Body language?

[AmberDawnDays]

I've read up some about T body language, but there are a few things I've seen my avic avic do that I can't find info on anywhere. One thing she always does when she catches a cricket is she will do a 360. She literally turns all the way around just to end up back into to position she started in. Sometimes she does this 2-3 times in a row, but always at least once. I call it her happy dance spin around because she caught a meal. Sometimes she lets out web. Really though, does she do this because she is happy or is she checking her surroundings?

I'm also wondering if the direction she faces means anything? Most of the time she is perched up high (which I expect) and pointed towards the ground. I worry she is hungry and looking for prey. She has eaten 4 out of the 5 days since I got her, so I don't feel like she should be starving or anything. I picked up some large crickets for her yesterday (she's eating one now), so I'm hoping she gets more from them. Before all I had was small crickets and they were really small. Should I offer her food every day (I do) or twice a day (I have)... She seems to eat quite a bit. I'm not complaining at all. I like feeding her, but I worry if she is hungry all the time that I'm not giving her enough food.

Yesterday I rehomed her. She didn't explore her enclosure at all until night time. One thing I saw her do last night was walk all the way down the enclosure fairly slowly until she reached the bottom. Then it looked like she touched the substrate with a leg and then immediately bolted up to the top of the enclosure. I mean she high tailed it back up there like something spooked her. I have no idea what the heck that was about.

For now that's all I can think of.

 

[mistertim]

I believe you're really overthinking things here. Usually the "happy dance" thing they do is webbing. As far as which direction it's facing, it is doubtful it is looking for food as their eyesight is poor and they rely on vibrations to locate and capture prey. For feeding...every day (or two times a day even) is a hell of a lot of feeding. Unless it's a really voracious sling, a couple times a week is generally plenty. No clue about the darting back to the top thing...again, I think you're really overthinking things and you're looking a bit too much into it. Tarantulas do tarantula things for tarantula reasons that we'll never understand.

 

[AmberDawnDays]

I believe you're really overthinking things here. Usually the "happy dance" thing they do is webbing. As far as which direction it's facing, it is doubtful it is looking for food as their eyesight is poor and they rely on vibrations to locate and capture prey. For feeding...every day (or two times a day even) is a hell of a lot of feeding. Unless it's a really voracious sling, a couple times a week is generally plenty. No clue about the darting back to the top thing...again, I think you're really overthinking things and you're looking a bit too much into it. Tarantulas do tarantula things for tarantula reasons that we'll never understand.

I'm just super curious about her because this is my first T and I've only had her a few days now. She's only about 2.5-3.0 in legspan, so maybe she's still a big eater. Also, I'm always over thinking everything.

 

[clive 82]

I'm just super curious about her because this is my first T and I've only had her a few days now. She's only about 2.5-3.0 in legspan, so maybe she's still a big eater. Also, I'm always over thinking everything.

I agree with mistertim, feeding a t of this size once a day is overkill.
One prey item once a week would be plenty. Ts don't have emotions like we do. As mistertim says the happy dance is your T spinning web after it has caught its prey.

 

[mistertim]

I'm just super curious about her because this is my first T and I've only had her a few days now. She's only about 2.5-3.0 in legspan, so maybe she's still a big eater. Also, I'm always over thinking everything.

I'm actually surprised that she's eating so soon. Usually they take a little while to acclimate before they start eating again. She's probably just exploring her new environment...it might take a while. Do you happen to have a picture of your enclosure?

 

[Andrea82]

I'm just super curious about her because this is my first T and I've only had her a few days now. She's only about 2.5-3.0 in legspan, so maybe she's still a big eater. Also, I'm always over thinking everything.

The merry-go-round thing she
does means she is making a web under her to contain the feeder, keeping it clear from thI ground. Some T's use it as an extra measure to ensure the feeder doesn't go anywhere.
The facing down pose is just preference, and maybe being alert in case of prey coming by. But Avicularia sp. are known to rest in the most weird positions. They're like 'screw gravity, i'm gonna hang like this!'

You don't have to worry about them experiencing hunger like mammals do. A T can go a long time without food, but will eat everything that comes by, until they have had enough, and then will stop feeding until molted. By feeding it this much, it will soon stop feeding until it molts. So keepers tend to 'space out the feeders over longer periods of time'. This way, your T will be taking prey until in pre-molt, which is more fun for the

Not sure if I sent you this thread before, so I'll post it to be sure. A thread containing basically everything you need to know about Avicularia keeping http://arachnoboards.com/threads/avicularia-husbandry.282549/#post-2461399

 

[Jeff23]

I have seen other posts before about Avic''s facing the ground when hungry. Even if that is true, it is probably only because you might feed them regularly from below them. I feed some of my Avic slings from the top so they don't do this at all. My female Versi gets live prey on the substrate and does seem to partially do this. But it isn't a consistent indicator for me (only true most of the time).

 

[AmberDawnDays]

I'm actually surprised that she's eating so soon. Usually they take a little while to acclimate before

I was surprised too because she took food the next day after I brought her home. I rehomed her Saturday morning and that night she caught a cricket that I fed her. The same thing happened on Sunday.

Do you happen to have a picture of your enclosure?

In this pic she isn't facing down. She's more sideways but kind of facing down. This isnt what I would call facing down though. She's not always facing down, but a good amount of time she does.

I agree with mistertim, feeding a t of this size once a day is overkill.
One prey item once a week would be plenty.

It's hard for me to keep myself from feeding her because I'm always worried she didn't get enough sustenance. When I offer her food, shouldn't she refuse it instead of eat it? She never kills to kill. I havent ever found a dead cricket in her enclosure. In fact, I can't even find a bolus anywhere and I think it's because she spends 4 or more hours rolling it into a tiny ball that's smaller than some of her pieces of substrate.

I have seen other posts before about Avic''s facing the ground when hungry. Even if that is true, it is probably only because you might feed them regularly from below them. I feed some of my Avic slings from the top so they don't do this at all. My female Versi gets live prey on the substrate and does seem to partially do this. But it isn't a consistent indicator for me (only true most of the time).

I had her in a small KK without much room for her to do anything for the 1st couple days. She would face down and then after she would eat the cricket I gave her, she would face up until the next day when I found her face down again. That's why I am thinking she's hungry because she does this every day and this behavior has continued into her larger enclosure that I moved her into Saturday morning.

@Andrea82 Thanks for the link, I'm going to check all the info out right now.

 

[Andrea82]

I was surprised too because she took food the next day after I brought her home. I rehomed her Saturday morning and that night she caught a cricket that I fed her. The same thing happened on Sunday.



View attachment 227734
In this pic she isn't facing down. She's more sideways but kind of facing down. This isnt what I would call facing down though. She's not always facing down, but a good amount of time she does.



It's hard for me to keep myself from feeding her because I'm always worried she didn't get enough sustenance. When I offer her food, shouldn't she refuse it instead of eat it? She never kills to kill. I havent ever found a dead cricket in her enclosure. In fact, I can't even find a bolus anywhere and I think it's because she spends 4 or more hours rolling it into a tiny ball that's smaller than some of her pieces of substrate.



I had her in a small KK without much room for her to do anything for the 1st couple days. She would face down and then after she would eat the cricket I gave her, she would face up until the next day when I found her face down again. That's why I am thinking she's hungry because she does this every day and this behavior has continued into her larger enclosure that I moved her into Saturday morning.

@Andrea82 Thanks for the link, I'm going to check all the info out right now.

About feeding or overfeeding. As long as her abdomen is plump and not shriveled, and somewhat bigger than her carapace, she is not starving or 'hungry'. The only T's that NEED food are the T's who have recently molted and have not eaten since molting. And even then, some don't need food right away.
A tarantula metabolism works quite different from that of a mammal, say, a hamster. A hamster needs food 24/7, because its metabolism goes fast, and every calorie is immediately used after intake. With tarantula, that is not the case. Their metabolism is geared to survive on minimal intake, so it goes slow, and only uses up enough to keep all functions running that are necessary for survival. This is also why they move so little compared to the same hamster. A relaxed, well fed T will often hang in the same spot every day, only moving when neccesary for a drink, food, or when threatened.
Read up on tarantula anatomy here:
http://arachnoboards.com/threads/basic-tarantula-anatomy.5095/

 

[Haemus]

Agree with the previous posts, your T looks healthy. Here's a shot of my GBB that's a touch thin after molting:

I'll keep an eye on it, but even with an abdomen like this, I'm likely waiting the full week before feeding.

 

[Jeff23]

I was surprised too because she took food the next day after I brought her home. I rehomed her Saturday morning and that night she caught a cricket that I fed her. The same thing happened on Sunday.



View attachment 227734
In this pic she isn't facing down. She's more sideways but kind of facing down. This isnt what I would call facing down though. She's not always facing down, but a good amount of time she does.



It's hard for me to keep myself from feeding her because I'm always worried she didn't get enough sustenance. When I offer her food, shouldn't she refuse it instead of eat it? She never kills to kill. I havent ever found a dead cricket in her enclosure. In fact, I can't even find a bolus anywhere and I think it's because she spends 4 or more hours rolling it into a tiny ball that's smaller than some of her pieces of substrate.



I had her in a small KK without much room for her to do anything for the 1st couple days. She would face down and then after she would eat the cricket I gave her, she would face up until the next day when I found her face down again. That's why I am thinking she's hungry because she does this every day and this behavior has continued into her larger enclosure that I moved her into Saturday morning.

@Andrea82 Thanks for the link, I'm going to check all the info out right now.

I think it is better to feed more often than not often enough. Occasionally Avic's will go on Pre-Molt starvation periods, so a more fat (without being too fat) Avic will give you peace of mind. Your T looks healthy in the pic.

I have started putting a lot more fake plants in my new setups after reading multiple threads in the past about Avic's falling during pre-molt. But I won't criticize your setup. It looks nice. I am still green on the learning process for Avic's so there is a bit of paranoia in me right now.

 

[AmberDawnDays]

I have started putting a lot more fake plants in my new setups after reading multiple threads in the past about Avic's falling during pre-molt. But I won't criticize your setup. It looks nice. I am still green on the learning process for Avic's so there is a bit of paranoia in me right now.

I'll take all the criticism needed to get the setup just right for her. I agree that it needs more plants. Do you hot glue your plants up or poke them through holes? I tried so hard to get it right before putting her in there because I don't want to stress her out by messing around with her home. The plants I put in there don't want to say put though so they slowly sink lower and lower to the ground over the days.

 

[Walker253]

I think your Avic looks good, but I would caution against feeding so much. I'm far from an expert, but in my experience, all this feeding can cause your Avic to get a fat abdomen which can lead to a long premolt. I have a few that I did this to, most notably my A genticulata. She ate everything I put in there. I was concerned I wasn't feeding enough and gave her big meals every week. Her abdomen got really fat and she is still in a very long premolt fast. She looks miserable and it's my fault. I've backed off on the amount I feed each tarantula I own.
Just pay attention to that abdomen. You aren't going to starve your little one by feeding less.

 

[Paiige]

I think your Avic looks good, but I would caution against feeding so much. I'm far from an expert, but in my experience, all this feeding can cause your Avic to get a fat abdomen which can lead to a long premolt. I have a few that I did this to, most notably my A genticulata. She ate everything I put in there. I was concerned I wasn't feeding enough and gave her big meals every week. Her abdomen got really fat and she is still in a very long premolt fast. She looks miserable and it's my fault. I've backed off on the amount I feed each tarantula I own.
Just pay attention to that abdomen. You aren't going to starve your little one by feeding less.

I overfed my porteri like crazy at first. She was in the middle of a fast when I got her, didn't eat for about a month, and then once she started eating I went nuts thinking that she would know when to stop eating, or would stop if she wasn't hungry - not the case. She ate and ate and got enormously obese, to the point where I got really scared that she was just going to burst. This was many years ago and I've since reduced my feeding, although I do like plump Ts. Plump, not obese.
Ts do not know how to regulate feeding - maybe because in the wild they don't know when/where their next meal is going to be - but overfeeding can lead to all sorts of problems (miserable Ts, ruptured abdomens if they fall, etc). So it's our responsibility to regulate their feeding for them.

Her abdomen is a good size, I wouldn't read too much into what direction she's facing indicating that she's hungry. She's gonna adventure, she's gonna explore and position herself in weird spots and she's going to do weird tarantula things. It's perfectly normal

She's not like a cat or a dog that you always have to watch to make sure it's not going to pee on the rug, or make sure it's entertained so it doesn't scratch up the couch. Don't stress it!

 

[Venom1080]

I disagree with others above who say daily feeding for slings is overkill. I feed many of my slings daily or at least every other day. They put pretty much all of it into growing for their next molt, and I highly doubt they only eat a couple times a week in the wild. Once they're juvis and adults I cut back to once or twice a week. Even up to once a month for my largest, don't worry about T's starving if they don't eat for a couple days.

 

[AmberDawnDays]

This is how she looked the day I got her last Tuesday, Dec. 20th. I think her abdomen was smallish when I got her. Maybe that's why she has been so hungry.

 

[Andrea82]

I'll take all the criticism needed to get the setup just right for he agree that it needs more plants. Do you hot glue your plants up or poke them through holes? I tried so hard to get it right before putting her in there because I don't want to stress her out by messing around with her home. The plants I put in there don't want to say put though so they slowly sink lower and lower to the ground over the days.

You can hotglue the plants. Or stick them in some extra ventilation holes and glue them in there.

I agree with @Walker253 , don't overfeed your tarantula. And don't forget that arboreal tarantula will never be as bulky as terrestrial ones. They need to stay lighter and more thin-framed to be able to get around in the trees. This goes especially for Avicularia species, because, unlike Psalmopoeus, they actually live all their lives in trees.
Once a week is sufficient, more than sufficient actually, as a feeding schedule.

 

[AmberDawnDays]

Or maybe she isn't hungry at all and just keeps eating because I'm putting food in front of her.

 

[Andrea82]

="Venom1080, post: 2565442, member: 111210"]I disagree with others above who say daily feeding for slings is overkill. I feed many of my slings daily or at least every other day. They put pretty much all of it into growing for their next molt, and I highly doubt they only eat a couple times a week in the wild. Once they're juvis and adults I cut back to once or twice a week. Even up to once a month for my largest, don't worry about T's starving if they don't eat for a couple days.

Did i miss something? I thought she had a juvie or adult?
If it is a sling, feed as much as she will take, since everything will be used up in the molting process. And you want her to molt, to get her past the tricky sling stage as soon as possible.

 

[Paiige]

I disagree with others above who say daily feeding for slings is overkill. I feed many of my slings daily or at least every other day. They put pretty much all of it into growing for their next molt, and I highly doubt they only eat a couple times a week in the wild. Once they're juvis and adults I cut back to once or twice a week. Even up to once a month for my largest, don't worry about T's starving if they don't eat for a couple days.

I think daily (or at least every other day) feeding for slings isn't harmful if they have the appetite! But that avic doesn't look like a sling to me