Feeding new sling

[UNOReverse]

I have a new Kochiana Brunnipes sling (also my first tarantula) that I’m trying to feed but not 100% on what to feed it. I tried feeding it a small cricket, which is what the person who I bought it from said they were feeding it, and it immediately turned and ran so I took it out of the enclosure. I’m wondering if maybe I should try feeding it a hydei fruit fly? I was told to avoid mealworms until it was larger.

 

[m0lsx]

A dead cricket is fine, as is a mealworm. All of my slings, including my brunnipes when they were slings, were fed mealworms. What you do with mealworms is cut their head off. As that stops them burrowing & returning as darkling beetles.

Mealworms continue to move slightly for well over 24 hours after beheading & having their head cut off, means the slings get easy access to the soft inner food. Plus, a whole mealworm is easy to find & remove. Never leave food in a tarantula enclosure for more than 24 hours. Unless you know your T & that it's a slow responder to food. Dead food goes mouldy & live food stresses the T & crickets etc can harm a moulting T. So removing uneaten food is important.

But a dead cricket is perfectly OK.

 

[m0lsx]

With slings, I offer food every couple of days. So 2 or 3 times per week. And I simply give the sling the option to feed. I never know if they feed or not. As presumably they eat very little. But I put it there for them & then remove after 24 hours.

 

[Jeef]

If you've got other spiders to feed, cricket drumsticks are an option as well.

It seems a bit macabre, but they pretty much drop their back legs on their own if you grab them there with tongs.

 

[Queenie Mcgooch]

My two brunnipes which are smaller than your at about half a cm seem to be taking the fruitflys im putting in as they vanish over night. As somebody else said feeding dead food is good also for nervous slings

 

[WolfieKate]

Very small slings I give cricket drum sticks too and they seem to really like them. It is macabre but also satisfying when they tuck in. Mealworm segments as well.