I thought it was a girl- but it molted a few days ago and from what I can see (trying to peek thru a lot of webbing) it is no longer blue! Thought I saw a pale green leg like that of a male MET- I'll know for sure in a couple of days if it comes out hopefully. I'm hoping it is a male cause I already have the other female.

If they are male and female - yes!

I just checked on it- it's still blue. These old eyes must be seeing things.

I'm hoping my last one is a male- but judging from its growth rate I'm not keeping my hopes up. I'll post a want ad in my local T-club's forum when she's ready. Probably after her next molt.

BTW- very nice iguana! I've always liked them- unfortunately they eat veggies and for some reason the thought of having to go to the supermarket regularly to get fresh veggies discourages me from getting one.

This post has been edited by Oldfart: Jun 6 2009, 03:51 PM

lol

Looks like my girl lost a leg in her last molt.

Yeah- she must have molted more than a week ago and has been eating fine so the danger has passed. The wait for the next molt begins!

I'm guessing 3-4 months. I got her in Jan and she's already molted twice ...so we'll see! 6 months tops!

This post has been edited by Oldfart: Jun 8 2009, 02:12 PM

Just a little- broodmother is after all some sort of spider!

What T is it? If it is new to it's environment, it'll wander a bit before choosing a spot to settle down. I would just create a small, deep hole in the substrate and see if it will take to that.

Most T's like to hide- it makes them feel more secure since they are practically blind and vulnerable to predators from the top. If they have nowhere to hide, it might be the reason it is on the wall. Use something roughly slightly bigger than the size of its butt like a pen or finger and make a hole in the substrate by the side of the enclosure as deep as you can. Make sure your substrate is also packed a little tight so the hole does not collapse. The hole on the side allows the sling to find it easier since they tend to walk along the sides. Prey items like crickets also tend to walk along the sides so they will eventually come upon the hole where your sling can ambush them. Having the burrow on the side also allows you to check on them if they continue to expand the burrow (sometimes they will move away from the sides but more often than not they continue along the sides till they hit the bottom) The hole needs to be big enough for it to crawl in but not so big that it does not feel secure. Your sling will eventually find it and it will settle down quicker. Good luck.

ETA: Most of my slings tend to find the started burrow and settle within it within the first few hours. When it starts to expand on it, then you know it has adopted it as its home. Then it's easy from that point on.

This post has been edited by Oldfart: Jun 10 2009, 02:26 AM

Grats! What did you get?

lol- I thought it was a sling or juvie!

The younger the T, the more willing it is to take food that is already dead. As they grow older, they are less willing to take dead food. A live prey that moves about has a better chance of getting a feeding response from a T. Take a look at the 20 second video in my signature. You will notice the T did not make a move till the cricket started to move in the top right corner. Notice that there was a cricket right in front of it - but it went for the other one that was further away because it was moving. My apologies for the video not being very clear- it was taken with my digital camera.

ETA: link to video


This post has been edited by Oldfart: Jun 15 2009, 07:59 AM

Any T will eat live food- just got to find the right sized prey items. Fortunately, small slings will take dead food if small prey items are hard to find. Most slings under an inch will take dead food. Slings at about an inch start to get picky- some will stop taking dead food at that size. But I had a few that were more than an inch and they will still take a cricket with the head ripped off.
Some T's won't go after prey that is too big. One rule of thumb that I've heard is to feed prey items about the size of its abdomen. Some slings will tackle prey that is about its size but I would not recommend it because the sling could get injured.
Look at the butt- is it fat? If it is, don't worry, it may be full. Does the butt look dark? If so, it could be in pre-molt. Some slings will stop eating when it is near a molt- some will eat up to the day it molts.

Slings are opportunistic- they will use whatever is available to them. And if they don't have anything, most will burrow. Exceptions are avics- never met one that would burrow.

Good choice!

---

Added on June 11, 2009, 2:58 pmYes and no. Yes, do not feed them immediately after they molt. No, it's not because their skin is too thin. Like Foxngn said, their fangs need to harden first. The bigger the T, the longer you need to wait for its fangs to harden. For slings, a few days to a week will suffice. Again, like Foxngn said, the color of their fangs are a good indicator as to how long to wait. There's no need to rush to feed the T after it molts- they can survive a long time without food. I had a G. pulchra sling that did not eat for more than three months. And I've heard of others who say their T did not eat for almost a year and it was fine.

This post has been edited by Oldfart: Jun 11 2009, 02:58 PM

If her butt is big, nothing to worry about- that's pretty normal behavior for a rosie. They are known to be quirky that way.

Yeah, there have been keepers that have setup communal tanks, but just a handful of T species. So far the trick is to find sac mates. I've heard it done with some pokies, avics, Holethele incei and the famous chicken spider is also rumored to be communal. There was also someone who tried to do a communal tank experiment with a bunch of rare/expensive t's (don't remember the species). Don't know how that one turned out.

This post has been edited by Oldfart: Jun 12 2009, 10:47 PM

T's secrete enzymes that reduce their prey's flesh into a soupy cocktail that they drink. Not everything is reduced though so you do end up with a small ball of leftovers which can be hard to see on the substrate surface. Here's a pic of a juvie P. regalis almost done with its meal. Even in its fangs, it's barely recognizable.

Before


And after...