I want an arboreal

[Crickeylynn]

Hello everyone. I have had Ts for over a year Now and currently have five NW terrestrials. I think I would like to try an arboreal, maybe a versicolor or an Avic. What concerns me is I know they are more dependent on humidity. How do you keep the humidity correct? Are they much more difficult than
The spiders I have now? Thanks for any feedback.

 

[le-thomas]

Avicularia are pretty easy for care for. Just remember to have a lot of ventilation (cross-ventilation) and keep the substrate slightly moist. Spray the spider's web and leaves/decorations every once in a while to ensure that it gets the moisture it needs. Tapinauchenius and Psalmopoeus are also good NW arboreal spiders, though their speed and bad temper can make them more challenging to work with than avics. Good luck with whatever you choose!

 

[Storm76]

For slings, keep substrate moist and juvies / adults use big waterdishes, if they hang around the waterdish all the time, spray once or twice a week and that's it. They are easy to take care of and personally I wouldn't say they are harder to keep at all....

 

[Aviara]

I will add, if you are looking into an Avicularia, and you can find a juvenile or adult in your area or can pay for shipping, it might be worth the added cost. Avicularia slings are known to be more fragile than most other species. There is nothing wrong with purchasing a sling, just know that there is a somewhat greater risk of losing it in the future. Remember when keeping Avicularia that ventilation is extremely important. A good majority of deaths of Avicularia slings likely result from keepers substituting ventilation for humidity. Other than that, however, these tarantulas are beautiful, relatively easy to care for, and most species of Avicularia are rather docile.

 

[spiderwomen]

Just make sure the enclosure for an Avic is never dry, and yes alot of ventilation. My Avics never used a water dish they would just drink the water i sprayed in daily, and it really seemes to be a better way. I had good luck with slings, and adults. Avics are fragile no matter what age they are. A.Versi's are my personal fav in the arboreals. Also there is Iridopelma Hirsutum which is an arboreal similar to the Avics. A female would be best because they live longer, but its your choice and I wish you luck

 

[jayefbe]

First of all, Avics are not fragile! It's been said by myself and many others, but the idea of Avics as some spider constantly on death's door still seems to remain. So I will repeat myself, Avics are NOT fragile. They don't need to be sprayed every day, and they don't need secret special care that no other tarantula needs. I basically keep them like every other arboreal, and have never had a problem. Adequate ventilation, moisten the substrate once or twice a week. Just allow the substrate to dry out a bit between moistening it. Spraying once a day is too much.

A good majority of deaths of Avicularia slings likely result from keepers substituting ventilation for humidity.

I'm sorry, but what does this mean? Avics are dying from too much ventilation? Or from too much humidity? How is one thing traded for another? And where is the evidence suggesting that this is causing deaths of Avics? Unless you live in an extremely humid environment (and the modern day household is usually a dry environment) increasing ventilation will come at the cost of humidity. It's necessary for many species of tarantula (especially slings) to have elevated humidity. They also need reasonable ventilation. The result is a balancing act between how much ventilation you have and how often you add moisture to the enclosure. If you have a screen lid, no matter how much spraying you do, it is still going to dry very rapidly. If you have no ventilation, the air will become stagnant and promote mold growth. Somewhere in between is a middle ground that works.

 

[salmonpink]

I luv my p. ornata's

 

[skar]

Get one They're cool !! lil more care but not much. Just keep it a lil moist . that's it.
I had a versi as my first and it lived out just fine.

 

[Storm76]

First of all, Avics are not fragile! It's been said by myself and many others, but the idea of Avics as some spider constantly on death's door still seems to remain. So I will repeat myself, Avics are NOT fragile. They don't need to be sprayed every day, and they don't need secret special care that no other tarantula needs. I basically keep them like every other arboreal, and have never had a problem. Adequate ventilation, moisten the substrate once or twice a week. Just allow the substrate to dry out a bit between moistening it. Spraying once a day is too much.

Agreed!

I'm sorry, but what does this mean? Avics are dying from too much ventilation? Or from too much humidity? How is one thing traded for another? And where is the evidence suggesting that this is causing deaths of Avics? Unless you live in an extremely humid environment (and the modern day household is usually a dry environment) increasing ventilation will come at the cost of humidity. It's necessary for many species of tarantula (especially slings) to have elevated humidity. They also need reasonable ventilation. The result is a balancing act between how much ventilation you have and how often you add moisture to the enclosure. If you have a screen lid, no matter how much spraying you do, it is still going to dry very rapidly. If you have no ventilation, the air will become stagnant and promote mold growth. Somewhere in between is a middle ground that works.

I think what he meant was, that some people tend to keep them with poor ventilation but constantly having extreme moisture in their enclosures. It has been reported that Avics (under those circumstances) tend to develop funguns in their booklungs which then causes death. No myth, but it's one of the reasons why people have this faulty view on Avics being hard to raise. Except for 2 that obviously were not mean to live, all of my Avic slings are absolutely fine (one of my A. amazonicas "Manaus" just molted last night again...). Just see they have plenty of ventilation and don't "mist them to death" which seems to be some common mistake that I've even seen a whole lot on YT being said all the time "They thrive on high humidity" is actually quite wrong, my adult / juvies just have a waterdish and get once a week misting on one side of the enclosure - they "thrive" on that just fine

Now, let's not get this thread into yet another discussion about Avics (sorry!), I just wanted to elaborate and post my personal opinion from my admittedly short experience raising slings from 2i on.

 

[Chrisduhfur]

First of all, Avics are not fragile! It's been said by myself and many others, but the idea of Avics as some spider constantly on death's door still seems to remain. So I will repeat myself, Avics are NOT fragile. They don't need to be sprayed every day, and they don't need secret special care that no other tarantula needs. I basically keep them like every other arboreal, and have never had a problem. Adequate ventilation, moisten the substrate once or twice a week. Just allow the substrate to dry out a bit between moistening it. Spraying once a day is too much.



I'm sorry, but what does this mean? Avics are dying from too much ventilation? Or from too much humidity? How is one thing traded for another? And where is the evidence suggesting that this is causing deaths of Avics? Unless you live in an extremely humid environment (and the modern day household is usually a dry environment) increasing ventilation will come at the cost of humidity. It's necessary for many species of tarantula (especially slings) to have elevated humidity. They also need reasonable ventilation. The result is a balancing act between how much ventilation you have and how often you add moisture to the enclosure. If you have a screen lid, no matter how much spraying you do, it is still going to dry very rapidly. If you have no ventilation, the air will become stagnant and promote mold growth. Somewhere in between is a middle ground that works.

Think what he was saying was people trade ventilation for a higher humidity...
Less holes for ventilation equals more humidity


Thanks,
Christopher

 

[ManilaBeans]

I am so glad I bumped into this thread after having been off these boards for a while. I'm contemplating on purchasing 2-3 more slings later today or over the weekend. I was supposed to stop at the 9 that I have right now (2 freebie Albos, 1 P.cambridgei, 1 GBB, 1 Chaco, 1 C.fasciatum, 1 P.irminia, 1 Tapinauchenius cupreus, 1 L.violaceopes).

Unfortunately, my supplier texted me a week ago and told me he had new slings. I was afraid to look at his updated list because he almost always has something I wanted (and I guess it can be argued that I have developed sort of a "gotta catch em all" sickness at this point). And sure enough, he has A.versicolors on the list, which has always been #2 on my wishlist before I started collecting (second to the GBB). It's very difficult to find some here in Manila though so I gotta hand it to fate to find a way to finally make some available now that I almost have no more room in my apartment for some more slings, especially considering how much more space they'd need when they grown up.

Anyway, now I'm torn between getting the ff:
2 pcs of the Avicularia versicolors (just in case I mess it up) OR
1 Avicularia versicolor and 1 Avicularia azuraklaasi (very beautiful but a little pricier) OR
1 Avicularia versicolor, 1 Avicularia azuraklaasi and 1 Avicularia purprea

Who's had experience with the above? How are they as webbers, how voracious or choosy are they when eating, what's their temperament like, etc. This thread answered some of my questions and allayed most of my fears about Avicularia so I think I should be fine whichever I go for...

 

[Storm76]

A. azuraklaasi look nearly exactly like A. avic, except their powdery blueish legs really. They do, however, web a LOT once accustomed to their enclosure. Pretty mild tempered, usually slow moving unless really spooked.

A. versicolor are so common because of their beauty, there's really nothing to add to that They web, I'd say, medium.

A. purpurea look STUNNING (there are 2 kinds out there, one is referred to as "TF true form" over here which has NO white hairs as adults, while the other one is called "cf. purpurea" or "sp. Ecuador" which has white hairs instead of black ones) - either way, these can be a bit defensive depending on the specimen (one of my 3 slings actually slaps the tongs quite often...) but they are easily raised and good eaters. They do web the most of the those your mentioned, here a web, there a web, it's really nice.

If I'd be you, I'd get 2 of each

 

[ManilaBeans]

I don't think 6 would be practical for me at this point. But with your "2 of each" suggestion I am now considering getting four: 2 of the A.versicolor, and 2 of either the azuraklaasi or the purpurea.

Regarding the purpurea, do you consider either of the forms "stunning"? My supplier can't seem to tell me which variety his purpureas are...