A. Avic molt (?) worry

[ScreeKeeDee]

Hey! I'm pretty new to the hobby, with an A. Avic juvenile (about 4cm) that i've had for about 3 months, but she (isn't sexed, but assuming) has been acting very strange lately and need to ease my paranoia by getting some advice.

I have a bark tube that she has built her nest in and she likes to spend her time in, at the very end of the tube there's a little hole where I can see her through if she's at the bottom of it. About 2 days ago I spotted her in the tube waving her legs very weird, and from the position I assumed she was on her back, thus molting. The morning after she was still at the very bottom waving her legs, looking like she was grooming herself. Since she is in the tube that is unreachable for me, and I don't want to stress her to check for an exoskeleton, I have no idea if she's actually molted. She's also been refusing food for about 2 weeks before this.

Now, she's been fairly active so far, crawling up to the entrance of the tube, where I have a lamp that she likes to bask in for some reason. (I know this isn't normal behavior, but she's probably seeking for heat, but I also have a heat mat at the other side of the terrarium)
What made me worried was when I spotted her curling her legs underneath her body, while twitching. She might have been cleaning herself, but in some panic sprayed her surroundings with water, and she did went up to drink.
What scared me then was that her abdomen looked abnormally small compared to her carapace. This was odd to me since she was very plump only a few days ago, proving she could have gone through a molt? Either way this really triggered my paranoia along with her legs folding underneath her and twitching.

Being new to the hobby this might be normal post molt behavior I'm not used to, but I'd really appreciate some input for comfort! I don't have any pictures of her right this moment since she's in hiding, but I will include her setup. She's in an exo terra terrarium at a stable 25C, I moisten her substrate every day and she has a water bowl.

 

[Nightstalker47]

where I have a lamp that she likes to bask in for some reason. (I know this isn't normal behavior, but she's probably seeking for heat, but I also have a heat mat at the other side of the terrarium)
What made me worried was when I spotted her curling her legs underneath her body, while twitching.

The lamp and heat mat both need to go, they will dehydrate your avic fast...looks to be the exact behavior you described. Death curls are often indicative of dehydration.

What scared me then was that her abdomen looked abnormally small compared to her carapace. This was odd to me since she was very plump only a few days ago, Either way this really triggered my paranoia along with her legs folding underneath her and twitching.
at a stable 25C, I moisten her substrate every day and she has a water bowl.

Its not paranoia when there are real issues...the abdomen can indeed shrink in cases of extreme dehydration. Make the necessary changes quickly enough and your avic might survive.

Sub should be dry, all they need moisture wise is a large water dish. No heat mat or heat bulb. Temps in the range of 70-80 are fine.

 

[ScreeKeeDee]

Alright, I will unplug the mat and not have the lamp on for now. The strange thing is how rapidly this happened, just 2 days ago she had a round abdomen and now it's shrunk to nothing. She worked on her net just before this happened, and she looked completely normal until the morning after. I also live in Sweden and I don't want it to get too cold for her, it doesn't go below 20C though, so i'm guessing that's still fine. It's confusing with heating and keeping things moist since it varies between sources.

 

[Little Grey Spider]

The lamp and heat mat both need to go, they will dehydrate your avic fast...looks to be the exact behavior you described. Death curls are often indicative of dehydration.

Its not paranoia when there are real issues...the abdomen can indeed shrink in cases of extreme dehydration. Make the necessary changes quickly enough and your avic might survive.

Sub should be dry, all they need moisture wise is a large water dish. No heat mat or heat bulb. Temps in the range of 70-80 are fine.

Agree with this.... and

In your pic of her silhouette she appears to have molted to me. Her legs look translucent imo. Why is there a cricket in there with her?

 

[ScreeKeeDee]

In your pic of her silhouette she appears to have molted to me. Her legs look translucent imo. Why is there a cricket in there with her?

The image was before she had supposedly molted, when she was refusing to eat a couple of days ago, and you can see her abdomen is of normal size. I of course removed the cricket when I realized she didn't want it. She's eaten crickets before and now wouldn't take it. I'm unable to take a picture of her now since she's hiding.

 

[Little Grey Spider]

The image was before she had supposedly molted, when she was refusing to eat a couple of days ago, and you can see her abdomen is of normal size. I of course removed the cricket when I realized she didn't want it. She's eaten crickets before and now wouldn't take it. I'm unable to take a picture of her now since she's hiding.

Could've fooled me. I never would've pegged that as an Avic in premolt. Mine usually get really fat.

Edit: oh it's tiny! 4 cm??? I missed that before. Makes sense now.

Edit again: looking at the exoterra, are those live plants? And you have stuff piled on top which cuts down dramatically on much needed ventilation. If they are live plants, ditch them. Live plants aren't conducive to an Avic enclosure. As the above user said, cork bark, fake plants, dry sub and just a water dish in a well ventilated enclosure.

 

[ScreeKeeDee]

Could be the angle, i'll attach a better one from exactly a week ago.
She has at least become a lot rounder since I first got her, but now it's all gone! I really do hope my baby is ok.

 

[Little Grey Spider]

Could be the angle, i'll attach a better one from exactly a week ago.
She has at least become a lot rounder since I first got her, but now it's all gone! I really do hope my baby is ok.

Aha! Much better angle! THAT looks like premolt. Very good. If it molted, there's really nothing you can do but wait and keep fresh water available in a dish, maybe drop some in the webbing.... After it has recovered, you gotta fix the set up stat.

 

[ScreeKeeDee]

Thank you for the advice! This makes me feel a lot better, I'll definitely look into removing the live plants, one place they say they're great, another says you shouldn't have them, very confusing for a novice. The things I put on top was to try maintain heat since I was also worried it would be too cold.

 

[Mirandarachnid]

If her abdomen really shrunk that much, she probably did molt. The "twitching" with the legs curled under may have been totally normal post-molt grooming/spider yoga. Molting is hard work, and they lose some fluids during the process which may be why your spider went right for the water after you sprayed. Like @Little Grey Spider said, keep fresh water in a large dish and rehouse once it's hardened up. (no less than a week)

 

[cold blood]

It's confusing with heating and keeping things moist since it varies between sources.

Most sources are flat out wrong.

Keeping things moist will eventually kill it...this ridiculous focus on humidity is probably the #1 avic killer in the history of avics in captivity.

They need predominantly dry sub, with excellent ventilation...air movement is the most important thing you can provide. Temps just need to range from 67-90 and you will be fine...that's a huge variance in temp. Best to heat them by heating the room....direct heat sources are dangerous as ts are drawn to the heat, often to their detriment like a moth drawn to a flame.

 

[ScreeKeeDee]

I'm so thankful to learn all this before it could be too late, it's upsetting when you spend hours of research to be prepared for anything, and it's wrong. You'd expect tarantula websites to provide accurately! It's worrying how many people are being misinformed and their sweet T's are paying the price...

direct heat sources are dangerous as ts are drawn to the heat, often to their detriment like a moth drawn to a flame.

Then I understand why she was drawn to the lamp. Since they're nocturnal that was very confusing to me, so now I'll be removing the lamp.

 

[ScreeKeeDee]

Update: Ruby came out so I got a better look at her! I gave her more water and she went out to drink. Not a great picture but you can see her abdomen. Her legs look longer to me now, meaning she must have gone through a shed. She's starting to look a bit male to me now though... What do you think?

 

[Greasylake]

Can't tell if it's male or female from that picture. If you could get a good ventral shot and post that or find the molt and use that to sex it, we could get you a more reliable answer.

 

[boina]

As many people already stated it's better to keep an Avic in dry conditions with a water bowl. Humid, stuffy conditions have killed more Avics then anything else combined.

It also needs more stuff to web on and hide in high up. A live plant is dangerous because it produces humidity by evaporation. Nevertheless, your spider should have a place to live and build a web on. A cork round with fake plants draped around it would be a good idea, but if you are creative you can find other things to build an Avic palace up in the air. Your enclosure really looks a bit bare and it doesn't provide a real hiding place in the upper regions. Whatever is on the ground is useless - a healthy Avic will only be on the ground for a very short time to hunt or drink. Things on the ground provide hiding places for crickets and that's not what you want.