a. avic question

[138]

i have an a. avic i think its male about 3.5-4", anyway he's been acting a bit peculiar lately. he's slower than usual, he seems to have trouble finding his footing sometimes and he isn't webbing anything at all. i caught him this afternoon walking around and fumbling his footing and almost fell from the top of the enclosure....has anyone seen this kind of behavior from a. avics?

 

[jamesc]

Probably just in need of a molt.

 

[138]

should i put him in a smaller enclosure? he's fallen twice from the top of the enclosure since i posted this...

 

[AviculariaLover]

My avic has been having a similar problem for months now, stumbling around like it's drunk or something, spooking at the least little thing. Refused food for a few months, but it's been eating again lately, so I'm not sure what's up. Hopefully just acting funny due to an upcoming molt.

Not sure what to suggest, my lil avic has been hanging around the bottom of its enclosure so I'm not worried about it falling, if you think it'll get hurt you could move it but that might just stress it out even more. I suggest leaving it alone, keeping it away from anything that might "spook" it and cause it to start fumbling around.

 

[mandolin101]

Are you sure your avics have enough humidity? I'm no expert, but it sounds like maybe they're dehydrated. just a thought. Hope your spiders get better.

 

[Inverted]

In my experience with Avicularia they seem to not be able to climb as well before an impending molt and they don't always web. The other thing most Avicularia keepers know is that out of all the species kept in captivity this species seems to have die off that goes without explanation. Most stories are similar about how the spider was eating fine then one day they just found them in a death curl. I had an A. purpurea that molted. About a week later I gave it a cricket. It tackled the cricket with no problem and devoured it within 10 minutes. The very next day if found it dead. It's a sudden death syndrome with Avics. I am hopeful yours just needs to molt but as someone else suggested make sure you are spraying a fine mist of water occasionally to be sure dehydration is not an issue.

 

[cheetah13mo]

should i put him in a smaller enclosure? he's fallen twice from the top of the enclosure since i posted this...

I would not move your avic to a smaller enclosure for two reasons. The first being the fact that they can handle a fall pretty well. Since they are arboreal, their body are lighter and can take the abuse better than a terrestrial. The second being a matter of putting more stress on a T that already seems to be having a little. In her state, right now, I would not want to add to the stress level she has. A move at this point could make things a whole lot worse. Just keep water available to her and keep an eye on her. Sounds like an up and coming molt to me but like everyone has said and I have experienced, Avics can do some strange things that you just can't find an answer for. Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[AviculariaLover]

Yeah when I changed around my avic's enclosure to give more humidity, it perked up quite a bit. Still acting kind of funny, hopefully a molt will come soon.

I thought the weird behavior of mine was just because of an upcoming molt but it's been about 6 months (and its only about 2"), so whatever is going on it's sure taking its time. Hopefully that's all it is for mine and yours. Seems kind of strange in that this isn't a typical 'avic sudden death'... at least with mine, it has been going on for quite a while. Guess we'll have to wait and see.