A. avics with 20% humidity

[Kathy]

I have three avics and am actually surprised they are growing and webbing and doing so well since I cannot get the humidity up. My house stays about 20%. I do mist their enclosures pretty good once a day. Do you think they just end up adapting to the drier conditions?

 

[BrettG]

How large are they Kathy? As they get larger,their humidity needs drop.I have my BIG avic's(over 7 inches) in vertical 10 gallons,with half the lid restricted,and it keeps MAYBE %65 after a good soaking,then settles around %50.The humidity in our apt is right around 29-%30,mostly due to a 60 gallon turtle setup.I'm a big fan of the "keep- em- mostly- dry- with- a- big- waterdish" theory,since it's working well for us.The spiders have thrived and successfully bred in these conditions.

 

[BCscorp]

Maybe they are drinking daily since you mist daily.
That's the point of misting/water dishes, so they are hydrated regardless of ambient humidity.

 

[BrettG]

Exactly,since misting only spikes humidity for short periods.

 

[crawltech]

I keep all may avics bone dry/ wit a good size water dish, and the odd mist, nothin major...they seem to do jus fine......jus pulled a versi sac, and they are all 1st instar...sub was kept bone dry, but 2 water dishes were always full of fresh water!

 

[gmrpnk21]

I keep all may avics bone dry/ wit a good size water dish, and the odd mist, nothin major...they seem to do jus fine......jus pulled a versi sac, and they are all 1st instar...sub was kept bone dry, but 2 water dishes were always full of fresh water!

Ditto. Just keep a full water dish at the bottom and I don't worry about the substrate.

 

[Projecht13]

Sub adults to adults do pretty well in any humidity as long as they have fresh water daily, however it's the slings you need to worry about, low humidity is the kiss of death in avic slings (1st instar till sub adult hood).

 

[Introvertebrate]

Pikaia (Author of The Tarantula Keeper's Guide) feels that Ts having better coping skills than we give them credit for.

 

[syndicate]

I have three avics and am actually surprised they are growing and webbing and doing so well since I cannot get the humidity up. My house stays about 20%. I do mist their enclosures pretty good once a day. Do you think they just end up adapting to the drier conditions?

Once a day misting seems excessive to me..I mist and water all my tanks once a week here and have no problems with it!You don't want to have your tank completely soaked 24/7 but instead give it time to dry out a lil bit in between.This will prevent mold from growing and also help you avoid mites.
Also if your house is 20% humidity that is not the same as the humidity inside your cage!
-Chris

 

[Kathy]

Thank you for the replies. Yes, they always have a full water bowl. The substrate is not very wet either and I do have those little white things that I can't think of the name of....that eat mold and leftovers. Dang...what are they called? I guess they must like it since they are getting pretty big, I'd say 2.5-3" now. I've had them since they were teeny tiny slings. Maybe I should cut back on the misting, but like you said it only ups the humidity for a little bit.