Help and Tips for Pinktoe Tarantula

[Furfur]

I've had my pinktoe for about two weeks now.
It's the first tarantula I've kept myself so I could use a little help.

This is her (or him?)

Pinktoe

• Furfur
• Jan 29, 2016
• avicularia

I have a few questions and any extra tips would be very helpful.

Should I use a sponge or not?
The store I got her at was using sponges for theirs but I later read that sponges do more harm that they help. If this is true, what should I use for a water source? I read that a small jar lid will work but then other sites said not to, as a taratula could drown.

Should I mist her terrarium?
Some sites said to but others said the water source should give enough humidity.

How often should I feed?
I have been giving her one - two crickets at night and if they are not gone by morning I take them out and wait a day before putting new ones in. I read that she should be fed two - four times a week, is this correct? She has only eaten twice since I got her.

What kind of bedding to use?
Right now I'm using some called "Zoo Med Forest Bedding" (I think its cypress mulch). This was what the pet store what using. Is this fine or should I be using something different?

What kind of decor would be good?
Right now her home is pretty bland but next week I'm was thinking of getting her some kind of branch to climb on and maybe something she can hide in.

 

[lalberts9310]

How big is your specimen. Adults should be fed around twice a week, juveniles can be fed around 4 times a week, although this is personal preference, just remember feeding too much will make the T extremely fat. Which is not always good. Also educate yourself on how Ts look that are in pre-molt or molting. Remember prey items can injure and kill molting tarantulas, thus it's not advised to feed a T when it's in pre-molt or molting. If food is not taken within 24h, remove it. If you suspect pre-molt, feed pre-killed prey, as a T in pre-molt, molting or soon after a molt can be very vulnerable. And if the T has molted, don't feed it until it has hardened (usually for a week after a molt), if the fangs are white or red it hasn't completely hardened. The fangs must be black before you feed. Soft fangs can be damaged easily, and feeders can injure a freshly molted T. The exo is still soft so it can be easily damaged.

No sponges, no gel. A sponge is a wonderful breeding source for nasties such as bacteria and mold. Give it a plain waterbowl with water, it will NOT drown. Ts are covered in water resistant setae, they will float on water. Not only will a waterbowl give the T a source to drink from, it will also help regulate humidity.

No misting. Misting for humidity has short lived effects, meaning it's useless. Provide a waterbowl with water, it will give the T the humidity it needs. You can occasionally with a syringe/eyedropper dribble water droplets onto the webbing for drinking.

Substrate, eh cypress mulch? Yeah I don't think that'll do, if i'm not mistaking cypress contains natural pesticides which would make it unsuitable for inverts (though someone can correct me if I'm wrong on this matter). Lots of members use bagged top soil with no additives, others use coco fibre and peat mix, I just use regular peat. For avics keep the substrate dry, you can occasionally dribble water onto the sub (once or twice a week).

Avics are aboreal, meaning you need a aboreal enclosure (more height than width), with good cross-ventilation (vents on the side, not top, this is very important for avics). Provide a cork slab/tube, and lots of fake leaves at the top of the enclosure for anchoring points for their webs. Avics will always be up high if the correct husbandry is provided.

Also, no heat mats, or heat lamps, if you ever feel the need to up the temps, use a space heater. Heat mats and lamps makes hot spots and can be dangerous to your T. It also dries out the air within the enclosure significantly. And no hygrometers.

I also advise you to steer clear from online care sheets, as they can be very inaccurate and puts a lot of focus on aspects that's not important and doesn't mention important factors at all, such as the need of cross-ventilation for avics. Steer clear from the advise of petshop employees, they will tell you a lot of nonsense to get their products to sell, not to mention most of them have little to zero experience in invert keeping and husbandry. This forum provides a heap of information regarding invert keeping, so your best bet would be to do research here. There's a lot of members here that has lots of experience and knowledge willing to answer questions. So you came to the right place. Welcome to the hobby!

 

[Toxoderidae]

Alright, I'll help as I can.

1. NO SPONGE.

2. Misting is useless, water source is enough usually.

3. This is kind of up to the keeper. I overfeed my Ts, and then feed them again as needed.

4. Generally I'd use true sphagnum moss (not petstore kind) potting soil, or coco fiber substrate.

5. Decor? Not quite sure what you're getting at, but my arboreal setups are always large piece of cork in the back covering the entire back with space between for spider to live in.

 

[Furfur]

@lalberts9310

Thank you for the info.

I went ahead and measured her, her body is about 4cm in length, with her current position from her front legs to back legs she is 7cm.

I'll try to get her some better substrate as soon as I can. About how tall should her enclosure be? She is living in the same thing the store had her in and its 8 inches all around as well as 8 inches tall, so I'd guess that is far to short?

@Toxoderidae

Thank you for the tips.

By decor I mean what would be recommended. I'd assume she'd like some things to climb on since in the short time I've had her she has been up the walls almost all the time. I also assumed she would like somewhere dark to hide from unwanted light and peering eyes should she want to.

 

[Chris11]

How big is your specimen. Adults should be fed around twice a week, juveniles can be fed around 4 times a week, although this is personal preference, just remember feeding too much will make the T extremely fat. Which is not always good. Also educate yourself on how Ts look that are in pre-molt or molting. Remember prey items can injure and kill molting tarantulas, thus it's not advised to feed a T when it's in pre-molt or molting. If food is not taken within 24h, remove it. If you suspect pre-molt, feed pre-killed prey, as a T in pre-molt, molting or soon after a molt can be very vulnerable. And if the T has molted, don't feed it until it has hardened (usually for a week after a molt), if the fangs are white or red it hasn't completely hardened. The fangs must be black before you feed. Soft fangs can be damaged easily, and feeders can injure a freshly molted T. The exo is still soft so it can be easily damaged.

No sponges, no gel. A sponge is a wonderful breeding source for nasties such as bacteria and mold. Give it a plain waterbowl with water, it will NOT drown. Ts are covered in water resistant setae, they will float on water. Not only will a waterbowl give the T a source to drink from, it will also help regulate humidity.

No misting. Misting for humidity has short lived effects, meaning it's useless. Provide a waterbowl with water, it will give the T the humidity it needs. You can occasionally with a syringe/eyedropper dribble water droplets onto the webbing for drinking.

Substrate, eh cypress mulch? Yeah I don't think that'll do, if i'm not mistaking cypress contains natural pesticides which would make it unsuitable for inverts (though someone can correct me if I'm wrong on this matter). Lots of members use bagged top soil with no additives, others use coco fibre and peat mix, I just use regular peat. For avics keep the substrate dry, you can occasionally dribble water onto the sub (once or twice a week).

Avics are aboreal, meaning you need a aboreal enclosure (more height than width), with good cross-ventilation (vents on the side, not top, this is very important for avics). Provide a cork slab/tube, and lots of fake leaves at the top of the enclosure for anchoring points for their webs. Avics will always be up high if the correct husbandry is provided.

Also, no heat mats, or heat lamps, if you ever feel the need to up the temps, use a space heater. Heat mats and lamps makes hot spots and can be dangerous to your T. It also dries out the air within the enclosure significantly. And no hygrometers.

I also advise you to steer clear from online care sheets, as they can be very inaccurate and puts a lot of focus on aspects that's not important and doesn't mention important factors at all, such as the need of cross-ventilation for avics. Steer clear from the advise of petshop employees, they will tell you a lot of nonsense to get their products to sell, not to mention most of them have little to zero experience in invert keeping and husbandry. This forum provides a heap of information regarding invert keeping, so your best bet would be to do research here. There's a lot of members here that has lots of experience and knowledge willing to answer questions. So you came to the right place. Welcome to the hobby!

+ 1 to the above replies.
The enclosure should roughly be about 1 ft tall and 4-6" squared. A piece of cork bark standing vertically to nearly the top of the enclosure with a few plastic pants up there as well. Cypress is fine to the spider, mulch is just frowned up because they can damage their tarsal claws on the large pieces, and theyre relatively sharp.

 

[Poec54]

An 8" tall cage is fine for Avics, and for me cages that are square shaped (or close to square) work best for Avics. You don't want a screen top, as that ruins the microclimate, and exposes them to hot/cold drafts, fumes, sprays, etc. They need cross ventilation (airholes on the sides).

Avics have specific requirements and if met, are easy and hardy:
- dry substrate.
- cork and plastic plants (for anchor points for spinning). An Avic is settled into it's cage when its spun a silk sheet/tube to live in.
- a full water bowl at all times. It does double duty for hydration and humidity. If it's empty, the spider loses both and you can quickly have problems.
- reasonable temps: no lower than high 60's at night, and 70's to 80's during the day.

Many people lose their first Avics because they follow bad advice and keep them on moist substrate and over-mist. Moist, stuffy cages kill Avics. They live up in trees where breezes dry things out after rains. You don't want condensation in any tarantula cage, especially with Avics.

Avics are quirky spiders, kind of like the tarantula version of jumping spiders. Both have good eyesight and are very alert and intelligent.

 

[viper69]

Search the forum for Avic container decorating, that's what I did. You'd be amazed (in a good way, and in a bad way) what people keep their Avics in.

 

[Illusion]

You'd be amazed (in a good way, and in a bad way) what people keep their Avics in.

I know i certainly have been... it's like the word 'arboreal' means nothing to some people...

 

[Poec54]

I know i certainly have been... it's like the word 'arboreal' means nothing to some people...

Actually, it usually works the other way, and people assume all arboreals need tall cages and that they'll stay at the top of them. All my non-Avic arboreals live on the substrate under a cork slab (Poecilotheria, Cyriopagopus, Lampropelma, Heteroscodra, Stromatopelma, Encyocratella, and Psalmopoeus).

 

[viper69]

Actually, it usually works the other way, and people assume all arboreals need tall cages and that they'll stay at the top of them. All my non-Avic arboreals live on the substrate under a cork slab (Poecilotheria, Cyriopagopus, Lampropelma, Heteroscodra, Stromatopelma, Encyocratella, and Psalmopoeus).

I've always wondered about why too. As their morphology shows they clearly have more area covered per toe due to their setae like Avics, yet they retreat into the sub unlike Avics. I wonder if it's a predator/s difference for those genera vs Avics and/or environment difference involving their pre or habitat.