Premolt Grammostola Pulchripes sling?

Foreverkathleen

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Hi. New T owner and I've never seen my Chaco sling molt yet. I know one of the signs of premolt is a dark abdomen. Can anyone confirm that the color of my sling's abdomen show a sign of premolt? This is also the first time I have ever seen my T dig a dent in his/her substrate (shown in photo). I used Eco Earth coco fiber.
 

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cold blood

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Pre molt, agreed.

Fyi, glass jars are a terrible place for a t unless you have the ability to ventilate the sides.
 

Foreverkathleen

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You guys were right! I woke up this morning and noticed that he/she molted last night :)

Side comment: Do slings really need a water dish? I thought slings get enough water from their food. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
 

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Ghost56

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Side comment: Do slings really need a water dish?
IMO, yes. They do get enough moisture most of the time from prey items as slings, but you should still add water to the sides of the container at the least to allow it to drink if need be. It's super simple to just add a water dish though, and it could possibly allow bad situations to be avoided if you aren't able to "water" it.
 

KezyGLA

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A shallow water dish is beneficial for slings. They do get hydration from food, but a fresh water sources is always better.
 

Ghost56

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Another thing I haven't seen anyone ask yet. You do keep some kind of lid on top of the container, right?
 

Raven 13

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You got lucky with your G Pulchripes. Mine dug a burrow, and sealed himself up in it on December 31st, and just now finished molting sometime during the night.
 

Trenor

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All my Ts get water dishes. Do you have to have them? No, but if helps when the T can decide it wants a drink and can do so.

Pre molt, agreed.

Fyi, glass jars are a terrible place for a t unless you have the ability to ventilate the sides.
have you ever tried them? ive used them for years with no issue.
I've not tried them with Ts but having used them with bugs as a kid. I'd be hesitant to put a bug (or T) in them that needed anything more than heavy top ventilation. I don't use top only ventilation on any of my Ts. If you can drill the glass then that would open up some more species I might try.

Another big thing I didn't like about them with bugs and another reason I wouldn't use them for Ts is a lot of glass container that have lids usually have a wide to narrow neck/mouth which limits how easy it is to work in the enclosure.

Usually I look for wide opening tops on even my tall top opening plastic arboreal enclosures. It makes working with them a lot easier.
 

Venom1080

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I've not tried them with Ts but having used them with bugs as a kid. I'd be hesitant to put a bug (or T) in them that needed anything more than heavy top ventilation. I don't use top only ventilation on any of my Ts. If you can drill the glass then that would open up some more species I might try.

Another big thing I didn't like about them with bugs and another reason I wouldn't use them for Ts is a lot of glass container that have lids usually have a wide to narrow neck/mouth which limits how easy it is to work in the enclosure.

Usually I look for wide opening tops on even my tall top opening plastic arboreal enclosures. It makes working with them a lot easier.
I used them for Poecilotheria, Brachypelma, Lasiodora, Lampropelma,Ceratogyrus etc.
Tarantulas dont need alot of ventilation. The ones I use the lid is the same size as the rest.
 

Trenor

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Tarantulas dont need alot of ventilation.
Right, Ts don't need a lot of ventilation to breath. A big part of ventilation depends on how you want to keep them. If you mainly have top ventilation your humidity goes quickly out the top and the enclosure dries out a lot faster than side ventilation. I prefer the latter because it requires a lot less maintenance. Less evaporation means I have to water and add humidity to the enclosure a lot less. It also helps with air movement which I like. Less side vents can lead to more heat building up inside the enclosure because of reduced air movement.

They can work depending on how you like to keep your Ts. It's not hard to drill glass. Though, I've rarely seen anyone on here do it. For me though, with all the clear plastic containers available for really cheap, it's just much easier to work with non glass enclosures.

In the end it's like most things a preference on how you want to keep them. IMO a well ventilated enclosure is more forgiving of keeping mistakes which makes it a plus for new keepers.
 

Venom1080

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Right, Ts don't need a lot of ventilation to breath. A big part of ventilation depends on how you want to keep them. If you mainly have top ventilation your humidity goes quickly out the top and the enclosure dries out a lot faster than side ventilation. I prefer the latter because it requires a lot less maintenance. Less evaporation means I have to water and add humidity to the enclosure a lot less. It also helps with air movement which I like. Less side vents can lead to more heat building up inside the enclosure because of reduced air movement.

They can work depending on how you like to keep your Ts. It's not hard to drill glass. Though, I've rarely seen anyone on here do it. For me though, with all the clear plastic containers available for really cheap, it's just much easier to work with non glass enclosures.

In the end it's like most things a preference on how you want to keep them. IMO a well ventilated enclosure is more forgiving of keeping mistakes which makes it a plus for new keepers.
I saw a thread on here from some guy with a bunch of degrees in chem and what not, and he basically went through how that's a myth. A hole in theside does the exact same as a hole in the top, and vice versa.
 

Trenor

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I saw a thread on here from some guy with a bunch of degrees in chem and what not, and he basically went through how that's a myth. A hole in theside does the exact same as a hole in the top, and vice versa.
Where is that post? Do you remember? I'd like to see what reasoning he did to come up with that. I can also run it by Rob who has been an industrial chemist for 30ish years and see what he says.
 

Venom1080

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Where is that post? Do you remember? I'd like to see what reasoning he did to come up with that. I can also run it by Rob who has been an industrial chemist for 30ish years and see what he says.
No sorry.
 
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