Feeding Avic.Peru.purple slings..?

[Ryan Simons]

I have purchased 3 Avic peru purple slings, they are slightly bigger than 1cm. What is the best food to feed these on? I was going to use micro crickets but i visited two pet shops and both had micros but they were All dead!! :S
So, i settled for some small silent crickets as there still smaller than the slings themselves. Anyways, 1 of the 3 slings gobbled it up but the other 2 seem scared of them?? I have left them with the smallest of the small that i could find, which are about 1/4 the size of the sling, but everytime the cricket gets close, the sling runs off.

Any ideas whats wrong? perhaps there not hungry? Aren't slings supposed to be good eaters?

Thanks for the help.

[Muhammad Rayhan]

Hi Ryan.I had same problem with pokies slings ages ago, and I found out, that the best food tor slings are fly larvae.I start feeding my slings with them and I didn't have any problems,later I was using this type of food for all my slings from different species and results was the same.

[mary walters]

Undyed squat maggots another food item, I use them when I can't get micros

[Daniel Richardson]

Other's dont like em but i feed all my tiny slings including my Peru Purple when it was young-bean weevil's, i've never had any bother with them, and they last like-forever if u look after them right!!!! My Peru is a fussy eater and does'nt feed all the time,is easyer now its eating small crickets which i tong feed.

[Ryan Simons]

Thanks for the reply. Its funny tho as the one that did eat the cricket, just munched up another one without question as well! I left a small cricket in the tub with one of them overnight and its eaten it. just the 3rd one now that not eaten. Perhaps its due to moult? Where could i get these maggots from? i didnt see any at the pet stores i visited?

How often do avic slings moult when there at this stage? (currently 1cm ish) Also, how much should i be feeding them?

thanks

[Ryan Simons]

bump? anyone know the answer?

[Colin D Wilson]

Avicularia slings will take size 1 (or even small 2's) in brown crickets, they're agressive little hunters and are able to take on things about their own body size easily. All our (Elaine and myself) lot here have no bother, don't forget to give the sling a fair size pot to live in, this will encourage hunting and natural habits, we use round tubs approx 5 inch high and 3 inch across to house slings and they thrive.
Bean weevils are a good source but some smaller slings seem to struggle getting through the harder exoskeleton (Yamia sp etc)
mini mealworms are another good option but if they burrow and hide it's been known that they'll chew on a moulting sling if they can get to it.

Feeding would be a couple or three crickets per week and a light misting twice a week (ensuring good ventilation is available for the tub)

[Steven Hindmarch]

Hi everybody,

when feeding very small spiders or slings I use a fly species called Drosophila hydei. This typus of fly is very small and doesn´t harm the spider during molt. I tend to put them in a bigger container sealed with a piece of leggings leg or similar. Then I take a small vile and extract about 5-10 and dump them in the container ^^. If the spider is hungry it will catch them without any problems due to the fact that Drosophila hydei can´t fly.
You can get them in a small or large version
Small is about the size of 0,5 - 1mm and large is about 1-1,5mm. I use the large ones for all my slings. Breeding is fairly easy aswell. (HowTo via pn. ^^)

A similar species is Drosophila melanogaster which can be found in or on fruitbowls during warmer periods of the year.

Best regards Steven

[mary walters]

Fishing shops sell maggots.

[Peter Lacey]

I'll have some colonies of bean weavils within a week or 2 up for sale. Easy to colonise, cheap to run, virtually no maintenance. £4 covers weavils, p&p + 8hr heatpack, or £5 for longer heatpack.

I've read feeding solely on flies has health implications for slings.

squat maggots are great as long as you don't end up with a house full of flies.

If your crickets are too big, chop them in half, Avics will take pre-killed food.

[Ryan Simons]

Thanks for the advice. Well 2 out of 3 are eating fine now and are getting fat. its just the one which is still skinny, however i think that one has ate a single cricket since i have owned it. i can never remember which sling is which!

I am certain that after there next moult that the crickets i have got will be perfect size for them. Hopefully the smaller one will get more of an apatite once its moulted.

[Peter Lacey]

The bean weavils have arrived in abundance, so if anyone's interested pm me

[wayne balcombe]

I recently got 5, 2nd instar peru puple's and found that they seem quite happy with size 1 black crickets which is all i have been able to get hold of.

[Ryan Simons]

Where did you get yours from wayne? any chance of a close up pic of one?

[Daniel Richardson]

Here's a pic of mine,they grow so slow!!!