Growth rate on Brachypelma slings

[Whitelightning777]

I have 4 wonderful Brachypelma Sabulosum slings. They seem to be doing well. The first 2 of them are visible but reclusive. The 3rd is basically a pet hole and I haven't seen it for weeks. I only know its there because feeders disappear. The 4th is always out there and fairly visible and is the largest of the bunch.

Still, they haven't molted as frequently as they should've been and appear to be growing slowly. Just how slow do they grow & should I feed them more often? Typically I feed them twice a week with one very small B lat roach per feeding. The largest one is still to small to do a disabled cricket safely in my opinion.

Would headless mealworms provide more nourishment? Other then that, they are doing fine. These guys are extremely calm and don't even react to the feeders unless they go down the burrows or walk over the sling. Overall, they are a pleasure to keep but don't seem to be thriving as much as some other species I've had, which are listed in my signature.

 

[Arachnoclown]

I have 4 wonderful Brachypelma Sabulosum slings. They seem to be doing well. The first 2 of them are visible but reclusive. The 3rd is basically a pet hole and I haven't seen it for weeks. I only know its there because feeders disappear. The 4th is always out there and fairly visible and is the largest of the bunch.

Still, they haven't molted as frequently as they should've been and appear to be growing slowly. Just how slow do they grow & should I feed them more often? Typically I feed them twice a week with one very small B lat roach per feeding. The largest one is still to small to do a disabled cricket safely in my opinion.

Would headless mealworms provide more nourishment? Other then that, they are doing fine. These guys are extremely calm and don't even react to the feeders unless they go down the burrows or walk over the sling. Overall, they are a pleasure to keep but don't seem to be thriving as much as some other species I've had, which are listed in my signature.

They ain't in any hurry to grow. They will still be here 30 years from now...and the fast growers and even their offspring will be long gone by then.

 

[PanzoN88]

Tarantulas molt when they are ready. My E. Sp. red (female) has been in premolt for almost a year.

 

[Metalman2004]

Brachypelmas are just plain slow. There isn’t much you can do about that. Just because they are growing slow doesn’t mean they aren’t thriving. Enjoy the fact that you’ll have them for decades.

 

[Whitelightning777]

Oh, ok. I thought all red rumps grew fast like B vagens did.

Either way, they are doing fine and I have them in a warm area on my T shelf. They're probably the calmest spiders ever, could be handled if I was inclined. (I'm not)

 

[Arachnoclown]

Like I said in our conversation when I sold them to you...the mother to the slings is just a little over 4 years old and 6". Thats pretty good for a Brachypelma...I've got a 4" hamorri that is 6 years old and not full grown yet. They are a medium growing Brachypelma. However they have a slow growth period when they are slings. As soon as the hit around a 1.5" they grow alot faster. Heres Mom after her recent molt...

 

[Whitelightning777]

Oh, ok. It's good to know all is well. They seem to eat as much as faster growing slings. Nature is weird. All 4 of them already have different tendencies and I could tell them apart even without the marked enclosures.