Pterinochilus murinus questions

[CID143ti]

Hello. I received a Usambara Baboon or Pterinochilus murinus sling about a week ago. It was a freebie included in my order. I’m not much of a tarantula keeper; however, I’m an avid scorpion collector. I currently have it in a gallon sized Rubbermaid container. It has about three inches of peat moss in the bottom of the container and a large stick for climbing. The temp ranges from about 90 degrees during the day and about 75 degrees at night. The humidity level is around 60 percent. I am feeding 2 small crickets per week. I have been warned that these tarantulas are quick and aggressive. Should I change his enclosure? Should I feed him more? Any info or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

W. Smith

 

[Henry Kane]

Hey there W.
Actually, For the most part, sounds like you have things going in the right direction.
The only thing I would recommend would be to adjust the day temp to reach no higher than 85 degrees. At 90, there's a greater chance of the s'ling dessicating very quickly, especially with an ambient humidity of only 60%. I wouldn't raise the humidity to compensate but rather lower the temp instead. Although the day temp may reach 90 degrees or higher in their natural habitat, during such times, they would be underground where it would be a bit cooler.

As far as feeding, 2 crix a week should be just fine. You could feed it more if you chose and it wouldn't really hurt, it would just make it grow faster. In relation to the higher temp, the hotter it is, the higher the T's metabolism is. The higher the metabolism, the sooner the T needs more food. At 85 degrees, you may want to consider something along the lines of maybe 5 or so crix a week. Either way wont really hurt but personally, I'd go with about 4-5/week.

Hope that helps. If I forgot to cover anything, feel free to let me know.

See ya.

Atrax

 

[CID143ti]

Thanks for the info. I will try to lower the daytime temp and increase the feeding. He is smaller than two inches, so what size crickets should I offer? If I increase the feeding to 4/5 crickets per week, should I offer multiple crickets or a single cricket per feeding?

Thanks,

W. Smith

 

[Henry Kane]

Hi again.
I'd say 1/4 -1/2" small crix should suffice. I would maybe drop 2 crix in every 3 days or so. That way he won't feel overwhelmed.
Also, at that size, slings can surprise you with a quick molt. If your T were to do so, it's best not to have any live prey running around in there. Crix can possibly injure or kill a newly molted T.
Your sling could probably tackle crix half it's size with no problems but (obviously ) you wouldn't want to feed it as many.
Keep in mind, there doesn't necessarily need to be a set schedule. Just a couple crix every 3 or so days generally covers it. Once the sling gets a nice fat booty (but no hardly able to drag it's butt fat) , just keep it fed to stay nice and plump. Easy as pie!

See ya.

Atrax

 

[CID143ti]

Thanks again. Sounds similar to the feeding schedule my scorps follow. Due to the amount of scorps I keep (or that I must make lists and follow routines to function), I have to keep everything on a feeding schedule. How often do these guys molt? Does the molting frequency slow down the larger the tarantula gets? Are there any warning signs of an impending molt?

Thanks,

W. Smith

 

[Henry Kane]

No problem, glad to help.

Well, molt frequency depends on how often he feeds. At a good healty feeding routine and at his size, he'll probably molt every 6-8 weeks or so and you're correct, as he grows his molt rate will definitely slow. As an adult, he may not molt more than once a year.
There are a few signs of an impending molt. The most obvious would be when it refuses food. Once you notice that, it could be anywhere from a week or 2 or even several. Sometimes they will completely barricade themselves in with webbing and substrate. That usually means a molt as well. From that time, you may not see it for (as stated above) several weeks. You may also notice the abdomen will get darker in color and even get a glossy appearance soon before a molt. All in all, the best indication would be the refusal of prey.

Back to the feeding topic, if feeding on a schedule is best for you, you can also adjust the size of the prey to fit that schedule. If it's easiest to only feed once a week, give your T a couple crix, half it's size, and so on. (I would not recommend crix any larger than half the T's size though.) I hope this info isn't getting too crazy for ya. Just remember, their butt (LOL) is the best thing to judge by as far as them being adequately fed. From there, adjusting their feeding schedule to fit your routine is pretty flexible.

See ya.

Atrax

 

[Godzilla2000]

Originally posted by CID143ti
Hello. I received a Usambara Baboon or Pterinochilus murinus sling about a week ago. It was a freebie included in my order. I’m not much of a tarantula keeper; however, I’m an avid scorpion collector. I currently have it in a gallon sized Rubbermaid container. It has about three inches of peat moss in the bottom of the container and a large stick for climbing. The temp ranges from about 90 degrees during the day and about 75 degrees at night. The humidity level is around 60 percent. I am feeding 2 small crickets per week. I have been warned that these tarantulas are quick and aggressive. Should I change his enclosure? Should I feed him more? Any info or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

W. Smith

Well, so far my 3 in. OBT has been quite a letdown. The petstore I bought her at told me they were nasty little orange demons but I have yet to see her acting like the little orange devils they've been made out to be. She spends most of her time in her burrow and when I disturbed it to grab her shed exuvia last week, she was cowering in the corner of the tank like a scared little bunny. I guess when she reaches 5 in. maybe she'll get bold. But at this moment she's a little orange chicken.

 

[Henry Kane]

Sometimes the full attitude doesn't kick in until the 3"-4" mark or so. ALso, there are always exceptions to the reputation of a sp.. Like there are rosies who act like they're possessed and there can be Usambaras that will readily be handled (although VERY few and far between).

You should have a good idea of what kind of Pterror you have pretty soon Zilla.

Atrax

 

[phoenixxavierre]

Hi William,

While Atrax's advice is all pretty sound, just to let you know, IME these buggers will gladly take prey the same size they are. In fact, the s'lings I keep have been raised up on mealworms bigger than they are, and cricks as large as themselves. They're voracious eaters when hungry and do amazing things to control and subdue their prey, flipping around on their backs, somersaults, twisting the prey up in their webbing, very entertaining! Don't worry too much about the size of the prey, as long it's no bigger than the P. murinus is. If it refuses food for the first five minutes after introduction, at that size anyway, it most often means they've got a full belly! Sometimes it's easier and cheaper to feed them larger crickets, lasts them longer and they get filled up on one crick, rather than five. Just an extra suggestion for ya! If it's easier for you to feed smaller cricks because that's what you happen to have, that works just as well. I've seen them stuff their faces full of up to five cricks in a single feeding, capturing one after the other. But then I've also seen some that were picky and would only take one at a time, slapping at any others as if they were an annoyance. You'll come to know the individual personality of yours with time!

Best wishes,

Paul

 

[SurfinJB]

A note on personality: I have 4 - I just moved one who is only 2.5in and let me tell ya it struck at everything. The water dish, my tongs, its cork bark-everything! He got so upset he even flipped over on his back with fangs a blazing thowing a T-tantrum. They are very quick -don't take your eyes off them. I get more nervous with them than my pokies. Some people also say they're hot. But they are one of my favorites- so enjoy!

 

[Buspirone]

I just got a usumbara sling. Its a great T. My favorite so far. Its only about 1/2" - 3/4" so it does run into its burrow when I come knocking but I have no doubt that when it gets bigger its going to be a handful but so far it has shown me a variety of behaviors(digging, webbing, abush attack of large prey. active hunting of smaller prey). When it comes to food it seems to have no fear and will use its entire body to take down a large meal. Amusing as all get out to watch.

 

[CID143ti]

Thanks Paul, I will keep that in mind when I am scrounging for crickets. It seems like I always have more large crickets than small ones. I’m trying to breed and raise my own…Petsmart is killer on my wallet. I can get them to breed and the eggs to hatch; however, I can’t get then numbers that I require. Funny, I even had some hatch in my scorpion enclosures. Also, I’m having a problem with fungus in the smaller breeding bins. The crickets’ food is growing fungus. I’ve been giving them fresh veggies and fruit and removing the leftovers before it spoils. I’m trying to follow Manny Rubio’s suggestions in his book: Scorpions. I really don’t what to do with the crickets in the breeding bins. Should I use these crickets that have been exposed to the fungus? Maybe a little more practice and I can get it right.

I’ve haven’t seem much personality out this little guy but he’s still settling in. Hopefully, he won’t be the handful that I’ve heard.

Thanks for the info,

W. Smith

 

[phoenixxavierre]

Originally posted by CID143ti
Thanks Paul, I will keep that in mind when I am scrounging for crickets. It seems like I always have more large crickets than small ones. I’m trying to breed and raise my own…Petsmart is killer on my wallet. I can get them to breed and the eggs to hatch; however, I can’t get then numbers that I require. Funny, I even had some hatch in my scorpion enclosures. Also, I’m having a problem with fungus in the smaller breeding bins. The crickets’ food is growing fungus. I’ve been giving them fresh veggies and fruit and removing the leftovers before it spoils. I’m trying to follow Manny Rubio’s suggestions in his book: Scorpions. I really don’t what to do with the crickets in the breeding bins. Should I use these crickets that have been exposed to the fungus? Maybe a little more practice and I can get it right.

I’ve haven’t seem much personality out this little guy but he’s still settling in. Hopefully, he won’t be the handful that I’ve heard.

Thanks for the info,

W. Smith

You're more than welcome, William!

I've had trouble with cricks as well, raising them from pinhead to adults anyway. I'd say remove the fungus, but I doubt you need to worry much about crickets that have been around it. Maybe you could switch to another type of food, but it sounds like you have.

Most of the captive breds I have don't have much of an attitude. I let them crawl around on my hands. They're very demanding when I open their containers, coming to the top as if to say: "Where's the food, man??!! Give me the food!!" lol!

Best wishes,

Paul