When is a Sling no longer a Sling?

[Travis K]

Well I just got my first 3 slings, and was wondering at what point they are generally considered Tarantulas and not slings. Is it a size thing or when they actually mature sexually?

 

[Mushroom Spore]

Each person has their own thing...I call 'em a sling until they have adult colors, and a juvie until they're closer to their adult size.

 

[gambite]

What Mushroom said. A lot of T slings look the same, so as soon as they start to become distinguishable, they can be considered a juvie. However, you should always list the size as well, since this can be a little ambiguous.

 

[cacoseraph]

REAL roughly i go by the "normal" adult size

egg - ~25% = sling
~25%-~50-60% = juv
~50-60% - 75-80% = subadult
80-100% = adult.


of course, this is all awful language to use as (and has been pointed out numerous times before) sub just means below... so technically anythign that is not an adult is subadult.... and i don't think the hobby actually has a real good idea on when spiders are sexually mature (what i would call adult) vs when they basically stop growing in size on molts (which is what it sort of seems like a lot of ppl mean when they say adult)

so for an example: Brachypelma smithi. the most a female is goign to reasonably reach is 5-6"DLS (with more in the 5" neighborhood) so:
hatch - ~1.25"DLS = sling
~1.25" - 2-3"DLS = juv
~2-3" - ~4"DLS = subadult
4"+DLS = adult



of course, a lot of ppl will only call a full size spider adult and that is totally valid in my book

like most things, it helps to clarify what you actually mean with your audience before getting *too* deep into a discussion

 

[smof]

Before adult colours = definitely a sling. But I tend to call anything up to about 2" a sling. I think sling and juvenile overlap depending on who's talking.

 

[lunixweb]

like everybody has said.. the T has many levels.. and each one depends on the size of the T. But to answer your question a sling is not anymore a sling when it has the coloration and in average it happens when it's one and a half or two inches of legspan.

 

[Travis K]

REAL roughly i go by the "normal" adult size

egg - ~25% = sling
~25%-~50-60% = juv
~50-60% - 75-80% = subadult
80-100% = adult.


of course, this is all awful language to use as (and has been pointed out numerous times before) sub just means below... so technically anythign that is not an adult is subadult.... and i don't think the hobby actually has a real good idea on when spiders are sexually mature (what i would call adult) vs when they basically stop growing in size on molts (which is what it sort of seems like a lot of ppl mean when they say adult)

so for an example: Brachypelma smithi. the most a female is goign to reasonably reach is 5-6"DLS (with more in the 5" neighborhood) so:
hatch - ~1.25"DLS = sling
~1.25" - 2-3"DLS = juv
~2-3" - ~4"DLS = subadult
4"+DLS = adult



of course, a lot of ppl will only call a full size spider adult and that is totally valid in my book

like most things, it helps to clarify what you actually mean with your audience before getting *too* deep into a discussion

Thanks, I like this scale. It is very simple and I think I will be adopting it as a rule of thumb for stages of growth.

 

[border]

sling size

:clap: Cacoseraph offer a great analisis Fellow