A. aviculara on the ground??

operationpojo

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So it seems that not long after handling my tarantula (I do not do this often, maybe once every two months so please don't attack me), she has just been staying on the ground? This is very unusual and she's been doing this for a couple of weeks. No death curl and I've been feeding her regularly in case she had come down to look for food. She even sometimes stays under the hollowed out log that just came with the terrarium kit, which I had originally just kept in there as decoration. She's been fairly active, moreso than she was when she stayed up in her web in the corner of her terrarium, but as this is unusual I wanted to see what more experienced handlers had to say about this. I will post pictures I just wanted to post this quickly as I'm kind of tied up at the moment.
 

viper69

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So it seems that not long after handling my tarantula (I do not do this often, maybe once every two months so please don't attack me), she has just been staying on the ground? This is very unusual and she's been doing this for a couple of weeks. No death curl and I've been feeding her regularly in case she had come down to look for food. She even sometimes stays under the hollowed out log that just came with the terrarium kit, which I had originally just kept in there as decoration. She's been fairly active, moreso than she was when she stayed up in her web in the corner of her terrarium, but as this is unusual I wanted to see what more experienced handlers had to say about this. I will post pictures I just wanted to post this quickly as I'm kind of tied up at the moment.
No one can tell you why your T is behaving the way it is, but it's not a good sign for an Avic at all.
 

Thekla

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Could you post pictures of the T and its entire enclosure? What about ventilation? How big is the T, how big the enclosure? We just need more info to help.

Just one recommendation upfront: Don't handle your T... at all.
 

operationpojo

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. I'm just gonna attach some pictures of the enclosure
t2.jpg
 

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Vanisher

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Stop handling them. A bite from a Avicularia is pretty harmless, but i guess they can be stressed when suddenly be taken from their habitat AKA the cage. If a tarantula must be moved for rehousing for ex, it should be "handled" in a secure catchcup
 

Mason79

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I'm by no means an expert as I'm pretty new to the hobby, but maybe try moving the plant and wood closer together for anchor points. I have a c. Versicolor (which I believe are closely related to your avic) and it's gone crazy with webbing since I rehoused it. Completely off topic, but your water dish seems scary deep also. Just a suggestion my friend. Hopefully someone with a little more expertise will chime in
 

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operationpojo

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Could you post pictures of the T and its entire enclosure? What about ventilation? How big is the T, how big the enclosure? We just need more info to help.

Just one recommendation upfront: Don't handle your T... at all.
I know I know I'm a terrible T mother I just wanted to get a couple pictures of her. I uploaded pictures of my enclosure. I got the one they had at petco (yes, i am aware that petco doesn't know s*** about Ts I just didn't think to buy one online beforehand. Is there an enclosure that you would recommend and isn't expensive? I'm kinda broke atm.

I'm by no means an expert as I'm pretty new to the hobby, but maybe try moving the plant and wood closer together for anchor points. I have a c. Versicolor (which I believe are closely related to your avic) and it's gone crazy with webbing since I rehoused it. Completely off topic, but your water dish seems scary deep also. Just a suggestion my friend. Hopefully someone with a little more expertise will chime in
Your enclosure is beautiful! Yes your T webbed that up nicely. Can I ask where you got your enclosure and how much it was? Also do you have any tips on keeping live plants in the enclosure bc I've been wanting to do that to make my T's home as realistic as possible
 

Mason79

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Thanks. You can buy the whole kit from jamies tarantulas for $15 plus shipping. Everything you see in that pic is included. I'm not too sure about live plants. When it goes into its final enclosure, I plan on adding live plants though
 

operationpojo

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So it seems that not long after handling my tarantula (I do not do this often, maybe once every two months so please don't attack me), she has just been staying on the ground? This is very unusual and she's been doing this for a couple of weeks. No death curl and I've been feeding her regularly in case she had come down to look for food. She even sometimes stays under the hollowed out log that just came with the terrarium kit, which I had originally just kept in there as decoration. She's been fairly active, moreso than she was when she stayed up in her web in the corner of her terrarium, but as this is unusual I wanted to see what more experienced handlers had to say about this. I will post pictures I just wanted to post this quickly as I'm kind of tied up at the moment.
Before anyone else replies to this, yes I am going to quit handling my T. The reaction from her was too close to me handling her, so I've been scared out of ever trying to hold her again because I don't want to stress her out. I read somewhere that Ts don't really care about being handled but I now understand this info is false. I am not going to handle her anymore! But my real concern is that many people are talking about ventilation (and yes, I'm going to replace the water dish with something more shallow) and I've never made my own enclosure before so I was hoping you guys would have some tips on either making this current enclosure work or in finding a cheap option that would be better for my A. avic.

Could you post pictures of the T and its entire enclosure? What about ventilation? How big is the T, how big the enclosure? We just need more info to help.

Just one recommendation upfront: Don't handle your T... at all.
I uploaded pics,... pls help
 

Mason79

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How big is your T? My enclosure is 4x4x8 just fyi. My T is only 1 1/4".
 

Poonjab

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Before anyone else replies to this, yes I am going to quit handling my T. The reaction from her was too close to me handling her, so I've been scared out of ever trying to hold her again because I don't want to stress her out. I read somewhere that Ts don't really care about being handled but I now understand this info is false. I am not going to handle her anymore! But my real concern is that many people are talking about ventilation (and yes, I'm going to replace the water dish with something more shallow) and I've never made my own enclosure before so I was hoping you guys would have some tips on either making this current enclosure work or in finding a cheap option that would be better for my A. avic.
awesome. Thank you for acknowledging why we don’t handle T’s. If you want to do dirt cheap until you can do something more aesthetically pleasing, you can use one of the jugs that mixed nuts come in that you get from Costco. Drill holes in the side and top of the container. Avics need lots of ventilation.

here is a random pic I pulled offline. But this will give you an idea of what I’m talking about.
 

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Mason79

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Yeah.... what he said. I forgot to add that I drilled small holes in 2 sides of mine for added ventilation.... it's the one on the right. Not the one with the newborn tyrannosaur rex
 

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Poonjab

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Your enclosure right now will work just fine. Here’s the changes I would make. Replace the mesh top with a drilled piece of acrylic. But make sure it has LOTS of holes for ventilation. Make sure you have a verticals piece of cork bark that goes all the way to the top. The fake foliage should be around the top of the cork bark. This will allow for anchor points to web up off the ground. You can keep the one hide in there as well. Just make sure it’s upright. The enclosure you have now is too open. But there is some more advice if you want to work with what you got. Now you have options. Best of luck.
 

Thekla

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I have to disagree with @Poonjab. Your enclosure might be the reason why your Avic is on the ground which is always a red flag. Avics need excellent ventilation to survive, but with enclosures that only provide ventilation on top like yours there's basically no airflow throughout the enclosure. Consequently, the air inside gets stagnant and your Avic goes downhill.

In this thread you will find some very good guides on Avic husbandry: https://arachnoboards.com/threads/tarantula-information-for-beginners-and-more.318718/

I'd also recommend watching @Tomoran's videos on Avic/Caribena care on YouTube. He also gives some good examples for cheap enclosures.
 
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cold blood

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. I'm just gonna attach some pictures of the enclosure
View attachment 338566
Those bugaruims are avic death traps...zero air movement due to top only ventilation....its not ideally set up either. Also 64 degrees is too cold for an avic.

When you have a lack of airflow, the first thing that often happens with avics is food refusal....then they end up on the ground....then they die....its a pattern thats been repeated over and over unfortunately.

Your water dish is fine....depth is not relevant, ts float....if they can cross a river, they wont die in a deep water dish....its actually easier for them to drink from deeper water than super shallow.

A cheap enclosure, thats also great for the t, are sterilite tubs...they can be ventilated with a drill easily and in any manner. Great set ups dont have to cost much at all....topsoil is under $2 for 40 pounds, driftwood can be collected from freshwster lakeshores or river washouts, and bunches of plants can be had for well under $5 (and you already have much of that).


 
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