Tiny sling advice

Danny Phantom

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 30, 2019
Messages
21
So I ordered a sling, but it was smaller than I expected. Turned out the seller meant leg span and not body size, whoops.

Anyways, it's 1,5 cm and I'm wondering if I can feed it live food. Some really small crickets or red runners perhaps? I know other people give slings pieces of sliced mealworm, but I'm not a fan of massacring tons of mealworms and cutting them. I know some like giving cricket legs, but I don't like that either. Catching crickets is extremely obnoxious. Besides, I don't like keeping mealworms or crickets. I have some B. Lateralis roaches (red runners) who have some eggs ready to hatch, but I'm not sure if the sling can kill and eat the live baby roach.

Any advice?
 

chanda

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 27, 2010
Messages
2,229
Yes, a 1.5 cm sling can take (small) live prey, such as tiny crickets or roach nymphs, or they can scavenge on pre-killed prey. You can also crush the head of a cockroach nymph so it can't injure your sling or burrow into the substrate and disappear. It can continue to move or walk for a while after the head has been crushed, giving the sling the "live prey" experience if she needs that to trigger a feeding response.

If you offer live prey and you notice her avoiding it or running away from it, remove the uneaten item and consider switching to smaller prey or prekilled.
 

Colorado Ts

Arachnoangel
Joined
Oct 16, 2019
Messages
831
I feel yuh...I ordered 3/4” slings and what arrived was much closer to 3/8”.

60845236-52F2-4A08-918B-7C5A6C1DD100.jpeg

Here’s the largest sling, inside a 2 oz soufflé cup, sitting on a dime. Surprises happen, make the best of it.

I’m feeding them tiny pinhead B.lateralis roaches. Everything seems to be going fine so far.

F95C0F22-4BA7-4138-AD8C-6466F4B30AB9.jpeg

The roaches keep disappearing, and slings keep moulting...so all is going well so far. I’m confident I’ll see those 3/4” slings at some point... :rofl:
 

Colorado Ts

Arachnoangel
Joined
Oct 16, 2019
Messages
831
Just checked all my “tiny” slings...all but 3 ate. Boluses cleaned out, next feeding is Friday.
 

Pyroxian

Arachnophobophiliac
Joined
Aug 31, 2019
Messages
187
Just checked all my “tiny” slings...all but 3 ate. Boluses cleaned out, next feeding is Friday.
Sorry for the sidetrack, op...

@Colorado Ts , did you order those from a breeder or one of the bigger dealers? I've seen plenty of overestimated sizes, but that's ridiculous...
 

Colorado Ts

Arachnoangel
Joined
Oct 16, 2019
Messages
831
Sorry for the sidetrack, op...

@Colorado Ts , did you order those from a breeder or one of the bigger dealers? I've seen plenty of overestimated sizes, but that's ridiculous...
My tiny slings came from two different sources.

In one I ordered 3/4” slings, then the nighttime lows dropped into low 20's and upper teens for an extended time. I was told by the seller that he had pulled my slings from his inventory, and set them aside to be shipped when weather allowed...in actuality, the seller had another sac and kept selling. When it came time to ship my slings, all the 3/4” slings were gone, so the seller pulled from the other sac and shipped mine...I was less than pleased.

A8A44B2C-94FB-408C-81F7-E59EA0F24313.jpeg

In the second instance, the seller had a group of slings that I wanted, but the slings he had were so tiny, I was not comfortable with the deal. Then the seller contacted me a few weeks later and stated that the slings had moulted and were now 1/2”...I was thrilled and placed my order. 2 of the slings are “maybe” 1/2”...the other 6 are just now moulting, one after the other. So again, less than pleased.

1CE4D1FA-DEB1-4D64-9EFF-2258B79CB05E.jpeg

So now I’m learning a new skill...keeping really tiny slings alive and being comfortable with the tiny sizes. I would've just rather learned this skill next year...or in a couple months, when EVERYTHING else that I'm learning takes hold and this settle down.

Plate most full at the moment. :bag:

I think that had things gone as planned, orders shipped on time...no weather delays; my experiences would have been much better...well at least on the 1st order. There's NO EXCUSE for saying hey they've all moulted. 2 out 8 is not ALL, it’s not even 1/2....
 
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Danny Phantom

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 30, 2019
Messages
21
I feel yuh...I ordered 3/4” slings and what arrived was much closer to 3/8”.

View attachment 337939

Here’s the largest sling, inside a 2 oz soufflé cup, sitting on a dime. Surprises happen, make the best of it.

I’m feeding them tiny pinhead B.lateralis roaches. Everything seems to be going fine so far.

View attachment 337940

The roaches keep disappearing, and slings keep moulting...so all is going well so far. I’m confident I’ll see those 3/4” slings at some point... :rofl:
Those are some nice pictures! But yeah, since I already received the slings I gotta make the best of it now. Thanks for the tip, I'll try the small roaches.
 

omni

Arachnobaron
Joined
Apr 30, 2007
Messages
382
So I ordered a sling, but it was smaller than I expected. Turned out the seller meant leg span and not body size, whoops.

Anyways, it's 1,5 cm and I'm wondering if I can feed it live food. Some really small crickets or red runners perhaps? I know other people give slings pieces of sliced mealworm, but I'm not a fan of massacring tons of mealworms and cutting them. I know some like giving cricket legs, but I don't like that either. Catching crickets is extremely obnoxious. Besides, I don't like keeping mealworms or crickets. I have some B. Lateralis roaches (red runners) who have some eggs ready to hatch, but I'm not sure if the sling can kill and eat the live baby roach.

Any advice?
if you're squeamish about pre-killing prey to feed the little T, you can put a bunch in a ziploc and freeze'm, they pull one out and thaw for a bit and it will be fine to just drop it in and check next day if it's gone
 
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