Over feeding a sling...

[trinaxxx]

Hi guys,

so I have a B.Emlia sling...
So she hadn't eaten for I'd say two weeks...
So from Saturday shes eaten atleast 1 small cricket a day!! two some days...
she molted about a week and a half ago, and her bum went so tiny, but now shes eating loads its a decent size again, well its big tbh...
so is she making up for those two weeks or what...
ive read so many things about over feeding, but surely if shes going for it shes got to be hungrey right!?

 

[Flexzone]

Generally slings will eat heavily to gain as much growth as possible to be less vulnerable to as much potential predators as possible, the risks associated with lrg abdomen subadults-adults isn't a dire worry with slings-juvies as they molt with much more freq. then their larger counterparts and put the girth they gained into size. I wouldn't be too concerned much.

 

[14pokies]

You can't overfeed a sling. They turn all the nutrients to growth..

You may find that your sling actually leaves bigger boluses with frequent feedings.. When I start noticing half eaten crickets I give the T more time in between feedings..

 

[Matabuey]

But if the abdomen gets too large, can't that lead to the T forming cysts on the abdomen? I thought that's what i read a little while ago, don't know if it's true or not.

 

[Vanessa]

Spiderlings do not suffer from the same issues as adults and juveniles do - rubbing injuries and the like. Don't worry about how much they are eating. They eat a lot to grow a lot so they are at the vulnerable size for less time. I do not limit their food at all.
Plus, they have just moulted and they are very hungry from that. Please do not offer anyone food directly after moulting as their fangs have not had time to harden. I usually wait a week with spiderlings, ten days for large spiderlings, about two weeks for juveniles, and between two and three weeks for adults. Just ensure that they have fresh water at all times after moulting.

 

[Matabuey]

Spiderlings do not suffer from the same issues as adults and juveniles do - rubbing injuries and the like. Don't worry about how much they are eating. They eat a lot to grow a lot so they are at the vulnerable size for less time. I do not limit their food at all.
Plus, they have just moulted and they are very hungry from that. Please do not offer anyone food directly after moulting as their fangs have not had time to harden. I usually wait a week with spiderlings, ten days for large spiderlings, about two weeks for juveniles, and between two and three weeks for adults. Just ensure that they have fresh water at all times after moulting.

Why don't spiderlings suffer from the same issues? Just wondering. I don't understand why they'd suffer less rubbing issues if their abdomen was too big.

 

[Hellblazer]

I feed slings every day if they're interested. When they get around 1.5-2" I slow down a little.

 

[REEFSPIDER]

Why don't spiderlings suffer from the same issues? Just wondering. I don't understand why they'd suffer less rubbing issues if their abdomen was too big.

Because at the rate that slings grow and molt it is highly unlikely for them to even be fat enough for a long enough period in their exoskeleton to cause serious harm like abrasions from friction etc. they are also at less risk of rupturing themselves because they are still small even when they're fat. And honestly it's my own opinion that you cannot over feed a sling Perse. You can give it meals that are too large and that is one way but I feed my slings apropriately sized meals whenever they will eat. Most slings will eat day of a molt or day before so it isn't really an issue.

 

[Matabuey]

Because at the rate that slings grow and molt it is highly unlikely for them to even be fat enough for a long enough period in their exoskeleton to cause serious harm like abrasions from friction etc. they are also at less risk of rupturing themselves because they are still small even when they're fat. And honestly it's my own opinion that you cannot over feed a sling Perse. You can give it meals that are too large and that is one way but I feed my slings apropriately sized meals whenever they will eat. Most slings will eat day of a molt or day before so it isn't really an issue.

Ah ok, sweet - makes sense, didn't think about the fact they moult more frequently making it not an issue.

 

[viper69]

ive read so many things about over feeding

Welcome to the world of Tarantulas. I get the impression from your post that you are a new owner, we all were at some point. What were your sources on over feeding? I hope you aren't reading care sheets. Care sheets kill tarantulas.

 

[trinaxxx]

Welcome to the world of Tarantulas. I get the impression from your post that you are a new owner, we all were at some point. What were your sources on over feeding? I hope you aren't reading care sheets. Care sheets kill tarantulas.

Hi,
yes fairly new!
tbh, i havent gone by any care sheet at all...
had her for 3 months, in a small tank with a bark log and water and she seems happy based on the fact shes molted and eating and her water is empty every week!!
i never thought u could over feed!?
like surely if they are hungry they will eat!? if thy're not hungry they wont!?
like surely they would know if they have had enough right !?
she has eaten atleast 1 everyday now since saturday but before that she didnt eat for atlease 2 weeks!!
and i was away for 1 week so didnt even offer nothing!!!
shes just eaten, so after this gonna give her a few days off...

 

[kooky]

Hi,
yes fairly new!
tbh, i havent gone by any care sheet at all...
had her for 3 months, in a small tank with a bark log and water and she seems happy based on the fact shes molted and eating and her water is empty every week!!
i never thought u could over feed!?
like surely if they are hungry they will eat!? if thy're not hungry they wont!?
like surely they would know if they have had enough right !?
she has eaten atleast 1 everyday now since saturday but before that she didnt eat for atlease 2 weeks!!
and i was away for 1 week so didnt even offer nothing!!!
shes just eaten, so after this gonna give her a few days off...

Personally, i'm quite new as well, but i feed all of my slings as much as they will eat. If i see any that haven't eaten that day i skip a day with them and try again. I always leave the food in overnight, as a couple of mine are pet holes right now and come out in the evening. I just go by the fact that they want to moult and be bigger as fast as possible because this is their most vulnerable stage. They wont pop if you feed them too much, but once they become juveniles is when you're supposed to slow down on the feeding. Until then i give them all the crickets they want xD Its only bad to overfeed adults because they can damage their abdomens from carrying such a heavy load so to speak. I don't think that happens with slings as they grow at a faster rate than adults. Although im pretty sure one of my euath.sp.red slings is in premoult as it hasn't eaten for over a week and its abdomen is a darker shade. But i still offer a cricket every now and then (prekilled) just in case.

 

[trinaxxx]

Personally, i'm quite new as well, but i feed all of my slings as much as they will eat. If i see any that haven't eaten that day i skip a day with them and try again. I always leave the food in overnight, as a couple of mine are pet holes right now and come out in the evening. I just go by the fact that they want to moult and be bigger as fast as possible because this is their most vulnerable stage. They wont pop if you feed them too much, but once they become juveniles is when you're supposed to slow down on the feeding. Until then i give them all the crickets they want xD Its only bad to overfeed adults because they can damage their abdomens from carrying such a heavy load so to speak. I don't think that happens with slings as they grow at a faster rate than adults. Although im pretty sure one of my euath.sp.red slings is in premoult as it hasn't eaten for over a week and its abdomen is a darker shade. But i still offer a cricket every now and then (prekilled) just in case.

see that makes me feel better ha
just going to keep doing what ive been doing, try her everyday and sometimes might skip a day!!
surely they must know if they arent hungry or dont want more then to leave the cricket lol...
im feeding her hoppers, i hate crickets

Personally, i'm quite new as well, but i feed all of my slings as much as they will eat. If i see any that haven't eaten that day i skip a day with them and try again. I always leave the food in overnight, as a couple of mine are pet holes right now and come out in the evening. I just go by the fact that they want to moult and be bigger as fast as possible because this is their most vulnerable stage. They wont pop if you feed them too much, but once they become juveniles is when you're supposed to slow down on the feeding. Until then i give them all the crickets they want xD Its only bad to overfeed adults because they can damage their abdomens from carrying such a heavy load so to speak. I don't think that happens with slings as they grow at a faster rate than adults. Although im pretty sure one of my euath.sp.red slings is in premoult as it hasn't eaten for over a week and its abdomen is a darker shade. But i still offer a cricket every now and then (prekilled) just in case.

 

[antinous]

Remember, a fat sling is a happy sling that'll grow faster!

 

[viper69]

Hi,
yes fairly new!
tbh, i havent gone by any care sheet at all...
had her for 3 months, in a small tank with a bark log and water and she seems happy based on the fact shes molted and eating and her water is empty every week!!
i never thought u could over feed!?
like surely if they are hungry they will eat!? if thy're not hungry they wont!?
like surely they would know if they have had enough right !?
she has eaten atleast 1 everyday now since saturday but before that she didnt eat for atlease 2 weeks!!
and i was away for 1 week so didnt even offer nothing!!!
shes just eaten, so after this gonna give her a few days off...

No need to slow down feeding especially on a sling! That's a bad idea. There entire job is to eat so they can get larger so as to avoid predators and become someone else's luinch!

Never owned a T that drank all the water in its bowl, let alone every week. That sounds odd, like maybe there's something we don't know, as in how much volume the bowl holds, how warm your room is etc.

I don't stop feeding mine. They stop feeding themselves, I watch their behavior and body posture and know when they aren't hungry generally.

 

[trinaxxx]

No need to slow down feeding especially on a sling! That's a bad idea. There entire job is to eat so they can get larger so as to avoid predators and become someone else's luinch!

Never owned a T that drank all the water in its bowl, let alone every week. That sounds odd, like maybe there's something we don't know, as in how much volume the bowl holds, how warm your room is etc.

I don't stop feeding mine. They stop feeding themselves, I watch their behavior and body posture and know when they aren't hungry generally.

ive never seen it drink, i think its the humidity that evaporates the water... but it is empty atleast by the end of the week...
im just gonna feed her everyday like i am...
if she eats then she eats it... i can see her getting bigger so it must be working...

 

[trinaxxx]

Remember, a fat sling is a happy sling that'll grow faster!

View attachment 218878

wow , i thought my slings bum was big haha!!
what sling is that!?

 

[antinous]

wow , i thought my slings bum was big haha!!
what sling is that!?

Lasiodora itabunae, even at that size they'll eat everything haha

 

[The Grym Reaper]

I feed mine as often as they'll eat, they'll stop once they feel they've eaten enough to get them through to their next moult, if they don't go for a prey item straight away then I remove it and try again a day or so later, my C. cyaneopubescens and G. pulchripes slings both ignore prey atm but they're due a moult some time during the next week or so.

 

[trinaxxx]

so update...
shes not eaten now for 4 days maybe 5 ...
reckon shes gone into pre molt...
shes got a huge bum!!
gonna be a lovely t