To sling or not to sling (that really is the question)

[Phenex]

Hi All,

As the title says to sling or not to sling. A little background first.

My son and I were at Tinley this last weekend. During our wandering he asked to play a game at a vendor table and I said sure. I was speaking to another vendor at the time about reptile caging and to my surprise (and delight) he won a sling Rose tarantula. (For the record, they did not let him have the prize without my permission.) I've always wanted a tarantula and this was a good excuse to bring one home. From all I have read, these are an ok first T. I have been researching others, but my concern is that anything too small may be hard to take care of and keep alive relative to a larger T.

Anyway to the question, I am looking to add a few more to my menagerie, but I am concerned with getting something too small. Net Bug has a group for sale - Brachypelma smithi 1/2", Brachypelma emilia 1/3" and Brachypelma auratum 1/3". Are these too small for a beginning keeper to be successful? I am not looking for a vendor review, but suitability of T size for an inexperienced keeper. Are some slings easier than others?

What do all you experienced keepers think?

Other than the 3 mentioned above, in the interest of full disclosure the other T's I am looking at are: Euathlus Sp. Red, Grammostola pulchra, Grammostola pulchripes and Eupalastrus campestratus. Let me know what you think?

I must say, I have enjoyed reading the many threads both old and new on the site. The search box is my friend.

Glad to now be a part of this community!


Thanks in advance,

John

 

[ratluvr76]

In my experience, limited though it may be, and from the research and reading I've done, brachy's and grammy's are pretty near bullet proof as far at tolerance for newbie mistakes. Sling care really isn't that difficult either. 10 of my 14 T's were under an inch, half of those were about 1/4 - 1/3 inch when I got them only a month or two into the hobby. Aside from more frequent feedings and a slightly higher humidity level, they are pretty simple. Substrate, slightly dampened in one spot which you rotate whenever it dries out, a water bowl, even for the littlest ones, maybe a few strands of dampened moss and your set.

If you don't want to deal with FFF, (I HATE them), you can feed cricket drumsticks, pieces of mealworm, or even cut up bits of cricket or roach to them, they will happily scavenge feed at that size.

Don't be intimidated by sling care, watching the little boogers grow and see the changes from molt to molt is its own reward. Be advised though, if you don't already know, roseas grow slower then molasses in January. They take up to 8 years to mature.

Welcome to the hobby, welcome to the boards.

 

[awiec]

Hi All,

As the title says to sling or not to sling. A little background first.

My son and I were at Tinley this last weekend. During our wandering he asked to play a game at a vendor table and I said sure. I was speaking to another vendor at the time about reptile caging and to my surprise (and delight) he won a sling Rose tarantula. (For the record, they did not let him have the prize without my permission.) I've always wanted a tarantula and this was a good excuse to bring one home. From all I have read, these are an ok first T. I have been researching others, but my concern is that anything too small may be hard to take care of and keep alive relative to a larger T.

Anyway to the question, I am looking to add a few more to my menagerie, but I am concerned with getting something too small. Net Bug has a group for sale - Brachypelma smithi 1/2", Brachypelma emilia 1/3" and Brachypelma auratum 1/3". Are these too small for a beginning keeper to be successful? I am not looking for a vendor review, but suitability of T size for an inexperienced keeper. Are some slings easier than others?

What do all you experienced keepers think?

Other than the 3 mentioned above, in the interest of full disclosure the other T's I am looking at are: Euathlus Sp. Red, Grammostola pulchra, Grammostola pulchripes and Eupalastrus campestratus. Let me know what you think?

I must say, I have enjoyed reading the many threads both old and new on the site. The search box is my friend.

Glad to now be a part of this community!


Thanks in advance,

John

All of the choices mentioned in your post will be very suitable for beginners and as for slings the species that you mentioned are pretty bullet proof even as slings. Only thing with slings in that you provide them with a little more moisture than their adult counterparts as it's much easier for them to de-hydrate and you must of course provide smaller prey. Two simple solutions to those concerns is providing a strand or two of damp sphagnum moss and offer pre-killed crickets/cricket legs/pin head crickets. Many spiders will eventually scavenge food if they are hungry, my personal method is to put pressure in the region between the head and body; this paralyzes the cricket but it can still twitch to entice the spider but cannot harm it.

 

[DVMT]

Ratluver76 and awiec pretty much said it all. Also, in addition......I just bought 2 of the B. auratums from Anastasia at Net-bug and they are doing very well, eating, drinking, and having a good old time in their 16oz deli cups set up just like mentioned above. Both have been seen scavenging cricket corpses with a smile on their face.

Damon

 

[Angel Minkov]

You dont know what small is before you see a C. elegans sling... Anyeays, Id get a G. pulchra/B. emilia. They both have stunning looks and are suitable Ts for beginners.

 

[DVMT]

You dont know what small is before you see a C. elegans sling... Anyeays, Id get a G. pulchra/B. emilia. They both have stunning looks and are suitable Ts for beginners.

B. emelia all the way!!! I LOVE mine!

 

[Slimdean]

Welcome to the addiction errrr I mean "hobby".


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Poec54]

Slings are infants. They're delicate, they can't go long without water and food. I'd recommend you start with a juvenile, they're much hardier. All of the species you're interested in are good choices for you. I have some of them myself.

 

[IHeartTs]

Nice to see another person from Illinois on here! Juvies sre much easier to care for. Slings take more time to care for and require a lot of patience. I'd actually recommend you check out chicago reptile house in Tinley. The tend to have a few euathlus species that are juvies. I've also seen some aphonopelma there as well. The next expo is April 4th. Check out evils arachnids Facebook page as well. They post a list before the show and they're always there. Best of luck!

 

[gobey]

Slings wouldn't be IMPOSSIBLE.

But brand new. You may find yourself both overwhelmed and underwhelmed.

Overwhelmed by the more frequent needs the spider has. (Even though it's still not too demanding)
Overwhelmed by the extra few care requirements.

And underwhelmed by the size/appearance/behavior of the tarantula.

Because it's going to be a loooonnnnggg time before any of those species looks like a tarantula and not a house spider.


I had 4 adults/juveniles for a couple months and then got my first slings.

Brachypelma albopilosums. Great tarantulas.

I appreciated keeping a sling more after owning an adult for a while and seeing the differences and similarities.

Again though. It's not rocket science.

Whatever you do just be the best keeper you can be.

Those are all hardy species but I even lost a Brachypelma sling unexpectedly. I suspect low temperature was the factor. But in any case slings can die. So get more than one!

The other important thing you want to do if you get a sling, is set up the enclosure correctly. Especially ventilation holes. They must be small! If it looks like the spider can fit. It can. It should have ventilation holes smaller than the carapace.

Because slings may not die often. But they WILL escape if given opportunity.

Good luck!

(B. emilia!)

 

[Dave Marschang]

I bought my first group of tarantulas in October of last year .....all tiny slings. and bought my second group in Tinley park last weekend. mostly slings. Other than the adult Avicularia Metallica that is calm enough to hold, I prefer the slings. as those "ticks" grow into" house spiders" and then juveniles with color patterns it is one of the coolest things to watch. unless you are wanting to breed I don't see any reason not to start with a bunch of tiny "ticks" and watch em' grow.
which by the way the rear horned baboon sling is the coolest sling I own. its tunnels and caves are nothing short of engineering marvels and she is constantly working on them. not a beginner T because they are mean, but then I don't plan on cuddling with my spiders so its not an issue.

 

[Phenex]

I'd like to that everyone who replied to my post. It is nice to see I am part of an active community.

I think I will be getting a mix of Ts, a sling or two and then some juveniles. I really enjoy watching something grow up from a baby, and in this case I understand the risks. I also want to keep my son interested and having something a little larger that looks different from what I can find around the house will keep things fun until the smaller ones grow up.

Any suggestions on which would be better as sling and which to get as juvi?

Thanks,

John

 

[awiec]

I'd like to that everyone who replied to my post. It is nice to see I am part of an active community.

I think I will be getting a mix of Ts, a sling or two and then some juveniles. I really enjoy watching something grow up from a baby, and in this case I understand the risks. I also want to keep my son interested and having something a little larger that looks different from what I can find around the house will keep things fun until the smaller ones grow up.

Any suggestions on which would be better as sling and which to get as juvi?

Thanks,

John

all of the species you are interested are pretty tough sling wise, but rosea is a bad choice for a sling just because they grow so dang slow, the brachypelma will too but at least you get some interesting colors.