Avicularia sling not webbing?

[Bufo Bill]

Hi, I am a long time invert keeper with my first T, an Avicularia minatrix sling. The sling went into a tall well vented tub with coir substrate, twig, fake plant and 1 inch diameter card tube suspended from twig. It's been in there since Tuesday morning, moving about and fed successfully on Wednesday evening. The sling now resides in the tube but the little fellow doesn't seem to be making any web. As it's eaten well I guess it's fine, but other Avic keepers seem to talk about very strong webbing instincts in these genera. I wondered what other keepers made of this, as I know with other delicate inverts that little things like this can be a sign of trouble to come? I suppose as I'm a first time T keeper I'm looking for some reassurance here.
Cheers from Bill.

 

[Tenebrarius]

A photo of the enclosure could help, but nothing sounds wrong here. Often Ts can take a while to acclimate. Take some longer than others, it is kind of variable.

 

[spookyvibes]

twig

Arboreal tarantulas do not need twigs to climb on, they need slabs of bark to use as stable places to perch on and to incorporate into their web tubes. Perhaps your sling hasn’t acclimated yet, or perhaps it doesn’t see anywhere fit to start webbing. A picture of the enclosure would help.

 

[Hoxter]

Give it few more days to feel safe inside of the enclosure. Sounds like there is enough anchor points for the web so don't worry too much. My C. versicolor (it's ex. Avicularia so I guess it applies as well) needed whole week or even a bit longer to start webbing.

For more precise help adding a picture of enclosure would be great.

 

[Bufo Bill]

Thanks guys, I will get a photo of the set up posted. @spookyvibes, thanks for the suggestion, will try to get a little sheet of bark to go in there. @Hoxter, @Tenebrarius thanks for the reassurance. I will update you folks on how things are going, thanks all.
Bill.

 

[cold blood]

A lot of times Avics wont web much until nearing a molt.

 

[Bufo Bill]

Excellent, I don't feel so worried now, but it's all part of the learning process I suppose. Thank you.
Bill .

 

[The Grym Reaper]

They often don't web at all until close to moulting, you should be aiming for something like this in regards to setup.

 

[Bufo Bill]

Hope you can see what you need to in this pic! I have added bark as suggested, you can see the thermostat probe it's top right and food is added through the hole with the Orange rubber bung. There is a pop bottle cap in normally, I got sidetracked by photos while I was cleaning the bowl.

 

[Teal]

You don't need a thermostat probe. Everything else looks pretty good, but you could add more ventilation. The sub is dry, yes?

 

[Tenebrarius]

is that a piece of paper in there??

 

[Thekla]

is that a piece of paper in there??

I believe it is.

1 inch diameter card tube suspended from twig

@Bufo Bill Please take it out. It will mould! Especially when you keep the substrate as damp as you do at the moment. At least, it looks damp. Substrate for an Avic should be mostly dry, just provide a water dish and maybe some droplets on the side for drinking every now and then. Humid enclosures are the no. 1 reason for dead Avics.
Replace the card tube with a nice piece of cork bark that goes all the way from bottom to top.

 

[Tenebrarius]

mate, dont use toilet paper tubes for your Ts homes, get a small piece of cork.

too wet, you surely will kill your T with too much humidity.

 

[Bufo Bill]

Have taken out the card tube (it may not be suitable, but the little 'un did not want to leave, believe it or not). The substrate is slightly damp but does not compact in a lump if you squeeze it between your fingers (it is friable texture like leafmold for the garden). Will it be best to dry it out so that its bone dry?
I read a post on here saying 50 - 60 holes for ventilation, do I need more?
I thought I had done my research, but clearly there is a learning curve for me here. Many thanks for the pointers guys.
Bill.

 

[Thekla]

friable texture like leafmold for the garden

Not really sure what that is.

Will it be best to dry it out so that its bone dry?

Slightly damp is okay if there's good ventilation. And it seems you have enough holes. I can't really see, but I'd add an extra row right above the substrate.
Thing is I can see condensation (or did you mist recently?) on the side, and that's just not a good sign if it's indeed condensation. So, yes, in that case I'd let it dry out a bit.

And don't worry about the learning curve. We all went and are going through it. It's just with an Avic said learning curve has to be a bit steeper.

 

[Bufo Bill]

Okay will add more holes near the substrate. The greedy pig is eating a tiny roach now so I'll do it first thing tomorrow. I was spraying the wall of the tub as I had seen the Avicularia drink from the drops when I spilled the water dish down the side of the tub on day 1.
I see now why some people don't like spraying their Avicularias so I'll stick to the water bowl now .
Many thanks

Update: put in an extra 24 holes around the level of the substrate, and I've stopped misting - I just have a pop bottle lid for water now. Thanks to all of you for your help.
Cheers from Bill

 

[cold blood]

For the record, slight misting is just fine for offering drinking opportunities...just dont do it a lot and dont do it as part of your husbandry.

 

[Teal]

Yall... there is nothing wrong with cardboard tubes for Ts. And it sounds like the sling was comfy in there, so good job making him think he had to take it out They don't mold even in extremely moist conditions.. they just decompose (I know, because I have some in with roaches and centipedes). And even if they did mold... mold is not a problem.