Avicularia Husbandry?

[Abyss]

I'm not an activist either, but I digress. We all keep our spiders differently.

Agreed fully, and as i mentioned, i only feed a mouse to the largest of soecies and even then, only on the rarest of occasions. The thrill of the hunt overtakes my fear of a defense bite on rare occasions

 

[Mauri]

Agreed fully, and as i mentioned, i only feed a mouse to the largest of soecies and even then, only on the rarest of occasions. The thrill of the hunt overtakes my fear of a defense bite on rare occasions

Dont some T owners use "pinkies" (baby rats/mice)? That surely would be safer. But cant see myself ever doing this...(as I probably wont ever own a T blondie etc, depends on how much a sling is and also it's a T am not that keen on to be honest.) but if they eat them in the wild I see no reason at all not to try it....

I do believe in doing your utmost to give your T the best possible housing n varied life etc. People say "your T doesnt care" etc that might be true but it's not how I am going to pursue the hobby.

p.s never seen a vid of the largest arboreals fed a small rodent. Would def like to see one of perhaps them eating a large moth. In fact if anyone knows of any documentaries of Tarantulas esp Avics am all ears!

 

[Sana]

There isn't anything wrong with feeding mice to tarantulas, it's just a gross experience from what I've heard. Apparently they scream a lot cause it takes them a while to die and I've heard that they start to smell really bad and decompose before the tarantula finishes eating them. Not something I'm ever going to test out personally.

 

[Mauri]

There isn't anything wrong with feeding mice to tarantulas, it's just a gross experience from what I've heard. Apparently they scream a lot cause it takes them a while to die and I've heard that they start to smell really bad and decompose before the tarantula finishes eating them. Not something I'm ever going to test out personally.

I'd say that depends a bit on the size of the T, size of the rodent and how hungry the T is no? But I agree doesnt sound like a pleasant experience. Certainly am not looking forward to those big roaches either..

 

[Sana]

I'd say that depends a bit on the size of the T, size of the rodent and how hungry the T is no? But I agree doesnt sound like a pleasant experience. Certainly am not looking forward to those big roaches either..

To my knowledge you are correct. I don't think that there has been any study as to whether tarantulas fed mammals periodically are healthier then tarantulas that don't or vice versa though, so I'm not jumping up and down to try it out.

 

[Abyss]

Dont some T owners use "pinkies" (baby rats/mice)? That surely would be safer. But cant see myself ever doing this...(as I probably wont ever own a T blondie etc, depends on how much a sling is and also it's a T am not that keen on to be honest.) but if they eat them in the wild I see no reason at all not to try it....

I do believe in doing your utmost to give your T the best possible housing n varied life etc. People say "your T doesnt care" etc that might be true but it's not how I am going to pursue the hobby.

p.s never seen a vid of the largest arboreals fed a small rodent. Would def like to see one of perhaps them eating a large moth. In fact if anyone knows of any documentaries of Tarantulas esp Avics am all ears!

Pinkies are definatly a once a year treat for my T's that are large enough. I am a fan of varying diet occasionally. As for full grown mice, i have done it but can count on one hand how many times and it was only for my full grown T. blondi female (she was huge, last molt i measured was over 10") and she loved her mice, she was brutal with them and it was the only time she seemed excited about feedings. Generally she would just wait for prey to be too near her hide but on those rare occasions i offered a mouse she came out fully and activly hubted it down. Was amazing to watch!!!!

 

[Mauri]

Pinkies are definatly a once a year treat for my T's that are large enough. I am a fan of varying diet occasionally. As for full grown mice, i have done it but can count on one hand how many times and it was only for my full grown T. blondi female (she was huge, last molt i measured was over 10") and she loved her mice, she was brutal with them and it was the only time she seemed excited about feedings. Generally she would just wait for prey to be too near her hide but on those rare occasions i offered a mouse she came out fully and activly hubted it down. Was amazing to watch!!!!

Yikes that's one huuuge T! Well done!!!

 

[darkness975]

Generally she would just wait for prey to be too near her hide but on those rare occasions i offered a mouse she came out fully and activly hubted it down. Was amazing to watch!!!!

That could possibly be the result of the heavier vibrations of the mouse VS smaller prey. It could have triggered a more excited response from the spider.

 

[Abyss]

That could possibly be the result of the heavier vibrations of the mouse VS smaller prey. It could have triggered a more excited response from the spider.

Thats what i always figured. She dang near wouod show off with it after shed caught/killed it. She'd parade around the enclosure before retreating to eat

 

[Abyss]

Yikes that's one huuuge T! Well done!!!

She was a monster. Not as big or long as some T. blondie's i have seen at shows and online but she was a brute for sure. Great T

 

[Venom1080]

Dont you fear pesticides/chemichals?????

We spray for mosquitos in Georgia so i would be so afraid that any wild caught insect from my deck would be "contaminated"

i used to only feed wild caught prey items a few years ago. caught crickets, grasshoppers, frogs/toads, moths, worms and whatnot in the backyard and gave them to my rosie and scorpion. then new neighbors moved in and immediately soaked their 3 acres with all sorts of pesticides. so i dont do wild caught prey items anymore. that was four years ago though and i use moths here and there nowadays.

 

[ao4649]

i've actually heard feeding your t's vertibrates can cause 'wet molts'? ive never had one big enough to try it, mind you.

speaking of, has anyone around here raised an a. laeta? the slings are so eye-catching.

 

[Ungoliant]

I keep the water bowl on the sub floor, they will come down to drink and they will come down to hunt as well. I just put in crickets on the sub floor and watch the hunting.

Some people keep water dishes up top via hot glue. I noticed no benefit when I did that. It's personal preference.

This is just anecdotal, but I did notice a benefit in one case.

I have an elderly female Avicularia avicularia (now 10 years old if the previous owner was right about her age). I had always kept her water dish on the ground, and I had seen her drink from it on a few occasions.

Last year, she went into an exceptionally long pre-molt fast (13 months!). Toward the end of this period, I honestly thought she was dying of old age, because she was skinny and lethargic. I realized she wasn't going down to her water dish, so when I saw her perched on the top of her cork log, I held the water dish up to her level, and she drank for a good five minutes until I could no longer hold that position.

Thinking it might make her more comfortable, I added a high-level water dish (like the one my juvenile Avic has) so that she could reach it more easily, and I saw her drink from that as well. She finally molted a week later.

She definitely prefers the high dish to the low dish. In the year-and-a-half since she has had both water dishes, I have seen her drink from the high dish several times but never from the low dish. (She just likes to poop in it.)

 

[viper69]

This is just anecdotal, but I did notice a benefit in one case.

I have an elderly female Avicularia avicularia (now 10 years old if the previous owner was right about her age). I had always kept her water dish on the ground, and I had seen her drink from it on a few occasions.

Last year, she went into an exceptionally long pre-molt fast (13 months!). Toward the end of this period, I honestly thought she was dying of old age, because she was skinny and lethargic. I realized she wasn't going down to her water dish, so when I saw her perched on the top of her cork log, I held the water dish up to her level, and she drank for a good five minutes until I could no longer hold that position.

Thinking it might make her more comfortable, I added a high-level water dish (like the one my juvenile Avic has) so that she could reach it more easily, and I saw her drink from that as well. She finally molted a week later.

She definitely prefers the high dish to the low dish. In the year-and-a-half since she has had both water dishes, I have seen her drink from the high dish several times but never from the low dish. (She just likes to poop in it.)

Elderly indeed based on what we know of them. Nice! I think she's just trained you quite well

There's nothing wrong with a high level water bowl. Some new owners think they need bowls in both spots, bottom and top, not necessary.

The issue of Avics isn't so much placement of bowl, but whether they will use it or not, particularly post-molt. As I've mentioned before in different places, some seem to "forget" they have a bowl. Post-molt some just won't go down to get water and over time will continue to lose mass. As that happens some will refuse food until they have water. I always keep a syringe handy for those life cycle moments. Adding droplets or making small pools of water in their canopy.

That's partly why I like your soapdish find, it holds a lot of water and provides easy entry for the T.

 

[Daren whitehead]

Welcome to the forum and the world of Avics. It's nice to see someone has finally decided to do research in ADVANCE of their purchase, so their next post isn't "HELP MY DEAD AVIC".

Many of us, myself included, are Avic enthusiasts.

I STRONGLY suggest you pour through all the Avic posts on this forum, including the vivarium forum.

They aren't too hard to keep BUT when they are 1" and smaller are a bit more delicate in the sense they have a narrow range of husbandry requirements that keep them alive.

First off, DO NOT read any care sheets, they will impress upon you the need for high humidity- this is NOT true. Moist, stuffy containers with poor ventilation will kill your Avic.

You are best off setting up a tall container for your arboreal Ts, such as a 16 oz deli cup if they are quite small. If they are a larger slings, say an inch or a bit more go with a 32 oz deli cup. Definitely put substrate in the bottom, not too much, perhaps about an inch is my preference (there's no scientific amount to add). Substrate varies, I use coco fiber, others use top soil and others use a mixture of other sub types such as sphagnum moss/peat/vermiculite etc. Some people use deli cups or inverted AMAC boxes (google those). I use both.

Here's an example of inverted AMAC boxes http://arachnoboards.com/threads/amac-style-box-enclosures.282537/ scroll down to arboreal.

There is no need to mist your T, it's not a plant. There is no scientific data supporting the idea that increased humidity helps in molting either.

For ventilation (there's no science as to what is "enough holes" for proper ventilation) in deli cups I put a few holes up at the top in case the T makes a canopy and molts up top and needs water (I add water in with a blunt tip syringe if needed), and I put small holes around the top and vertically I make holes down the deli cup, usually 8 vertical lines of holes around the perimeter of the deli cup. I do similar routine for inverted AMAC boxes.

I keep my sub dry, primarily because it's easier AND it reduced the attraction of mites. I always clean the boli (spherical cricket remains) out off the substrate to minimize mold formation as they will grow mold.

I provide them a cork bark slab put at an angle from sub floor to top of the container, like a 45 degree, just lean it against the wall, no need to hot glue it. I would also strongly suggest you provide additional anchor points with moss hot glued to the slab OR even better some plastic plants. I use ones from ZooMed. I never use silk plants as they may have dyes.

Also, the plants are important because this genus likes to have cover. They don't like to be out in the open. If you don't provide cover you will observe your T typically with its legs pulled in, and very rarely move.

ALWAYS provide them a water bowl. They will not drown so don't worry about that. As slings they are pretty sensitive to hydration levels, ie not enough food or water to keep their abdomen plump and they will die.

This is the style water bowl I make: http://www.tarantulasus.com/showthread.php/4353-A-tip-for-a-Tip-resistant-water-dish

I keep the water bowl on the sub floor, they will come down to drink and they will come down to hunt as well. I just put in crickets on the sub floor and watch the hunting.

Some people keep water dishes up top via hot glue. I noticed no benefit when I did that. It's personal preference.

For temps I typically keep them at 68F night/70-75F day. No particular photoperiod, just sun up/sun down.

Feeding: I feed slings as often as they will eat, because their only job in the wild is to evade predators, and eat to get large enough to defend themselves. Too many people put their slings on Nazi Feeding Programs, ie giving their T 1-2 crickets a week. I don't believe in that. I'd find it hard to believe they only eat 1-2x/week in the wild, but there's no data to support my thoughts on this to my knowledge.

When they are hungry, you will often observe them pointing downward head first towards the sub floor, legs spread out a bit, not retracted to their 2 body segments.

They are nocturnal, but if an Avic is really hungry they will eat at anytime, day/night.

A. metallica is probably the best in my opinion, quite docile which makes for easier rehousing as they grow larger. However, don't be fooled by their typically docile temperament, they are faster than a human when they need to be.

Lastly, do your T a HUGE favor and don't handle it. It derives no value from being handled. It's not capable of forming any bonds with you.

Avics will take a flying leap off your hand at any moment they choose, even from heights that will kill/injure them because in the wild they expect there to be branches etc to land on. They don't expect a free fall drop onto your carpet or floor etc.

Hey there i know this is old but i just got a pink toe are you saying do not mist them or the tank at all and if not do i do anything else to add moisture or the natural moisture is fine thanks so much.

 

[boina]

Yes, as it says in the post you cited: Don't mist, don't do anything else, just use a large water bowl and you are set

 

[Daren whitehead]

Yes, as it says in the post you cited: Don't mist, don't do anything else, just use a large water bowl and you are set

Thank you so much you might have saved my babys life ive been so misinformed i have been misting both tje tank and her :/ thanks so much again

 

[Hellblazer]

Thank you so much you might have saved my babys life ive been so misinformed i have been misting both tje tank and her :/ thanks so much again

Pet store advice is generally pretty awful if that's where you heard to mist them. I'm glad you found out before it was too late.

 

[Daren whitehead]

Pet store advice is generally pretty awful if that's where you heard to mist them. I'm glad you found out before it was too late.

Ya im glad i found out to thanks and actually no i found out from other tarantula owners ironically:/

 

[Andrea82]

Just a message for people who were referred to this thread, Avicularia species are revised, and some changed genera. Info on that here:
http://arachnoboards.com/threads/avicularia-revision-published.291589/