Beginning Avic avic care

Crone Returns

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Thanks Cold Blood. I'll scream for help don't worry. First thing to do is drill holes in that shoebox when I get her. Next question is do I drill holes half way on all 4 sides and do I drill the lid?
Thanks again.
 

Crone Returns

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Yeah. That's what I thought. I will check vertical containers at walmart. But I will have to get a good rig for her until next month...
fixed income and all that.
My next question is what kind of live plants are safe for her?
 

EulersK

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My next question is what kind of live plants are safe for her?
Trust me, do not go down that rabbit hole. There is enough of a learning curve for you to catch up with already, don't add more into it. Just get silk plants and be done with it.
 

Haksilence

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No live plants. You need to learn how to keep your tarantula alive first. Live plants are a whole another learning curve.
 

Crone Returns

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No live plants. You need to learn how to keep your tarantula alive first. Live plants are a whole another learning curve.
Ok. I was honestly sweating that.
I've read a lot on this site but still am nervous. All help will be greatly appreciated. It'd kill me to have a T die. You should see me when my old dogs die:(
 

cold blood

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Ok. I was honestly sweating that.
I've read a lot on this site but still am nervous. All help will be greatly appreciated. It'd kill me to have a T die. You should see me when my old dogs die:(
Haha, yeah a live plant enclosure looks spectacular if done right, but the amount of extra work and issues it presents just makes it not worth the effort...for me anyway....I ain't trying to grow plants, just ts;)

If I'm recalling its a 3" spider, correct? You could house that in any number of sterilite tubs and have a nice set-up for the $10 range.

I hear ya on the old dogs...I still cant even talk about my last one I had to put down and that was over 4 years ago now...very sad indeed.:(
 
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cold blood

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Both of these cost $6 for the enclosure and can be bought at any number of places, including Dollar tree.

As for venting, you can see what I've done here, venting on the lid should be at a minimum, I make 4 holes, one on each corner, on the larger one I add 2 more on the lid....but the primary ventilation should be focused on the sides...but don't over-do it.
 

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Crone Returns

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Haha, yeah a live plant enclosure looks spectacular if done right, but the amount of extra work and issues it presents just makes it not worth the effort...for me anyway....I ain't trying to grow plants, just ts;)

If I'm recalling its a 3" spider, correct? You could house that in any number of sterilite tubs and have a nice set-up for the $10 range.
Cool. That's what I'm thinking of but couldn't remember the name. Also the cross ventilation holes info is ambiguous. All 4 sides or 2?
Thanks
 

Crone Returns

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Both of these cost $6 for the enclosure and can be bought at any number of places, including Dollar tree.
Very cool. Thank you very much. I think I'm gonna go.for.it!!!
As for venting, you can see what I've done here, venting on the lid should be at a minimum, I make 4 holes, one on each corner, on the larger one I add 2 more on the lid....but the primary ventilation should be focused on the sides...but don't over-do it.
 

Crone Returns

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All 4 generally
Thank you thank you thank you.
The shop, well I had to explain euathlus trucul. And was told their listing didn't carry that species. Avic was my 3rd choice. Sooo. First I have to sex them. I know what a juvie female looks like. I'm assuming that's the same for all Ts. If they're boys it's a no go.
 

Haksilence

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Since this is your first tarantula you almost certainly won't be able to sex it yourself. You simply won't have the experience or the knowledge of what to look for.

Males are perfectly fine and I actually would recommend them for beginners. Although their life is shorter, they grow faster and IME are a bit more active.
 

Crone Returns

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She'll be my second. My first, a juvie B albopilosum, I got in dec. She went into premolt and I freaked. I had read about it and read about it but still freaked. When her heinie started turning blue gray then darkened to dark blue and then blue black I almost fainted in relief. There's nothing like hands on experience over book learning ha! I had been pretty sure she was on premolt but wasn't 100%. I wish I'd been aware of this site then.
Now I think I can do it. And it's nice to have old timers that you can pick their brains.
Yeah there's nothing wrong with boys :kiss:!
 

Crone Returns

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So I found out the beasts are WC. I don't want to sound like a snob but I don't want to buy WC Ts. Soooo. Will try again next month which is when another shipment of mystery Ts are coming in. Ha!
PS: It's pretty bad when the head t guy at pet store has to tell you the common name:wacky:!!! Re Euathlus trucul. Thanks guys.
 

Poec54

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So I found out the beasts are WC. I don't want to sound like a snob but I don't want to buy WC Ts.
Everything was w/c to begin with. I'm sure you know that they're not safe in the wild due to the horrendous rate of habitat destruction. Leaving them there is no guarantee that hundreds or thousands won't be killed in a single day. Locals have no love for them, and often kill them on sight. What's better for the spider: living in a nice cage for many years or being killed in a fire when acres are cleared?

Once a tarantula is in captivity, it ain't going back. More than anything else, it needs a good home & a good owner to survive. Tarantulas have been sold in pet stores for the past 50 years (they bring in foot traffic, that usually buys something in the store), and will be for decades to come. Any boycott on any scale has had zero impact.
 

Crone Returns

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Everything was w/c to begin with. I'm sure you know that they're not safe in the wild due to the horrendous rate of habitat destruction. Leaving them there is no guarantee that hundreds or thousands won't be killed in a single day. Locals have no love for them, and often kill them on sight. What's better for the spider: living in a nice cage for many years or being killed in a fire when acres are cleared?

Once a tarantula is in captivity, it ain't going back. More than anything else, it needs a good home & a good owner to survive. Tarantulas have been sold in pet stores for the past 50 years (they bring in foot traffic, that usually buys something in the store), and will be for decades to come. Any boycott on any scale has had zero impact.
I see what you mean. The way you state it. I've said the same words about animals in zoos. For some reason I had a picture of all the hobbyists in the '50s looting and pillaging all the Ts in 3rd world countries. I didn't know how much the natives hated them. I had also read that WC carried mites and/or other critters. Let me think this over the weekend. Maybe I'll go for it after all.
 

Poec54

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I see what you mean. The way you state it. I've said the same words about animals in zoos. For some reason I had a picture of all the hobbyists in the '50s looting and pillaging all the Ts in 3rd world countries. I didn't know how much the natives hated them. I had also read that WC carried mites and/or other critters. Let me think this over the weekend. Maybe I'll go for it after all.
Some of the most endangered tarantulas in the world are Poecilotheria. Because of the huge human population in India (over 1,000,000,000), most of the native trees have been cut down for lumber and firewood. It's not illegal for Indians to kill Poecs, just illegal for us to take them out of the country so we can bred them in captivity. What logic! Several years ago hundreds of P hanumavillasumica were killed when a forest was cut down. No one bothered to save or relocate them. Yeah, they're protected in the wild.

I knew an orchid collector in Tampa, who made an arrangement with the Belize and US governments for him to collect and export orchids from areas that were being cleared. The orchids would otherwise die. He brought them legally into US Customs and legally sold them to collectors. Why isn't this the norm all over the world? Rescue or relocate? Stop the waste and slaughter. Instead, countless acres are destroyed every year, and the politicians boast that they've 'protected' that area. What hypocrisy! Dead plants and animals are dead plants and animals. Locals doing the destruction makes it palatable?
 
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