First Avic — enclosure check

MeltDown

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 16, 2017
Messages
11
Purchased my first arboreal T, a 2.5" dls A. avic at a reptile show recently, and wanted to make sure the enclosure setup was right for the little one!

It's currently in a medium kritter keeper with clear contact paper blocking off most of the vents on the top; I'm considering blocking off more of the side vents as well since my house is on the drier side in the colder months. Substrate is a mix of coco fiber and cut up sphagnum moss. There's a large bottle cap acting as a water bowl for now, but should I either replace it with or add an elevated water bowl instead? Also, should I hotglue more of the small, ivy-like leaves to the sides of the enclosure instead of only having them on the corkbark...? Thanks for taking the time to read all of this :D

IMG_6418.JPG IMG_6420.JPG IMG_6421.JPG IMG_6417.JPG IMG_6422.JPG IMG_6423.JPG
 

Venom1080

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Sep 24, 2015
Messages
4,611
Cage will work.

But, you seem to be under the impression Avicularia prefer high humidity. That is incorrect. Keep blocking vents without lowering humidity and you'll have a dead spider.


Avicularia thrive in well ventilated, dry enclosures. They experience alot of ventilation in the humid jungles that people can't seem to take into consideration.
 

MeltDown

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 16, 2017
Messages
11
Cage will work.

But, you seem to be under the impression Avicularia prefer high humidity. That is incorrect. Keep blocking vents without lowering humidity and you'll have a dead spider.


Avicularia thrive in well ventilated, dry enclosures. They experience alot of ventilation in the humid jungles that people can't seem to take into consideration.
Glad to hear the enclosure will work as is! I want to disturb it as little as possible while it's settling in. :)

I knew that good ventilation was a must for this species, but also know they like higher humidity, or at least come from areas with higher relative humidity, than my arid terrestrials and the air in my house tends to be fairly dry... That's why I thought it would be best to check the boards before changing anything :') Thank you for the advice!

In your experience, would you say an elevated water bowl might be easier to find...? I worry that it won't end up coming down to drink, though that's probably just newbie anxiety.
 
Last edited:

Hoxter

Arachnoderp
Joined
Dec 29, 2018
Messages
287
My C. versicolor sling never comes out of its web tunnel and I've never seen it drink from water bowl. What I do is spray a bit of water directly on the webbing for it to drink, in fact I've seen several times it drinking from the web instantly despite full water bowl directly below. So I wouldn't completely trust water dishes with Avicularia and ex. Avicularia.
With that too high humidity shouldn't be a problem for you so I wouldn't worry too much, with that ventilation it will be fine.
 

Andrew Clayton

Arachnobaron
Joined
Dec 19, 2018
Messages
579
With that too high humidity shouldn't be a problem for you so I wouldn't worry too much, with that ventilation it will be fine.
Humidity is entirely irrelevant with Ts it's basically damp or dry substrate
@MeltDown Spraying the Web with some water for a drink is a good idea yes but you have to remove that which is blocking the ventilation on top Keeping the sub wet inside with minimal ventilation will create stuffy conditions that will more than likely kill you're T apart from that it all looks good I'd personally use a taller rather than flat enclosure but you have gave the T option to climb so shouldn't be a problem
 

Teal

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 11, 2009
Messages
4,096
Unblock the ventilation. Air flow is FAR more important than anything else. Humidity in the wild isn't contained and the air is constantly moving... humidity inside a box in your house is deadly to an Avic.

I agree about spritzing the web with water for drinking opportunities, but also keep a full water dish as back up.

I meant that with ventilation he already has it shouldn't really get stuffy.
Except he has blocked the ventilation in that enclosure.
 

EtienneN

Arachno-enigma
Joined
Jul 15, 2017
Messages
1,038
It's a 'myth' that avics need high humidity to survive. The reverse, as Teal said, is actually true. Ventilation is key for good air exchange. Think about it, you wouldn't last long in a box with no air holes either. ;) Just a water dish and a spritz or two once every week and a half is good.
 

MeltDown

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 16, 2017
Messages
11
I think perhaps my post was a bit misleading, or at the very least I'd like to add some clarification...

The substrate in my enclosure is definitely not wet; the only dampness that remains is from when I first added water to help the coco fiber expand, which was about a week ago, and therefore it's basically dry now. Not bone dry, but nowhere near wet. :') As for the ventilation, it is the standard kritter keeper lid— ONLY the top ventilation is covered with small openings in all four corners and large square areas on either side of the door. The sides are completely unblocked. While I was thinking of humidity when covering the top, I was also thinking about air currents/privacy as the enclosure sits one or two feet to the left of an air vent and can't be moved to another place for now :( (I do plan to move it in the future)

All of that said, I posted this for advice, and I'm grateful to you all for giving it!! My early research on the boards told me that ventilation would be crucial, and that research also taught me that stuffy enclosures are lethal, but I wasn't sure how to find a balance between stuffy and arid that would lead to a happy Avic! Bringing the enclosure check to the boards just made sense, really :D If you still think I should remove the contact paper I definitely will, because the last thing I want is a dead or miserable T.
 

Venom1080

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Sep 24, 2015
Messages
4,611
Glad to hear the enclosure will work as is! I want to disturb it as little as possible while it's settling in. :)

I knew that good ventilation was a must for this species, but also know they like higher humidity, or at least come from areas with higher relative humidity, than my arid terrestrials and the air in my house tends to be fairly dry... That's why I thought it would be best to check the boards before changing anything :') Thank you for the advice!

In your experience, would you say an elevated water bowl might be easier to find...? I worry that it won't end up coming down to drink, though that's probably just newbie anxiety.
:) 20190625_104524.jpg
(A juruensis M1)
 

Bluebird5591

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 13, 2019
Messages
39
For sure remove the paper, poor ventilationis the #1 killer of this species. You can also turn the kritter keeper on its side to make it more of an arboreal enclosure, plus then you have a front opening door that's not as likely to get webbed up. That's what i did with mine, it's not the prettiest thing in the world but it meets their requirements better.
 
Top