To cold?

[Tdcandama96]

I keep all my T's at around 70 but it does drop to 68 or so sometimes and I don't have any problems with them. I also keep them bone dry with small water bowls that I fill only sometimes. It is possible that your T might be trying to molt. Not being on it's back isn't the best indicator. You may have caught it before it flipped over. Other options could be some sort of illness or parasite. Other than that, it might just feel like being lethargic. I'd keep a close eye on it but don't bother it. Just wait and see what happens. Even if something is wrong, there isn't much you can do about it. The best thing in 99 cases out of 100 that a T owner can do is leave it be. I wish there was some kind of guide book that spelled out exactly how to fix any problem that can occur with T's but until that book comes along most things are best guess scenarios. Good luck with it and I hope everything turns out fine.

Do they always refuse food before molt? She ate 2 crickets yesterday.
And do they have to be on their back to molt. /:

 

[BobBarley]

How long has it been in the enclosure? I seriously doubt temps are a problem. My t's go down to 67-68 every night in winter (now) and up to 72-73 during the day in winter. Put in a larger water dish is what I'd do if it has been in the enclosure for a long time. If it has recently been rehoused, I'd bet it's just settling in. Keep in mind, these lower temps will cause them to move much slower and just do pretty much everything much slower.

 

[Tdcandama96]

How long has it been in the enclosure? I seriously doubt temps are a problem. My t's go down to 67-68 every night in winter (now) and up to 72-73 during the day in winter. Put in a larger water dish is what I'd do if it has been in the enclosure for a long time. If it has recently been rehoused, I'd bet it's just settling in. Keep in mind, these lower temps will cause them to move much slower and just do pretty much everything much slower.

Just since yesterday so that gives me hope

 

[Python]

They don't "always" do anything. I've read about (never seen it in person) T's molting upright and I've had T's that ate right up till molt, or at least killed the prey. There is typical behavior but there is no always. T's are unpredictable at best. There are some behaviors that one can offer a best guess on and likely be right but there is always an exception to the rule. Like I said, the best thing that you can do is sit back, observe and allow it to do what it's going to do without interference. I wouldn't wet the substrate though. Just so long as water is available, it should be fine.

 

[BobBarley]

Just since yesterday so that gives me hope

Yeah, nothing to worry about. Probably just getting used to its environment. However, I'd probably still add a larger water dish, but that's personal preference.

 

[14pokies]

Went and checked on my darling A. Avic. Earlier she was soaking in her water dish ( for about 5 hours ) but when I looked in on her she was curled up on the sub, but not on her back like for molting. I poked her slightly with the tweezers and she lethargically threw a leg up, i poked her again and it took her about 3 minutes to climb up onto the side of the enclosure (she was laying next to it) Is it possible she's to cold or just sleeping? my house is 69 F but it feels chilly in my room.
she was curled up right beside the dish
View attachment 228640 View attachment 228641

First off "it was soaking for 5 hours" what? Did I read that wrong? I'm kind of surprised that none of the people that have responded didn't touch on that ...

Just yesterday I took in a small king baboon and she was 3/4 dead from dehydration( she was in a full curl and her abdomen looked like a raisin) She drank for a very long time.. About 15 mins ... ( she's doing great now BTW and ate two crickets this eveneing ) you may of wanted to make a post about an hour and a half in asking why your Avic is living in it's water dish ... The sooner you ask a question when you notice that your avic is acting "off" the better are it's odds of surviving..

Now that that is out of the way...

That enclosure is massive for an Avic that size and Its also pretty barren.. In nature this Genus lives primarily under bark or at the base of palm fronds.. (The spot where the stock meets the tree). If you don't provide snug secure spots it will take your avic forever to spin a web.. I would rehouse it into a 1 gallon container like this https://m.uline.com/h5/r/www.uline....gclid=CJ-1pZWFstECFQwRgQodriMPYA&gclsrc=aw.ds or something similar.. With an inch of sub a water dish and slab of cork bark and maybe a small broad leaf fake plant for cover and anchor points for webbing. Don't forget to add 3-4 rows of small holes around sides of the container for good ventilation.

If I had to guess there are two things going on.

First is that Your temps are too low..Right now in Guyana it's 74 degrees.. These are south american tropical species prone to going downhill fast once the ball is rolling.. While most Ts can tolerate wide ranges of temperatures Avics aren't the ones to test the limits with..

Second..If I had to guess your Avic is wild caught like two of my Guyana locals. Was it bought at some chain petstore like petco or something similar? Or a mom and pop that barely dabbles in tarantulas? If so chances are its going to molt soon.. I have one that molted into a MM 3 weeks ago and my female that molted 2 days ago.. Some may disagree but I believe that in nature some species tend to molt around the same time do to inpart a change of season. It just so happens that Guyana is going through its first rainy season it usually starts around December and last 2-3 months. What I think is happening is it is looking for a moist snug secure spot to pop off its exo and the water dish was the closest thing it could find because it hasn't had the time or appropriate conditions to spin a web.

The other thing could be that with the temps so low it went in for a drink and didn't have the energy for lack of a better word or the cognitive ability maybe to pull itself out. It's been documented that Ts react and are more agile at "higher temps" by that I mean optimal.. Please don't raise your temps up to 90 thinking you will "fix" your tarantula..

Good luck I hope you can make some changes in the knick of time..

 

[14pokies]

Do they always refuse food before molt? She ate 2 crickets yesterday.
And do they have to be on their back to molt. /:

No my female ate three days before her molt 2 days ago.. Granted that is unusual for her and IME most Avics even slings.. My MM didn't eat for 3 months before this last molt.. But I recently had an adult female versicolor molt one day after feeding.. Alot depends on the T.. With Theraphosids there are no set rules.. Only generalities..

 

[Andrea82]

Maybe the ventilation is off because it's enclosure is in another enclosure? You had it in that big enclosure but rehoused it to a smaller one, but put it in the large enclosure for warmth right? This could mean there isn't enough fresh direct ventilation, which is essential for this species.

 

[viper69]

Went and checked on my darling A. Avic. Earlier she was soaking in her water dish ( for about 5 hours ) but when I looked in on her she was curled up on the sub, but not on her back like for molting. I poked her slightly with the tweezers and she lethargically threw a leg up, i poked her again and it took her about 3 minutes to climb up onto the side of the enclosure (she was laying next to it) Is it possible she's to cold or just sleeping? my house is 69 F but it feels chilly in my room.
she was curled up right beside the dish
View attachment 228640 View attachment 228641

What you describe doesn't sound optimistic, but I never bet against mother nature

Soaking in the dish- never seen this on my end- I put this in the bad column. We usually think this indicates the T is dehydrated. How's the abdominal size? Mind you a T will drink even with a FAT FAT abdomen.

Lethargic- also in the bad column.

Certainly not sleeping. We don't know if they sleep like we do, I doubt it myself. However, I have no doubt they go into some state of 'rest'. I've seen many of my Ts appear to what can only be described as "surprised" at times. It's a very obvious look, and some other owners have experienced observing this as well.

If you are chilly, it most certainly is. I don't keep my Ts at 69 for any length of time. At most, 68-70F night/ 73-78F day temps. They aren't subjected to 12 hours of low temps either on my end. I've seen my Ts during moving situations (house to house) get cold due to such temps, and they just become pretty "lifeless", it's pretty obvious looking to me since they have been in my care their whole lives.

You should increase its temps to a constant 75 asap in my opinion. Let me read the other posts here.


General increase of heating locally is best done by a space heater. Ask Cold Blood on this, he's an expert on heating as are some others here.

Also, as Python correctly wrote, being curled up is not necessarily a sign of dehydration there are other things that may cause a death curl.

I will say generally speaking when I see an Avic in a death curl or starting to curl, I rarely see them make it out, provided that basic dehydration was not the issue.

Keep us posted!! I'm sorry to read this.

 

[viper69]

Be careful with light bulb heat sources as they can dry the T out pretty quick. With the winter heat going Ts can get pretty dry.

VERY true, my AF B emilian and pulchripes have been drinking up a storm lately.

 

[Tdcandama96]

What you describe doesn't sound optimistic, but I never bet against mot
her nature

Soaking in the dish- never seen this- I put this in the bad column.

Lethargic- also in the bad column.

Certainly not sleeping. We don't know if they sleep like we do, I doubt it myself. However, I have no doubt they go into some state of 'rest'. I've seen many of my Ts appear to what can only be described as "surprised" at times. It's a very obvious look, and some other owners have experienced observing this as well.

If you are chilly, it most certainly is. I don't keep my Ts at 69 for any length of time. At most, 68-70F night/ 73-78F day temps. They aren't subjected to 12 hours of low temps either on my end. I've seen my Ts during moving situations (house to house) get cold due to such temps, and they just become pretty "lifeless", it's pretty obvious looking to me since they have been in my care their whole lives.

You should increase its temps to a constant 75 asap in my opinion. Let me read the other posts here.

i put her back on 80. I made sure it was a gradual increase though, not just like throwing her in a preheated oven

her abdomen isn't shriveled up at all.

 

[Tdcandama96]

Update: she keeps stretching out one leg at a time and then curling it back up, in a clockwise rotation. It takes her about 3 minutes to stretch it out and pull it back in. Then when it's back in she stops for about 5 minutes before stretching the next one.

 

[Venom1080]

what do you need clarifying on? @johnny quango

 

[Python]

Sorry, I just noticed that this is a sling. Disregard this post lol

 

[johnny quango]

what do you need clarifying on? @johnny quango

Nothing man I must have caught it while scrolling on my phone

 

[Andrea82]

Update: she keeps stretching out one leg at a time and then curling it back up, in a clockwise rotation. It takes her about 3 minutes to stretch it out and pull it back in. Then when it's back in she stops for about 5 minutes before stretching the next one.

She could be grooming herself. Is she putting each leg to her mouthparts before she puts it back on the ground?

 

[Tdcandama96]

No. She stretches them out, above her 'head' as high as they will go and slowly pulls them back In

 

[viper69]

Update: she keeps stretching out one leg at a time and then curling it back up, in a clockwise rotation. It takes her about 3 minutes to stretch it out and pull it back in. Then when it's back in she stops for about 5 minutes before stretching the next one.

A video would be interesting. The abdomen does look a bit small from that 1 drinking pic. Pretty T.

 

[Tdcandama96]

A video would be interesting. The abdomen does look a bit small from that 1 drinking pic. Pretty T.

Nevermind, she's gone..

 

[dopamine]

Sorry to hear. Avics are definitely on the fragile side.