Feeding

[Richard Shah]

Richard...it's not too complicated, don't panic!
the container from the shop would be fine if you don't mind them dying soon...as you probably aren't made of money, though...and only have one T, the advice you're getting is just to keep them alive for a bit longer and save some dosh
i think transferring them to the tank you've shown would be a good idea. if you can fit that in the fridge, go for it! i put small brown crickets in the fridge for 20 minutes til they pass out. that makes dealing with them ALOT easier.
the tank you've shown should be fine to prevent jumping out. i would recommend tweezers, but only because i personally find it easier to grab them that way!
some weetabix and a shallow bowl of water and your crickets should last a while. picking out the deads when you can will help cut down on flies as well.
i've taken to keeping my crickets in the cellar, a long way away from the spiders, because i was having problems with flies.

i think your set up and plan is good...don't worry about breeding, just keep them relatively fed and watered and you can probably last on a box of crickets for months.

Kl, thank you! You've said Weetabix, how does that compare to the commercial food though? Isn't the commercial food better for providing your T. with a nutritous meal?

[James Box]

could be! i'm sure you can find out the nutrional value of both. it's probably good to supplement weetabix with fruit, though be careful as it'll go off really fast!
a jar of cricket food will probably last a long time, so that is definitely an option.

[Richard Shah]

could be! i'm sure you can find out the nutrional value of both. it's probably good to supplement weetabix with fruit, though be careful as it'll go off really fast!
a jar of cricket food will probably last a long time, so that is definitely an option.

Very true, one of the reasons to go for it! The food costs me £3.15, and the crickets, £2.75. Altogether, that is £5.90. £14.90 spent on the crickets is quite a bit (that is inc. the tank btw). Then a further £30 on the T. - lovely!

[Tom Forman]

Rich, just use a cardboard box for the crickets. Make sure you can seculey close it at the top and your problems will be sorted. They don't chew through cardboard in case you are wondering.

That container in the pic is a good size for your T i would say.

The food mix for your crickets isn't that expensive really. I make my own and it probably comes to the same:
Catfood+weetabix+oats+lettuce+apples+carrots

[Richard Shah]

Rich, just use a cardboard box for the crickets. Make sure you can seculey close it at the top and your problems will be sorted. They don't chew through cardboard in case you are wondering.

That container in the pic is a good size for your T i would say.

The food mix for your crickets isn't that expensive really. I make my own and it probably comes to the same:
Catfood+weetabix+oats+lettuce+apples+carrots

Nah man, I'm just gonna use the tank that I bought - I'm pretty sure I can trust it - thank you though.
About food, yours sounds good and I got all of that - but it probably goes off really quick - the pet store food is well preserve, but still maintaining nutrition.
Have a look at these pics of my tank; I'll probably use it for when my T. is SA though; too big for a juvenile I'm guessing.
Specifications are 24Lx8.5W Inches.








Thanks,
Rich!

[Peter Lacey]

I see you've sorted the bed time reading for the T

Does the tank have an opening (I can see a circlular shape that might provide easy access. Is so you might want to fasten the lid down as Ts can be great escape artists and easy climb the glass. Try some velcro straps.

[Richard Shah]

I see you've sorted the bed time reading for the T

Does the tank have an opening (I can see a circlular shape that might provide easy access. Is so you might want to fasten the lid down as Ts can be great escape artists and easy climb the glass. Try some velcro straps.

Lol - I sure hope 'Goodnight Mr Tom' aids Ice Cube in learning fluent English!

Opening? I'm not sure what exactly you are talking about - sorry. The lid has a few holes in it, which were cracks at some stage but good for ventilation. The bigger, longer cracks were patched up to make the lid a little tighter. but I still had a feeling that the spider could easily push the lid off, so the books are there to aid in keeping it down. Investing in some velcro straps aint a bad idea though!
The only opening really is by removing the books and the lid off the tank - but if I haven't answered your que., plz point out what it is you are asking and seeing??????????????
BTW what do you think of the tank being used for the juve. - 24 inches in length, is that too big?

Rich

[Colin D Wilson]

If i were to use that for a juvenile of about 2 - 3 inch legspan i would fill it to about 4 inches with substrate, place a hide at each end burrowed down into the sub, then place several pieces of bark, twigs in the centre hap hazzardly with a few rocks / large stones burrowed half way into the sub. I would probably hot glue some plastic plants across the back and side walls as decoration (for my benefit).
The heating aspect is left to you as i prefer to heat the room.

And as an extra....the main ingredients for some of the expensive proprietry brands of cricket food are the same as.....tropical fish food !!!!
Wilko's...... about a quid for a large tub of the stuff

[Richard Shah]

If i were to use that for a juvenile of about 2 - 3 inch legspan i would fill it to about 4 inches with substrate, place a hide at each end burrowed down into the sub, then place several pieces of bark, twigs in the centre hap hazzardly with a few rocks / large stones burrowed half way into the sub. I would probably hot glue some plastic plants across the back and side walls as decoration (for my benefit).
The heating aspect is left to you as i prefer to heat the room.

And as an extra....the main ingredients for some of the expensive proprietry brands of cricket food are the same as.....tropical fish food !!!!
Wilko's...... about a quid for a large tub of the stuff

Errrm... a was talking about a 3cm juvenile lol! And my room is constanly heated and stuffy - just the way I like it, as should Ice Cube! But what you said I'll do that when it's a lil bigger (widout the plants, not for now anyway!)
How long does your box of crickets last on that fish food???

Cheers,

Rich

[Peter Lacey]

That really is far too big for a 3cm juv. Even the cricket box would be too big. My G. rosea is about 3cm and she's (?) in an 8L x 4.5W x 3D" tub, and I was told that was too big. The size of tank you have would be suitable for an adult. Remember the guide - 3x the legspan is more than enough.
Of course its not rigid, Ive seen large Ts in small tubs and small Ts in large tubs but your size is far larger than anything I've seen for a sling.
Attached is the tub I use for her, not very neat but it does the job. Unfortunately she's hidden behind the flash on the side on the first shot :/

[Colin D Wilson]

3 CM !!, are we talking leg span of body length Richard?
If its legspan then i'd still class that as a spiderling and i'd use a cricket tub. many people say this is too big, but i've had no problems.
In fact i say it promotes natural behaviour as the sling will find the first available area to burrow into or hide under and make its home there, then wait opportunistically for the food to pass by. It's what they do in their natural habitat.

I'm afraid the crickets i buy don't last long at all and they've all been fed to the animals before they've had chance to have a good meal.

[Louise~Nichols]

Definitely a cricket tub or a deep chinese takeaway type box for a 3cm baby, Rich. They are the perfect size for the larger slings, and they develop on very nicely in these. Awww, that's going to be so cute! (I just hope it doesn't get any big ideas about evacuating the area to go and live a rural life after reading Goodnight Mr Tom!! lol)

[Clinton Hogben]

tank size

Have a look at these pics of my tank; I'll probably use it for when my T. is SA though; too big for a juvenile I'm guessing.
Specifications are 24Lx8.5W Inches.


Hi Rich
It certainly is more than big enough the one i use for the beastie L Para is about
18L by 10W (inches)



you may want to divide the tank in two at the start perhaps a bit of plywood,cardboard or perspex until he/she grows into a monster

the bed time reading is good for the "T" I had the same style of tank at one time and did exactly the same just plonked a heavy book on top to hold down the lid but after a while the lid starts to bend as its thin plastic so you may want to strengthen it a bit
Just a thought

Clint

[Richard Shah]

That really is far too big for a 3cm juv. Even the cricket box would be too big. My G. rosea is about 3cm and she's (?) in an 8L x 4.5W x 3D" tub, and I was told that was too big. The size of tank you have would be suitable for an adult. Remember the guide - 3x the legspan is more than enough.
Of course its not rigid, Ive seen large Ts in small tubs and small Ts in large tubs but your size is far larger than anything I've seen for a sling.
Attached is the tub I use for her, not very neat but it does the job. Unfortunately she's hidden behind the flash on the side on the first shot :/

Lol kl.
I dnt think an adult, but a SA definitely. I like your set-up; I think I'll just follow through with yours when the time is right. Right now, I think a basic set-up with a rock, water dish and a semi-plant-pot will suffice; and this may be housed in the 10 x 10 cm plastic container already set out, or I may section off the tank to your specifications!
Thanks,
Rich!

Definitely a cricket tub or a deep chinese takeaway type box for a 3cm baby, Rich. They are the perfect size for the larger slings, and they develop on very nicely in these. Awww, that's going to be so cute! (I just hope it doesn't get any big ideas about evacuating the area to go and live a rural life after reading Goodnight Mr Tom!! lol)

Lmao! Well yeah... but I'll probably follow Peter's specifications, and section my tank off!
Thanks,
Rich

3 CM !!, are we talking leg span of body length Richard?
If its legspan then i'd still class that as a spiderling and i'd use a cricket tub. many people say this is too big, but i've had no problems.
In fact i say it promotes natural behaviour as the sling will find the first available area to burrow into or hide under and make its home there, then wait opportunistically for the food to pass by. It's what they do in their natural habitat.

I'm afraid the crickets i buy don't last long at all and they've all been fed to the animals before they've had chance to have a good meal.

Lol - I dnt think mine will though. I'll make sure they get a damn good last meal before they become a meal!
About what you said it being 3cm, I was surprised too that it was classed as juvenile!
I aggree about the whole natural habitat thing, and I am going to section off my current tank, so that it is still pretty large, but not overwhelming large for the little one!
Thanks,
Rich

Have a look at these pics of my tank; I'll probably use it for when my T. is SA though; too big for a juvenile I'm guessing.
Specifications are 24Lx8.5W Inches.


Hi Rich
It certainly is more than big enough the one i use for the beastie L Para is about
18L by 10W (inches)

[ATTACH]1168[/ATTACH]

you may want to divide the tank in two at the start perhaps a bit of plywood,cardboard or perspex until he/she grows into a monster

the bed time reading is good for the "T" I had the same style of tank at one time and did exactly the same just plonked a heavy book on top to hold down the lid but after a while the lid starts to bend as its thin plastic so you may want to strengthen it a bit
Just a thought

Clint

Defiitely.
I think you may need a bigger tank for your LP pretty soon lol - aren't they fast growing and up to 10 inches in leg span?
Anyway, I'll definitely probably (lol) sperate the tank!

Cheers,

Rich

[Tom Forman]

hmm,

well i did not post this sooner as I thought it would be blatanly obvious but if I had a 3cm spiderling and some crickets to house

then I would house the spider in the cricket tub and the crickets in the big tank....