A. Versicolor Sling Questions

[whitelilylight]

Hello, my beautiful tarantula people!

I just received my very first arboreal sling 3 days ago. Was very active and the usual as I expected. I had my already prepared, home-made enclosure for her/him and on the first day, downed a baby cricket with no problem! Afterwards, another day later, I decided to offer another cricket just to see if he/she will eat another one and never failed to accept the cricket(done for the week of feeding: pretty fat 3/4" sling).

Now, then. The real question. I'm more worried about his/her enclosure that I built for him/her. And I worry if there's too little ventilation. However, I don't see any fogging up. The enclosure is a glass jar of 3 inches diameter wide and 5 inches wide minus 2 inches high with coconut fiber. Hasn't been active since. No stress posture except for yesterday when I try to move the enclosure to a nice heat source (Pretty hot in California: Temperature most of the times is 85-100 degrees).

What do you recommend me for a beginner arboreal sling handler? Here are my pictures. Thank You!

 

[Trenor]

I imagine you could pour a lot of water into that enclosure and not see condensation building up. It'll all vent out the top.

I'm not a big fan of glass jars for enclosures. You can't easily poke holes in them so your only option is venting the top. This doesn't give you a good way to regulate air flow and humidity. I would not recommend this enclosure for an Avic for this reason. In all honesty there are a lot better enclosures available.

I would go with a clear 32oz deli cup. It has the same amount of space as the glass jar and is easier to modify. You can add ventilation to the side which keeps the enclosure from drying out too fast.

Here is an arboreal enclosure setup as an example.

 

[Venom1080]

T dont like being handled. they are not a very good handling pet. that cage looks ok, but stop pouring water into the sub and add a small water dish. (water bottle cap) slings cant drown because their hairs repulse water. it might be going into premolt, or its possible the prey items too big. it should be about the size of the spider preferably a bit smaller.

 

[viper69]

However, I don't see any fogging up.

You don't need to see condensation in order for the air inside a container to be stagnant. Stagnant/moist air, due to not enough air flow/exchange kills Avis, even adults. You need a new container. I've been raising Avics for a while, for new people like yourself, I recommend 32 oz deli cups for a lot of reasons. That Jar is nothing but a Pink Toe Death Trap.

Here's an Avic post I wrote for anyone new to Avics http://arachnoboards.com/threads/avicularia-husbandry.282549/#post-2461399

when I try to move the enclosure to a nice heat source

There's no need to heat up your T with any additional heat, especially in a glass jar. I keep all my Avics at 70-75 day/68-70 night temps, 24/7. The basic rule of thumb for Ts is "if you are warm enough, so are they".

 

[viper69]

What do you recommend me for a beginner arboreal sling handler

I do not recommend handling Avics at all if you want it to safely reach maturity. In case you didn't know, this genus of T is a known jumper. Aside from their color, that is what Avics are famous for.

Remember, your T doesn't know it's not in the wild. If it's out on your hand, a desk etc, they will indeed jump and fall to their death if the fall is high enough. They aren't expecting to drop 4-5 ft into midair and not come into contact with branches etc to catch their fall. I had a juvi Avic do just that during cleaning. I opened the container, and T was a bit uncomfortable, it jumped onto my hand, and then promptly jumped off my hand and fell about 4-5 ft straight down. It survived, no injury. I was lucky, most people aren't.

 

[Venom1080]

i have to be very careful when doing maintenance with my Avic slings. ive had both jump off their containers 4 feet up and land on the carpet. they both survived and are fine. Avicularia seem to be very jumpy when uncomfortable or stressed, this alone makes them a terrible spider for handling.

 

[viper69]

i have to be very careful when doing maintenance with my Avic slings. ive had both jump off their containers 4 feet up and land on the carpet. they both survived and are fine. Avicularia seem to be very jumpy when uncomfortable or stressed, this alone makes them a terrible spider for handling.

The only Avic I've owned that is more jumpy than versicolor is purpurea. The purpurea I have is always ready to jump, that's its first response.

 

[Venom1080]

The only Avic I've owned that is more jumpy than versicolor is purpurea. The purpurea I have is always ready to jump, that's its first response.

haha thats what i have, a A purpurea and A versi sling. both about 3/4". the purpureas nuts.

 

[whitelilylight]

Cool Guys! That's what I thought! Thanks for the information! I built several more containers that are all acrylics and plastic containers!

 

[viper69]

haha thats what i have, a A purpurea and A versi sling. both about 3/4". the purpureas nuts.

I don't trust mine at all haha. Though at least it typically gives me a warning that it's going to jump. You have to look for for the front legs raising up and down. I can't describe it honestly. The few times I was doing husbandry and it hopped on my arm, the legs went up and it was ready to leap.