What is your approach or method for growing out slings?

[Colorado Ts]

Acquiring New Slings

I have acquired several favorite slings by just regularly checking Craigslist. I check my surrounding area and the neighboring state for people selling tarantulas or invertebrates. I usually check once or twice a week.

This has been a nice source for several of the spiders that are now in my collection, and so far...at reduced prices.



This week I found a person looking to reduce their current collection by 12 to 14 Tarantulas. Real nice people, I really enjoyed talking with them as they took me through their entire collection, a mix of both New Worlds and Old Worlds.

$80.00 got me this little sweet girl pictured in this post. She was only in her new home for less than 10 minutes when I took these images.



She moulted about a week ago, and I have the exuviae to verify that “she” is in fact a she. I’ll keep her in a 4X4X4 AMAC box for maybe a couple more moults, then rehouse her into her final enclosure...fingers crossed that she’s a she.



Craigslist coupled with patience, it has paid off again.

 

[Chebe6886]

Acquiring New Slings

I have acquired several favorite slings by just regularly checking Craigslist. I check my surrounding area and the neighboring state for people selling tarantulas or invertebrates. I usually check once or twice a week.

This has been a nice source for several of the spiders that are now in my collection, and so far...at reduced prices.

View attachment 350620

This week I found a person looking to reduce their current collection by 12 to 14 Tarantulas. Real nice people, I really enjoyed talking with them as they took me through their entire collection, a mix of both New Worlds and Old Worlds.

$80.00 got me this little sweet girl pictured in this post. She was only in her new home for less than 10 minutes when I took these images.

View attachment 350621

She moulted about a week ago, and I have the exuviae to verify that “she” is in fact a she. I’ll keep her in a 4X4X4 AMAC box for maybe a couple more moults, then rehouse her into her final enclosure...fingers crossed that she’s a she.

View attachment 350622

Craigslist coupled with patience, it has paid off again.

Patience always pays off. I was frantic to get Pokies because for a couple months I didn’t see much available. So I forced the issue found people with what I wanted and paid far more than I wanted. A week later I could have gotten the same species and spent a LOT less. Just giving a heads up for people who want a certain genus or species.... hold off! Be smart about it. If a certain spider is in demand some one will likely get a sac with far more specimens than they want and that’s when you move. If it’s a popular spider it will come around. Granted if I get a few girls I’ll likely be happy with my purchases but still...

 

[Colorado Ts]

Patience always pays off. I was frantic to get Pokies because for a couple months I didn’t see much available. So I forced the issue found people with what I wanted and paid far more than I wanted. A week later I could have gotten the same species and spent a LOT less. Just giving a heads up for people who want a certain genus or species.... hold off! Be smart about it. If a certain spider is in demand some one will likely get a sac with far more specimens than they want and that’s when you move. If it’s a popular spider it will come around. Granted if I get a few girls I’ll likely be happy with my purchases but still...

You get it.

I paid more for this “Girl”, than I did for each of the other 10 G.pulchra slings that I currently own, but she is more than a year ahead of their growth. Thinking ahead on the goals of my own personal breeding program, if she is truly a female, then I can breed her to any or all of the males that are in my current group of 10 G.pulchra slings; as she will mature ~1 year ahead of my current males. If she is a “she“, this changes everything for me. I won't need to
pick females and sell off any of my males in my current group of 10 G.pulchra slings. She becomes the foundation for this species in my breeding program...by 1 year.

And once I have bred my males to her, I can then negotiate “Breeding Loans” for my males, with other reputable breeders. This entire hobby is an exercise in patience. Basic Economics 101: Supply & Demand.

I have found that most of the people on Craigslist do not know the true “Market Value“ of the slings that they posses. They are looking to reduce their inhouse stock, by any means necessary, and they focus on local markets...not a national market.

I did not even try to negotiate price, flat gave them what they wanted for the sling. The people that I met tonight were genuine people, great people, total enthusiasts. I showed up at their residence to pickup a single sling and they shared an hour with me going over their entire collection. I loved it, they were passionate about this hobby, but had to reduce their collection due to personal issues.

They would be wonderful additions to our site, I sincerely hope that they show up here on Arachnoboards.

 

[Ian14]

I have very tiny slings I can't even feed them small size crickets. So I just feed them small size crickets legs.when the get bigger I start to feed them dead small size crickets. Then when the get bigger I start to feed them live small size crickets.

What about bean weevils? They are really small, breed easily, and are not going to injure a sling.

 

[Colorado Ts]

At Some Point...They Gotta Move

I love my slings...they are so cute, and so much fun to have in my collection. Currently, my focus has been on Terrestrial Spiders. If my slings are small, 1/2” or less, I start them in some type of a soufflé cup; 1 oz cup up to around 3.25 oz cup.

Once the sling grows out to 3/4” to 1”, they get moved into 4X4X4 AMAC boxes.

Then as the slings become juveniles, at around 3”+, they get moved into larger quarters. Today I rehoused all my Phormictopus sp southern hispaniola slings/juveniles into an intermediate enclosure.



All of these spiders are now 3” or more. They really needed to be transfered into their new homes. They had grown so large in the AMAC boxes that feeding times were becoming a series of threat displays and stress posses. I’d open the enclosure, they’d call me names and threaten me, I’d drop in the prey items...and they’d act like I was attacking them, then they'd eat later after they’d calmed down. They were getting so large that they felt they had no where to run and felt threatened every time the enclosure was opened. So yeah...it was time.



For most of them it was pretty easy transferring from one enclosure to the next. I’ve come to realize that spiders do not appreciate change at all. So with each rehousing, I always include substrate from their current home into the new enclosure. I believe this brings familiar smells into the new home, and helps with the transition. However, if I’m rehousing a spider that is a new purchase to me, then I do not transfer any of the old substrate and everything is brand new. This will help to keep things from someone else's room from contaminating my room.



This wasn’t a smooth transition for all the spiders, some got seriously offended and threat displays were thrown with abandon. When this happened, I’d force myself to slow down or try a different approach in the transfer, to lesson the stress that this process induced in some of the spiders. No lunging though, so that was good.



One by one, all 8 slings/juveniles marched into their new homes.



Once the spider was transferred its new home and the lid was closed, I’d then transfer the label that identified that particular spider.



Once all the spiders were transferred, the old AMAC boxes were thoroughly washed in hot soapy water and set on the counter to dry.



Then I'd give each enclosure another look over to make sure that each enclosure was setup the way that I wanted it to be arranged. The juveniles were then placed into a larger grow-out cabinet. And the old AMAC boxes are stored and made ready to house future slings.

Start to finish, this rehouse of 8 spiders took about 45 minutes. Course I had a lot of help from the grandkids, so that sort of slows things down.

Enjoy the day.

 

[Colorado Ts]

Grammostola pulchra Slings Moulting.

The G.pulchra slings are working their way through a moult cycle. All 10 slings are being housed in 3.25 oz soufflé cups, with moist coco fibre substrate. One of the slings moulted late last week. When I checked on my slings and was feeding those that still were accepting food, I found this sling in its enclosure dragging its moult around behind it. I get very apprehensive when the slings are moulting, that is a time where things could be just fine, or they can go real bad quickly. So when I opened the enclosure and saw this little sling with its old exuviae dragging behind it, I was very concerned...but only for a moment. Looking closely, I could see that the exuviae was clinging loosely to the top of the sling's abdomen. I checked and the spinnerets had cleared, so I took a set of finely tipped tweezers and carefully removed the attached exuviae. The sling looked fine after everything was removed. I then added a little extra moisture to all the G.pulchra enclosures.

Checking the slings over this morning, I found that 5 more of the G.pulchra slings have moulted, and were very hungry. I gave each one the tiniest B.dubia roach that I could find. It was comical watching these slings wrestle such a large prey item. Even with crushed heads the dubia roaches were a challenge.

My preferred prey item is the B.lateralis roach, but I seem to have over harvested my colony, as I was sharing roaches with a student of mine that has a bearded dragon. So as my B.lateralis colony recovers, I'm forced to feed small B.dubias, until I can get mealworms to cut up and feed. 1000 large B.lateralis roaches arrived a couple weeks ago, those will quickly mature and start breeding and producing tiny roaches. In the mean time, 2000 small B.lateralis roaches should be arriving later this week, so hopefully there are some tiny roaches in that order.

The one thing that I have noticed is that most of the G.pulcha slings that have moulted, are noticeably darker. They look really cute in their new suits.

The sling that moulted last week, with the attached exuviae, is doing fine. It was very hungry this morning as it wrestled down a dubia roach.

4 G.pulchra slings have yet to moult. 1 of these slings was hungry and took on a B.dubia roach. The other three have dark glassy abdomens, ran around looking for a place to hide, and showed no interest in food. So moulting is very near.

These are really attractive slings, with a beauty unlike anything else in my collection. I've wanted to bring in a group of G.pulchra slings a for a long time. I'm so glad that I have committed and now have these 10 slings.

 

[EpicEpic]

At Some Point...They Gotta Move

I love my slings...they are so cute, and so much fun to have in my collection. Currently, my focus has been on Terrestrial Spiders. If my slings are small, 1/2” or less, I start them in some type of a soufflé cup; 1 oz cup up to around 3.25 oz cup.

Once the sling grows out to 3/4” to 1”, they get moved into 4X4X4 AMAC boxes.

Then as the slings become juveniles, at around 3”+, they get moved into larger quarters. Today I rehoused all my Phormictopus sp southern hispaniola slings/juveniles into an intermediate enclosure.

View attachment 350841

All of these spiders are now 3” or more. They really needed to be transfered into their new homes. They had grown so large in the AMAC boxes that feeding times were becoming a series of threat displays and stress posses. I’d open the enclosure, they’d call me names and threaten me, I’d drop in the prey items...and they’d act like I was attacking them, then they'd eat later after they’d calmed down. They were getting so large that they felt they had no where to run and felt threatened every time the enclosure was opened. So yeah...it was time.

View attachment 350842

For most of them it was pretty easy transferring from one enclosure to the next. I’ve come to realize that spiders do not appreciate change at all. So with each rehousing, I always include substrate from their current home into the new enclosure. I believe this brings familiar smells into the new home, and helps with the transition. However, if I’m rehousing a spider that is a new purchase to me, then I do not transfer any of the old substrate and everything is brand new. This will help to keep things from someone else's room from contaminating my room.

View attachment 350844

This wasn’t a smooth transition for all the spiders, some got seriously offended and threat displays were thrown with abandon. When this happened, I’d force myself to slow down or try a different approach in the transfer, to lesson the stress that this process induced in some of the spiders. No lunging though, so that was good.

View attachment 350846

One by one, all 8 slings/juveniles marched into their new homes.

View attachment 350847

Once the spider was transferred its new home and the lid was closed, I’d then transfer the label that identified that particular spider.

View attachment 350848

Once all the spiders were transferred, the old AMAC boxes were thoroughly washed in hot soapy water and set on the counter to dry.

View attachment 350849

Then I'd give each enclosure another look over to make sure that each enclosure was setup the way that I wanted it to be arranged. The juveniles were then placed into a larger grow-out cabinet. And the old AMAC boxes are stored and made ready to house future slings.

Start to finish, this rehouse of 8 spiders took about 45 minutes. Course I had a lot of help from the grandkids, so that sort of slows things down.

Enjoy the day.

The best part is the grandkids! I thought that sentence was going to end with them helping speed up the process not slow you down

Been meaning to ask...Buffs or Rams?!

 

[Colorado Ts]

The best part is the grandkids! I thought that sentence was going to end with them helping speed up the process not slow you down

Been meaning to ask...Buffs or Rams?!

The grandkids really like to help. I have to be watchful of the 2 year old, he will suddenly pop up right between me and whatever enclosure I'm working on...not easy to see threw him, makes a better door than a window. Mostly exciting when I'm working with a sling that's feeling edgy.

...there's a strong rivalry between the two universities, there is doubt.

I'm an Aggies fan.

 

[Colorado Ts]

Grammostola pulchripes



My G.pulchripes moulted again over the weekend. For the first time...it did not moult underground. The spider is now over 3” and it spun a moulting mat and moulted above ground...then it stuffed its old exuviae into its burrow and buried its water dish, so yeah...that last part was normal.

Grammostola pulchra



Most of the slings have moulted...some still have not.



Only a couple of them fed, most of them did not. But all looked healthy...

 

[EpicEpic]

Grammostola pulchripes

View attachment 353882

My G.pulchripes moulted again over the weekend. For the first time...it did not moult underground. The spider is now over 3” and it spun a moulting mat and moulted above ground...then it stuffed its old exuviae into its burrow and buried its water dish, so yeah...that last part was normal.

Grammostola pulchra

View attachment 353883

Most of the slings have moulted...some still have not.

View attachment 353884

Only a couple of them fed, most of them did not. But all looked healthy...

Your pulchra babies look a lot like my little pulchripes....

A family affair.