C. Versicolor

[Snowraven]

Hi all, I’m hoping for some feedback about if I can do anything better with my little C. Versicolor sling I’ve had for about three months now. I don’t know if she’s female but I just call her a she, and named her Sylvia Plath

she’s about 1.75 in, had her since late October, transferred her and she’s been webbin and eating fine until now. She’s refused food for about 2 weeks. My concern is that she might be cold, my room is 65-68 during the day and high 50s at night, so I have started using a heater at night. Or she might not have enough air flow.

Sometimes I see her with her legs drawn in, which I have read is a sign of stress. She is moving and changing positions and not sedentary. She is drinking water (I was misting the substrate once a week, but have switched to dropping a few drops of water into her funnel web since she doesn’t seem to want to leave her web much lately).
I’m nervous because it could be that she is in premolt, it could be she’s just full bc she was eating so frequently (every 2 days), or enclosure is not ventilated enough. I have a treehouse from T cribs on the way, do you guys think I should move her? I have been opening her coffin and fanning her a bit to try and increase air flow, and moved her into my room and sleep with the heater on at night. I’ve read really mixed things about heating them with a mat and thermostat, and could put her in a case and heat that since from what I have read that is the best way (non contact with her direct enclosure).
I keep her in the coffin enclosure, the other photo is from when ants tried to get her last months and I removed her, cleaned her coffin, and put her back in. She has eaten and been active since that incident, and she groomed herself really well and then made her new web.
In summary the main behavior that’s concerning me is the refusal of food, legs drawn in to her body, and less activity.

 

[TheraMygale]

Looking normal to me.

add a few water droplets to that magnificient webbing. She will get some good hydration there.

leave a juicy prekilled on the webbing and forget about live food for a while.

be patient and document her behavior.

it is cold for a tropical species. She might be slowing down.

there might not be enough ventilation. But it depends on the levels of moisture in the enclosure.

the webbing she has down and her being up there, is a good sign though.

if you rehome her, do so in an enclosure you make sure has all the needs. Aka, the ventilation.

however, its easy now for you to add water droplets to the webbing. Now a million. Just a few.

 

[Snowraven]

Looking normal to me.

add a few water droplets to that magnificient webbing. She will get some good hydration there.

leave a juicy prekilled on the webbing and forget about live food for a while.

be patient and document her behavior.

it is cold for a tropical species. She might be slowing down.

there might not be enough ventilation. But it depends on the levels of moisture in the enclosure.

the webbing she has down and her being up there, is a good sign though.

if you rehome her, do so in an enclosure you make sure have all the needs. Aka, the ventilation.

however, its easy now for you to add water droplets to the webbing. Now a million. Just a few.

Okay, thank you. I will put some drops into her web, I did yesterday and she drank them, so I will keep doing that (sorry I forgot to mention that) thank you for responding, I appreciate it

 

[sparticus]

I think your little one just needs to be left alone. It's too full to want more food. Keep up the water a couple times a week and wait for it to molt- maybe offer something pre-killed in the web every once in a while, but mostly WAIT. It's full of food, the web tunnel is all built, and now it's going to hang out and rest until it's ready to molt. It will molt when it's ready, until then just be patient. I got worried the first time it happened also, but this is 100% normal behavior.

 

[TheraMygale]

Okay, thank you. I will put some drops into her web, I did yesterday and she drank them, so I will keep doing that (sorry I forgot to mention that) thank you for responding, I appreciate it

Youre doing great.

the key is to make sure the water is just enough, and doesnt become excessive moisture.

but the webbing your tarantula did is brillant and in a perfect spot! You couldnt wish for more at this point.

enclosure is really cute too. It works well with this species i think.

 

[viper69]

That’s too cold- have you checked where the species comes from? 73-75F !

YOUR T is FATTER THAN JUPITER. AND THE SUN TOGETHER- what does that suggest……..

 

[NMTs]

Too cold...

 

[Brewser]

Brrrrrrr ...
Gives me the chills just thinking about it.

Good for a supplemental 'Space Heater' nearby.

Best Wishes and Keep Warm,

 

[Snowraven]

Thanks for your response, I’ve been looking into heating and am leaning towards a ceramic setup, since most of what I read about mats was negative.

 

[Arachnophobphile]

Hi all, I’m hoping for some feedback about if I can do anything better with my little C. Versicolor sling I’ve had for about three months now. I don’t know if she’s female but I just call her a she, and named her Sylvia Plath

she’s about 1.75 in, had her since late October, transferred her and she’s been webbin and eating fine until now. She’s refused food for about 2 weeks. My concern is that she might be cold, my room is 65-68 during the day and high 50s at night, so I have started using a heater at night. Or she might not have enough air flow.

Sometimes I see her with her legs drawn in, which I have read is a sign of stress. She is moving and changing positions and not sedentary. She is drinking water (I was misting the substrate once a week, but have switched to dropping a few drops of water into her funnel web since she doesn’t seem to want to leave her web much lately).
I’m nervous because it could be that she is in premolt, it could be she’s just full bc she was eating so frequently (every 2 days), or enclosure is not ventilated enough. I have a treehouse from T cribs on the way, do you guys think I should move her? I have been opening her coffin and fanning her a bit to try and increase air flow, and moved her into my room and sleep with the heater on at night. I’ve read really mixed things about heating them with a mat and thermostat, and could put her in a case and heat that since from what I have read that is the best way (non contact with her direct enclosure).
I keep her in the coffin enclosure, the other photo is from when ants tried to get her last months and I removed her, cleaned her coffin, and put her back in. She has eaten and been active since that incident, and she groomed herself really well and then made her new web.
In summary the main behavior that’s concerning me is the refusal of food, legs drawn in to her body, and less activity.

Well you have the right enclosure nailed as it's going to die in that. That is absolutely crap air ventilation.

Here, save your sling's life by reading @viper69 Avic guide

Avicularia Husbandry?

Hi! I'm new to the forum and am unsure if this is the right place for this, but I was wondering if there's anything I should know in advance before purchasing an Avicularia genus? (specifically, I have my eye on some a. metallica slings) I've done some reading, but being that I've only ever had...

arachnoboards.com

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

Thanks for your response, I’ve been looking into heating and am leaning towards a ceramic setup, since most of what I read about mats was negative.

Your best bet is a space heater in the room. I keep mine at 68 minimum, but shoot for 70. The danger of heat mats are their location. Ceramic isn’t better. If you want to provide supplemental heat:

The proper use of heat mats

Mods could you please make this a sticky as there's so much misinformation about heat mats? So heat mats are perfectly safe to use IF they're used properly. They're like a mini space heater when used properly. 1) Heat mats MUST be plugged into a thermostat. That's a thermostat NOT a...

arachnoboards.com

 

[Snowraven]

Update: She molted! I’m going to leave her alone for awhile, obviously, and transfer her to her new enclosure with better ventilation as soon as it’s safe for her.

 

[TheraMygale]

Thanks for your response, I’ve been looking into heating and am leaning towards a ceramic setup, since most of what I read about mats was negative.

I am happy for you it molted. It was showing all the signs.

Can you share what ceramic setup you are thinking of using? Just so we can see how you plan you use it.

Some bulbs can dry out an enclosure a lot. Especialy if there is no moisture.

A heat mat isnt necessiraly bad. Its how its used that makes the difference.

The use of a controlable thermometer, with heating cables, or heatmat, can make all the difference.

A heat mat at the back of the enclosure, without it fully covering all the space, and not “stuck” to the wall, can do a good job.

If you know someone, that has a good hand at drilling acrylic, might be able to modify your enclosure.

Cutting out rectangles and using perforated metal sheet as a screen, could allow you to keep using this enclosure. Its all about your ressources.

i drew something, hahaha, to explain. The idea would be to add perforated sheet metal peices to your enclosure. In key places, to get cross ventilation going. This is just a sketch. I would put them all around and some at the bottom on opening lid, and top that is fixed.