Help....Im new

[LunarFaery]

Hello everyone! I need some help on some Avics. Im looking at getting a veriscolor or a metallic. I had a cinammon, dont know the scientific name, it was doing good, molted, ate good. Went on vacation left my MIL in charge...came home and it was dead.

Anyways...I would like, please please please, some advice on spiderling care. Everything Ive read is about adult spiders. Ive heard that the babies require a lot of air movement? Granted thats from a friend of a friend I just want to make sure Im prepared before I order it.

thanks
Jen

 

[Nixy]

I kept our little versicolor in the little vail I purchesed it in until it was 2/3 of an inch, then moved it to a one cup deli dish.
The vail had ten pinprick holes in it and the deli cup had about six 1/8 inch holes around the rim. I sprtzed the Sides of the vail and cup lightly for drinking perposes and kept the little bit of substrate moist but not wet.
I moved her from the deli cup into a 2 gallon cheeseball tub with 40 1/8 inch holes around the rim and 20 in the lid with moist substrat and a piece of corkbark when she hit a little over the one inch mark. She has a 3 litter soda bottle lid as a water dish and a little cane plant.
But I know she doesn't Need that much room. But she utalizes it well.

Our C. fimbriatus is a half inch now and still lives in a small pill bottle like vial with moist substrate, no water dish, but a few twigs because she uses them a good bit with her webbing projects. I mist the sides now and then lightly.

Our 2/3 inch N. coloratovillosum is in a one cup size tupperwear snack tub with damp substrat. I mist that containers side as well.

For the little ones I use micro crickets, chop up mealworms or larger crickets or just pinch/ smoosh the heads of small/medeum crickets and drop them in without the jumping legs and they gobble them up fine.

For our versicolor I use small/smallish to medeum crickets and just drop them in, she hunts them fine.

From what I have read slings don't Need water dishes.
I only put one in with our virsicolor as I Saw her drinking opening from a shallow point on her log after I had misted hard one day and showed me she would use one. She Does. but it is small enough for her to sit with her feet all relaxed on the rim.

This is what works for Us. Other's might do it different and offer better examples.

I hope this was a help.


And good luck with any choice you make.
Welcome to the board!

 

[Code Monkey]

I've raised Avics from 2nd or 3rd instar slings into healty juveniles by paying more attention to ventilation than humidity so, in my opinion, your friend is right. All of my sling vials and jars have a large hole cut out of the lid with plastic mesh hot glued over the hole. They get misted about once a week for moisture and drinking but I don't ever worry about ambient humidity, it is what it is and I have had great results.

Examples:

I've also raised Avics in an inverted mini kritter keeper (that's a versicolor in the tube web):

 

[LunarFaery]

Thank you both for your input!! I dont know why Im so nervous about bringing these babies home. I just want to make sure I raise them right.

Another question tho Where do you find the plastic mesh??

Thanks
Jen

 

[Code Monkey]

They call it plastic canvas and it's available at craft stores such as Michaels. People use it for things like needle point. You'll generally find it flat on shelves somewhere near where they sell embroidery floss.

It's great because you can get it in a variety of mesh sizes depending on your need. The smallest size works great for slings because it will stop even fruit flies or pinheads should you be using them for food. The larger size mesh then works well for containers for larger Ts.

 

[LunarFaery]

Thanks! Thats what I thought it was but I wanted to make sure...usually nothing is that simple for me

Do you think Avics are a good beginner spider? After researching and reading about ts....there are SO many that I just have to have.

Jen

 

[Code Monkey]

Avics are fine as a beginning T. They don't grow very large; rarely, if ever, show any aggression towards you; and are easy to care for. A. avicularia is also very inexpensive even though it's among the more attractive species in the hobby.

The big thing to keep in mind with Avicularia is they're sort of a burrowing spider, just above ground. They spend 95% or more of their time happily secreted in their tube web retreats, particularly as smaller specimens, so you do have to keep that in mind.

Something like a Brachypelma or Grammostola species are also great beginners but are more accessible and visible.

 

[invertepet]

Some Avicularia can get prettty large - like A. metallica and A. braunshauseni. I had a braunshauseni that was about 7". I have metallicas now that are about that range, too.

As for aggression, some are more snippy. A. versicolor has a strong feeding response and may jump on a finger if intruded on its space. A. braunshauseni is rather defensive. So is A. laeta and to a lesser extent, A. minatrix.

Still, Avics like metallica, avicularia and versicolor make good all-around tarantulas. Your basic pinktoe is pretty solid, can't go wrong there.

bill

 

[LunarFaery]

Thank you both!! Sounds like Avic SOMETHING is in my future....maybe both

Bill, you have been helping me via email too. I really have apprecaited all your help and I will be placing my order with you very soon!!

Thanks
Jen