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| Spiderling care Below is some general info on caring for a baby tarantula. While this information is more aimed at someone who has already acquired a spiderling, people thinking about buying a spiderling can gain much information from reading it. The most important rule in owning a tarantula is to ENJOY IT! Observing your spider, feeding it, and watching it grow and change is a highly enjoyable experience. We can gain a lot from watching these quiet giants live their daily life. If you have any queries, make sure you ask for help. Any questions, no matter how small about your spiderling can be directed to Naomi at avagoodone2@yahoo.com Remember..... Australian tarantulas are venomous. They can and do bite. Handling of tarantulas is not encouraged, as injury can result to the handler or the spider. No recorded fatalities have come from an Australian Tarantula bite, but the bites are very painful, and do often cause a reaction, such as vomiting and swelling. Tarantulas can strike very quickly. If you need to move your spider to clean it’s enclosure, you should place another container in the enclosure, and use a long handled spoon to ease the spider into the container. A little about Tarantulas Tarantulas are nocturnal, which means they sleep in the day, and wake up and eat at night. They do not like a light on them at night, and it is best to keep their environment and lighting as natural as possible. Tarantulas are burrowing spiders. You will notice that your tarantula will have made itself a nice burrow, either using the existing burrow placed in its enclosure, or digging its own. Sometimes the spiders make a burrow out of a web. These spiders are all individuals, and how your spider will set up its environment will differ greatly to each other. Zali prefers to use the existing burrow, rather than making her own  In a year, if you feed your spider well, it will reach quite an impressive size. Around 4-5 years, the spider will be fully grown, and can reach sizes of 16cm or more legspan size!! There are a number of different species of Australian tarantulas. The store or person where you purchased your tarantula from can inform you which species your tarantula is. More common species are: -Selenocosmia Crassipes -Selenocosmia Stirlingi -Selenotypus Plumipes -Phlogiellus species These species range in size and location in the wild. There are many more unnamed species of tarantulas, but these four and the most commonly kept as pets. Housing SPIDERLINGS MUCH BE HOUSED IN SEPARATE ENCLOSURES, IF THEY ARE HOUSED TOGETHER THEY WILL EAT EACH OTHER. In the wild, tarantulas do not wander far from their burrows. Therefore, tarantulas do not need to kept in a large enclosure. Your spiderling needs to be kept in a smaller enclosure with a secure lid (they can escape) to enable it to be able to catch its prey. One type of enclosure your spiderling can be kept in. Approx. 15cm diameter with tight fitting lid and small holes drilled for ventilation. Another example of a perfect sized enclosure for a spiderling. An enclosure this size could be used for the next two years. It is a good idea to put a stocking over the lid of this enclosure, as occaisonally, the spiderling can find a way of squeezing out of the vents after a moult. Also, a stocking over the top will ensure the soil doesn't dry out too much. As your spiderling grows, the enclosure size should be adjusted accordingly. The type of dirt used in the enclosure is VERY important. Only peat moss, or coco peat should be used. Do not use any soil that containers fertilizers, sand or bark chips. The tank should be spot cleaned every day, removing any bits of mould or uneaten food. A full change of dirt should be done every threemonths or earlier if mould and fungus appear. It is important to have in the enclosure a structure that the spider can use as a burrow, if it wants to. Commonly used items are half a plant pot, a tube, a plastic cup, or anything that can give the spider shelter and security. The burrow should be pushed into the dirt a little in the spiders enclosure to enable it to enter it easily. Non-toxic decorations such as plants or stones can be added to enhance the enclosure for the spider or for display Feeding and watering Your spiderling's main diet should consist of small livecrickets, 1-3 a week depending on the spider’s appetite. The crickets should be smaller than the spider, to ensure that it will not scare the spider or damage it. A spiderling stalking a small cricket You should use crickets purchased from your pet shop, as wild caught prey may be contaminated with insecticide. Always put only one cricket in at a time, as more than this can gang up on your spider and kill it. Other insects that can be fed to your spiderling are mealworms (crush their heads first), small woodies, flies, maggots, and silk worms. If your spider has not eaten its prey within 24 hours, the prey should be removed from the enclosure and fed to the spider at another time. It is not unusual for your spider to refuse to eat for long periods of time. A well fed spider’s abdomen, will be approximately 1.5 times the size of its cephalothoax (the front part of the body). Remove any left over bits of food your spider has not eaten, to prevent mould or mites appearing. Your spiderling is too young to have a dish of water in its enclosure, as it will drown. To ensure it does not get dehydrated, mist your spider’s enclosure regularly with filtered or de-chlorinated water. If you keep the soil moist, your spider will not become dehydrated. Tarantulas also gain moisture from their food. Moulting Moulting is a normal part of your spider's life. Moulting is the process when your spider sheds its outer skin (exoskeleton) so it can grow. If your spiderling is fed well, it will grow often and will moult about once a month. Firstly, your spider will stop eating for around a week. It will burrow in and not come out for a while. This process is called pre-moult. When your spider does this, remove all food from the enclosure. The spider will then roll onto its back and pump its legs to get off the exoskeleton. The spider can look dead during this stage, but it is not. A dead spider would be the right way up with its legs curled up. 'Wolf' (Phlogiellus spp.) beginning to moult. He has rolled onto his back and is pumping his legs to push his skin off 'Wolf' a couple of hours after he has pushed his old skin off. His new skin is very soft and Wolf sits still for a few days waiting for his new skin to harden Wolf has now hardened, and is a new colour. He has gone from chocolate brown, to black, grey and pink 
Do not disturb the spider during the moulting phase, as it can be very damaging to it. The new skin can take a week or so to harden up. When your spiderling begins to venture out again, as if in search of food, this is when it is ready to eat again. Your spider’s abdomen will look skinny and it will be very hungry after this stage and will probably eat a lot of food. The colour of your spider will change dramatically in the weeks after the moult. Temperature The spiders need to be kept at a temperature range of 20-30 degrees. A popular way of controlling the temperature of the enclosure in winter is by using a small wattage red light globe (red light does not disturb the tarantulas). Alternatively, a reptile heating pad can be used, but this should be placed on one side of the enclosure only to ensure the spider can get away from the heat if it wants to. A thermometer should be kept in or next to the enclosure to ensure you can keep an eye on the temperature. In summer, extreme heat can kill the spiders, so it is important to leave the enclosure in a well ventilated cool place during hot days. Remember, an enclosure too hot or too cold can kill your spider. |
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