How To Care For A Tarantula Sling Vs. An Adult Tarantula

As some of you may have already heard, I recently acquired a new addition to my home – an Arizona Blonde (Aphonopelma chalcodes) tarantula sling named Blinky! It’s funny that I have two spiders that are quite the opposite now – Spidey, my Grammostola rosea, is well into her grandma years (although I’m not sure her exact age) and Blinky is a tiny baby! This is my first time raising a sling, and I’m going to be writing more about what I observe and learn. I’ve only had Blinky for a few weeks, but I can already tell that caring for a younger spider (and a different species) is very different!

While of course, Blinky and Spidey are different species and can’t really be compared to one another, caring for a tarantula sling is far different than having an adult tarantula.

Eating schedules

While Spidey is as low maintenance as a tarantula could be because she spends most of her time fasting, Blinky needs to eat pretty regularly because he/she is growing very fast. Unlike Spidey, my tarantula sling actually has a very active appetite and can accept food every few days, while Spidey only eats a few times per year (or less). So when it comes to eating, tarantula slings are much more high maintenance and some tarantula owners actually feed them as often as possible so that they can grow more quickly and get out of the fragile sling phase.

Hunting strategies

This may also be chalked up to differences in species, but Blinky is willing to expend way more energy to eat than Spidey. My adult tarantula barely wants to put any effort in to catching her food. She loves to dig for her prey, but doesn’t really want to chase it around the tank. She’s also guilty of waiting for a VERY long time for the “perfect” moment (and sometimes her food gets away because she waited too long). Recently I witnessed my tarantula sling digging this nice big underground tunnel lair, and later realized that it had created this “funnel” connecting the lair to the surface so that its crickets would get curious, walk down into the hole and come right to its secret hideout, where it was waiting to pounce. It was very cool!

My tarantula sling is also very quick to attack, unlike Spidey who enjoys playing games with her food first. I believe some of this has a lot to do with their “personalities”, as Spidey has always been a slow striker even when she was six years younger.

Molting

As many tarantula owners know, older tarantulas do not molt very often. Spidey is an older tarantula and she molts every 2-3 years. Tarantula slings, on the other hand, molt pretty frequently as they grow. I expect that at the stage Blinky is in, he/she will molt every month or so.

Enclosure

Many tarantulas do not need big enclosures to begin with, but tarantula slings can get away with particularly tiny homes. Slings, depending on their size, can be kept in something as small as a spice jar or deli cup with holes. Water dishes, hides, and decorations must also be scaled down. When I first got Blinky, I was stressing about not having a small enough water bowl until I found a very shallow tiny lid from an old paint jar. Many people use little leafs for hides. For slings who need humidity, this can be tricky for some tarantula owners as slings are more fragile and sensitive than adults.

Activity

As expected, my tarantula sling is way more active than Spidey. Don’t get me wrong – Spidey has gone through some VERY active periods and has been known to completely remodel her tank lol. But for the most part, my adult tarantula sits still and does a whole lot of nothing. While Blinky certainly has these “pet rock” moments, too, he/she tends to be more active throughout the day.

Food items

Tarantula slings and adults can be given the same food but it must be size appropriate. No tarantula should ever be fed anything that is too big for them, but slings are particularly vulnerable. I am giving Blinky pinhead crickets right now and it is working out fine. Some tarantula owners who have very tiny slings and are concerned for the sling’s safety have given their slings pre-killed or injured prey. While it’s been said that tarantulas prefer to hunt live prey, this method has worked out for many.

Hardiness

Many species of tarantulas are considered very hardy, and I am lucky that both of my tarantulas are considered hardy species. However, tarantula slings are fragile and vulnerable, and many do not end up making it to adulthood or even the juvenile phase. That is why it’s important to keep an eye on them, care for them the best you can, but also understand that some tarantula slings are just not strong enough to make it – and often it has nothing to do with the owner. I don’t want to think about this, of course, but I have known enough tarantula owners who have gone through this to know that it is a real possibility.

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Anyway, I hope that was helpful! That’s just my insight at this moment, I will be covering this more as I go!

By the way, I recently released a tarantula magazine! if you’d like to be a part of that, you can visit the magazine’s Patreon page or buy a copy here! You can also contact me at theavenmag@gmail.com for more info!

If you want to learn more about tarantulas, feel free to check out my big tarantula guide (I talk about lots of tarantula facts and enclosure/care tips). You can also get free tarantula tips by signing up for my newsletter or subscribing to my YouTube channel! I release new tips every Tuesday for Tarantula Tuesday! And I also sell some pretty cool tarantula t-shirts, if I do say so myself 😉