Sling feeding....

[kosh]

hey people....i got one for y'all
what is the best schedule for feeding slings??
is it just personal preference or is there some actual science to it??
i see where Holley and some others say they feed theirs about twice (2) a week....
so far....i have had these slings for six (6) days and have been feeding them every other day.....
isnt it ok (to "powerfeed") as long as they want to eat??
i have been feeding them in the evening and cleaning out anything left or uneaten the next morning....
i am wanting to "powerfeed" them so that they will (hopefully) grow faster....
i have fed them twice (2) so far, and was getting ready to feed them again when i thought i'd try this thread and get a few opinions first...

 

[Immortal_sin]

warning....

you will get different opinions on this!
You can't really overfeed a sling, it will just molt more often.
But there are a couple schools of thought. Powerfeeding causes them to grow faster, thus *possibly* shortening their lifespan. I don't think any scientific evidence exists either way. Some people power feed, and some don't. I think it boils down to personal preference. I feed my tarantulas quite often (at least, until I had 600 to feed!). Now that I have many fewer slings, I seem to be feeding them more often as well.
I think it's up to you!

 

[kosh]

well i read about how you can "powerfeed" to get them bigger, quicker....and i can see some truth to the idea that it may shorten their lifespan.....but i also read that you can slow them down also by lowering temp. and feeding less often.......so i was wanting to "powerfeed" to get them bigger, quicker and then go to a more "normal" schedule like twice a week+/- once they get a little more size and color to them....say maybe 2-3 1/2 inches

 

[Gail]

Kosh, the debat on power feeding is one where some say that doing it shortens the overall lifespan of the spider because they mature faster. So, in other words, if a species might normally take 5 years to mature and you power feed it, causing it to mature in just 3 years, I guess what they are saying is that you took 2 years off of it's life. I have heard nothing said about it shortening the life AFTER maturation, so I assume that losing 2 years is only bad if you're a male tarantula. On the other hand, power feeding is known to produce individuals that are larger than non-power fed, and often times, larger than the species average. They also, from what I have read, tend to be much more robust and make for much better breeding stock. That said, I guess it is just personal preference.
I myself feed my slings at least once a day, some of them I feed up to 5 times a day. They grow very quickly (with the exception of a Salmon Pink who is a fussy eater - go figure) and I haven't had any problems with their overall health. Mind you I know that not everyone can do this - I am fortunate enough to work from home and can devote the time to giving 5 feedings a day when I feel like it.

Gail

 

[kosh]

i guess i will stick to my "every other day" schedule....that being said, i fed them all again tonight.......as usual the surface dwellers are already chowing down....the ones who prefer to live underground are still...........underground....
i did witness one of the surface dwellers pick up its cricket leg and carry it around the deli cup a bit and then stopped and did the "happy dance"......i thought it was kinda cute for a sling so small to be doing that!!!

 

[Mendi]

I tend to feed mine every 3rd day, so some weeks they eat twicke other weeks they have 3 meals. Plus I've got it broken down to where I'm feed and cleaning up everyday. As one day, I feed the slings under ½" the next day the larger and subs are feed, then the next the adults get feed. Works well like this and doesn't take the hours you would think having the number I have. All are fairly plump and the slings are growing just as fast as they were when I first started with slings and feeding every other day. I think the extra day gives them time to digest more and appreciate the next meal much more IME

 

[Rookie]

What do I know

First of all, I've had my first s'ling for about two weeks now, so I probably don't know much. I've gotten into the habbit of gauging it on how 'big' he eats. He's only eaten dead crickets thus far. I gave him/her a cricket leg it's first night with me. Since a cricket leg is kinda small i fed it two days later-this time a cricket 'abdomen'. Then I didn't feed him for about 8 days due to cricket complications. I fed him yesterday, and since it had been so long since his last feeding, I tossed in a cricket that was about as large as him. He ate all of it.
So, when you ask how often you should feed your s'ling...I don't know what to tell you. They take care of themselves, as we all know. If they're hungry, they'll eat. If not, well....they won't.
The Rookie

 

[kosh]

well i checked this morning and all but one had eaten the cricket parts i threw in last night......the one who hadnt eaten is the one i have labeled "runt" in a previous post.........then this afternoon i was going to go clean out cricket spit-balls and such and "runt" was dragging its cricket parts down into its burrow.....WHHHHEEEW!! i was beginning to worry about the little sucker not eating...i guess it just needs more time than the rest of its siblings to get motivated on some food....several of them are so FAT...i swear it looks like they are gonna pop....ill try and get a pic or two up of the fat little buggers but not sure if i can get a close up......my digi cam sucks (no macro and fixed focus) so ill have to try my webcam......

 

[Gail]

kosh, it is funny isn't it how they get so fat you really would swear that they will burst. Some of my curly slings butts are so huge that they look like those honeypot ants! How they drag those butts around I don't know - and still, they want more food LOL

Gail

 

[kosh]

funny you should mention honey pot ants ..........i was thinking the same thing earlier....

 

[Tranz]

Or even honeypot aunts.

 

[Rookie]

What do cricket spit-ups look like? I'm not sure if i'd be able to distinguish leftovers..
Paul

 

[MrDeranged]

Look at the 3rd picture in (this) thread. Cricket spitballs will look similar but not so white and ALOT smaller.

Scott

 

[Arachnopuppy]

I try to stick to the natural way as much as possible. Therefore, I feed them when ever I feel like it. Very randomnly.

 

[krucz36]

someone posted at some point that an extra-fat, powerfed sling of theirs fell and basically popped. slings are more delicate, so there's the off-chance that feeding one to excess can result in a tightly packed little sling, and a short fall may result in a deadly rupture...
just a thought. was that you scott?