feeding young versicolor

[vincent winyard]

hi all i got myself a versicolor sling last thursday and it molted the next day. i got pinhead crickets for it put a couple in yesterday but not sure if it's going to eat. reason being the sling's spending most of it's time at the top of it's tub but the crickets seem to be on the bottom i just need to know if the young t will be ok with crickets or should i try something else thanks everyone in advance.

[Peter Lacey]

The crickets will climb up and the Avics will climb down but its a good idea with slings to feed them pre-killed or part-killed crickets too.
I use beanweavils for my small slings too, and if you can get hold of them you might want to try buffallo worms (similar to mealworms but smaller).

[R Thomas]

I never seem to see my A. versicolor sling move away from the top of his enclosure either but the pinhead crickets I put in his enclosure never seem to stay there long. I just assume that he comes down in the pitch black of night and eats them. I read somewhere I think on this forum that raising A. versicolor from sling to adult can be an achievement in itself but so far he seems to be growing nicely. I know some people use squat maggots also as food but never seen any to see what size they are and whether they are suitable for small spiderlings.

Richard

[Dave Grace]

As you know Vincent I lost my A.versi sling about a week ago, I got another one as I think they are stunning, I feed mine cut up crickets and it seems to like them (no complaints yet!) I have read somewhere that there are 3 stages in rearing an arboreal sling, 1st stage, they can live as a terrestrial sling no need for a high tub, just put in a piece of cork so that they can sit on it. 2nd stage is dryish substrate, with a water dish, then 3rd stage is a fully blown arboreal set up with all the whistles and bells... Im sure if this is wrong then someone will correct me. At present I have a medium Exo terra enclosure with a heat mat inside, 3 small salad tubs with substrate, cork and silk plants, with my T.gigas, A.versi & C. sp "Aladdin" in and they all seem to be coping well (fingers crossed).

Oh by the way, i'm glad you had a chuckle, at the time chuckling was far from both mine and the wifes minds, as he disappeared under the chopping board : )

Hope some of the info is useful.

[Colin D Wilson]

I think you said the versi sling was about 2cm ??

If so then a couple of size 2 crickets a week will be fine, don't forget avics are hunters and will actively come out of their webbing at night to forage, thats if the cricket doesn't find its way to the webbing first.
They can and will take food items that are not too far off their own body size.

With versi's there seems to be a myth that they're hard to rear, probably passed down the line by people who haven't managed or known how to care for them correctly in the past.

Give them a large enclosure to actively hunt, keep the humidity at a good level and maintain good ventilation, dont over heat them (80deg hot area on one side of the tubs fine) and let them have a drop in temp at night.
This is the way i have always kept them and the only loses i've had are a few weak slings that i have bought and have subsequently found out have come from a long line of mother to son inbreedings (now there's a shocker).

Stuffy film pots kept at a constant temp with pin holes for ventilation is not the way to keep Avics but i've seen it so many times.... air movement, room to move and a chance to get away from the heat is what they want and need to survive.

*Edit* (coz i can)
@ dave
I've not heard about the three stages mate, could just root from someones success and it's been taken as gospel as some things seem to.
Any Avics ive had from slings have built webbing fairly high (if not in the lid) up their tubs. In my experience they dont burrow in substrate like pokies do... if given a chance to "get up high" from the start.
Elaine and myself have a fair few Avics here and none of them have dug as slings.

[vincent winyard]

pete to be honest i've never heard of buffallo worms but beanweavils ring a bell. trouble is my local shops only sell crickets or locust's or meal worms so thats not a bad choise considering. i'll see how thing's go over the next few days and if i find the crickets after a couple attempts of feeding i'll try something else but fingers crossed all goes well. thanks for your help mate.

[vincent winyard]

hi there richard i heard as well these t's can be a bit of a challenge to raise but all you can do is your very best for the youngster. i've read up quite a bit on these t's but have learn't a lot more from everyone on this site. i have yet to see if he/she has taken the crickets from last night fingers crossed. thank's for your help richard.

[R Thomas]

Hi Vincent, I have just taken delivery of Turkistan roaches which I hope to breed to supply me ultimately with various stages of roach to feed my slings, through to adult tarantulas. The freshly hatched nymphs are supposedly ok for even the smallest slings and they grow to an adult size of about 1" so should be fine for my adults also. I will just have to wait a while for the colony to grow before I can use them as a feeder source. They are currently housed in a black plastic storage bin with water supply and dried dog food placed on top of my virginmedia cablebox (well why waste the heat). Luckily for me the wife has not packed my bags for me and that maybe because a) they look prettier than crickets b) they do not smell like crickets or c) they do not chirp at 3 am in the morning and wake her up! Luckily for me I tend to rehouse my arboreal slings into oblong storage containers with either a well baked twig or a piece of cork bark and so far they have all seemed to thrive.

[vincent winyard]

dave im not to sure if i could be cutting up crickets though i would if i really had no choise. i am glad you got yourself another sling and im sure it'll be ok this time. as for the set up i have it in a container that's about 9 inches high and about 6 or 7 in diamiter it's got bark and twigs to climb and a little green i mist lightly every 2 days so the temp and humidity are sitting around the 75 to 80 mark seems very happy. i just want to make sure it's eating ok. when i read your letter the other day i could just picture you trying to catch this t and seeing it running round the sink just made me laugh. thank's for your reply mate much appreciated.

[vincent winyard]

from what you've said colin it makes it sound clear and easy to raise these t's which im sure it is if you use the knowllege we get from others. well it's in a nice size tub and so far so good. i might try a slightly bigger cricket though see how it goes. thanks again for your help and reasurance colin.

[Colin D Wilson]

no problems Vincent.
If you ant to try some beanweevils then just cover the cost of the postage and i'll send you some.
the care sheets easy........

put in cricket tub ...... add more beans ......ta da

[vincent winyard]

thats very kind of you colin. if you let me know how to go about it i'd be more than happy to cover the cost of postage and of course i'll pay for the beanweevils .

[R Thomas]

Do they cost two beans, a bean, a bean and a half and half a bean?

[Colin D Wilson]

Just PM me your address Vincent and i'll post some out monday, then just post the cost of the package back to me at the return address. They're prolific breeders so a tub here and there doesn't make a dent.

@ Richard... after using all my fingers, giving up and going for the calculator ..... one bean, two beans, a bean an half and half a bean is how many beans makes five ...

[Peter Lacey]

Just remember not to sow the beans, you'll have giants in your garden before you know it!