Avicularia versicolor - Questions

AllenG

Arachnoknight
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Avicularia versicolor - Antilles Pinktoe

I have read quite a few caresheets, and they all seem to be very consistent...and this is my next species up from a G.rosea.


I will have one terrestrial(sp?) and one arboreal after I purchase an A.versicolor.

I just had some quick questions.

If i use a critter keeper on its side, how can i constitently keep the humidity up to the 70-80%? With my G.rosea, he doesn't like moisture much...he won't even venture onto the side of his cage that holds the water and gets misted...if the i mist any of the substrate he won't touch it till it's dry, so i rely on a water dish to provide humidity.
However, I know A.versicolor's require more moisture so I am wondering how BEST to accomplish this...I am going to experiment with a critter keeper eventually.

I will be purchasing a .50 -.75" sling and wonder if I should get him/her a critter keeper that will be his permanent home while he is that small, or just use a small container like tupperware or some sort of deli container while he is still small? suggestions?

If I use a small container how can I keep that humid? Humidity is my only concern for now.


Um...also...I have never purchased pin head crickets before, I assume if I go to my cricket supplier and asks for pin heads they would have them? or do you have to get them from a specialty shop? ( i realize it would be tough to answer the question about the store, but what about your experiences getting pin-heads?)

On top of those questions, is there anything anyone can think is a MUST know for an A.versicolor first timer?

Oh yeah, last question. Docile but skittish to jumpy....if he/she is arboreal and leaps from your hand to say a carpet...will he most likely injure? or due to the fact he is arboreal mean he will just float to the ground? would suck if they are fragile like a ground dweller but still live in trees...but you never know.


Thanks in advance.
-Allen
 

Vayu Son

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heres the deal with A.versicolor: ventilation. th ehumidity part is way overrated... most t's get moisture from their food anyway. the danger is putting too much water in their and allowing it to mold.

As for crickets, I would encourage letting the T take the food from tweezers or hemostats. Failing that, crush the crickets head and let the T find it.. ive had crickets kill baby versicolors on me, and its not something you want to see.

If it falls it will probably not injure... but thats no guarantee. Do your handling near the ground. Also, this T is usually pretty docile, but ive known mine to be a bit skiddish and even to stridulate from time to time.

-V
 

AllenG

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would be neat to see it stridulate...(as long as it was like a one time thing and he wasn't pissy all the time :D)

also...how do you keep the slings? or how did you keep them?


is it a bad idea to house a .5-.75" sling in a critter keeper big enough to house a full grown A.versicolor?

oh and thanks
 

Vayu Son

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I keep mine in a washed out and bleached spice jar... im more prone to using vials, but i dont see that a critter keeper would do much harm as long as it can find its food and you can find it. Youll have to tape off some parts of the keeper(especially near the handles) to prevent escape.

-V
 

AllenG

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hehehe sounds like a vial will do the trick while he/she is small then...the wife would divorce me if a T that small got out :D
 

AllenG

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awe come on...i looked through the "my tarantulas" thread and see a lot of you with a.versicolors...any help? i don't want to neglect my first one and kill it due to improper setup....ppppplease....(look i am begging :D)
 

TheDon

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My Versicolor is in a little pill bottle right now as he/she is only 1/2" I think prob the easiest is just to keep it in something small while it is so tiny. Then when it gets to 1" you can move it to the smallest critter keeper you can buy. My little versicolor is a cold blooded killer. It never lets a little cricket last for more than 10 secs. I was told also that you do not need to mist while in the vial because they get their moisture from the crickets they eat. Good luck with it.

peace

TheDon
 

WYSIWYG

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Originally posted by TheDon
My Versicolor is in a little pill bottle right now as he/she is only 1/2" I think prob the easiest is just to keep it in something small while it is so tiny. Then when it gets to 1" you can move it to the smallest critter keeper you can buy. My little versicolor is a cold blooded killer. It never lets a little cricket last for more than 10 secs. I was told also that you do not need to mist while in the vial because they get their moisture from the crickets they eat. Good luck with it.

peace

TheDon
I think one inch is too soon to go to a small kritter keeper. I think that would be better for a 2 incher. When my arboreal slings got too large for a vial, I moved them to a washed out salsa jar. The Ortega salsa jars are really nice for keeping them until they are large enoug for the smallest kritter keepers. I have just under a 2 inch P. irminia in a kritter keeper right now and that DOES seem too big, though at the time, it was the best thing I had to offer it and it seems to have no trouble finding its food. :)

Wysi
 

Lostkat

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From my personal experience....

First of all, I think even the smallest critter keeper is far too large for a tiny versicolor. I kept mine in a film pot up until he was about an inch across. He's now in a very small spice jar. I have found that my baby avics all prefer a pretty small container, and tend to web tonnes more in smaller containers - which to me indicates that they're content.

Also, as has already been said, humidity is over-rated. Ventilation is the main key. I have found that a good solution is to replace the lid with a pair of tights, secured by an elastic band. Unfortunately this means that humidity is pretty hard to maintain. I know that this is frowned upon, but I actually soak a piece of cotton wool each day and place it at the back of the tank next to the heatmat. I regularly check the tank for any sign of mould or mites and have so far been able to avoid them. I also periodically cover 2/3 of the lid with clingfilm, just to up the humidity a little. I've not noticed that it makes a great difference to my sling's activity though. There is no condensation on the walls of any of my avics and they're all doing absolutely fine at the moment.

Pinhead crickets - don't bother. A versicolor of this size will take the small crickets. Pinheads are a bastard to catch and really not worth the hassle. The only problem I've had feeding my avics is the purpurea. He runs away from all prey! I have resorted to killing a small/medium crick, squeezing out some of the juices so the purp can 'taste/smell' it, and leaving it in the entrance of his webbing. He eventually finds it and has a chew. He seems to be getting fatter, which is the main thing.

I get the impression from the literature that I've read that avics and arboreals in general are a little hardier than terrestrial T's. It makes sense if you think about it because the arboreals have to be equipped to deal with the odd stumble, or they'd never survive. My Avicularia geroldi regularly leaps from one hand to the other. Having said that though, I never handle any of my T's unless I'm sat on the floor/bed or at the desk. I just don't want to risk it. All T's are capable of making a sudden run for it, which could ultimately harm them.

I've found that all of my avics walk pretty fast, with a tendency to jump if you surprise them (usually by breathing on them). However, I've never seen ANY aggression from my babies, so if they decide to go for a jog, just leave them to it until they calm down. Speediness is usually very short lived :)

Anyway, the best advice I can give you for your new Avic is DON'T STRESS. They're not as fragile as people make them out to be... touch wood :)
 

WYSIWYG

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Originally posted by Lostkat
From my personal experience....

First of all, I think even the smallest critter keeper is far too large for a tiny versicolor. I kept mine in a film pot up until he was about an inch across. He's now in a very small spice jar. I have found that my baby avics all prefer a pretty small container, and tend to web tonnes more in smaller containers - which to me indicates that they're content.


I get the impression from the literature that I've read that avics and arboreals in general are a little hardier than terrestrial T's. It makes sense if you think about it because the arboreals have to be equipped to deal with the odd stumble, or they'd never survive. My Avicularia geroldi regularly leaps from one hand to the other. Having said that though, I never handle any of my T's unless I'm sat on the floor/bed or at the desk. I just don't want to risk it. All T's are capable of making a sudden run for it, which could ultimately harm them.

I've found that all of my avics walk pretty fast, with a tendency to jump if you surprise them (usually by breathing on them). However, I've never seen ANY aggression from my babies, so if they decide to go for a jog, just leave them to it until they calm down. Speediness is usually very short lived :)
Just be sure your "film pot" was never actually used for film. Plastic tends to absorb chemicals and there is no way you can clean then enough to get the film chemicals out of them.

As to your geroldi, is it a sling too? Mine is about 3.5 to 4 inches and has been known to bite so I never handle him/her. (I found out after I bought it that it had bitten one of the spider guys at the petstore). Wasn't it nice of them to tell me AFTER the fact? ;)

Wysi
 

AllenG

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To me it sounds like they are a typical "docile" breed...one may be cool the next may be bitey...just look at G.rosea's mine wouldn't hurt a cricket! ok so i am a big fat liar...but you get the point


of course with handling i wont be holding him out a skyscraper to see how well he "floats/flies" but I would hate to open his cage and have him jump out and land a few feet to the ground on the carpet and go splat....

Ok...next question I will bold it for those who scim read :For ventilation in a small plastic container...do you put pin holes in the bottom right above the substrate then at the top as well to promote air flow?

thanks all...this is very helpful
 

WYSIWYG

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Originally posted by AllenG
To me it sounds like they are a typical "docile" breed...one may be cool the next may be bitey...just look at G.rosea's mine wouldn't hurt a cricket! ok so i am a big fat liar...but you get the point


of course with handling i wont be holding him out a skyscraper to see how well he "floats/flies" but I would hate to open his cage and have him jump out and land a few feet to the ground on the carpet and go splat....

Ok...next question I will bold it for those who scim read :For ventilation in a small plastic co
 

WYSIWYG

SpiderLoco
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Originally posted by AllenG
To me it sounds like they are a typical "docile" breed...one may be cool the next may be bitey...just look at G.rosea's mine wouldn't hurt a cricket! ok so i am a big fat liar...but you get the point


of course with handling i wont be holding him out a skyscraper to see how well he "floats/flies" but I would hate to open his cage and have him jump out and land a few feet to the ground on the carpet and go splat....

Ok...next question I will bold it for those who scim read :For ventilation in a small plastic container...do you put pin holes in the bottom right above the substrate then at the top as well to promote air flow?

thanks all...this is very helpful
I don't think that's necessary. Usually if you have plenty of holes in the top, that's fine. I like to open the tops of my small critters every now and then not only to mist, but to allow fresh air to get in and old air to get out. :)

Wysi
 

Lostkat

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Originally posted by WYSIWYG
Just be sure your "film pot" was never actually used for film. Plastic tends to absorb chemicals and there is no way you can clean then enough to get the film chemicals out of them.

As to your geroldi, is it a sling too? Mine is about 3.5 to 4 inches and has been known to bite so I never handle him/her. (I found out after I bought it that it had bitten one of the spider guys at the petstore). Wasn't it nice of them to tell me AFTER the fact? ;)

Wysi
Film carton - generally you can tell if they've been used for film. They smell of films. My Dad's a photographer so we have a huge excess of these cartons. I kept my purpurea in one that had been used, but didn't smell for a while. It didn't seem to affect him at all and he seemed very happy in there.

My geroldi is about 2-2.5" in length now and he's never shown me any aggression apart from the classical poo-firing antics. He's a little jumpy, but only when shocked. He's very well behaved.
 

AllenG

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Cool, then I will be using a small container for now, plus it's cheaper then new supplies...I will just have to find something small enough for him to make his web "lair" on...maybe a long piece of cork? (for the small plastic container) or a small branch....



are there any branches that one SHOULD NOT USE? I assume a cedar branch would be bad...anything else? Or any recommendations for what kind of climbing "structure" to use?
 

WYSIWYG

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Originally posted by AllenG
Cool, then I will be using a small container for now, plus it's cheaper then new supplies...I will just have to find something small enough for him to make his web "lair" on...maybe a long piece of cork? (for the small plastic container) or a small branch....



are there any branches that one SHOULD NOT USE? I assume a cedar branch would be bad...anything else? Or any recommendations for what kind of climbing "structure" to use?
I believe pine is also to be avoided. (Your assumption about cedar is correct). A piece of cork bark would be good. From what I heard, it is more resistant to mold than most of the other types of materials available. You can also make use of some of your household food containers by cutting a hole into it, but it's not as attractive-looking as a piece of cork bark. :)

Wysi
 

AllenG

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hahahaha if the place I call today has two I will grab you one, of course you would have to PAY for it and it's shipping...but I would be more then willing too (hope my wife doesn't read this) but by your post i assume you can't have one at this time :D
 

rosehaired1979

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No cant go get one till July or I will wait till Aug. because the NC show is then if I can go:)
 

SpiderZone2

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Versicolor info reply

Well I just have mine in a 64 oz deli cup with some small branches upward with some moss around them to hold it all together. Mine which is a juvenile which is a male even at his small size has made an incredible webbing that attaches it altogether. He remains at the top. I weekly mist the container. Just have to watch as he sometimes gets out and runs around my hand and arm. I just have to laugh at him when he does this. Mine is about 2 inches now in size. I mist weely right into part of the webbing and it runs down the side. They don't need to get to wet and you wouldn't want to over due as mites will occur. I have no problem with the humidity levels at this point. If he is looking too dry in the middle of the week I mist him again. I also mist just before a molt and right after a molt. I have only had mine for about 6 months now and he is doing well. He is finally getting his adult colors! One of the only T's I would ever walk on my at any given time. Hope this helps. I am also watching several other versicolors for a friend and we treat them all with the same misting schedule and they are all doing well.
 
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