Sling to adult, how many make it?

[Poor Pauly]

Question before I get my first order and begin the hobby.

I know that this is somewhat species dependent, but given that a person does their research into their care and practices good husbandry, what is the expected chances of your sling making it into adulthood? Is there a reasonable expected loss or should 10 slings have a good change to all reach adulthood?

Generally speaking of course, as a new hobbyist should I expect losses and what would be reasonable or considered average for the hobby?

This will help me plan my first order.

 

[Konstantin]

Hi
in nature they have very high mortality rates.
I captivity they all have good chances of making it to adulthood if husbandry is correct.There will be odd unexplained sling death now and then tho.
Main thing with small slings to keep they hydrated as they dont have the waxy coating of their older relatives.
When I buy slings I usually get 5 of each species to give myself a decent chance of getting a female.
Regards Konstantin

 

[Poor Pauly]

When I buy slings I usually get 5 of each species to give myself a decent chance of getting a female.
Regards Konstantin

Thanks for taking the time to reply, this exactly the information I am looking for.

 

[Revant]

Expect losses only if you think you've got everything in hand without prior research, especially if you are not asking around - something you are already doing, thus you are at least 10 times better off than the average impulse buyer who sees a bunch of colorful Ts, thinks, "Pretty!" And immediately buys everything while failing to take into account the responsibility they've just landed themselves in. If you do end up doing that, have no fear! We've probably done it once, maybe twice. It means you are one of us.

Just remember to ask questions. Don't be like my dear old da, who, on his first try heading to Sea World, never asked questions at any of the rest stops and ended up at the barb wire gates of a military base instead. Lesson of the story? Better assume you know too little rather than assume you already have enough.

When it comes to slings, bigger is always better (3/4s of an inch or higher, if the sellers have it.) The smaller your baby is, 1. ) the harder it'll be to see, 2. ) the squishier (less hardier) it's gonna be, 3.) the quicker it's going to flee, and 4.) the more attention to moisture you're going to need. My adult and juvenile Ts (none of whom are moisture dependent) have bone dry substrate with a water dish as their sole source for moisture. Even then I overfill the water dish a little once in a while, not often. Your baby babies will likely have molt issues if you tried the same strat with them. Not an expert with teeny beanies, so I'll leave it at that until I've learned more about newborn sling care.

What will you feed your slings? Fruit flies? Baby crickets? Do you have easy access to them, or can you culture them yourself? Me, I've got a cricket farm I accidentally started a few months back. Haven't needed to buy crickets since then; all the sizes I need are readily available. Slings can scavenge freshly killed insects if you don't have the right size. Haven't seen that behavior, not keen to try it; chopping up buggies makes me shudder.

Having my Ts crawl up and down my hands and arms, on the other hand, makes me smile. I can trust my Ts. One even escaped its enclosure for about two hours without me realizing it. Got no fuss getting it back in. Lucked out there. Whether yours will act the same way you'll have to find for yourself.

I hope this is a good start point for ya.

 

[Poor Pauly]

I was deep into the African Cichlid hobby. Did my research there too before starting and had great success. I had MTS (Multi Tank Syndrome) then and will probably do the same with T's and enclosures.

As for feeders, considering what I have local I was considering on starting my own flightless fruit flies and Dubai roach colonies. I know when I get started I will just keep adding to my collection of T's as long as I can take care of them. Being retired that is not a problem. Might start of mail order at first. I plan to stay away from crickets. roaches seem much safer and more nutritious.

 

[Konstantin]

Hi
fruit flies are not ideal as they are though to have very low nutrition value.
Dubias are ok for larger Ts but like to burrow and play dead(usually rectified by crushing its head).Not all tarantulas will readily eat those.
Red runner roaches are another great feeder.They are small enough for small slings as nymphs too.Meal worm segments are good option for slings too.
I use crickets as they are readily available near me and my girlfriend seems to put up with ones on the loose but against having roaches in the house. lol
Regards Konstantin

 

[Volkswachter]

.Meal worm segments are good option for slings too.

Exactly this.
For my slings I do this.
For anything <1/4" in size, I put half a small mealworm into each pill bottle and remove any uneaten bits after 24 hours
For anything between 1/4"-1/2" I break the mealworm in half and throw both bits in and let them scavenge for 24 hours
For anything 1/2"-3/4" I just crush the mealworm's head a little bit so it won't burrow as quickly
And for anything 3/4"-1" I just chuck mealworms at them; preferably big, fat, plump ones on the verge of mutating into that weird gooey stage between the worm and beetle.

I follow this regiment for all my slings twice a week. Monday and Thursday/Friday

After my slings are around 1-1.5" I transfer them to juvenile enclosures and start them on mid sized crickets.