable. At the slightest disturbance it will just dissapear if its out into its hide. It eats very agressively and now has its adult colors :worship: Very fast and the word "teleport" describes it perfectly.
It basically does what most have said here already and that is come out at night. It almost looks like it hates light. At least mine does.(I started a thread on this thought. http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=100722 ) It always seem to curl up hiding its eyes with its legs during the day.
I hope mine is a female so that I can take advantage of its beauty as Females grow larger and live longer. They get their adult colors around 1.5" and what a big difference. Its definately worth the wait and you will be rewarded with beauty for your dedication in taking care of it from such a small size.