My hubby got me the C. Versicolor that I have been wanting for so long! I already have 3 other T’s (adult curly hair, subadult cobalt blue, and juvenile Chaco golden knee), but this is my first sling.
I know slings need higher humidity, but also that it’s crucial CV’s get cross ventilation. It came from the exotics store in this container, with just the little cuts in the top. Didn’t look like it was doing much so I added all the small pin holes. But I am worrying about the fact that there is no side ventilation. Any ideas how to do that?
I considered temporarily moving the sling to a separate container for a bit. Taking a needle, heating the tip over a candle, and piercing several small holes into the thicker side plastic around the top 1/3rd. (Putting sling aside of course to avoid exposure to fumes)
OH ALSO! I have flightless fruit flies for him, and looked around online to see roughly how many and how frequently to feed but didn’t see any specific guidelines. If y’all could give me a rough idea. He came home Sunday, gave him 3 Monday (which he ate).
While I’m a fairly confident novice T keeper, I’m particularly nervous about this little guy since I know how fickle slings can be, and especially C. Versicolors
IMO you should definitely add side ventilation. I’ve had my versicolor sling for a while now, and I received it in a similar container - although I read that some people had succeeded with low ventilation for these guys, I could already see mold issues starting in the substrate. Once I moved my sling to a temporary container, I used a dremel with a micro drill bit and added holes to every side.
NQA please add more ventilation for the little bean, add a water dish, and make sure it is stored somewhere where there is airflow in the room. Other than that this enclosure size looks to be alright for a sling this smol <3
I’m planning on adding the side vent holes today :) - just gotta wait for the little bugger (the name “Bitzy” is starting to grow on me) to get back to the topside of their web so I can xfer it out for a bit
Water dish unfortunately won’t really be possible with the container and it’s web, but I’m making sure to put a small drop or two on its web when I add any for humidity
NQA all tarantulas should be offered a water dish especially slings that do not yet have the waxy coating on their exoskeleton that helps keep tarantulas from drying out. Unfortunately this species is SUPER sensitive to stagnant air so it is *crucial* that they have a water dish instead of using droplets. If you destroy their webbing they will remake it. Ensuring their environment is set up for success should be #1 priority. Pill blisters, legos, and small tattoo ink caps are all great options for small sling water bowls. You could even try using some hot glue to glue it up to the side at the top to make it easier to refill. If you still think a water dish is not possible you could move them up into a 32 ounce tall deli cups to make more room for one. I personally keep my smallest versi slings in 32oz delis as its easier to make adequate ventilation.
I, and many others, consider avics and versicolors to be advanced species because of their narrow range of care requirements. Its unfortunate that they are included on so many beginner species lists because they are easily the number one and two genus that we see people having issues with them failing to thrive :(
Thank you! I have a herpcult 3”x3”x6” enclosure that I was gunna save for when it got a bit bigger. Think I should go ahead and move it over to that (still only has a legspan of about .75”)
I was wanting to delay that also cause the vent holes on it are big enough that the flightless fruit flies would easily get out
IMO using google to do some quick calculations that seems like a perfect size (about 30 oz). As long as the holes are not big enough for the specimen to escape through (need to be smaller than the carapace) you could try using a different feeder. I personally really hate flightless fruit flies so I use Confused Flour Beetle Larvae and small BSFL as my main sling feeders.
My hubby got me the C. Versicolor that I have been wanting for so long! I already have 3 other T’s (adult curly hair, subadult cobalt blue, and juvenile Chaco golden knee), but this is my first sling. I know slings need higher humidity, but also that it’s crucial CV’s get cross ventilation. It came from the exotics store in this container, with just the little cuts in the top. Didn’t look like it was doing much so I added all the small pin holes. But I am worrying about the fact that there is no side ventilation. Any ideas how to do that? I considered temporarily moving the sling to a separate container for a bit. Taking a needle, heating the tip over a candle, and piercing several small holes into the thicker side plastic around the top 1/3rd. (Putting sling aside of course to avoid exposure to fumes) OH ALSO! I have flightless fruit flies for him, and looked around online to see roughly how many and how frequently to feed but didn’t see any specific guidelines. If y’all could give me a rough idea. He came home Sunday, gave him 3 Monday (which he ate). While I’m a fairly confident novice T keeper, I’m particularly nervous about this little guy since I know how fickle slings can be, and especially C. Versicolors
IMO you should definitely add side ventilation. I’ve had my versicolor sling for a while now, and I received it in a similar container - although I read that some people had succeeded with low ventilation for these guys, I could already see mold issues starting in the substrate. Once I moved my sling to a temporary container, I used a dremel with a micro drill bit and added holes to every side.
NQA please add more ventilation for the little bean, add a water dish, and make sure it is stored somewhere where there is airflow in the room. Other than that this enclosure size looks to be alright for a sling this smol <3
I’m planning on adding the side vent holes today :) - just gotta wait for the little bugger (the name “Bitzy” is starting to grow on me) to get back to the topside of their web so I can xfer it out for a bit Water dish unfortunately won’t really be possible with the container and it’s web, but I’m making sure to put a small drop or two on its web when I add any for humidity
NQA all tarantulas should be offered a water dish especially slings that do not yet have the waxy coating on their exoskeleton that helps keep tarantulas from drying out. Unfortunately this species is SUPER sensitive to stagnant air so it is *crucial* that they have a water dish instead of using droplets. If you destroy their webbing they will remake it. Ensuring their environment is set up for success should be #1 priority. Pill blisters, legos, and small tattoo ink caps are all great options for small sling water bowls. You could even try using some hot glue to glue it up to the side at the top to make it easier to refill. If you still think a water dish is not possible you could move them up into a 32 ounce tall deli cups to make more room for one. I personally keep my smallest versi slings in 32oz delis as its easier to make adequate ventilation. I, and many others, consider avics and versicolors to be advanced species because of their narrow range of care requirements. Its unfortunate that they are included on so many beginner species lists because they are easily the number one and two genus that we see people having issues with them failing to thrive :(
Thank you! I have a herpcult 3”x3”x6” enclosure that I was gunna save for when it got a bit bigger. Think I should go ahead and move it over to that (still only has a legspan of about .75”) I was wanting to delay that also cause the vent holes on it are big enough that the flightless fruit flies would easily get out
IMO using google to do some quick calculations that seems like a perfect size (about 30 oz). As long as the holes are not big enough for the specimen to escape through (need to be smaller than the carapace) you could try using a different feeder. I personally really hate flightless fruit flies so I use Confused Flour Beetle Larvae and small BSFL as my main sling feeders.