My first A. avicularia, need advices to save her !

[elo1084]

Hi everyone ! This is a first time for me, never had a spider before !
It seems to be a pinky toe, not sure if it's a he or she. I've saved it from a certain death, when I was on a shooting. It's been two months now : I bought a terrarium more high than large, put real plants in it and started to get some informations about how taking care of it (temperature, humidity etc...) I give its crickets...
But I'm concerned... It was already a little bit bold when I had it. And it continues to loose hairs on its butt despite my care... it has trouble to climb, never build a web at all ! It eats, but that's all. It does't grow ... So I changed the cage, tried to make it confortable ... It's an arboreal spider, and it falls all the time ... It lived in captivity and kept in a drawer for a very long time (don't know its age..) when I found it..
If you have any advices for me to make it better, it will be a relief because despite my fear, I start to be very attached to this little thing !
Thanks for your answer and sorry for the bad english !

 

[chanda]

Can you provide pictures of the spider and its enclosure? (Especially a nice clear, close-up shot of the ends of the pedipalps - the appendages at the front that kind of look like a fifth pair of legs). The reason I ask is that it's possible your spider is a mature male, in which case he may be reaching the end of his natural life. It is also possible that the spider is getting close to molting. In either case - a mature male reaching the end of his life or a spider getting ready to molt - they will frequently lose abdominal hairs, developing the "bald butt" you describe, and may also have trouble climbing. I had a male Avicularia versicolor (this was before they changed the name) who matured - and once he did, he quit building or maintaining his web and eventually began to spend the majority of his time on the ground because it became difficult for him to climb.

Thank you for rescuing the poor little thing! I wish you the best.

 

[ledzeppelin]

mature male perhaps?
EDIT
sorry @chanda i should have read your post before trying to contribute

 

[cold blood]

how big is the specimen? This is vital info.

Pics of the enclosure as well....following care sheets or pet store advice is a major killer of avics...not enough ventilation...dead t...too much moisture...dead t...if it doesnt have anchor points to web, it can have a hard time adjusting....heavy pre molt and old mm ts often have grip issues.

 

[elo1084]

Thank you for all you answer ! I don't have very good pictures of it, I'll try during the afternoon ! If that is because it's getting older, that's sort of a good news... For the humidity, I sprinkle the plant with a little water with a spray once every two days and I well cage the cage every day to avoid mold. My living room is very hot so I keep the lamp on during the day and light off during the night. Thanks again guys, it's quite difficult to find informations about how taking care of a spider ...

 

[Timc]

From looking at the pictures it looks like a male to me. It's hard to completely tell but that's my best guess. A couple other things; the lamp is not needed at all, especially if the room is warm as you described it. Second screen lids aren't very good for tarantulas as they can easily get stuck in them and lose legs. The set up otherwise is pretty good, if only a little large. Anyway, mazel tof! It's a boy!

 

[elo1084]

Ok thanks a lot ! and what a surprise ... I guess I need to find an other name to Rosita ^^ .. I'll put the lamp if it's getting cold then! I was thinking put a rubber seal between the two screens in order to avoid this kind of accident ... I let you all know if Mr. Rosita starts to mold ! Thanks again !

 

[LeonExotic]

From looking at the pictures it looks like a male to me. It's hard to completely tell but that's my best guess. A couple other things; the lamp is not needed at all, especially if the room is warm as you described it. Second screen lids aren't very good for tarantulas as they can easily get stuck in them and lose legs. The set up otherwise is pretty good, if only a little large. Anyway, mazel tof! It's a boy!

Adding to this that that lamp will also cause the humidity to dry up rather quickly. If you absolutely require a heating device I'd suggest a ceramic heat emitter w/ thermostat.

 

[JoshDM020]

I agreed with timc, but i have no clue on gender, im still learning that one. The lamp thing could be part of the problem. If its already warm, you could be basically slow roasting your spider. Heat lamps/heat pads are very rarely necessary, and when they are its crucial you know how to use them for tarantulas. Honestly, heat lamps are probably worse than pads, so id just get rid of it. The screen top has already been mentioned, but the way to fix it is to cut the screen out and silicone a piece of plexiglass with drilled holes to the spot where it used to be. Also, humidity and avics are tricky. Most recommend dry substrate and a water dish, maybe dampening a corner every week or so.

 

[boina]

First I would get rid of the lamp, and soon. You are drying/dry cooking your spider. Avicularias are sensitive to low humidity and heat lamps dry out the air below them very, very fast, and a lot faster than your spider can drink to replace the lost water. Your spider will do very well at room temps and definitely a lot better than with a lamp. Spraying water raises the humidity for 10 minutes, maybe half an hour if you are really lucky - in other words it doesn't help at all, so you can as well stop. You do what to avoid mold? I didn't get that part, but I would worry about mold when it actually happens and btw, some mold will not harm your T anyway.
Personally I wouldn't worry too much about a screen lid with an arboreal - they are much more agile than a terrestrial and the Avic needs the ventilation.

 

[D Sherlod]

I believe she meant molt not mold

 

[mconnachan]

First I would get rid of the lamp, and soon. You are drying/dry cooking your spider. Avicularias are sensitive to low humidity and heat lamps dry out the air below them very, very fast, and a lot faster than your spider can drink to replace the lost water. Your spider will do very well at room temps and definitely a lot better than with a lamp. Spraying water raises the humidity for 10 minutes, maybe half an hour if you are really lucky - in other words it doesn't help at all, so you can as well stop. You do what to avoid mold? I didn't get that part, but I would worry about mold when it actually happens and btw, some mold will not harm your T anyway.
Personally I wouldn't worry too much about a screen lid with an arboreal - they are much more agile than a terrestrial and the Avic needs the ventilation.

I'm sure the OP meant moult.......

 

[mconnachan]

I'm sure the OP meant moult.......

Double post, I really should read all posts before commenting.....

 

[Ondottr]

I don't know anything, but good on you for rescuing the little dude!
I hope all goes well for both of you!

 

[14pokies]

That's deffinately a mature male.. Get rid of the heat lamp. As long as your temps are 72+ it will be fine..

It's not going to molt again unfortunately. Once a male matures his days are numbered.. He has a few months left in him at best.

 

[Andrea82]

Sorry for the offtopic, but didn't know where to put this.
@LeonExotic
You might want to remove the rocks from your slings enclosure as can be seen in your avatar. That is a terrible accident waiting to happen. The look to have rather sharp edges as well.

 

[CEC]

First I would get rid of the lamp, and soon. You are drying/dry cooking your spider. Avicularias are sensitive to low humidity and heat lamps dry out the air below them very, very fast, and a lot faster than your spider can drink to replace the lost water. Your spider will do very well at room temps and definitely a lot better than with a lamp. Spraying water raises the humidity for 10 minutes, maybe half an hour if you are really lucky - in other words it doesn't help at all, so you can as well stop. You do what to avoid mold? I didn't get that part, but I would worry about mold when it actually happens and btw, some mold will not harm your T anyway.
Personally I wouldn't worry too much about a screen lid with an arboreal - they are much more agile than a terrestrial and the Avic needs the ventilation.

Agreed, it's a mature male and won't live much longer, no matter what you do.

Although, I don't care for the light either, Avicularia prefer drier conditions, that's one of the reasons extra ventilation is stressed. The high humidity crap is a myth and probably the reason for so many deaths in a beginner's care. Keep them drier with a constant supply of drinking water. If you do that, your death rate with Avicularia shouldn't be any different than any other genera.

 

[LeonExotic]

Sorry for the offtopic, but didn't know where to put this.
@LeonExotic
You might want to remove the rocks from your slings enclosure as can be seen in your avatar. That is a terrible accident waiting to happen. The look to have rather sharp edges as well.

Those rocks were in there for aesthetics for that picture, though I did leave them in for a while because they are light. However they are not in there still. Also they are not sharp. Very smooth gems. But i appreciate the concern i would recommend the same thing myself.