Avicularia Versicolor Martinique Pinktoe

[da_illest]

Quote:

My first one lived 1½ years and then for some reason unknown to me, just stopped eating and died. Darrin Vernier calls this "Avicularia wasting disease" and appears to have no known cause to owners.


Do you know if R.I.E.S.M. has checked this out?


Quote: they SHOOT DOODOO at you! like a water gun! it's pretty funny actually


I thought this was a bit of a joke when I first saw it. Then I got my Avic. Yep they do it. Crazy.

that's sad eh? especially for such a nice t.. i think people should do some extensive testing on this matter.. maybe it's the vermiculite? maybe there's something we're doing wrong by assuming that they're native habitat is really humid and so we keep it like that, who knows.. maybe the survivors survived because the are that hardy that most can take it or just luck.. i'd like to know the deal with that.. i treat mine like a priceless air loom and try not to even breathe on it for fear of it dying..

 

[cricket54]

A. versicolors

Hi Sansoucie, I have a 1/2" versicolor that is a pretty darkblue, blue green color that I got as a sling. Its a freebie from "Swifts" and is the cutest thing. It just molted and is a little bit bigger then that now. Its eats small crickets. Can even catch them as I drop them in. I keep it in a pill bottle and mist the web & substrate a little every couple days when it looks like its dried out in there. I have lots of holes in the top and the sides all around so there is a lot of ventilation and things dry out often. It has molted safely and eats well so, so far I've been doing something right. It is very calm. Sometimes it crawls out of the vial onto my hand, but I haven't had trouble getting it to crawl back. Mostly it just waits to see what I'm doing. I haven't had any others then this one so I don't know how they are when they are grown.

Sharon

 

[kellygirl]

I currently have a few different sizes of A. versicolor and they are beautiful at every stage! I'd suggest you start with at least a 1" since this will be (I think) your first spiderling. You will be very pleased with the way their appearance changes as they grow up. They are very fast as spiderlings so watch out! Mine will do circles around their enclosures if they are even slightly disturbed.

Edit: If you click on the link in my signature, you can see a few pics of some my adult versicolors.

-Kelly

 

[Immortal_sin]

yes, I have quite a few of all different sizes. I mated a female last year and got a big eggsac. They are prolific webbers, very good eaters, and easy to maintain given the proper ventilation. The color changes they go through are amazing as well. I hope that information was helpful.

 

[sansoucie]

I'm shocked... they shoot poop? Quess it's a fear thing?? I have never had a spiderling and have been afraid to try raising one just yet. I have these bigger specimens and I am watching and learning. I really like the webbing nature of some of these spiders. Like the Usambara I just got, it is webbing pretty differently than the book described. It's making these thick bedmats and webbing "tents" in the corners. I chang all critter cages twice a week and when I tear it down I leave the old web in there on the ground. It will move it to it's bedmat area. Pretty interesting behavior. As I get more familiar with t's I would really like one of these, but the poop shooting thing goes in the "con" column for this one!

So I assume height is more important than floorspace for this species?

 

[Immortal_sin]

yes, it's a defensive thing. Not really a big deal, as T poop isn't really all that gross. Except when you are giving a lecture to a classroom of 6th graders, and the versi you are holding shoots poop more than 3', to land on the shoulder of one of the students
All the kids (except the one that got shot) thought it was hilarious

I'm also curious as to why you tear the webbing down twice a week?
Some of my avics etc have been in the same cage for 2 years, and the only thing I've done for maintenence is to wash the poop off the sides every 6 months or so, and pick up any boluses that happen to be lying on the substrate.

 

[DnKslr]

Hey Diane, may I ask how you were able to get such a nice coloured Versi? Mines is a more overall blue-green and doesn't really have any iridescent speckles...

I put glitter in the cricket feed LOL!

Just lucky I guess. They are both very dark blue. I was hoping to get one that was a lighter blue but that's ok. I had my larger one come out of the web yesterday to show the couple(they traded me a chameleon cage) what a versicolor looked like. They had never heard of them. As soon as they saw how blue and beautiful it was they were asking tons of questions! I gave them a list of websites with info on versicolors and they went straight to the pet store and bought one. They even had me email them instructions on how to set up the little housing for it.

Melissa, those are beanie baby display cases from the craft store. I just turn them upside down and melt holes around the bottom and top. This way when I open the bottom, they won't try to escape since they will run up.

 

[ithuriel]

i have one , very pretty but loves to projectile poop builds a friggin web where i dont want it to though

 

[MizM]

Yes. Just going by this thread: http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=7038, it looks like some 42 of the regular posters have them.

Code Monkey. Fact Master. Fighter of Fluff. His talents are never ending!!

 

[sunnymarcie]

Does anyone have one of these?

The BIG question

I do

Just recieved it a month ago. A tiny little thing at about a half inch.
Currently in a suitable vial with a bit of peat at the bottom to hold moisture.
Has its web home near the top like most other arboreals do. Lots of ventilation as was mentioned above. No obvious eating issues at the moment.
But same as most others each T is totally different when it comes to food.


As for the PEOPLE here Most of us are quite harmless.
Hang around it could be fun And who knows you may even make a few friends. I sure did :}

 

[Immortal_sin]

.
Hang around it could be fun And who knows you may even make a few friends. I sure did :}

you did a bit more than that, girlie

 

[ArachnoDaughter]

Does anyone have one of these?

Yes I have 3. One juv and two full grown.They are really pretty spiders. Just depends on the lighting. My favorite species. They do shoot poop alot. And they need alot of humidity.

 

[sansoucie]

Change twice a week... I have several critters and just am in the habit of changing everything monday and Thursday. Should I not do this with these tarantulas? I scrub cages and all that on those days. Some of my specimens are kinda stinky, live feed becomes stinky, I am worried about parasites, and I'm wierd about cleanliness I guess. I suppose I am what you could call anal retentive and particular. I would certainly stop if this was harmful for the T's or upset them. I don't see any upset yet and it seems to keep em busy!

Beanie baby containers... neat idea! I get plexiglass cut at Lowes or wherever I can and not stand in line and construct my own usually for the other critters. I was worried about not providing enough height for the Usambara as it's always trying to climb. The Seemani would live in a shoebox full of dirt if I let it! LOL! The Deaths head moths have a specially constructed enclosure much like the kind you'd use for a bat and the beetles are in slot type enclosures in a master box. Well, except for the Goliaths. They have enclosures larger than the T's do. I am supposed to be housing and probably keeping a very large iguana after the vet gets done with it. Found in a home that was doing some illegal things and they confiscated a bunch of things. I dunno what I think about having this leviathan in here, but it's me or nobody. (How I usually aquire my more strange critters that aren't work or hobby related.

Diane, did you ever get my email? I am having a prob with it. We're on a network at home and I think that has something to do with it. The husband has the massive beast machine downstairs in his "sanctuary" with all of the storage drives and I think it has something to do with it.

 

[MizM]

You have ALL those creatures, a job, a husband, and STILL scrub all on Monday and Thursday???!!! On that basis ALONE, I would say... NO WAY!! Whew! But then, you're prpbably a LOT younger than me!!

As far as the Ts go, I think the general time frame for a complete clean-out would be around 6 months. I would DEFINITELY not destroy the p. murinus webbing twice a week. It's a lot of work to get the little "web condo" just the way they like it! And the seemani, given the time, will construct the most WONDERFUL maze... they are little bulldozers!! The most you need to do with the Ts is to make sure there are no food boli (?) left in the enclosure to attract unwanted vermin.

 

[Botar]

Does anyone have one of these?

I've got 4 adult females, 6 juveniles, 2 .5" babies, two sacs at first instar and another sac that was just made last week. All in all, my guess would be somewhere around 500 total.

They are my daughter's favorite and are my favorite for hadling demos at shows and talks. You can't beat the combination of beautiful colors and docile temperament.

They generally grow quickly at a young age and slow down as they gain in size. As stated before, they need good ventilation. They are extremely brave in their attacks on prey and will take crickets quite a bit larger than you would expect. Their colors change as they grow, but I prefer them in the 1.5" range... the blue just can't be beat at that stage. Then again, my P. metallica hasn't reached that size yet.

Botar

 

[tarantulakeeper]

Change twice a week... I have several critters and just am in the habit of changing everything monday and Thursday. Should I not do this with these tarantulas? I scrub cages and all that on those days. Some of my specimens are kinda stinky, live feed becomes stinky, I am worried about parasites, and I'm wierd about cleanliness I guess. I suppose I am what you could call anal retentive and particular. I would certainly stop if this was harmful for the T's or upset them. I don't see any upset yet and it seems to keep em busy!

First, welcome to the boards. I have a female Pt. marinus 'usumbara' that I've raised from a spiderling. I've had her six years. The only time I have ever destroyed her webbing is when I had to retreive the babies she has provided. I feel they need to be able to web, and make copious amounts of it, to feel safe. Once she has rebuilt her 'castle' her defensive actions practically disappear. IMO when you destroy their work twice a week it causes them stress. They need to web. I think if you let her do her thing, you'll not see the flipping on her back in defensive mode. There are other spiders that create massive amounts of webbing. Horned baboons come to mind. Some do very little webbing. A. geniculata comes to mind. If you're worried about cleanliness, use long tongs to periodically remove cricket and roach remains (bolus). Otherwise they'll be 'happier' left alone. My two cents. John

 

[sansoucie]

LOL! I'm knockin on 40's back door dearie! LOL! My work isn't 9-5, so that explains a lot!

I see about the comfort zone thing. I will (gulp) let it live in filth if that's what it wants! LOL! I dont mind the webbing and it's my favorite part of the whole tarantula thing! This Usambara seems to enjoy killing the feed and leaving parts laying around or just killing and leaving the whole thing laying there. Thanks for the advise and I will let it do it's thing!!

 

[Mojo Jojo]

Does anyone have one of these?

Yes, I have one.

 

[sansoucie]

Congrats. Can I have it and all your stuff when you die?

 

[Arachnogeek]

I have one also

Mine molted 2 days ago. I offered it a small cricket this morning and it did not accept it...it may be to soon. Mine is very docile although I have seen it shoot poop once.

Dan