Avic. Problem

[Arachnid Hobby]

Hi, My Avic is not building a web. About a month ago I rehoused it and it seems to ignore the hide and now it's either clustered in a corner or roaming around. It hasn't ever even taken shelter in its hide. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

Alex

 

[Ungoliant]

Hi, My Avic is not building a web. About a month ago I rehoused it and it seems to ignore the hide and now it's either clustered in a corner or roaming around. It hasn't ever even taken shelter in its hide. Any ideas?

Please post a picture of the tarantula and the complete setup. (Without pictures, we can only speculate.)

 

[Arachnid Hobby]

It's in a 5-gallon critter keeper with heat treated palm bark as the hide because I ran out of cork bark. I have no heating on the cage and the rooms at room temperature. The substrate seems dry but I misted yesterday. It ran into the hide and curled up when I opened the lid, so that's why it looks like that.

 

[Ellenantula]

I focus more on anchor points for webbing and vertical space -- plus excellent ventilation

 

[Arachnid Hobby]

I focus more on anchor points for webbing and vertical space -- plus excellent ventilation

Thanks, I guess I just have to go out and buy some cork.

 

[Ellenantula]

I glue-gun plastic/silk plants to side walls for anchors. I also use a long cork bark for my "wall-o-death" for feeders to climb. So I don't restrict myself to only cork bark only for anchoring.
I use cross ventilation -- you don't want damp/stuffy conditions for an avic.

I focus more on vertical space over horizontal -- these are arboreal.

 

[Ellenantula]

Your enclosure isn't ideal for avics. Other factors could be (besides less than ideal enclosure) that yours hasn't settled in yet, is a mature male, is ill, is pre-moult... just saying a lot could be going on. Generally... an avic on the ground isn't good.
My first recommendation is a more avic-friendly enclosure.

Best of luck -- I adore avics and always want them to thrive.

 

[Arachnid Hobby]

Your enclosure isn't ideal for avics. Other factors could be (besides less than ideal enclosure) that yours hasn't settled in yet, is a mature male, is ill, is pre-moult... just saying a lot could be going on. Generally... an avic on the ground isn't good.
My first recommendation is a more avic-friendly enclosure.

Best of luck -- I adore avics and always want them to thrive.

Maybe I could just reposition the bark because it's pretty bendable.

 

[Ellenantula]

The cork bark was fine - it's the overall enclosure lacking. It's a lack of vertical space and lack of more things to anchor webbing to (plus lack of ventilation and your T on the bottom) that concerned me.

Could yours be a mature male?
Hoping you can work out an enclosure that will meet your avic's needs. (fingers crossed)

 

[Ungoliant]

It's in a 5-gallon critter keeper with heat treated palm bark as the hide because I ran out of cork bark. I have no heating on the cage and the rooms at room temperature. The substrate seems dry but I misted yesterday. It ran into the hide and curled up when I opened the lid, so that's why it looks like that.

As has already been mentioned, I would add some leaves (for the tarantula to use as anchor points for webbing) and cross-ventilation.

This post by @viper69 has a lot of good information on basic Avicularia care.

Could yours be a mature male?

A close-up of the tarantula's palps (the pair of appendages next to the mouth) will answer that question. (A mature male has emboli at the ends of his palps. Mature male palps look clubbed in comparison to female and juvenile palps, which just look like little legs.)

Many mature male Avics also have small hooks under the tibias (the second long leg segment) of the first legs.

While not an Avic, here is a good image showing these features.

 

[PidderPeets]

As @Ellenantula already said, it needs anchor points to make a proper web. I'd add some fake plants and maybe more bark slabs so it can web how it wants. I have my avic set up in a vertically placed kritter keeper, so all I needed was a hollow bamboo tube, a fake plant, and a thin stick or two in the enclosure and mine took straight to webbing. Any time I've seen an avic without enough anchor points to build webs, I see them scrunched up in a corner of the enclosure with a bare minimum web hammock to hide in constantly

 

[miss moxie]

Yeah that's just not a good set up at all. Is that bark even secured? If the tarantula climbs on it and it keeps moving under them, they can't really web properly and as pointed out there aren't enough anchor points. A horizontal kritter keeper does not a decent Avic enclosure make, unfortunately.

This image I found on the google image search 'Avicularia enclosure' shows a good example. They need something sturdy to start their webbing on, and cross ventilation. You don't need a fancy Exo Terra, buying a sterilite container at walmart is cheap and all you need to do is add holes to the sides with a soldering iron.

 

[JoshDM020]

You can tape over the slats on the bottom three/four inches and stand that KK on its end. Hot glue some fake plants amd cork bark in there. Fill the taped portion with substrate (id recommend having the clear plastic lid open in a way that swings down, like a draw-bridge). Aaand thats how you make a KK arboreal-friendly. Cheap and easy.
No matter what you do, you need to do something or your spider is most likely going to die.

 

[Ellenantula]

You can tape over the slats on the bottom three/four inches and stand that KK on its end. Hot glue some fake plants amd cork bark in there. Fill the taped portion with substrate (id recommend having the clear plastic lid open in a way that swings down, like a draw-bridge). Aaand thats how you make a KK arboreal-friendly. Cheap and easy.

Do you have a pix? I've heard of this but never seen it done. Also -- do you place holes in 'bottom/back' for cross ventilation? I am thinking the slats might be sufficient, albeit, only on one side. Sounds like a good idea for KK use!

This image I found on the google image search 'Avicularia enclosure' shows a good example.

Do you have a pix of one of your own enclosures? I know mine just showed inverted ones, and, of course, Josh suggested ideas of how to flip a KK for arboreal use.
I am always interested in learning new ways other ABers keep theirs. We have such creative people on these forums.

Thanks!!!

 

[miss moxie]

Do you have a pix of one of your own enclosures?

Ahhh, just a picture from a couple years ago. My juvie male A. versicolor enclosure.

I personally put a ring of holes right above the substrate to aid in drying when I overflow the water dish. Some people keep their Avic slings dry, but for me I always felt better overfilling the water dish once a week to add a bit of humidity. I also add a ring of holes at the top because that's generally where the T would set up shop, so to speak. And, on four sides as true to N,E,W,S as I can get by eyeballing it, I make five small holes in a + shape to add cross ventilation. No holes in the lid. I'd either use a piece of corkbark or fake flowers/plants that I hot glue in place to the bottom. Actually, I'd hot glue the flowers/plants together I wanted, then hot glue them into a water bottle cap with a lot of glue to keep it secure. Then I'd hot glue that bottle cap to the bottom.

That is my second Avic enclosure so the holes aren't as uniform ahahaha and I did them by heating up a bobby pin over a candle. Took forever! Soldering iron is your friend. Anyway, I liked to glue the plant to the side rather than the middle because it didn't take up all the space in the enclosure and also offered spaces between the leaves and the wall for them to snuggle into.

I never had an Avic die on me, save for this versicolor's mate but they died the very day after I got them so I think that was just bad luck.

Obviously you could use 32oz. deli cups but I liked the 32oz. artist's jars they sell at Hobby Lobby. They're more expensive, but they're sturdier and crystal clear. I've also done something similar in square plastic grip jars I got from Walmart.

 

[JoshDM020]

Do you have a pix? I've heard of this but never seen it done. Also -- do you place holes in 'bottom/back' for cross ventilation? I am thinking the slats might be sufficient, albeit, only on one side. Sounds like a good idea for KK use!

I actually saw this from someone else. I didnt have the need to do it myself but i figured it was a good thing to memorize in case i ever needed it. Actually might use it for a Psalmopoeus cambridgei sling im planning on getting once it gets to a reasonable size, so i might set one up early as an example. You could definitely (carefully, these things crack pretty easy) drill holes in the back or sides to increase airflow, though. I dont remember who i saw post it, though, or id tag them.

 

[PidderPeets]

@Ellenantula, here's my avic in a KK. It's set up very similarly to how Josh described, just minus the use of hot glue. The pic is from a while back, when she tore down her initial web in that home to make a new and improved web. Any pics of the setup now would probably be futile because of all the webbing currently. I haven't added any additional ventilation, but the vents on the front seem to be enough. Any spilled water dries up pretty fast

 

[Ellenantula]

@Ellenantula, here's my avic in a KK. It's set up very similarly to how Josh described, just minus the use of hot glue. The pic is from a while back, when she tore down her initial web in that home to make a new and improved web. Any pics of the setup now would probably be futile because of all the webbing currently.

Well done and creative thinking. I am burdened with too many extra KK-style faunariums (seriously, I store supplies in mine I have so many) and this is an idea I will keep in mind for future use. Thanks for sharing the pix.

My pix were older too -- my larger avic's container now looks like a cotton candy floss machine exploded inside. It's all a giant cotton ball. You'd have to take my word that there is actually an avic in there... somewhere. lol

 

[Venom1080]

You can easily use that cage. As long as it's tall enough, width doesn't matter. (within reason) you just need a better main hide, and some more anchor points. ie: plastic plants.

Keep it dry, this genus requires a dry
environment. Stop misting. Just provide a water dish.

There is tons of vent on the lid. You don't need more than that.
Edit height should be about 3x spiders legspan.

 

[PidderPeets]

Well done and creative thinking. I am burdened with too many extra KK-style faunariums (seriously, I store supplies in mine I have so many) and this is an idea I will keep in mind for future use. Thanks for sharing the pix.

My pix were older too -- my larger avic's container now looks like a cotton candy floss machine exploded inside. It's all a giant cotton ball. You'd have to take my word that there is actually an avic in there... somewhere. lol

Trust me, I understand both those problems all too well. I've always gotta have a few extra KKs on hand. You never know when you'll need them.

As for my little webmaster (I will not apologize for my awesome misuse of that word ), I haven't been able to get a decent picture of her in ages, even though she's always out in the open. She's just started the "I'm in premolt so I need to web up literally everything in existence" phase