Very small sling husbandry...

Benson1990

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I got this Nhandu chromatus as a freebie almost a week ago, it's absolutely tiny...I've been keeping it in a pill bottle with just some moist substrate.

I have it nearly a week now and have been dropping in small meal worm parts for it to eat, so far I don't think it's eaten anything, at least not from what I can tell.

Just wondering do all slings take to scavenging or would it be better to try something like flightless fruit flys?

Any thoughts or tips for caring for very small T's?
 

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BoyFromLA

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Some other slings can be much much smaller than what you currently have. Yours is on the rather larger side. :troll:

Anyway, I say no for the fruit flies, and if feeder insects are indeed pre killed, your tarantula would’t mind to scavenge even larger meal too.

Whether it is eating or not, at least give it an option to have an access to it’s food. If it continues to refuse, fine, just try it again next time.
 

Venom1080

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I don't think I've ever fed a terrestrial sling live prey. They get live at 2" or so. Till then prekilled mealworm pieces.

Worked for me many years now.

I have noticed that some slings are wary of prekilled prey that's too large. But will take smaller items. Aim for less than legspan perhaps.
 

viper69

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Just wondering do all slings take to scavenging
Many, not all. Your T isn't that small. I have Ts far smaller than that, nearly microscopic.They took live, and they scavenged too.

I have noticed that some slings are wary of prekilled prey that's too large.
100% true for many species. I have one right now that is hungry and turned down a prey item that was "too large". Ive seen it larger proportionally speaking when sling was SMALLER. go figure.
 

mack1855

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don't hassle with FF.Not worth the it.Keep doing what your doing,as far as slightly moist,and mealworm parts.
I have done live prey at less than 2" many times.But,the live prey needs to be the appropriate size.

You cant expect a sling that's 1in to tackle a 1inch roach or cricket. Your sling would have no problem taking pinhead crickets or R.runner nymphs,IMO.
 

The Grym Reaper

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I have it nearly a week now and have been dropping in small meal worm parts for it to eat, so far I don't think it's eaten anything, at least not from what I can tell.
Is the prey exactly where you left it or has it been moved? I ask because the former usually means that it's been ignored whereas the latter usually means that it's eaten some and dumped the rest. Tiny slings don't need to eat much to fill up tbh.

Just wondering do all slings take to scavenging or would it be better to try something like flightless fruit flys?
Never bothered with FFF or bean weevils in 5 years of raising slings, slings will happily scavenge, some of the more voracious ones will even tackle pinhead lat nymphs.

Any thoughts or tips for caring for very small T's?
Honestly, they're not that difficult once you get used to them, first time I got a 1cm sling was an N. chromatus as a freebie and when I first saw it I was sure there was no way I wouldn't somehow inadvertently kill it, I basically just kept it in a 2oz condiment cup on damp sub and fed it cricket drumsticks/pre-killed pinhead crickets.
 

l4nsky

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Just answered this a few days ago.
The only real difference in sling care vs juvie/adult care is soil moisture maintenance and the husbandry schedule. Juvie's and adult T's lose water primarily through respiration because they have a waxy cuticle that helps retain moisture. This waxy cuticle hasn't developed in slings yet, so they are much more susceptible to dehydration than there larger counterparts. To counter this, use a deeper substrate and keep the sling on a substrate that is more moist then you would keep an adult of the same species on (this is an important distinction, don't try to keep a sling of a desert adapted species like rosea/porteri the same as you would keep a moisture dependent Asian species like violaceopes. That moisture level would probably kill the rosea/porteri sling). With increased moisture also comes the need for increased ventilation, as stuffy conditions can kill a tarantula (especially a sensitive sling) as easily as too little moisture. Utilize both cross and top ventilation (I suggest a 4:1 ratio, or one hole on top for every 4 on the sides). Since the enclosures are small (their environmental parameters change faster than a larger enclosure) and because of a sling's sensitivity, I will check on the soil moisture and feed them every 3-4 days. As far as feeding slings, I have a lateralis colony and the nymphs are the perfect size. Prior to the colony, I would use pinheads, but I often found that their availability was hit or miss. I switched over to using cut up pieces of mealworm as you can always find them and it eliminated the chance of having a live, hungry cricket in the enclosure during a molt. For most species, I'll place the mealworm piece on a small flat rock in their enclosure (if the tarantula tries to burrow under this, remove it and use something lighter like a piece of plastic, you don't want the rock accidently crushing the sling if it undermines it). That way, I can more easily tell of the prey item has been moved and munched on. The only exception to this that I've found is Avicularia sp. For them, I'll place the food directly on their webbing. Remove all uneaten food or any almost microscopic bolus you see 24 hours later (give or take). Circling back to moisture requirements, tarantulas get a lot of their water from their prey items. When a sling is in premolt, usually they won't have access to a water dish as the enclosures are usually too small. In addition to making sure the soil moisture levels are good to prevent molting problems, I'll also either lightly mist or use a dropper to place water droplets on their webbing or on part of the wall of the enclosure every 3-4 days. It's not really rocket science and it seems daunting to a lot of people because of the perceived extreme sensitivity of microscopic tarantula. Yes they are sensitive, but a little bit of knowledge and experience goes a long way to being successful.

Thanks,
--Matt
 

Scorpiobsession

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If you're worried about feeding then you could feed cricket legs. However it is likely just eating a little bit and you don't notice it.
 

Smotzer

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Sometimes like @The Grym Reaper has pointed out, with small slings and pieces of mealworm, it may not look like it hhas eaten because it has fed off only a small portion, sometimes it has moved locations sometimes not, you need to see thhe abdomen size if it has changed. Super small dwarfs of mine look like they never eat cause thhe majority of thhe prey is still thhere, but thheir abdomen gets plumper and they molt. just keep doing whhat you are doing and it will continue to, or eventually eat, also looks like at that size you can also feed live pinhead crickets. I feed these lots even for small T's.
 

Blueandbluer

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I feed crix to my larger Ts, so I always just used legs for the itty bitties. Worked just fine. FFs also work but are SUCH a pain to use and keep that pretty much no one will actually recommend them. I remember some people saying back in the day that they sucked nutritionally, too, but I don't know if that's actually true or not.
 

Dimator

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IME with a tiny n.Chromatus sling (around 1.5 cm), they do pretty good at scavenging and taking down live prey as well.
mine eats small mealworms and mealworm parts and it has a huuuuge appetite
 

Ian14

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Personally I think the enclosure is too big. In a smaller vial type enclosure it will easily find food. All of my slings are given live hatchling crickets, unless I haven't seen them out in which case the head is crushed and dropped in.
I have two N chromatus, one came as s tiny sling. Both have grown rapidly and feed whenever food is offered.
 
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IME with a tiny n.Chromatus sling (around 1.5 cm), they do pretty good at scavenging and taking down live prey as well.
mine eats small mealworms and mealworm parts and it has a huuuuge appetite
I have slings that are with me for nearly an year and some are just hitting the 1.5cm mark.1,5 cm is huge in my book.haha
All my microscopic slings get micro crickets (or in other words hatchlings ).Never had an issue and tbh I find it quite beneficial in offering live pray especially if the slings lake the fossorial life .
Regards Konstantin
 

Frogdaddy

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I treat slings just like adults with a couple of minor differences. Keep substrate a little more moist than you would an adult and offer small prey items more often. That's it.
 
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